In my experience both as a language teacher and language learner, the key element is meaningful interaction in the foreign language. Learning a language is much like learning the rules and moves of a very complicated game. The rules only have importance if you have the experience of navigating them; the moves will only be remembered if they have proven useful. Learning a language without ever needing to use it to accomplish something that is important to you is like memorizing of the rules and moves for a game you have never played. Until you have used it you will continue to see it, in some important respect, as useless. Make using the language in meaningful contexts central to your practice and you will find yourself excited to learn new words and master new rules.

I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. I lived in a number of different cities growing up and, during that time, had the opportunity to travel to an even greater number of countries. Living in Japan for many years has been one of the most important elements in my development as a person. It has allowed me to view from the inside both the United States and Japan. It has also made me an outsider in both of those countries. I have the experience of switching cultures every time go back to the US and each time it is a process that fascinates me. I believe that one of the most important experiences a person can have is to be live somewhere else for long enough that he or she can return home and see it as an outsider.