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Stuck in a rut? | ||
Tags: Learning Difficulty | Learning Strategy | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5432 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes  Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 1 of 13 03 March 2010 at 5:20pm | IP Logged |
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I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that sometimes I feel that my target language skills are stuck in a rut. When one is not immersed in the language, there is not the everyday excitement of always learning something new. Of course, I try to do all the right things that we talk about here at HTAL, but often I feel that my spoken expression comes out all the same. How does one boost or jump-start one's skill to a next level? What conscious steps can I take to improve my active grammar or vocabulary?
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| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5587 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 2 of 13 03 March 2010 at 5:49pm | IP Logged |
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Without being in a country or having natives to talk to, I believe there is a point that you can reach where progress is slow.
I believe I'm approaching that with Spanish, it's hard not being immersed in the language and culture. Study it actively, I would pick up a newspaper and study useful everyday grammar and vocab usage, rather than looking up words randomly. I've found that translating everything I think of has really helped me in my target language. Try it sometime :) You'll see how much you have to learn!! -Jordan 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5497 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 3 of 13 03 March 2010 at 7:31pm | IP Logged |
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Depending what part of Canada you live in, and whether you live in a big city or not, you
could try meeting some native speakers of your target language. There are usually cultural associations in big cities. You could also try finding an Internet friend to talk with on Skype; a modern day pen pal. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| robsolete Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5387 days ago 191 posts - 428 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 4 of 13 04 March 2010 at 3:20am | IP Logged |
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With Spanish I'm currently trying to do "immersion days" once or twice a month. It's kind of a fun way to test your brain endurance and I think it kick starts you by giving you an idea of where you are compared to your native language.
For an immersion day I try to: 1) Get a Spanish movie or two from the library and watch it with or without Spanish subtitles. 2) Read El Pais online in the morning, cover to cover. 3) Listen to only Spanish language music all day (easiest part). 4) Schedule a conversation exchange partner that day. 5) Read a chapter or two of a book above my current reading level and try to make sense of it. 6) Cook a relevant dish using a recipe (written in Spanish) from the internet. 7) Try, try, try to banish English from my thinking for the day. Avoid calling Anglophone friends for the day if I can (only once or twice a month, so it won't turn you into a hermit). I find it an interesting way to do mini-immersions for cheap (or free). It also helps you figure out where your weak spots are, which gives you new fuel to study for a few weeks. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| crafedog Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5820 days ago 166 posts - 337 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Korean, Tok Pisin, French | Message 6 of 13 05 March 2010 at 6:57am | IP Logged |
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that's a good setup from Robsolete. I hit the same problem with my Spanish a while ago. I think it's a fairly common issue for language learners when they get to the upper-intermediate/advanced plateau sadly.
As much as I used to think that moving to the country was necessary for completely learning a language, I have met 2nd language English speakers who are completely fluent and have never left their country, not even for a minute (and these were speakers of a very different mother tongue to English). I won't deny it helps a lot but never convince yourself it's completely necessary (as I once believed). To add to Robsolete's post, you could record your speaking (make a presentation/speech about an important topic to you) and listen to it again for any errors you may be making/not realising. Sometimes you might make a spoken error where you'd never have made it had you written it. A good book for this kind of level of Spanish is "Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish" by Joseph J. Keenan which hopefully you'll find interesting/useful. Hopefully a new, good book should kick you and your language out of the rut. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Pyx Diglot Senior Member China Joined 5737 days ago 670 posts - 892 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Mandarin | Message 7 of 13 05 March 2010 at 8:16am | IP Logged |
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I assume you had a reason to learn whatever language you're learning. Movies, music, literature, boys/girls, whatever. So why don't you just do what you learned the language for, and then naturally get better piece by piece?
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| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5432 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 8 of 13 08 March 2010 at 3:27pm | IP Logged |
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I attended my first Spanish meetup yesterday in my hometown, and I have to say that it was a wonderful experience. Yes, most of us were at the intermediate level. Interestingly enough, there were some native speakers who were there, I think, for the pleasure of meeting people in their own tongue.
A relaxed, helpful atmosphere focused on learning where one can be gently corrected. Someone had an electronic pocket dictionary that came in very handy. I learned a couple of words and expressions. But the most important thing, in my opinion, was the actual obligation to use the language. I felt I could try out anything. It was not like speaking with all natives "for real". I knew I could make mistakes or even ask how to say thing without having people get bored or tired with me. What a wonderful and encouraging experience. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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