How To Immerse Yourself In A New Language – A Practical Guide

Immersion is pretty important when it comes to language learning and you will need a lot of exposure to the new language to really make significant progress.

You will find there are many different ways to get this exposure; you will probably find some of them easier, or maybe just more enjoyable, but it doesn’t really matter what ones you use, so long as you are in contact with the language it will be beneficial for you.

Below I will go through a wide range of ways you can immerse yourself in the new language, then all you have to do is just make sure you do some of them.

Move To The Country Where They Speak Your Language

The quickest and easiest way to have language immersion is just simply move to a country where they speak your new language.

If you want to get good at French, move to France. The only way you are going to get by is by starting to learn French. Luckily you will be surrounded by it everywhere you look, so you should start picking it up pretty quickly.

This is really jumping in at the deep end type stuff, so I appreciate that it’s not for everyone. Not everyone can just totally change their life at the drop of a hat and move to a different country, but if you have the chance it will be your best way to be fully immersed in a language.

It has been said that this is the only real way you can learn a language properly and that you cannot achieve full language immersion any other way. Luckily times have changed and this is no longer true, the internet allows us to do a lot from home, so moving country is now not the only way to do things.

(You can read more about – What Is The Optimum Amount Of Language Immersion?)

Visit The Country Where They Speak Your Language

Visiting the country is maybe a bit more obtainable. If you’re learning French, go to France on holiday. It’s sort of like a mini immersion.

You get all the same language benefits as living there; it’s just for less time. There is a risk you will stick to tourist areas where they will accommodate you by speaking English, but you should still be able to get some level of immersion even if you are only there for a short period of time. 

Now let’s be honest, spending  two weeks in a country is not going to make you fluent in anyway, but you will get a real passion and appreciation of the language and culture by doing this and it should give you a good boost on your language skills as well.

This is something you will never get from studying from the comfort of your own country.  So, if it all possible, you should always try and visit the countries where they speak your new language.

Immersing In A Language At Home

So if moving away isn’t a possibility and visiting might only last for a few weeks, what can you do for the rest of the time?

Luckily we live in the age of the internet and we can use this to really get ourselves immersed in the language we are learning at home.

You are probably still going to have to use your native language throughout the day, but you will be surprised at how much you can expose yourself to the new language while at home. 

Use Youtube To Watch Videos In Your Target Language

Youtube is one of the best websites we will ever be given for language learning. It has so much good stuff on there and one of the best parts is that is pretty much used worldwide.

Just think about the type of content that is on there in English – News, entertainment, hobbies, music, and educational stuff and so much more …you name it, there will be some sort of video about it.

The same is also true for most languages. You can watch endless hours of videos where they speak the language you are learning and you should also be able to find topics that interest you.

Long gone are the days where your only access to a language at home was having to listen to some boring audio tape about someone trying to teach you how to order dinner at a restaurant. Now you can basically watch videos from any culture you want on any topic you want. It’s just amazing.

YouTube also has another amazing offering, which can help with your immersion. There are countless channels dedicated to teaching languages. If you want a German to teach you in German, it’s there. If you want an English person to teach you Chinese while explaining it in English as they go, it’s there.  

If you haven’t already realised, I love YouTube. You could easily sit on it all day and pretend you live in another country.

(You can read more about – How To Use Youtube To Learn A Language)

Watch Films Or Series In Your New Language

Movies and TV series are a classic way of immersing yourself in a language. Worldwide film and TV is far more accessible now thanks to the internet and services like Netflix.

You can either watch things made in the language you are learning or you can also sometimes change the settings to change the language of English movies into your target language.

Sometimes you may need a VPN to trick your computer into thinking you are in a different country, but this is easily set up and then you can get access to what the native speakers would have access to. 

(You can read more about – Should You Use A VPN To Learn A Language?)

Listen To Music In Your New Language

The internet has again made worldwide music much more accessible to us all.

You can quickly search and explore music from any country and have it on in the background throughout the day.

I like just having it on in the background while I work on other things, but there is nothing stopping you studying individual songs and looking up the lyrics and really getting into it.

(You can read more about – How To Use Music To Learn A Language)

Read Books In Your New Language

Books are a classic way of getting more immersed in a language. This can either be textbooks that help teach you and explain grammar, or can just be books written in your new language.

Previously it might be hard to find these books, your local library may not have many Russian novels, in Russian, However, thanks to the internet you can now source anything you want and have it delivered right to your door, or downloaded right to your kindle.

(You can read more about – Reading Resources For Language Learning)

Look At Websites In Your New Language

You can find websites in any language on any topic you want, whether it’s a blog, a sport or news site or even just social media.

Whatever you’re into in your native language, there will be a website out there written in the language you want to learn.

All you have to do is look things up using your new language, If you want to quickly check something on Wikipedia, do it in your target language. You can use the internet as if you are a native speaker of your new language and just look at websites in that language, this is an extremely easy way to get some immersion in throughout the day.   

Add The Language To Your Phone

I often see people suggesting you should change the language on your phone to your target language. I don’t really see the point in this. The changes would be so small it’s a waste of time.

Most of the things we use on our phones are visual. The button that sends a text could be in any language. It doesn’t even need a word written on it. I know the button in the corner is going to send my text.

Unless my friend is suddenly going to start speaking in the same language as I’m learning, I don’t see the point.  Maybe if you want the day of the week to change on the weather app, then go for it.

Add The Dictionary To Your Phone

What I do think is essential is adding your new language to your phones dictionary. What I mean by this is if you add French, when you start typing words, you will get the autocorrect to start generating French words.

My phone is in English and it still generates English autocorrect words, however, it can now also generate French ones too which will make typing in French a lot easier.

Having the auto correct helping you along will really speed things up. Some might see this as cheating, but if you do this in your native language with no problems, then why can’t you also use this as a learning aid.  

Add The Keyboard To Your Phone

If you are learning a language that doesn’t use the same keyboard as English, So like Japanese or Chinese, you will need to add that keyboard, which is easily done in your phone settings.

This will allow you to type in your target language. While typing is more of an output, you can at least use it to do internet searches or find some videos to watch, so you sort of need the keyboard to access the best material for immersion. 

Using Output as Immersion

When you think of immersion, it is very much an input based activity. You either listen or read to material and surround yourself with the language.

This is great, but once you start to get more comfortable with the language you should start trying to use output as a form of immersion too.  

This basically means you should start using the language so that you can hear it inside your own head, as well as all around you externally. Basically you will be fully surrounded by the language, it will be like your native language doesn’t even exist while you are in this mindset. 

Talk To Yourself In Your New Language

Talking to yourself is a great way to increase your practice and while it’s not a pure form of immersion, it can still be a way to surround yourself with the language.

You can basically narrate your day to yourself but just talking to yourself about all the things you are doing throughout the day, in your new language.

This will get your brain thinking in the language and you can talk to yourself about what you are watching or reading so your immersion will be fully done in the new language.

Journal To Yourself In Your New Language

Journaling is basically just the same as talking to yourself, but it helps with your writing skills.

You don’t need to write anything special, just some basic sentences about what you have been doing will be enough to really help you be surrounded by the language.

The chances of having to write in your new language are low, without actually going to work or study in the country you are interesting in, so take the opportunity of journaling to be able to practice some writing.

Get A Language Exchange Partner

Finding a language exchange partner is going to be one the best things you can do to help yourself get fully immersed in a language. 

Talking to yourself and doing immersion through reading and listening is great, but nothing even comes even close to having to talk to a real person in a foreign language.

You are getting the reading and listening, but it’s tailored to you, and you have to respond, it will really push you to your limits and it’s just fantastic. You are basically using the language as it is intended to be used, it really is the ultimate form of immersion as you are now just living in that language.    

(You can read more about – What Is A Language Partner)

Find Local Language Groups/Clubs

Some cities have local groups or clubs where they meet up and talk in the language. This is a great way to meet other people learning the same language as you. However, not everywhere has these groups and if they do, they might not be in the language you are learning.

I would see this as an opportunity. Maybe you can start your own local group.

There are enough online groups to be able to hopefully find some people near you and arrange a meet up so you can all practice together and feel like you are living in that language for a few hours.

Find Locals Who Speak Your Target Language

Finding locals who speak your new language isn’t the best option, but you never know.

There may be some people who have moved from the country you’re interested in. If you’re able to find them they may be interesting in having a conversation in their native language with you.

Finding these people is pretty hard too, its maybe a little stereotypical, but you are probably going to have to work out where these people  hang out, is there an area in your city, such as a “China town” or is there a restaurant that is owned by people from the country.

You can see how this is not a great option, and more sort of sheer chance. I would also be careful with this; you don’t want to just be pestering these people. They may not be interested in talking to you, so you must respect this.

However, there is a chance you could become good friends and end up with a local language partners, so why not say hello and see what their reaction is like.

Get A Language Tutor

Getting a tutor is a great way to have some immersion. It’s like having a really efficient language partner you pay for.

You can practice your speaking and they will also be teaching you and speaking as you go along. The good thing is you can trust what they are teaching and you should get good results as they are usually qualified teachers.

This isn’t exactly immersion, but if you add this to everything else you are doing, you will be in a really good place. 

(You can read more about – Getting A Language Tutor)

Conclusion

Hopefully now you have some ideas about how to surround yourself in your new language and really get immersed with it.

Immersion is important and it can really make the difference. Just keep doing as much as you can and your brain will adapt to what it is hearing and you will acquire the language.

Remember it takes time, but you can do it! The process does work, just trust it.

(You can read more about – How To Find Comprehensible Input For Language Learning)