Learning a foreign language has both personal and professional benefits. With a global economy and even the smallest businesses looking to expend internationally, the sooner you start learning a second (or third) language, the better your resume is going to look.
Join a Foreign Language Club
Almost every college or university has a language club for each foreign language that the school offers. Take advantage of this and join. You will have time to socialize with other students of your target language as well as find study and dialogue partners. Most of these clubs also spend time on the cultural aspects for the homeland of the language. This will introduce you to the food, customs and holidays of the nation.
Find a Conversation Group
You’ll be surprised at the number of conversation groups that exist outside of your school’s campus. Check local libraries or bulletin boards at coffee shops or book stores for postings about language conversation groups. Usually these meetings are casual, a couple of folks meet over a coffee once a week to speak the language their interested in learning. Often times all levels of fluency are welcome, so even if you can’t say much, it’s a great opportunity to learn from others.
Study Abroad
You will also want to consider taking advantage of any study abroad programs that your school may offer. Language immersion can help you to learn your target language faster than you thought possible. Many programs offer home-stay options, where you can live with a native speaking family. You’ll pick up on day to day colloquialisms and behaviors that will help the language and culture to come alive for you in a way that you can’t experience in the classroom.
Subscribe to a Magazine
Find a magazine that you enjoy and see about getting a subscription to it in your target language. For example, if you read Vogue and are trying to practice your Italian, consider subscribing to Vogue Italia. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the culture as well as the language and practice your reading skills. Most magazines are written at the reading level of the average teenager so an advanced vocabulary will not be necessary.
Listen to Music
Numerous studies have shown that it’s easier to learn new concepts if there is music playing in the background. It is also particularly useful to listen to music in your target language. Find music that you enjoy and before long you will be singing along. You can look up the lyrics online and translate them or you can just sing along until you learn the various words in class. Not only will this help your pronunciation but it will also help to increase your vocabulary.
Visit Online Chat Sites
Use the Internet to facilitate your language learning by joining online chat rooms like LiveMocha. You can choose between ones where you chat via text of those that allow you to actually talk to people. In most cases if you let them know where you are in your language studies people will be very happy to help you. You get the experience of chatting with native speakers of the language and make some new online friends. As a bonus, you will be more relaxed and confident when you are called upon in class.