Posted on by Ulrike Rettig

Fluent in a Foreign Language in 10 Days?

Conversation in outdoor café - Gamesforlanguage.com(Updated: You can also listen to this YouTube clip)
Fluent in a foreign language in 10 days?

It's a catchy idea, but can it really happen? Can you become a good tennis player in ten days? Or a great cook? You can't. Skill mastery takes time. So, if you want to learn a language, you have to find a way to make it part of your day.

GETTING STARTED

First you need to get started. You can faithfully go to a language school. Or, if you are into self-learning, you can work with a language learning course, let's say French from a book, from CDs and DVD's, or from a French online course.

Once you have a good foundation in your new language, you need to maintain momentum and build on your skills. Certainly, you should READ books, newspaper articles, or online articles in the foreign language.

And you should find ways to LISTEN your new language with audios, podcasts, videos and movies. For some, SPEAKING may come early, for others more slowly, but we all know: Nobody can learn a foreign language FOR YOU - in order to be able to listen, read, speak and write, you have to practice all those skills! 

Keeping a notebook to WRITE DOWN words, phrases, and sentences can be very helpful for recall.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU CONTINUE

Fortunately, with the wealth of technology available, there are many resources. The Internet opens a new gateway to foreign language text, audio, and video content.
- French online newspaper articles are as easy to find as Italian news videos and Spanish online soap operas.
- You can join a foreign language learning website.
- You can sign up to exchange conversations with someone who is trying to learn English.
- There are television programs in Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, etc., on the various international channels in the U.S. 

PRACTICE OFTEN AND REGULARLY

The bottom line is that if you want to become fluent, you have to engage with your new foreign language often and regularly. The key is “often and regularly.”
You have to find ways to hear, read, write, and speak your new language.

It's as simple or as complicated as that. But whatever you do to START your foreign language learning, you'll have to find ways to stay motivated and engaged with the language.

Gamesforlanguage's snappy and easy language games are one way to make language learning fun. And at any stage, adding fun and challenging games can help you maintain your motivation and momentum.