Finding ways to practice

[Tomii515]

I want to start studying Icelandic, but I'm not sure whether or not I should.

I'm really interested in the language itself, and I have materials (books, dictionary, internet resources, etc.), but I'm worried about is the fact that the people with whom I can practice are limited.

I'm afraid that the fact that it'll be quite hard to find Icelandic people who live anywhere near me to practice with affect my motivation.

For those learning it, what did you do to keep up your motivation and/or find people to practice with?

[zeme]

Well, I understand the nature of your worry, but finding Icelandic people to talk with is not as difficult as it might seem at first. Stumbling upon one on American ground is difficult, but at least Icelanders have a great presence on the Internet. Finding one who is willing to chat in and about his or her language isn't that big of a challenge.

Skype, LiveMocha, italki, busuu, mylanguageexchange, sharedtalk, polyglot-learn-language, languageexchange, conversationexchange, and other sites are filled with Icelanders. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone even here on Unilang or How-to-learn-any-language.com. Find your favorite and enjoy!

If online chatting is not your cup of tea, then maybe you could go study in Iceland. Living there for a while should be really fun, assuming you're really into it and manage to find whatever you need to get there.

If what you're looking for is not necessarily an Icelandic friend, but rather motivation, then what I can recommend is listening to Icelandic music, watching Icelandic films, and reading a lot about Iceland. These motivators are not as effective as actual people, but in a lonely world, it's often the best you can do. Just make sure you really want to devote yourself to it before you do, because quitting kills motivation (at least in my case). Listing your reasons for studying a language will definitely illuminate the depth of the tunnel.

[Tomii515]

Hm, very true. Yes, having penpals is so much fun, so I'll try to look into it.

And actually, there are some Icelandic bands and singers that I do listen to, even though the majority of their songs are in English, there are some that are in Icelandic, too.

I'll try to keep motivated, but if not, maybe I'll try to learn it later on in life. i definitely want to study it though!