Learning a second language My fellow linguistics friends and I are working on a presentation of differences among advanced second language learners. There is an interesting idea regarding to how to master a second language we talked about today. I have been learning English since I was three. Does it mean that I use English with the same proficiency as my native language, Cantonese? The answer is NO. Most of the time, I speak my mother tongue. English is spoken and used only at the English class. What I am trying to say is that the second language you are intended to master has to be used as much as possible. Some of my friends who live in Chinatown are born and raised in Canada but their proficiency in English are just slightly better mine. The mot efficient way to learn a second language is to have a partner who is a native speaker of that language. It may be quite challenging to find someone like that. However, seizing every chance to use the language is way easier, especially for international students like me. I am planning to implement the minimum Canto rules on myself. From now on, I would not speak in Cantonese unless I have to, for example, skyping with my Cantonese monolingual parents and friends, and my italki friends who need help with their Cantonese. Wish me good luck!