It’s the summer. You’re sitting on a comfy beach chair as the water’s waves catch a dancing reflection of the sun’s rays. Or, maybe you’re at a new internship, spending day in and day out organizing data and enjoying the office vending machine. What you might not be doing, however, is brushing up on all of that language learning you did over the past academic year!
While it’s certainly important that you spend some time relaxing this summer, it is equally important that you do not do yourself a disservice by losing your fluency in a foreign language. So, how do you combat this while enjoying your summer?
Consistent, regular, and *fun* practice– that’s how you keep your fluency from slumping. This means setting aside some part of your daily routine, whether it be five minutes or an hour. You might think of this as ‘language maintenance’–staying current and connected to your language learning, able to jump right back in when the fall semester rolls around.
So, what are some things you can do for that daily practice? Here are a few ideas:
- Keep a summer journal in your foreign language– write down every detail of that lovely trip on the beach so that you’ll never forget it! Or, if you’re stuck behind a desk all summer, make your journal aspirational, and write about all those exotic trips you’ll be taking next summer.
- Try out a new app (or ten!) The app market is inundated with helpful language learning apps like Memrise, Duolingo, and more; you should find one that works with your target language and learning style and use it each day for a few minutes!
- TV is your friend. You could also start watching a TV show in your foreign language as a way to practice listening and, with subtitles, reading comprehension. Netflix has a bunch of content in a variety of languages; Roku channels like Viki also have a lot of options!
- Be a (participant) observer! If you are in a city that has different language enclaves, try to visit them and get in-person practices speaking the language and seeing it used by native speakers. If you aren’t comfortable engaging in conversation yet, try just to listen, or observe how people interact, carry themselves, use gesture, etc. Those elements of language learning are seldom taught in the classroom!
- Finally, try to find a language partner to speak with regularly, like once or twice a week, over the summer– this could be a past classmate you had in your language course, or maybe even a native speaker in your town! Online tools like HelloTalk, iTalki, etc can connect you to tutors and teachers abroad if you don’t have local access!
This is far from an exhaustive list of ways you can maintain your language over the summer. Just remember: keep studying consistently, and keep it fun.