Second Language Acquisition
Step 5: Evaluate

Ready to assess your second language acquisition progress? Evaluate is the fifth and final step of the Daily Learning Cycle. Make this a joint assessment between you and your mentor about how the communication went. Do not leave this step out. It is essential to the learning process.

Here are some questions you might use. Were you able to use the sentences you learned? Were there things you did not know how to say or did not understand? Did you get a response you were not expecting? Did any part of the dialog seem to crumble? Talk about both your observations and your mentor’s, if he went along.

If things could have been done significantly better, rework your dialog and practice it again. Remember, you did not learn the first dialog in vain. Everything you learn is a step toward learning the language.

Periodically, you should also evaluate your overall progress to see how you are coming on your goals. In the past, language learning scales have been geared toward helping language teachers evaluate their students. Terry Marshall has created a language self-evaluation tool targeted at self-directed learners. See the Self-Rating Checklist.

If you've read through the five steps of the Daily Cycle, it is time to put these principles into action. The Walkabout Language Learning Action Guide shows you just how to do it. You'll create your own language learning program using each of the steps of the Daily Cycle. Click here to download your copy today.

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