People learn languages at many different stages of their lives, for many different reasons that are unique to the individual. Whatever the nature or reason language for the journey a learner embarks upon, language immersion is a powerful tool in their development. Language immersion can take different forms: from those thrust into a foreign environment due to life circumstance, such as a new job or migration, to students who use immersion as part of their studies. The latter is catered for by a Lingoo language exchange or hosted Lingoo homestay. Here are three examples of circumstances where the power of language immersion as a learning tool is evident.
Migration in Children
Moving to a new city in a foreign country can be a daunting experience for children, particularly if no one there speaks the child’s first language. However, with little choice over the movements and migrations of their parents, through constant immersion in their new environment, children can pick up new languages quickly and in a way that cannot be achieved purely from classroom language lessons.
Moving Due To a New Job (Footballers)
One of the most publicly visible language immersion experiences due to work is when players are transferred within the globalised game of football. Players move around the EU and the world at a drop of a hat due to their transfers. As such, they are required to learn a new language, often from scratch, under the constant close scrutiny of the media. Although footballers may have access to the best language training, when interviewed they talk about the immersion and how the first things they pick up are things they can easily relate to and use regularly, such as language used on the training pitch. With the media attention, fans of the game can often see the development incrementally in front of their eyes, from a nervous stuttering phrase or two, through to a full and interactive press conference in the space of a few months.
Language Exchanges
Language exchanges or hosted homestay language holidays are designed to immerse the student in the native environment of the language they are learning for a short period of time as part of the learning experience. An exchange can be the first time that a learner comes into contact with a native speaker and tested their knowledge of the new language while linking it to the everyday world. This can be a powerful and empowering experience, one which shapes the learning experience in the present and future. There are many different ways that someone who needs to learn a language can be immersed in it, but each immersive episode accelerates the learning process and helps develop language skills.