Fluent in 3 Months: How Anyone at Any Age Can Learn to Speak Any Language from Anywhere in the World

Learning with Other Non-Natives
When looking to practice your target language, you may think learning can
only occur when you speak with a native speaker of that language. Try to
focus on finding these natives, using the suggestions in this chapter. The
further you get in your language learning attempts, the more essential it is to
get genuine native exposure.

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However, if you are a beginner and finding it hard to get practice time
with native speakers, never forget that other learners like you are also
excellent for practice. Because you are both learners, there is less of a
feeling of embarrassment when you make mistakes, and you can relate to
each other’s mistakes. You won’t necessarily learn from or correct your
mistakes as efficiently when practicing with another learner, but the
confidence to simply use a language is just as essential as vocabulary and
grammar, and all practice helps you gain confidence.
It’s also great to bounce those learned phrases off someone else and
have that person challenge you by asking follow-up questions (even if his or
her grammar isn’t perfect), so you can work out what to say and know
which words you need to learn before the questions come up again.
You can arrange to sit down with a friend and regularly practice a
language. Once you are used to speaking the language at a basic level,
you’ll be more confident to try a conversation with a native speaker when
the opportunity comes.
Consuming Media at a Distance
As well as spending time with natives, a priority for our spoken focus, you
should also work to improve your reading and listening comprehension
skills. To do this, you need “virtual immersion” by surrounding yourself
with the language.
The first thing to do is find streamed radio broadcasts from the country
where your target language is dominant. Next, you can find dubbed versions
of your favorite TV shows in the language you’re trying to learn. Find out
what the series is called in that language by looking up its English title on
Wikipedia and seeing the translation referred to in the column along the left
side of the show’s page. Then search Amazon.com or another online store
for that foreign title and buy the DVD or download it. In some cases,
depending on the language, you can even buy an international DVD in your
favorite local or online store that includes dubbing in the language you are
interested in, or download the video with alternative language selection
options.
You can do the same for foreign-language editions of your favorite
movies, books, and comics. Or, instead of relying on dubbed or foreign-

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language versions of the items and programs you are familiar with, check
out that country’s favorite shows or movies. Ask a language partner or
teacher for advice on what to watch, and see if you can access it from where
you live.
Other than this, there are numerous online sources that give you content
in other languages. You can find an updated list of some great examples at
fi3m.com/langs.