Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

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Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby jacquemarie » Sat Oct 03, 2020 8:19 pm

I've been debating trying to join facebook groups or forums for my target language (Hindi). I'm at a loss as to how though LOL. Has anyone done this and it actually be helpful?
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby philomath » Sat Oct 03, 2020 10:41 pm

I actually just joined a forum in my target language (French) for the first time a few days ago. I found it through a French YouTube channel. Besides writing a post to introduce myself, I’ve just been lurking and reading all of the messages, but I think I’ve learned a lot so far.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby yong321 » Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:30 pm

The Facebook groups I joined use English (Polyglots and Linguistics groups). But I do subscribe to a few news feeds in my target languages, such as Le Figaro, Der Spiegel. They are not forums. But you can post comments, as other readers do.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby lingua » Mon Oct 19, 2020 9:26 pm

I don't do Facebook but I did join an Italian forum a few years ago in one of my other interests. I read posts off and on but never posted because I wasn't confident enough at the time. I haven't been on it for a long time though I get an email from them a couple of times a year and think about returning. Nonetheless, I think it's a good idea.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby garyb » Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:49 am

I've never participated actively in a target-language forum. I've always just felt a bit too much like an outsider invading their community and exploiting it for my own interests when I don't have any real connection with it aside from learning the language. I've found it extremely useful to read and follow forums about particular interests though, for example when I got into cycling I was regularly reading an Italian forum on the subject, and it helped me pick up lots of domain-specific vocabulary as well as slang and "internet speak" in general.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby Cavesa » Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:59 am

Yes. I recommend looking primarily for communities around your interests. In vast majority of languages, there is no alternative to the huge sites about everything, like reddit. Why? Because the internet population speaking those languages also speaks English a lot and is on the real reddit.

However, you are more likely to find a niche of the German gardeners, French BD readers, Spanish football fans, etc. I have no first hand experience with Hindi, but I would guess it will be similar.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby smallwhite » Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:00 am

Early on in my French journey, I went trade on eBay France and read its community forums, and I felt it worked better for my French than some other reading would have, because I was genuinely eager to know the information in order to trade properly. I don't remember if I participated.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby Deinonysus » Tue Oct 20, 2020 12:09 pm

I'm not on Facebook but I will generally subscribe to subreddits related to the languages I'm interested in or the countries where they're spoken. The communities tend to be fairly large and you don't usually need anyone's permission to join, so there's no pressure to participate if you don't feel like your level is high enough.

Sometimes I will participate on French or German subreddits because those are the languages I'm comfortable using, but for other languages I just lurk.

I just joined something like 20 Arabic-related subreddits. I can't understand much Arabic yet, but there's also plenty of English content that can help me to get familiar with the countries and their cultures.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby sillygoose1 » Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:56 pm

I've joined a few French, Italian, and Russian forums plus I regularly speak with Spanish and Quebecois speakers in video games. They have helped me with my active skills and also to learn some more colloquialisms/niche words. When I join, however, I go in with the goal of being indistinguishable from others rather than letting others know that I am actively learning since they may be hesitant to speak with someone who can't keep up.
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Re: Do you try to join forums/Facebook groups in your target language?

Postby Carl » Fri Oct 30, 2020 7:15 pm

I've added content to or edited some Wikipedia entries in Swedish and Norwegian. That's a sort of forum, I think.
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