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Language learning in no time - TAC’14 | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Othar Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6208 days ago 185 posts - 205 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: Norwegian, Turkish | Message 1 of 46 01 September 2013 at 10:54am | IP Logged | ||
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TAC 2014 starts on page 4. ---------------------------------------- After nearly four years of abstinence I decided to start learning languages again. My first goals are to become fluent in Norwegian until next April and to improve my English grammar and pronounciation. Since I live in a town with several dozen libraries and two universities I can get my hands at nearly every language learning resource. There is only one thing I lack: time (hence the title). I know I am supposed to find time while waiting in a queue... gotta go... [hours later...] What I wanted to say is that I don't have time to study languages. But I hope I can still find a way to reach my goal. What I need is a plan. And this journal. I intend to write an entry into this journal every weekend. This should keep me on track. I hope. I put a reminder in my calender so I can't forget this. Now, the plan for Norwegian: Yesterday I fetched a copy of every book that looked promissing. Today I'll browse through them and decide which one to use (first). I'll try to learn 5-10 words or phrases every day using a combination of Anki and regular flashcards. I will not set any goals (yet) for the lessons because I have no idea what's realistic. I have subscribed to two radio podcasts from NRK: Språkteigen and Ekko. When I walk to the tube I can listen to them. I'm not sure if I'll understand anything while riding my bicycle but I will try it. For English I will choose one topic every week and I'll try to invest one hour per week into working on that topic. I'll try to learn 5-10 phrases or words every week. If possible I'll use whatever I learned in my next journal entry. Edited by Othar on 31 December 2013 at 11:59am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tastyonions Triglot Senior Member United States goo.gl/UIdChYRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4664 days ago 1044 posts - 1823 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 2 of 46 01 September 2013 at 11:59am | IP Logged | ||
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I think you mean "fluent in Norwegian before next April" and "get my hands
on nearly every language learning resource" (I mention these corrections because you said you wanted to improve your English grammar). :-) Good luck with Norwegian! It's a beautiful language that I would really like to learn myself. Edited by tastyonions on 01 September 2013 at 12:00pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5598 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 3 of 46 01 September 2013 at 12:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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There are ways to learn a languzage without money, without brains or with bad materials, but without time it is hopeless.
It is like saying "I want a six pack", but you have no time to do any abdominal training. Growing needs time and dedication. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6084 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 4 of 46 01 September 2013 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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It is possible to learn a language when you have no time. I've got three kids, I work 15 hours per week and I'm doing a Fernlehrgang at SGD. I'm the epitome of "no time" ;)
There are things you can do. Blind shadowing is very much a part of my language learning routine. I'm careful to pick material that is appropriate for my level. Driving (me, with one earplug) while repeating or shadowing works for me. I have AnkiDroid when I'm stuck somewhere waiting. I don't have time to study books, so on the weekend I type passages (or Stichpunkte) into Anki and I read while I'm on the go. I -love- AnkiDroid. Edited by Sunja on 01 September 2013 at 1:57pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Othar Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6208 days ago 185 posts - 205 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Norwegian, Turkish | Message 5 of 46 01 September 2013 at 3:53pm | IP Logged | ||
I appreciate the corrections :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tommus Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5865 days ago 979 posts - 1688 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish | Message 6 of 46 01 September 2013 at 4:56pm | IP Logged | ||
In the spirit of helping you improve your English pronunciation, note that in English, people "pronounce" words but have good "pronunciation". Don't ask me why it is like that. It just is. And many native English speakers say "pronounciation" when they should say "pronunciation". Good luck with your learning. You have no time to waste! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Othar Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6208 days ago 185 posts - 205 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Norwegian, Turkish | Message 7 of 46 08 September 2013 at 10:39pm | IP Logged | ||
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The first week didn't go so well but it could have been worse. I decided to browse through two books for absolute beginners before actually starting with "Stein på stein".
The first one is "Norsk uten strev" from Assimil. That is the course I had used to learn Norwegian in the first place. Since there is nothing in this book that's new to me that shouldn't take too long. But thanks to a business trip I lost two days and made it only to lesson 26. With some luck I can get to lessen 60 before next Sunday. I read each lesson, make notes about grammar, and write every word or phrase that doesn't look too familiar on (paper) flashcards. I put 5-7 words or phrases on one card, number the card and put the number in Anki. Anki makes two cards of this. One is labeled "L1 - #" and the other "# - L2". The # is of course supposed to be the number. My paper cards are labeled in a similiar way. The Norwegian side has the number on the left side and the language code (NO) on the right side. If you turn the card, the number is on right side and the code for the other language is on the left. This way it's easier to sort the cards if someone managed to throw the box down again. I have 29 flashcards for Norwegian now which is acceptable. Not all of the words come from Assimil. On Monday I went through the kitchen and wrote everything down that I could see and everything that I would have liked to eat. Some things didn't make it onto flashcards because I couldn't find a unique translation into German. I will put these words with a Norwegian explanation and maybe a picture on regular Anki notes. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Othar Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6208 days ago 185 posts - 205 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Norwegian, Turkish | Message 8 of 46 15 September 2013 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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That was an interesting week. I was able to commute by bicycle on some days and found out that I can actually understand enough with my headphones if it isn't too windy. I tried shadowing with Assimil but couldn't keep it up for the entire ride because talking while riding is a bit exhausting. So I just listened for the last third of my ride and on arrival I reset my mp3 player to the first lesson that I didn't shadow.
On my way home I listened to Språkteigen once and to Ekko twice. I didn't understand every word but I didn't miss anything important. My knowledge about positron emission tomography and astronomy has clearly improved. I did not reach lesson 60 in Assimil because I changed my approach. Since I have enough vocabulary cards for two weeks I decided to concentrate on grammar. I found a nice grammar test with explanations. I read the explanations only after each test and extended my grammar notes. I made some errors, wasn't aware of all the rules and didn't know all the word forms but I have to say I'm rather pleased with the result. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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