Tips for International Students #1

Learn the Language

A frequent question I often hear when I travel back to Asia is “How can my son/daughter improve his/her English speaking skills?” Well, my answer is nothing creative but to--

Practice (teehee).

I speak and am continually learning at least two other languages. The two methods described below have significantly, I believe, contributed to the effectiveness when I practice foreign languages.

1. Talk to Yourself with the Foreign Language
   It’s always nice to have opportunities to practice with your teachers, professors, teaching assistants, classmates, and/ or friends. Believe me, when you actually practice with intentions, the impact is great. When I first started learning Japanese, I only read the book, listened to the audio files a couple of hours right before class. However, when I started dedicating at least one hour per week to review and preview the course materials (because my examiner really scared me), my improvements were exponential. No exaggeration. I do not receive any benefits encouraging people to study. The craziest thing is you don't even need to spend extra $$$ on top of basic materials if you are self-disciplined.
   
   However, you may not always have that chances to practice with another human beings due to various reasons such as problems with time, locations, and or resources. Therefore, train yourself into a conversation partner. For examples, I would use the time when I travel from place to place to greet myself, ask myself if I ate already, if not for which was I craving , and/ or random topics like the weather. Conversations such as the following would take place regularly:
   
   Shirley A: Hi! Nice to meet you! My name is Shirley, and what is your name?
   Shirley B: Hi, my name is (still) Shirley, and where are you heading right now?
   Shirley A: I am going to a Communication class right now. Did you eat?
   Shirley B: I haven't, but I would like to eat cheesesteak later.
   
   I know it's silly, but, then again, it helps, tremendously!
   
2. Think with the Foreign Language
   
   However, if it is too challenging to start randomly talking to yourself if you have never done such thing before, perhaps you can try thinking with the foreign language you are currently learning first. By thinking with the foreign language, you learn to adapt to it. It is sort of like practicing answering questions before job interviews. You sort of refresh the memory of using the language,so it will be easily accessible when you need it whether because the class is starting soon or you happen to run into a person who speaks that specific language and not any other.
   
   "How to think in a foreign language (it does NOT “just happen”)" is a guest post that I recently discovered written by Zane, the author of Life by Experimentation, who discusses the details about thinking in a foreign language. Hopefully, it offers you some insights.

Preview for the next week: A new blog entry, "Does Hot Water Taste Better Than Cold Water," will be added to the category of Frequently Asked Questions next Tuesday!