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Gary’s 2015 TACtivation: FR, IT | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Sarnek Diglot Senior Member Italy Joined 4218 days ago 308 posts - 414 votes  Speaks: Italian*, English Studies: German, Swedish | Message 169 of 187 29 June 2015 at 1:16pm | IP Logged |
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È fantastico leggere dei tuoi progressi e delle
difficoltà che incontri lungo il tuo cammino, garyb. Dico davvero, sei da prendere a modello. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5169 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 170 of 187 30 June 2015 at 1:59am | IP Logged |
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Congratulations, garyb! I happen to be reading a famous book that mentions the importance of focusing on the Now, so I can relate to your feeling of letting go most of the speaking-related stress.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5210 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 171 of 187 30 June 2015 at 3:49pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks Sarnek and Expugnator!
Are you referring to Eckhart Tolle? I read his books years ago, good stuff although easier said than done. They explain the problems and benefits but I didn't get loads of practical benefit from them alone. More recently what has helped me has been going a bit deeper and understanding the reasons why I find it difficult to stay in the moment and tend to get stuck in thoughts, which is where the psychology stuff comes in. I suppose it's just similar ideas from a different perspective. Presence certainly seems important to speaking a foreign language well, to deal with that stress and have easier access to your knowledge. I saw that you've been listening to guided meditations in foreign languages, which is a great idea and something I should try myself. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5169 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 172 of 187 30 June 2015 at 4:05pm | IP Logged |
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Yes, that's him. I believe that in this field, more than in others, you have to keep reading similar 'ideas', from the same author or the others, just to keep the 'flame' alive in your conscience, just to keep yourself in the mood to pay attention to the Now. Or else you get lost in the routine again and forget about it. It's an exercise and you usually can't do it for long at first.
Meditation helps a lot language-wise, sleep-wise, "now"-wise. Like I said at my log it is among the clearest audio files you will have at a foreign language, not only because the speech is slow and there is usually some low background tune to help you focus, but also because you are at the quietest moment of the day, in your room, which is probably silent. So it's a combination that really can boost your confidence for intermediate languages, as it does with my German. Plus there are several videos to choose from, one click away at Youtube. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5210 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 173 of 187 01 July 2015 at 11:03am | IP Logged |
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I agree, I think reading all that stuff years ago benefited me at the time but then I got lost in the routine again, especially as I finished studying and started working. I should re-read The Power Of Now sooner or later since it was so long ago that I first read it and my life and perspectives are quite different now. I could get a translated version of it for some language practice!
Similarly I've been practising meditation on-and-off for years but keep falling out of the habit. Recently I've been more consistent and have been seeing the benefits. A friend loaned me a copy of a book about mindfulness therapy that I suppose integrates the meditation and the psychology approaches, seems really interesting but I've not had time to read it yet! I've found a couple of helpful guided meditation audios for relaxation and sleep. I'll have a look for similar ones in French and Italian, and keep it in mind for Spanish too since it's at a lower level. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Robierre Tetraglot Newbie Croatia Joined 4007 days ago 16 posts - 29 votes Speaks: Croatian*, Italian, French, English Studies: German | Message 174 of 187 01 July 2015 at 9:14pm | IP Logged |
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I am also very interested in meditation and relaxation tips - it would be
great to have some materials to start (never tried seriously!). And if it is in French or Italian - then even better. Edited by Robierre on 02 July 2015 at 7:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5210 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 175 of 187 02 July 2015 at 10:43am | IP Logged |
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Mindfulness in plain English is a good no-nonsense introduction to the practical aspects of meditation, and can be read online for free. I don't know whether it's available in plain French or Italian or there are similar books in these languages.
Yesterday I just searched Youtube for "meditazione guidata" and there was some decent stuff. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5210 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 176 of 187 03 July 2015 at 12:51pm | IP Logged |
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A bit of a mid-year general update.
Italian: cruise control Italian is starting to cruise along nicely now: slow but steady progress and my speaking is getting more consistent. Most major obstacles are out of the way. I have a Skype contact who I speak with most weeks, a couple of others who I have more ad-hoc written chats with, I hang about with Italian friends at least once a week, and I know that iTalki tutors are always there if I feel the need to speak more. I get just about enough input, I have clear ideas of what needs attention in pronunciation and accent, and the recent improvements with sleep, relaxation, and mental aspects are keeping the machinery running smoothly. Obviously more conversation and more input would be nice, but I seem to be managing with what I have. I don't feel I have any shortage of opportunities or resources; in fact I don't even have time to make the most of the ones I do have. I'm still far from the level I'd like (I suppose I'm more or less aiming for C1), but I think I'm on the right track and just need to keep walking so to speak. French: good enough I was with my French ex-temporary-flatmate last night and we spoke a lot. That was the first time I had spoken French for a few weeks, although I've been getting input most days, mostly comedy (TV and stand-up videos) and reading. I was happy enough with my speaking, it was far from perfect and there were some silly mistakes typical of lack of practice, but it served its purpose just fine, no problems expressing myself. Now that I'm not actively trying to improve, I have a less perfectionist perspective and feel less pressure to speak well and meet a high standard. This makes me more relaxed and so probably actually more fluent even if less correct. This "good enough" idea could be seen as admitting defeat or a loss of ambition, or just as being realistic. At the end of the day I don't need excellent French. Having excellent French wouldn't really give me anything I don't already have with my good-enough French. I can already enjoy literature and film, I get by just fine in French-speaking countries, and my social opportunities to speak it just aren't frequent or important enough for me to really enjoy the benefits of a higher level. I'm at, if not long past, the point of diminishing returns. Spanish: still tempting Now that I'm quite happy with how things are going in the other languages I'm again thinking about having a bit more Spanish in my life, as I mentioned in my post about primary and secondary languages. I still want to focus on Italian for the moment, probably for the rest of the year at least, especially since it's going smoothly now and I'd like to keep that up. But if things keep going the way they are then I'll consider gradually introducing a bit of mostly-passive Spanish work, mostly extensive listening with radio/TV/films (I did some very promising experimentation with the dual subtitles feature in subs2srs last year) plus maybe a little Anki and Duolingo. No seeking out conversations, although if they happen I'll give it a try. This isn't a strategic decision as much as a compromise: I've not become a silent-period convert just yet, and still believe that putting that extra time into Italian would be a more optimal strategy. However at this point I'm more fussed about enjoying languages than about optimal strategies. With my current basic level and my related languages, I think I could build up and maintain a solid passive Spanish knowledge with relatively little effort, and that would then benefit me whenever I do decide it's time for more serious study and work on active skills. Then my plan for that is to up the input, start on FSI, and have more conversations. I suppose that's pretty much my language roadmap for the next couple of years: keep French alive, keep improving Italian, slowly add in Spanish and eventually focus on it. But things may change as always. EDIT: typos, maybe I also need to improve my English. Edited by garyb on 03 July 2015 at 12:56pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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