That's great! When I moved to Canada I also spoke no English, so to learn it (I moved in August, and school was starting in September, had to learn it fast) I went to the library and got all seven Harry Potter books. I was reading the dictionary more than the book itself in the beginning, but by the end of the third book I was pretty fluent already :)
Ever since then, if I want to learn a language I first study it from a textbook for a week and then just read Harry Potter books. Studying my sixth right now :)
Yay for bookworms and languages! I loved the series of unfortunate events too, might look into using it as "study material" for my next language :)
I went from no English to almost native level proficiency in a very short time, but as you mentioned it was only written proficiency. As for speaking, I picked up the necessary speed and jargon in 2 semesters. At the beginning my spoken English was a bit broken and slow, but after a semester of school I was almost native level. After the 2nd semester I began writing my first novel. A year in an intensive immersive environment really is the best way to learn a language.
I, too, read HP to learn a new language. I barely have to look up the translations any more after so many rereads. Happy to hear others use the same method!
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u/SnickerDudle Dec 07 '14
That's great! When I moved to Canada I also spoke no English, so to learn it (I moved in August, and school was starting in September, had to learn it fast) I went to the library and got all seven Harry Potter books. I was reading the dictionary more than the book itself in the beginning, but by the end of the third book I was pretty fluent already :)
Ever since then, if I want to learn a language I first study it from a textbook for a week and then just read Harry Potter books. Studying my sixth right now :)
Yay for bookworms and languages! I loved the series of unfortunate events too, might look into using it as "study material" for my next language :)