7 Bullet Points About Languages - Week 41
Hi everybody,
I hope your week was marvelous!
Mine was such a good one! I've gotten back into a better study routine and the good weather here in Paris got me motivated throughout the week. Playing Genshin Impact daily for over a month now has also improved my Korean comprehension tremendously so I'm now digging deeper into certain conversations in the game. I'm absolutely loving learning while playing.
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: Tips to Be More Productive With Your Language Learning — By Shane Godliman
I loved Shane’s tips because they were easy to implement and can improve your journey tremendously with little change to your daily schedule. If you wonder how to improve your system, I’m sure these will come in handy.
One article I read: 24 Soft Skills Required for Language Learning — By Trisha Dunbar
I loved this article. Language learning isn't just about skills like writing, reading, speaking, and listening. It's about a lot more than that. If you want to become a better language learner, you also need to change who you live your life in general. These soft skills are what you'll need. And the bonus? They'll also be useful to other parts of your life!
One article I wrote: How I Became a Polyglot Even Though I Barely Talk in the Languages I Learn
Polyglots are often seen as beasts of confidence. It's easy to imagine them as people who thrive in discomfort and are extroverts. The reality isn't as beautiful. There are a lot more introverts who are polyglot than it seems. I'm one of them and this article is about how I became a polyglot despite that.
One podcast episode: Using Forums in Language Learning ― By The Actual Fluency Show
What a pleasure to fall upon an interview of Rick Dearman! He’s the reason the How to Learn Any Language forum survived for years and the creator of its replacement, “A Language Learners’ Forum.” I didn’t even know he had a podcast and a YouTube channel. The interview was a bit all over the place but its content was still full of amazing tips so I highly recommend it!
One tool to try: Sounter (iOs & Android)
I recommended Lyricstraining in the past but this one highly surpasses it. The point is to fill in the blanks in the lyrics of different songs in the language. You can choose the level which changes how many words are missing. From there on, you can review the song by translating words. Avoid the "lesson" section though. It's pretty bad from what I've seen.
One quote to ponder: “Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is in hand.” ― Henry Miller
One new biweekly challenge: Learn 3 words a day
I fell upon this tweet yesterday and thought it was another great idea. This challenge is to learn three words a day for 30 days. Nothing much but it's a good habit to have! You can find people who started that this month by using the hashtag #3vocabfor30days on Twitter. I might do it for a month but let's start doing it with a biweekly challenge! Don't forget to make your own example sentences so you can retain them better! I'll probably do it on my language Twitter account but might post them in a row if I forget to tweet them one day.
Sum-up of the 1st week of the challenge: Study daily 15 more minutes than usual
This week went better than the last and I began really getting back on studying more actively daily. I even wrote a Chinese text on Journaly to get some feedback and tweeted a few sentences in my languages. I plan on keeping this challenge for the rest of the month so I can push myself further. The longer-term goal would be to go back to a one-hour daily active study session (not counting playing games, watching videos, and such).
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.