7 Bullet Points About Languages - Week 20
Hi everybody,
I hope your study of your language(s?) is still going strong!
With lockdown restrictions getting lifted in France, I took the opportunity to go spend a week in the deep countryside. With the calm here, I've been able to enjoy nature and be much more concentrated when I sit down to study languages or write. I hope you're getting some fresh air as well!
Alright, let's dive right in!
Each week, I share 7 things that could be useful to your learning odyssey. I hope they can help you improve your journey, tickle your curiosity, and inspire you to keep exploring.
One video: Learning a New Language in a Week — By Mike Shake
This video is exactly what you shouldn't do and the advice you shouldn't follow. You shouldn't cram that much language-learning in such a short amount of time because you won't remember it. You shouldn't use Rosetta Stone because there's nothing slower than it. And you shouldn't believe his conversation at the end since it's been cut multiple times to hide his (most certain) incertitude. Speaking the language after a few months usually seems more like this or like this after more time.
One article I read: How Free Resources for Foreign Language Learning Taught Me Better Than the Paid Ones — By Kirsten Diamond
We've all fallen for the trap of thinking buying resources will help us learn the language. I've spent hundreds of dollars, if not thousands, over the past 15 years. Yet, only a few of my paid resources helped me learn better. Try the free stuff first. It may be just as useful.
One article I wrote: 5 Simple Strategies to Practice Your Grammar in a New Language
I'm in the small group of people who love studying grammar but I know that's not the common feeling about it. I also know how boring it can be sometimes. That's why I've found 5 ways to practice it and never lose it.
One podcast episode: Olle Linge: Hacking Chinese & Academic vs Non-Academic — By The Actual Fluency Podcast
This extremely interesting podcast was about learning any language and with a few specific tips for Chinese around the end. I loved Olle's reminder that learning a language isn't counted in months and years, but in hours and minutes. I also adored how he used his own experience to show falling in love with a language doesn't have to be planned.
One tool to try: Forvo
This website is what you need whenever you want to know what a new word sounds pronounced by a native speaker. The platform is constantly expanding and only becoming more useful as more words are registered.
One quote to ponder: “It is astonishing how much enjoyment one can get out of a language that one understands imperfectly.” ― Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve
One challenge for the week ahead: Set a "Write quota" and reach it every day
This week, let's write as much as possible, but not just any writing: by hand! You can type but that won't count. The brain remembers more handwriting because it takes time. So let's set a time quota for writing. Depending on what language you write, that could be difficult but don't hesitate to just copy sentences you want to remember or review. I'll do that for Chinese this week.
Last week's challenge was to listen to set a "Talk quota" and reach it every day. I set it to 20 minutes for Mandarin but only reached it one day. Without anybody to practice with here, where the internet doesn't work well, I couldn't find the motivation most days to stick to it. As a result, I changed to speaking a few minutes here and there throughout the day, often one or two sentences at a time, just to keep pronouncing words.
Let me know how it went for you by sending me a mail at barra.mathias@gmail.com!
As always, thanks for reading!
Mathias Barra
For more of my articles, you can find them here.