Speaking two foreign languages without mixing them up is very simple if you follow a couple of basic guidelines. First, you want to become fluent in one language before starting a second language. What that means is that you want to be able to automatically speak some basic phrases in the first language before you even begin the second language. That comes with practice. If you just practice it enough then the words and the phrases in the first foreign language will become very automatic and when you add the second language, you won’t have any problems speaking the second language.
That means that you should speak as much as possible. If possible, find a language partner either locally or online but if you can’t find anybody to talk to then you should go ahead and give virtual tours of your house, explain when you’re exercising what you’re doing, explain what you’re doing when you’re cooking, you can talk to another person that maybe is very patient but doesn’t understand the language or a child or even if lacking that, you can explain things to a dog or an imaginary audience.
The third device or technique that I use is to develop a language persona. A language persona means that each language has its own feel to it and if you speak as you learn the culture and as you learn the language, you start to develop your own idea in your own way of speaking, in your own sort of language personality or a persona. So you want to develop that persona, amplify that persona, make it into something as clear and as identifiable as possible and as you speak the words and the phrases, the phrases will start to attach themselves to the persona when you start the second language you will develop this persona in that language and then the words in that language will also be identified with the second language.
Therefore, in your mind when you take on a persona for a specific language you won’t mix it up with the second one because not only is the word tied to the language, it’s tied to a persona and associated with other more things and it will make it so it’s very easy to keep speaking just one language.
Roger Easlick wants to help you speak foreign languages fluently, easily, automatically and effortlessly. For more tips and tricks, check out the website at www.CrushALanguage.com.
