Dear All,
This is my first post on this very interesting forum, so I will proceed with a short introduction.
I was born in Bosnia and have lived in many European countries before moving to Canada in mid-1990s. Here are the languages that I have acquired in the course of my travels, and which I have complete mastery over: Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian (all one language), French, and English. Now, here are the languages over which I have been able to throw a wide net, and am still trying to pull them out of the water: Arabic, German, and Spanish. I have leant all these languages in the chronological order in which they are presented here.
And here is my current “dilemma,” well partly observation and partly question. I use a very complicated, and somewhat time-consuming, method of keeping the last three languages alive and on the road of progress. In most basic terms, I try to work on the four skills (reading, writing, understanding, and speaking) by reading original texts, writing short paragraphs that I get corrected by native speakers in each case, listening to radio as I am studying the language, and, finally—this is the more eccentric stuff—by buying calling cards and calling countries where the target language is spoken. This last method seemed odd at first, but it is truly amazing: you can speak with a person of your choice, prepare adequately, pick your own times, and the excitement of engaging in genuine conversation with people who do not necessarily know that your only goal is not to book a room, but to practice your languages. I highly recommend this latter method—of course, if your budget permits it. I wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions concerning my method. Anything that could improve my efficiency would be greatly appreciated.
Also, if anyone can handle Arabic, German, or Spanish beyond the intermediate level, please get in touch with me. I would gladly do an exchange.
Best,
Multiglotus
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