Advanced Language Study

How to Select Topics and Materials

How to Select a Topic

Select one of the methods below to choose your topic. If you already have a topic you are strongly interested in, you can move on to finding materials.

Finding Materials

There are many resources available online and through your campus library. Here are some options for where to find resources that fit your topic.

How to Study at the Advanced Level

According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, reaching advanced language proficiency can lead to cognitive, psychological, employment, and societal benefits. When you choose and study material for your Advanced Topics course (or as a language learner out in the world in general), you may be asking yourself: How do I learn from real world language content that isn’t made for learning? 

This guide aims to answer that question. Below, we provide a menu of pointers and activities, arranged so that you can move from just going over authentic materials to internalizing, using, reviewing, and expanding on them. 

These are just a starting point. You can change, repeat, skip, or add your own activities as necessary. Still, whatever activities or topics you choose, the core steps of independent learning will almost always be getting authentic input, studying and using that input, and then effectively reviewing it all.

Study for Comprehension

  • Expect to work with new material for an extended period of time:

    • Read, watch, or listen to the media multiple times. YouTube and podcast/music apps often have an option to slow down the audio, which you can use as needed.
    • First try to understand as much as you can without consulting a dictionary or other resource.
    • Then consult other resources as needed.

  • Check your comprehension:

    • Create a reverse outline of the material: What is the main idea or message? What are the supporting details?

 

Study Vocabulary, Expressions, and Grammar

  • Reread or re-listen to the material, focusing on the areas that are unclear.

    • What is most difficult about that portion?
    • Is the language too advanced?
    • Is the speech too quick or in an unfamiliar accent or dialect?
    • Is there not enough context?
    • Is there anything that doesn't make sense if translated literally?

  • Look up new vocabulary in a dictionary, encyclopedia, or concordance (e.g. Netspeak) and add it to your memory system. 

  • Look up unfamiliar grammar or constructions in a textbook, grammar, or online resource and add it to your memory system.

    • You may also be able to understand the meaning from context without referring to an outside resource. If so, still record what you have learned.

  • Practice using the new vocabulary and constructions in writing and out loud.

  • Make note of anything you would like further clarification on.

    • For example, if you know another word with a similar meaning, do you know the distinctions, context, etymology, level of formality, etc.?

Practice Out Loud

  • Read the material or a portion of it out loud.

    • If audio or video, practice talking along with it and imitating the speakers.

  • Practice verbally summarizing the material:

    • Use the 4-3-2 technique:
      • Describe the material for 4 minutes, pause, then do it again for 3 minutes, pause, then do it again for 2 minutes.
      • Each time, try to ensure you are still sharing the essential points and getting clearer and clearer in your explanations as you go.
    • Practice giving a presentation about the subject to different audiences:
      • Friends
      • Small children – how would you need to simplify the language?
      • A classroom or office – how would you make your language more formal?

  • Write questions about the selection and practice asking and answering them.

  • Think about alternative positions or perspectives on the material and practice representing them as though you are in a debate.

  • Record yourself doing one of the above activities:

    • Listen to your recording and critique yourself:
    • Do you need to fix grammatical, pronunciation, or vocabulary issues? How is your intonation and emphasis? 
    • Re-record yourself and see if you've improved.

  • Practice with a partner:

    • Choose a conversation preparation guide and complete the roleplays.
    • Go to a zoo or museum and talk about what you see in the target language.
    • Choose an issue you’re passionate about and try to convince the other person to support your cause. 

Create with the Language

  • Keep a journal in the target language:

    • Write a paragraph or dialog using the new vocabulary/expressions/grammar you found in your listening and reading that week.
    • Write out a detailed description of characters or speakers from the material.
      • What can you say about their physical appearance, their clothing, the way they speak or move? 
      • What words can you use to talk about their personality, mood, emotions? If you know basic words like sad/angry/happy, challenge yourself to learn new words: is the person agitated, anxious, ebullient? 
      • Compare and contrast one character or speaker to another.

  • Create a reference guide for the material(s):

    • Create a flow chart:
      • On the left side of a piece of paper or digital document, list the sections of the material as they occur one after the other. You may also include how long these sections are (1 paragraph, 2:30 minutes, etc.)
      • On the right side, list what happens or is said/written in those sections, as well as anything else you find notable.
      • This is an excellent way to understand the structure of different types of spoken and written material.
    • Draw a timeline of events.
    • Create a family tree or a similarly structured graph showing the people involved in the material and their relationships to one another. Use arrows and labels.
    • Create a map or floor plan related to the material and label it. 
    • Practice presenting the reference guide to someone. 
      • What are the major landmarks? Can you give directions between them? 
      • What is the historical significance of the events?
      • Who are the main characters? What is the nature of their relationships?

  • Build on the material:

    • Write your own recipe using similar ingredients to a food you read about. Record yourself narrating the preparation and cooking process. 
    • Imagine yourself taking the same trip as a character in the media you studied. Where would you go? What would you like to see? Where would you sleep or eat? Who would you meet? What tickets will you buy?
    • Imagine what happens next in the media you studied. Write out a dialogue or scene where the characters decide what to do. This can be a complex reaction to a difficult situation, or it can be as simple as planning where to go for coffee. Use as much future-oriented grammar as you know (e.g., future tenses, conditional clauses).

Get More Input

  • Find material in the target language about the topic, such as YouTube videos, podcasts, music, or Instagram reels.

    • You can do this by searching online using a format like “<keywords in target language> <type of media, such as video, music, etc>”.
    • Listen or watch, and then follow this process:
      • Note down any moments that were difficult for you, including their time stamp. 
      • Write out what you understand after your first listen or viewing. Then listen again and see if you can add more or make corrections to your first effort. 
      • Look up any unfamiliar words or constructions.

  • Learn about the background of the material:

    • Who made it? Are they famous? In what context? Who would recognize their names?
    • What are their biographical details? Who were their contemporaries? 
    • What are other seminal or popular examples of that genre?
    • What are other historical or contemporary works in the genre?
    • See if you can find other works in the same genre.

  • Interact with social media conversations in the target language about the material or related topics.

    • You can find them by searching online using a format like: “<keywords in target language> <name of social media site>”. 
    • Try to find out what social media services are popular for speakers of the target language.
    • Find hashtags, popular pages, or influencers posting about the topic.
    • Draft a post about the topic in the target language, your own or a response to someone else’s.
    • Find and write captions for images related to the material.

  • Explore language-learning apps like DuoLingo or Mango Languages.

    • Even app content intended for a beginning-level learner may help you review or learn vocab and grammar; and the audio may help reinforce accurate pronunciation, accent, and intonation.

Review

  • Read/watch/listen to the material again:

    • Are you able to understand the material better?
    • Do you have new questions or insights?

  • Summarize the material out loud:

    • Can you quickly summarize the material? Can you expand on or add to its content? 

  • Review your vocabulary and grammar flashcards. Make sure to use both new and old flashcards.

  • If there are other students in your session, read through their contributions in the Collaborative Outline.

    • Practice responding to their discussion prompts.
    • What new questions do their contributions raise for you?
    • Look up the grammar or vocab they want to review. 

  • After your session, repeat some of the activities you did this week. See where you have improved. 

 

How to Use Conversation Preparation Guides

  1. Picking a Guide

Find the Conversation Preparation Guide with a theme that fits most closely with the material you are studying this week. If you have trouble finding a directly relevant theme, think about other aspects of what you’re studying this week: 

  1. Studying the Guide 

Think: What thoughts and ideas come up while you’re reading the Preparation Guide? Is there additional vocabulary or information you will need to practice with it?

  • Search for resources. Can you locate the following in the language you are studying?
    • Dictionary
    • Encyclopedia
    • Grammar reference
    • Concordance
    • Search Engine
    • CultureTalk videos or videos from TikTok, YouTube, other social media
  • Look up and internalize this new information.
    • Make flashcards if appropriate. 
    • Add to the Collaborative Document if relevant. 
  • If you have questions, write them down for your Conversation Partner. 

  1. Making Use of the “Practice On Your Own” Section

If the prompt directs you to write something out, use the script/alphabet of the language you are studying and write it out by hand. 

  • Example: In Interview for Work: Languages You Speak, you are directed first to imagine that you speak at least 6 languages and to write them out along with the countries that speak that language. Be sure to use the word for each language or country in the language you are studying.
  • Try to write these out without looking them up. What can you do from memory? Check your work. Make corrections as needed. Look up words or spellings you cannot remember. 
  • Make flashcards for new words or grammar. 
  • Once you have written out the material from the prompt, say them out loud. 

If the prompt directs you to research, look up the information that it directs you to find. If you have trouble finding the information in one resource, try a different resource. 

  • Search for audio sources to hear pronunciation and intonation where possible. 
    1. Listen to the audio multiple times and repeat it out loud.

If the prompt directs you to create sentences, questions, dialogues, or lists, write them down in the script you are studying. 

  • Work from memory as much as you are able to. 
  • Then, check your work and make corrections as necessary. This may be spelling, word order, grammar, or other things. 
  • Next, practice saying these out loud, either by yourself or with a friend or study partner. 

If the prompt suggests you review a subject or vocabulary before you proceed, check your memory and understanding of that. 

  • Review old flashcards.
  • If you have a textbook, find the chapter(s) that covers the topic. Work through exercises. How challenging does the material seem?
  • Find a short article or video on the topic (on CultureTalk, GLOSS or on social media) and check your comprehension.

If the prompt asks you to cover a topic more complicated than you are able to, break it down into multiple smaller assignments. 

  • Example: Interviews for Work: Job Interview. This topic assumes knowledge of job interviews and workplaces.
    1. What vocabulary do you already know about this topic? Read through Policies and Rules: Personnel Policies for ideas of what kinds of vocabulary you might want to study. 
      • Look for other relevant Conversation Preparation Guides for review and context.
    2. Look up job ads, resumes, and companies in the language/country you are studying. 
      • Use a dictionary or search engine to define or give additional context to words or abbreviations you don’t know. 
    3. Find a short article or video on the topic (on CultureTalk, GLOSS or on social media) to expand your knowledge. 
    4. Repeat the above with any additional prompts under Practice on Your Own.

  1. Preparing for Conversation Sessions

Whether you are using this for individual studies or in preparation for meeting with a Conversation Partner, it is helpful to use both the Practice on Your Own and the Practice in Conversation Session sections of the guide.

Approaches to preparation:

  • Practice the activities under Practice in Conversation Session out loud. If you are practicing alone, play both parts when asking questions and answering or when acting out a role play. If you have trouble spontaneously creating the back-and-forth of these scenarios, write out a dialog, a set of questions and answers, or a role play first. 
    1. Practice the written scenario out loud. 
    2. Try to practice the scenario without reading off of the paper. 
    3. Take a break. When you return to one of these scenarios, can you change a response without writing it out? Can you extend the conversation without writing out the next piece?