As the topic suggests, I want to say something about maintaining fluency in an L2 (or L3, L4, etc.) I will only be talking about how to maintain fluency in a situation in which one is not surrounded by the language. Rather than go into a lengthy treatise, I will just list off the ways I make sure not to lose fluency (even if my language skills do get a bit rough around the edges):
-chat with friends (if you have not made friends with native speakers of the language you are learning, there's a problem)
-read the news or other online articles in the target language
-join a chat room and observe and engage
-watch a movie in the language
-watch youtube in the language
-change settings to the target language, i.e. e-mail account, phone, etc.
-read a book in the language
-listen to music in the language
-join a community and join board discussions in the target language
-buy a grammar book and go over exercises
-write in the language - for myself, I'll either write some random stuff about my day, something I'd like to do or just write some poetry
What do you think? Have you had to keep up fluency in a language that wasn't spoken around you? Any other suggestions?
Maintaining Fluency
Re: Maintaining Fluency
I use Interpals (website) and HelloTalk (mobile app) to get into texting/chatting conversations one and one with natives. You can also find places to hire tutors via Skype to do remote Skype sessions and practice your speech. Aside from that, the ones you listed above cover most of what I can think of.