|
 |
Don’t Neglect Language Domains | ||
Tags: Learning Strategy | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| chelovek Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6089 days ago 413 posts - 461 votes  5 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 7 11 February 2010 at 10:19pm | IP Logged | ||
|
When I studied French about 7 years ago, reading and writing were my primary learning methods. My head was usually buried in some type of French book on most days, and I also regularly wrote in French on forums, with penpals, and in AP French. I reached a point where I could write essays that looked as though they were written by a native (according to my teacher), and I could read most non-literary texts fluently. Unfortunately, I couldn't speak worth a damn and the spoken language was generally an incomprehensible string of sound to me. I knew what I wanted to say, but getting it off my tongue was so difficult that I ultimately become disenchanted. (Eh, I also think the French are perhaps exceptionally snooty when it comes to less-than-perfect pronunciation, but that's a story for another time)
As of result of my experiences with French, when I decided to start learning Russian I took special care to make sure that I didn't neglect listening and speaking. I read a lot, listened to hours of online radio, downloaded hours of TV shows, and eventually went to Russia for immersion. The result has actually been quite satisfying--my listening skills are far from perfect, but are quite strong nonetheless, and although I'm told I have a slight accent, I can speak in Russian as naturally and casually as I speak English. Unfortunately, there's one major obstacle that's been keeping me from Russian fluency: My vocabulary is too weak. It's strong enough to put me well into the "advanced" category, and I can express just about any idea that I want, but I don't know enough words to fluently understand all speech, I often stumble because I can't access the ideal word quickly enough, and I often have to describe things and ideas in particularly roundabout ways. I've recently started writing more frequently in Russian, and I was immediately reminded of its importance. The words that you look up when you are composing something become incorporated into your memory in a much more resilient way than with passive vocabulary approaches (ie. reading, studying), and words that you already know become more firmly ingrained. Also, and perhaps most importantly, you become more comfortable producing language constructions in a fluid manner. So, the conclusion I've come to and would like to share is that you really shouldn't neglect any language domains. They're connected in different ways, and some are arguably more important than others, but it seems that you really need to treat each one equally if you want to become fluent. My current idea is to try translating some English texts into Russian as a way of improving my vocabulary. Then I'll be able to read more (ie. currently I rely too much on a dictionary when I read) and then I'll focus on producing Russian compositions that sound native and unstilted. 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5455 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 2 of 7 11 February 2010 at 10:49pm | IP Logged | ||
|
I remember the first time I went into a garage in Spain and realized that I didn't have a clue about what all those
different tools were called in Spanish. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| victor-osorio Diglot Groupie Venezuela Joined 5434 days ago 73 posts - 129 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English Studies: Italian | Message 4 of 7 12 February 2010 at 3:29am | IP Logged | ||
|
I totally agree. In fact, I have set the following weekly study schedule:
Monday - Listen / Tuesday - Write / Wednesday - Read / Thursday - Speak / Friday - Listen / Saturday - Grammar / Sunday - Read As you can see, I put some extra care in reading and listening since I consider both of them to be more important. I see them as the foundation for writing and speaking. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Wilco Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6332 days ago 160 posts - 247 votes Speaks: French*, English, Russian | Message 5 of 7 12 February 2010 at 4:13am | IP Logged | ||
I felt pretty stupid when I realized I didn't know any botanical terms ...in my native language. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| katilica Bilingual Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5473 days ago 70 posts - 109 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: French, Catalan | Message 6 of 7 14 February 2010 at 10:32pm | IP Logged | ||
Well, my native language is Spanish and I don't know the names of any tools except for basic things. Then again, I don't know any of those terms in English either. If I ever have a need for those words then I have enough vocabulary skills to ask what a tool or item is called. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5455 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 7 of 7 15 February 2010 at 12:40am | IP Logged | ||
|
Yes, but it's a little unpractical when somebody says "Hand me the X", and you look around and notice it could be
just about anything in there. Then he says: "No, no , no, not the Y! – No, not the Z either. The X I said!!!" Edited by tractor on 15 February 2010 at 12:42am 1 person has voted this message useful |
If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
