Vocabulary through conversation
Bilingualism means different things to different people. I consider myself bilingual in Japanese because I use the language (every day) to live here successfully. Nevertheless, it will take only a few seconds for native Japanese to recognize my language shortcomings. I don’t think that disqualifies my claim to bilingualism, but …
My Japanese vocabulary is only a few thousand words - which is enough. What is worse than vocabulary shortcomings is often grammar shortcoming. If I sat down at a table and tried to think of all the Japanese words and phrases I know and make a list of them, I might not do very well. In that scenario, I would probably underperform my true ability. That’s because sitting and compiling a list of vocabulary is such an unnatural, artificial, and maybe even useless exercise. (Maybe it also indicates that I am a poor test-taker.) It is when I’m speaking that my vocabulary manifests itself. Sitting at a table, I might have great difficulty recalling a word/words that I already know. But the act of speaking seems to open the gates of my neurons to let the words flow from my brain to my lips. It’s interesting. When I am in the midst of a conversation and I need a word that I might not have thought of for months, I somehow manage to drag it up from the well of my brain. The need conjures the vocabulary, like magic. To learn a new language requires practical use. Students cannot/will not retain new vocabulary if they don’t use it. I am a student of Japanese myself, so as a teacher, I always try to present language to my students that, potentially, has some practical value to them. It absolutely has to be that way if they are going to remember the words.
I’m not talking about how important it is to use a language in order benefit from it (which is true). I’m talking about how using a language enables you to use it more … and more.