Learning How to Start (and End) a Conversation

An often overlooked aspect of second language acquisition

Welcome, aspiring polyglot! With how many things there are to potentially focus on during your second language acquisition, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Whether Duolingo has you memorizing phrases and words you will never use or you spend time listening to music and translating songs, there are times when you are going to struggle with what to do next.

Most of the time, the best thing you can do is focus on developing the skills you need to hold conversations. What most people fail to consider, though, is the necessity to learn introductions, salutations, and basic phrases that you will use daily when traveling and speaking to native speakers.

Opening up new doors with conversational language skills

Asking open ended questions is important because most people would rather spend time talking about themselves than hearing about you. At the end of the day, the more you get someone talking the easier it is to work on your listening skills.