Language immersion is a powerful tool that can significantly aid in the language development of both children and adults. Language immersion is when a learner spends time in a country where the language they are studying is the native language, thereby immersing themselves into the language and the culture by speaking only the target language. Language immersion can last for a few days, a week, or for those studying at college level even entire school years.
Language immersion works so effectively because it builds connections between the technical learning and study and the language as it lives and breathes as a cultural tool. By being immersed in the target language, students hear and experience the language in a natural way, picking up slang terms and adapting to the native culture. Rather than reading and practising how to ask for a coffee, students have the opportunity to do it for themselves with people who speak the language in their everyday lives. This immersion forces the student to engage and even think in the language that they are learning.
The inability to converse in their primary language forces the learner to adapt, experiment, and figure out new ways to get their message across in the local language. Immersion helps students add context and depth to their previous and future learning, building connections between different real life scenarios and the academic based lessons they may have taken. The combination of these factors helps students to build confidence in their language skills, which can increase the rate of learning by building a passion and energy for the subject matter.
The Lingoo platform facilitates two types of language immersion experience: the traditional family based language exchange, and a hosted homestay language holiday. Both of these are designed to build on existing language skills by immersing the learner in the native language.