How can you possibly maintain fluency in two foreign languages let alone five or six if the opportunities

es to use them are months or years apart? In 20 minutes, I leave from JFK for Iceland, then Scotland, and then a circle in Europe that will include Oktoberfest in unich! "erman# is strate$ic, as I want to reactivate m# "erman before the media tour there! Few topics provoke more an%iet# and depression in lan$ua$e lovers than the prospect of for$ettin$ a hard&earned lan$ua$e! 'fter #ou return to #our En$lish&dominated homeland, how do #ou maintain #our newfound skills, which seem to have #o$urt&like e%piration dates( )avin$ *u$$led close to a do+en lan$ua$es , keepin$ some and losin$ others , and havin$ suffered the interference that $oes it all, m# answer now is simple- #ou don.t! It is easier, and much more time&efficient, to catch up versus keep up! /h# stru$$le to maintain a forei$n ton$ue in the 0S, for e%ample, when #ou most often $ain nothin$ more than bad habits( If #ou ac1uire the lan$ua$e in a native environment and attain an intermediate or advanced level of fluenc#, #ou can reactivate #our lan$ua$e skills in four weeks or less when approached methodicall#! /ould #ou rather spend four hours per week on #our new lan$ua$e, onl# to see it $et sick and bloated with a distinctl# forei$n&soundin$ twan$, or spend two hours per da# for 2&3 weeks and be ri$ht back at #our fluenc# level from #ears prior( I be$an reactivation of irretrievable "erman *ust over a week a$o and can alread# hold a decent conversation! 4his is not a testament to m# abilit#, but to the efficac# of a process that be$ins with massive passive e%posure and avoids time&consumin$ review from s1uare one1. Days 1 !" "erman films with En$lish subtitles for at least two hours each evenin$ for one week! #. Days $%" 20&20 pa$es of dialo$ue&rich man$a 5Japanese comics, here translated into "erman, that can be ordered in most lan$ua$es from comic stores in #our tar$et countr#6 for 30 minutes each mornin$ and prior to bed! I.m a bi$ fan of One 7iece! $. &n the plane" 8ead a phrasebook in its entiret# for active recall practice of common phrases 59: minutes of stud# alternated with 2: minutes of rest ;<= this takes advanta$e of what is called the =primac# and recenc#> effect6! '. (pon arrival" ?ontinue with man$a and $rammar reference checks as needed, usin$ an electronic dictionar# to reactivate vocabular# from conversation that is familiar but not understood! ). *eeks # $" 4hirt# to si%t# @is&Ed flashcards dail#! 4his seems like a lot, but most will have been covered in steps 2&3 ;<= usin$ active recall 5En$lish to "erman6! @is&Ed compiles its sets of flashcards from word fre1uenc# lists and includes sample phrases for usa$e! I be$in flashcards after three or four da#s in&countr#!

4he sooner #ou decide to reactivate lan$ua$es when needed, instead of maintainin$ them for an unspecified time in the future, the more leisure time #ou will have and the less diluted #our lan$ua$e abilities will be when #ou need them! Aon.t fear losin$ lan$ua$es if #ou.ve attained real fluenc#! 4he#.re *ust in temporar# stora$e with the covers pulled over them! 4his is one of several articles planned as supplements to the ori$inal =)ow to Bearn 5Cut Dot aster6 'n# Ban$ua$e in 2 )our!> 4his piece focuses on ac1uisition of new materialE for reactivatin$ =for$otten> lan$ua$es and vocab, I recommend also readin$ =)ow to 8esurrect Four )i$h School SpanishG or 'n# Ban$ua$e!> Bet us be$inG From the academic environments of 7rinceton 0niversit# 5?hinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian6 and the iddlebur# Ban$ua$e Schools 5Japanese6, to the disappointin$ results observed as a curriculum desi$ner at Cerlit+ International 5Japanese, En$lish6, I have sou$ht for more than 20 #ears to answer a simple 1uestion- why +o most language classes simply not work? 'fter testin$ the waters with more than 20 lan$ua$es and achievin$ conversational and written fluenc# in H, I have identified several cardinal sins that, when fi%ed, can easil# cut the time to fluenc# b# :0&I0JG 1. ,eachers are viewe+ as saviors when materials are actually the +etermining factor. 4eachers are merel# conduits for the material and se1uencin$! C# analo$#, it is better to have a decent cook with e%cellent eas#&to&follow recipe than a $reat cook with terrible recipe! It is the material that will restrict or elevate the teacher, and a $ood teacher forced to follow bad material will hinder, not hasten, learnin$ pro$ress! I don.t sit in on classes or otherwise consider a school until I.ve reviewed both hand&out materials and te%t books! Jud$e materials before #ou *ud$e teachers, and no matter what, do not be$in with classes or te%ts that solel# use the tar$et lan$ua$e 5e!$!, Spanish te%tbooks in Spanish6! 4his approach reflects a school.s la+iness and willin$ness to hire monolin$ual teachers, not the result of their search for the ideal method! #. -lasses move as slowly as the slowest stu+ent. Seek a school with dail# homework assi$nments that eliminate,effectivel# fire,students from the class who don.t perform! 4he school should have a strict curriculum that doesn.t bend for a minorit# of the class who can.t cope! Aown$radin$ students is onl# possible in lar$er schools with at least five proficienc# levels for separate classes,be$inner, intermediate, and advanced is woefull# inade1uate!

Students can onl# be moved if the *umps between classes are relativel# small and there are a sufficient number of students at each level for the school to *ustif# pa#in$ separate teachers! 't the )artnackschule in Cerlin, "erman#, where I studied for 20 weeks after evaluatin$ a do+en schools, there are at least 20 different skill levels! $. -onversation can be learne+ but not taught. Somewhat like ridin$ a bike, thou$h unfortunatel# not as permanent, lan$ua$e fluenc# is more +epen+ent on practicing the right things than learning the right things. 4he rules 5$rammar6 can be learned throu$h materials and classes, but the necessar# tools 5vocabular# and idiomatic usa$e6 will come from independent stud# and practice in a native environment! I achieved fluenc# in "erman in 20 weeks usin$ a combination of $rammatical practice at the )artnackschule 5four hours dail# for the first month, two hours dail# for the second6 and dail# two&person lan$ua$e e%chan$es with students of En$lish! "rammar can be learned with writin$ e%ercises in a class of 20, whereas =conversation> cannot be learned in an#thin$ but a realistic one&on&one environment where #our brain is forced to adapt to normal speed and adopt copin$ mechanisms such as dela#in$ tactics 5=in other words,> =let me think for a second,> etc!6! Separate $rammar from conversation practice! I recommend choosin$ one school for $rammar and several native books or comics to identif# stickin$ points, which are then discussed in one& one&one lan$ua$e e%chan$es, where #our partner provides e%amples of usa$e and does not e%plain rules! '. ,eachers are often prescriptive instea+ of +escriptive. an# teachers take it upon themselves to be arbiters of taste and lin$uistic conservationists, refusin$ to e%plain slan$ and insistin$ on correct but essentiall# unused $rammatical constructions 5e!$!, =with whom were #ou speakin$(> versus =who were #ou speakin$ to(>6! 7ro$ress will be faster when #ou find a teacher who describes rather than prescribes usa$e! 4he# should be able and willin$ to e%plain, for e%ample, how Kon*unktiv II is $enerall# used in place of Kon*unktiv I in "erman, even thou$h it is technicall# incorrect! 4he# should also be able to save #ou time b# e%plainin$ what to practice based on actual fre1uenc# of use, not inclusion in a $rammar te%t! For e%ample, the simple past is almost alwa#s used in place of the perfect tense in 'r$entina, but some teachers still spend e1ual time on both! 4o avoid those who act as defenders of lan$ua$e purit#, it is often easier to tar$et 20&30&#ear old teachers and those who are $ood at teachin$ inductivel# 5providin$ e%amples to e%plain principles6! 'sk them to e%plain a few common collo1uial $rammatical constructions before si$nin$ up!

.n conclusionthe learner is the problem /what?0

4he above sins certainl# inhibit the speed of learnin$, but the principal problem is the learner his or herself, who,more often than not,uses classes as a substitute for, and not supplement to, real e$o&crushin$ interaction! ?lasses are easil# used to infinitel# postpone makin$ the thousands of mistakes necessar# to achieve fluenc#! In bo%in$, the# sa# =ever#one has a plan until the# $et punched in the face!> /ell, in lan$ua$e learnin$, we could *ust as easil# sa# that =ever#one has the perfect conversation in mind until the# speak to a real native!> Aon.t waste time on more than learnin$ more than a handful of con*u$ations for primaril# first& person sin$ular 5I6 and second&person sin$ular 5#ou6 in the past, present, and future tenses, alon$ with common phrases that illustrate them! 4hrow in a few au%ilaries 5to want to @, to need to @, to like to @, etc!6 and *ump on a plane before learnin$ an# more of what #ou.ll *ust need to relearn an#wa#! Even after #ou land, #ou do not need more than two months of classes in& countr#, and remember that, like trainin$ wheels, the $oal is $et off of them as 1uickl# as possible! Aon.t $o to classes because #ou have no social network outside of class, or because #ou want the illusion of pro$ress with a coddlin$ teacher who understands #our 4ar+an attempts at her lan$ua$e! If #ou are takin$ classes because the# are en*o#able, fine, but understand that #ou are better off spendin$ time elsewhere! ake it #our $oal to screw up as often as possible in uncontrolled environments! E%plicitl# ask friends to correct #ou and reward them with thanks and praise when the# catch #ou spoutin$ nonsense, particularl# the small understandable mistakes! I was able to pass the ?ertificado de Espanol 'van+ado, the most diffucult Spanish certification test in South 'merica, in ei$ht weeks, which is said to re1uire near&native fluenc# and #ears of immersion! )ow( C# followin$ the above fi%es and makin$ more mistakes in ei$ht weeks than most make in ei$ht #ears! ='n e%pert is a person who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a ver# narrow field,> or so said 7h#sicist Diels Cohr! Buckil#, #ou don.t need to be a rocket scientist to use his advice! ?hoose schools carefull# and then, once the#.ve served their purpose, abandon them! 4he real world is where mistakes are made, weaknesses are found, and fluenc# is achieved!