Mastering a Foreign Language: How To Become A Brilliant Speaker, Part 6 of 7

by Teresa Bolen

‘Imitate Your Way to Fluency’

Imitation is the easiest route to fluency. If you imitate something long enough, it will become real for you, and this is especially true for mastering a foreign language.

You can see this easily in children, the world’s greatest language learning machines. They imitate the language they hear around them all the time. They hear something, try it, and see what kind of reaction they get. They get feedback from family, friends and teachers, and adjust and learn.

The use of imitation is a true language-learning gem, and it will serve you well to the extent that you use it! Listen and copy. Listen and copy. Listen and copy. Imitate until it is real for you. Imitate your way to fluency.

You might be wondering how to do this, but really it is as simple as it looks and sounds. As you listen to native speakers of your target language, say on TV or on the radio, repeat back what they say as soon as you hear it. This works especially well with news broadcasts for two reasons. First, the announcers use clear, standard pronunciation. Secondly, the speed at which announcers speak is a natural for the native listeners, yet moves along at a speed that is likely to present you with a bit of a challenge, especially in the beginning.

At first you may find it a little hard to wrap your mouth around all of those words, and that is fine. Be gentle with yourself and know that the more you do it the better you will get at it. The first few times you try it you might just catch a few words here and there. Then you’ll breakthrough to being able to imitate phrases, and then you’ll increase your ability so that you will be able to repeat whole sentences and keep the string of language going. Pretty soon you will be communicating you own ideas with the same clarity and ease.

Before you know it you’ll be sounding like a TV star or newscaster of that target language! You’ll have brilliant pronunciation, and a greater ability to catch and understand the words you hear from various speakers of that language, and you’ll develop an incredible level of fluency that you acquired in a very short time -- all through imitation!

Here's to Your Success!

Teresa Bolen

Copyright 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All Rights Reserved.