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If you are a foreign language teacher, you have probably already figured out by now that there is not just one path to fluency. Instead, each student must create his/her own path with a combination of different language learning techniques and in doing so, the student must acknowledge his/her learning goals, how he/she learns best, and what it is that he/she already knows.
There are many techniques you can use to help your students succeed in achieving fluency. One of these techniques is creating your own “language bubble.” This strategy consists of substituting your native language in day-to-day activities for your target language as much as you possibly can. There is only so much time you can devote to formal learning before your brain gets tired, and also, one of the most common barriers to learning a foreign language tends to be a lack of time to devote to instructional activities. Thus, the reason why this technique is particularly effective is that you are basically “tricking” yourself into having more contact time with your target language without taking any extra time out of your already-busy day.
There are many ways to go about creating a language bubble, the most common of which are:
- Change your phone, computer, Facebook and email settings to your target language. You will be surprised at how many new words you will learn, and most of the vocabulary you acquire is transferrable to a wide array of settings. On your mobile phone, set Siri (iPhone) or Google Now (on Android phones) to your target language: since they understand, process and speak natural language, these assistants are a great way to practice your speaking skills (especially if you are at a beginner/pre-intermediate level) in a non-threatening context.
- Listen to music in your target language. This one’s easy if your target language is English. But for any other languages, whether it’s on Spotify, Apple Music, or good old iTunes, you can easily find great collections of music in almost every language. Whatever music genre you already spend time listening to, you can find an equivalent performer in your target language. Listening to local music is also a great way to become acquainted with the culture, as an essential part of language learning is understanding the cultural context in which the language occurs.
- Read the news, watch TV and listen to radio in your target language. If you read the news every morning, read it in your target language. If you watch a show before you go to bed, watch a show in your target language. Sometimes you may not find a show that you like in that language and if you are anything like me, you probably hate dubbed versions of shows and films. A way around this is to at least watch whatever you want with subtitles in your target language, and intentionally reading them.
- Read books or comics in your target language. If you like reading, books are great once you have reached at least an intermediate level. Otherwise, comic books are great if you are learning at a less advanced level, as the images provide a great graphical support and context for the text.
- Any other ideas you can come up with. Think of all the activities that you do every day, and try to see which ones you can do in your target language, and how. Always keep in mind that the key to this technique is not adding any extra activities to your schedule, but replacing activities that you already do in your native language with the same activity in your target language as much as you can.
If you find any other original ways of creating a language bubble, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below.
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