Immigrating to a different country is exciting and scary all at the same time. It takes a lot of effort to ensure you’re ready to move abroad and live in a foreign country. You have to research the immigration rules, understand the employment or student laws, and make sure your paperwork is all in order. Oh, and don’t forget to learn the language! The immigration law experts at Prudent Law have tips to help you acquire a foreign language before you make the move abroad.
Get a Language Partner
While you can learn the basics of a new language on your own, it’s very difficult to become proficient in it without talking and interacting with another person. Find someone in your current city who is either already learning the same language you’re learning or who wants to learn it. This will make the learning process easier and will give you some accountability. It can be tempting to slack off on learning if you don’t have someone pushing you.
If you don’t know someone who wants to learn the same language, check with a local school that offers classes for that language. They will be able to identify someone who wants to further their language skills outside of the classroom and pass your contact information on to them.
Get a Translation Dictionary
Using a translation dictionary as you learn a new language (and even after you learn the basics) isn’t cheating. In fact, it’s the smart thing to do to help you expand your vocabulary. Be sure to choose a dictionary that you can carry around with you and not one that’s meant for use at a desk. You want something that allows you to look up works quickly so that you don’t hold anyone up if you need to use it.
A small, simple translation dictionary is recommended, but don’t forget that you probably have a full translation device already in your pocket. Any smartphone can assist you in finding the right words to say when your language skills fail you, but we suggest that you don’t come to rely solely on technology or you won’t ever learn the language as well as you could if you practice your skills yourself.
Watch Television or Movies In the Target Language
Millions of people all over the world have learned a new language solely by watching television and movies in that language. It’s an excellent way to pick up accents, dialects, and casual language nuances that you probably won’t get through your formal learning channels. Use subtitles when you’re first learning the language so you can associate what you hear with your current language, but as you become more proficient, turn off the subtitles and go for full immersion.
Listen to Language Learning Tapes
Listening to language learning tapes or to audiobooks in the target language can immerse you in the new language as you commute to and from work or school, as you exercise, or before you go to sleep at night. It’s tough to get full immersion in a foreign language until you actually live where it’s spoken, but simulating immersion while you’re doing other activities is a good alternative.
Conclusion
No matter how hard you study a foreign language, you probably won’t become fluent until you are settled in the new country, but these tips can help get you started. Then, you can focus on all the other tasks you have to complete before you move!
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