“The big ‘secret’ to improving second language skills is practice.” Eve Lindemuth Bodeux (p. 9)

I became in love with this book from the very first page. The author, Eve Lindemuth Bodeux is an experienced second language user and the content is predominantly based on her own experience. This, I think, is what makes the book so special. As a reader, you want to implement many ideas and tips immediately, as you feel truly inspired by the strategies and techniques presented by Eve Lindemuth Bodeux.

I would need to re-write the whole content to praise it enough, but instead, I am going to introduce the book by one of its first chapters: ‘Define Your Goals’. I think it is important to know why we want to improve our language skills, what we want to achieve, what learning journey we will follow and how much time and energy will be involved in achieving our goals. I have answered the suggested-by-the-author questions for my two languages: Czech and French. It is only the beginning of this fascinating journey of maintaining and improving my language skills, but I have already started working on my Czech and French by watching films, reading out loud and having language exchange meet-ups.

Maintaining your second language is a practical and approachable guidebook for any second-language user, linguist, tutor, translator or language enthusiast. As enthusiastic as I sound I cannot recommend this book enough!

If you know more than one language, how do you maintain your second language skills? What is your favourite activity? Please share your tips in the comments below.

[All quotations and mentions come from Eve Lindemuth Bodeux, Maintaining Your Second Language, Spectacle Book Press, 2016.]

Written by Kinga Macalla