Is language immersion the only way?
- Apr 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 21
The short answer is no!
If the language learning process feels daunting, if you don't know where to start, and if you think you can't do it – all students do and are invariably wrong by the way – then not being in the country could easily become a way out.
While it's always better to spent time talking to locals, you still need to learn the language. Conversation is not enough.
Most of my students would love to spend six months in Paris, London, or Rome to perfect their French, English, and Italian, but what they learn from our very first lesson, is how to learn to create the conditions for a full language immersion without moving to / staying in the country.
How?
By not just doing exercises in the grammar book, but by:
listening to audiobooks, podcasts, and to the radio,
watching series and movies,
talking to me in the language they're learning and, when they are ready, by finding someone to do a language exchange with,
reading articles, blogs, newspapers, magazines, and simplified books,
exploring the culture of the country,
And by travelling there when they can and putting in practice all that they've learned.
Immersion is not about the location (in fact many people end up in a country without speaking the language), it's about the mindset you bring to language learning.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch!
