Quarantine Language Learning Tips

Bored during quarantine? 
Here is a list of a few things that you can do to both maintain and improve your language skills during quarantine. I firmly believe that one of the most important aspects in language learning is INPUT! Get as much input as you can in your foreign language and turn that into output. What does that mean? It means consuming a lot of content, finding new words, expressions and grammatical structures, and adding them to your language toolbox.

1. Watch a movie or series in your target language!
Try having the audio in the target language with subtitles in your native language, or vice versa. You can always stop and rewind if you didn't catch a word. Make a list of words that you don't recognize and translate them. 

2. Discover some new music! 
Explore the internet for popular songs in your target language. This will give you an idea of how certain words are used in different contexts and how flexible the syntax of your target language can be. Find some new words that stick out to you. Translate them and play around with them! Make some new sentences, sing them, and practice your pronunciation skills!

3. Read some short stories... or write them too! 
Depending on your level, you can look for some short stories in your target language. Short stories are excellent for language learning because they are not as overwhelming as novels. Children's stories serve as perfect literary tools because the vocabulary might not be complex. Check out The Little Prince in your target lang, it's a short story that has been translated to many different languages. If you find some new vocabulary or grammatical structures, be a detective and Google them! You can then use these new words to turn on your creative side and create your own short stories. 

4. Take some Verbling classes! 
Whether it's with me or another teacher, the quarantine is a perfect time to brush up on your language skills and get some formal practice with a native speaker. You can even ask them about some of the exercises I have mentioned above and ask them to correct your work. 

I hope this blog has been useful. Remember that in quarantine, there are no rules when it comes to language learning! Find a routine that works for you, implement some of these fun methods and try to enjoy it. Don't punish yourself if you slip up, this is a hard time for everyone! I hope everyone is healthy and safe and I wish you the best of luck in your language learning journey. 
-Jeremy