Thank you again folks for sharing your experiences and tips.

 Gamification is becoming very popular in language learning as it allows learners to practise in a fun and engaging way. It also fosters an high level of  interaction and communication with other players who might be native speakers or fellow learners. Also taking part in language challenges (which can also be sees as part of the gaming trend) is quite motivational and it is becoming very popular...

All in all I find  it fascinating to see how many tools and apps are out there!

A

Thank you all for your interesting and useful comments! I am impressed to see how many apps and sites you use and that you mentioned some I did not know like Mango.

I personally find also useful to read comments people write and to take part in discussion threads... like here in italki.

A

Hi Ananda,

thanks for your comment. Are the classes of students you are talking about actually self-organised groups or are they led by a teacher? I’m interested in the difference as I think the role of the learners change in the two settings.

Thank you both Somogyi and Mehmet for your comments. It struck me that your approaches seem to be rather different. 

Somogyi, I'd like to know what do you expect from your partner? Do they play an active role in  teaching you (for instance the grammar?)  or do give you feedback?

Mehmet, at what point did you start working with others? What are the basics one needs in order to be able to work with others?

 It also might depends on the situation: if you live in the country where the language you are learning is spoken things might happen simultaneously.  

Thanks

Hi Charles, 

sorry to reply only now. I have been very busy and stayed away from italki for a while. I agree with you that making mistakes is an important aspect in  the learning process and we should not feel afraid to make them. Yet, I think, particularly as adult learners, people can feel quite inhibited to speak in a language they do not master yet (it also depends on the context). Also speaking involves listening... how do you master your listening skills? 

I also like your method to learn, use  and repeat  some chunks. This is very effective way to learn to speak like the natives. 

BTW- your earlier comments about making mistakes made me think of a wonderful kids book I am currently reading with my son " the BFG (the Big Friendly Giant)"  by Roald Dahal. The giant speaks English  in a funny way as English  is not his first language. He actually  learnt it all by himself  from a book ((Nicholas Nickleby) he once found.  One day he meets a little English girl. She is able to understand him even though his English is not standard. ...it's a really enjoyable  book!