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Hidden moments - raising awareness | ||
Tags: Learning Strategy | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Onrust Newbie United States Joined 4417 days ago 14 posts - 42 votes Studies: German | Message 9 of 30 04 March 2014 at 5:39am | IP Logged | ||
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I really just use the standard hidden moments, like commuting or when I'm on a lunch break at work.
One thing I've noticed is that I feel guilty whenever I forget to use hidden moments for learning. Since I have a ton of language learning stuff on my phone, which is always with me, I feel it's a shame if I fail to take advantage of the opportunity. I felt especially guilty after reading Barry Farber's book. There he was carefully preparing flash cards for the day and meanwhile I'm walking around with German with Ease, FSI Basic German, countless hours of Deutsche Welle podcasts, pre-made flashcards in an app, etc. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4687 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes  Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 10 of 30 04 March 2014 at 5:51am | IP Logged | ||
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I also admit to doing the fake cell phone call thing. I'm super relieved that I am not alone in this.
My hidden moments: *Restroom breaks (of course) *My lunch break at work *Standing in line at the store (ANKI is best for this) *When I get in my car to go anywhere (unless I'm in a HUGE hurry) I try to bust out 5-10 ANKI cards after I start the car but before I pull out *Sometimes after I press the snooze button on the alarm clock I can get in a little ANKI *Running the kids places. I did 2 Assimil lessons today while my teenage son got his haircut. *Cooking dinner. I can usually read sentence or two between cooking prep steps. I'll post others as I think of them 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5764 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 11 of 30 04 March 2014 at 9:17am | IP Logged | ||
Bad thing. I know this. But, exactly these moments are moments we sometimes - often - need as break time, not for studying something else. When I notice I start feeling guilty for that, it's time to use *fewer* hidden moments and allow myself to be attentive to the now in the remaining ones. 10 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| osoymar Tetraglot Pro Member United States Joined 4734 days ago 190 posts - 344 votes Speaks: English*, German, Portuguese, Japanese Studies: Spanish, French Personal Language Map | Message 12 of 30 04 March 2014 at 7:03pm | IP Logged | ||
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I do use hidden moments for a lot of things that have already been mentioned. And as Bao
says, sometimes it's best just to use these moments as a break- it just depends on your energy levels. But recently, I've gone back to using a lot of my short walks and other free moments to let my brain wander, either idly trying to recall certain words or phrases, wondering how to express certain sentiments, or even lazily reviewing conjugations and such. I think this really helps me, although it's not something I consciously try to do- I just need a little time to let it happen. If I whip out my smartphone every time there's a moment of free time, I feel that it damages my concentration and doesn't allow the bits of language that I've learned consciously to seep into my unconscious mind. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| dampingwire Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4663 days ago 1185 posts - 1513 votes Speaks: English*, Italian*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 13 of 30 04 March 2014 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | ||
I do sometimes have these mild feelings of guilt, but I know that if I look back and concentrate on the "lost" opportunities then I'll just push myself harder and end up burning out. Instead I try to focus on the times I have made use of dead time: after all, I probably manage 10-15 hours/week with commuting and lunch breaks. It would be hard to lose that much "opportunity" unless I gave up altogether ! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 14 of 30 05 March 2014 at 12:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've always loved having to do a long drive on my own, because I could listen to lectures
or an audiobook. Last summer I had to drive 4 hours each way for a one day conference. I was excited just anticipating the free time for listening, and I used most of that time to work on FSI French for the first time. I started a new job this August, and was disappointed that it was closer to home. But now I take my sons to school, and we listen to two tracks of Michel Thomas French together each morning (one son watches the counter like a hawk!), and once I drop them off I switch it to an audiobook or Pimsleur. Toilet time is Anki time for me. Vocabulary learning works best for me in 5-minute bursts a few times a day. If I know I'm going to be sitting around (like at the doctor's office, etc), I usually bring my kindle so I don't have to decide ahead of time what to read. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| albysky Triglot Senior Member Italy lang-8.com/1108796Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4386 days ago 287 posts - 393 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German | Message 15 of 30 05 March 2014 at 1:57pm | IP Logged | ||
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If i travel by bus i often listen to a radio programm or an audiobook , at times i do the same thing when i go
jogging or do chores at home. I let my thoughts free by talking to myself when i drive if noone else is in the car. i guess the latter is the craziest :-) . Edited by albysky on 05 March 2014 at 2:02pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| chokofingrz Pentaglot Senior Member England Joined 5187 days ago 241 posts - 430 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Japanese, Catalan, Luxembourgish | Message 16 of 30 05 March 2014 at 8:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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Not many hidden moments in my days (well if there are, they are so well-hidden I haven't found them yet!)
I have conversations in my head while I'm standing in the shower, or lying in bed at night. Apart from that, nada. It's either active studying time, or time for something completely different. I'm not really a multitasker. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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