A degree of community involvement when you are a newcomer to a place is a perfect way to familiarize yourself with your new home, to get to know local residents and to feel you’re a local.  When you do things to support events and gatherings organized by your local community, you get closer to the reality of local lives, concerns and interests. Community events  can be anything from a Fun Run, to an Easter Egg hunt in the park, from a block party to a political meeting about local issues.

Community Involvement as Cultural Immersion

The best way to learn a new language is to soak up the culture and immerse yourself in your host community, locally, regionally and nationally.  The first step is not to be shy about interacting with the locals.  Learn the local slang and frequent the restaurants and coffee shops that locals like.  Try and stay away from eateries which are tourist traps.  Mixing with native speakers will give you a greater understanding of what binds the community and to see the city through their eyes.  Check out Facebook pages for the community or the neighborhood newspapers and magazines to see what’s going on.  Volunteer for neighborhood fundraisers or charities.

As you develop a familiarity with the community in which you live, it will no longer be ‘the’ local community, but, rather, ‘my community.’  Living like a local will reap so many rewards, including of course improving your English fluency fast!

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