Using Mailing Lists to Learn a Language

It has been discussed already on the site that one of the best ways to learn a language is by practicing. This time, let me show you a very convenient and effective way to do it. It is about joining mailing lists.

A mailing list is an email subscription to a group which discusses a particular topic. It can be anything from professional interests through cultures to travel. People can have a conversation, ask questions and talk about ideas.

I would recommend starting with the two most popular mailing lists, Yahoo! Groups and Google Groups. First register an account with these services if you don't have one.

Once you are signed up, look for mailing lists which would be of interest to you in the language you are learning. For example, if you are learning Portuguese, and you are interested in Travel, type "viagem" into the search field. See which lists come up. Some allow you to peak into previous messages, others only give you the group description. Ensure that you sign up to lists which have a good number of members, I would suggest more than 50. Your subscription will either be approved automatically, or manually by the list moderator.

Now you are ready to join the fun. First get a feel for what people are writing about, then send your first message. Introduce yourself, and join the conversation.

This way of learning mostly works for people who already have an intermediate or advanced knowledge of a language.

There are lists which specifically exist for language learners, where you can ask questions about a language, but regardless of which one you join, you will be able to get a lot out of it. If you don't understand a conversation, just use a dictionary, and let people know that you are learning the language. I found that they are always very helpful and will help you if you get stuck.

Let me know how it works out for you.