Saturday, September 21, 2019

Immersion Learning


Many language experts recommend immersion as the fastest way to become fluent in Spanish; move to a Spanish-speaking country, live with a host family and have every interaction in Spanish. The idea is that, without English to fall back on, the desire to speak Spanish will become a real necessity, a sink-or-swim survival pressure. You will have to learn how to speak Spanish because there will be no other option.

But is it really that simple? Plenty of people have tried and failed to learn a language, even with immersion. Physically being somewhere is not, in itself, a learning tool. Immersion works because the best way to learn Spanish is to hear it and practice speaking it every day in the context of your normal life. When people talk about immersion, what they really mean is learning by doing – to get away from an academic approach and live the language. If you know how immersion works, you can start learning Spanish no matter where you are.
Turning Off The Blahblahblah Filter

Our brains are incredibly good at focusing on details, but this is only possible because our brains are even better at ignoring stuff. It’s the reason you can have a conversation in a noisy cafe; your brain can separate the signal from the noise. The problem, when learning a new language, is that your brain treats unfamiliar new sounds like background noise, telling you, “It’s just static. Ignore it.” The solution to this problem is easy, the more Spanish you hear the less filtered it becomes. Soak it up; whether you understand is not immediately important. Listen to Spanish-language radio in the car, leave the TV tuned to a Spanish-language station when you’re at home and utilize an integrated text/audio online program like Babbel for at least ten minutes per day. Pay attention when you hear Spanish being spoken in public (and don’t be afraid to join in). Daily exposure will keep your brain engaged.

https://www.babbel.com/best-way-to-learn-spanish

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