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Breaks from TL | ||
Tags: Burn-out | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| CaoMei513 Senior Member United States Joined 6856 days ago 110 posts - 113 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, Korean | Message 1 of 17 15 December 2006 at 3:08pm | IP Logged |
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When taking a break from your target language, how long is too long? A week? A month? I have been incredibly busy with school the past few weeks and so I havent gotten in as much practice as I would like. I just want to know how much longer I can afford to go without serious study before my Mandarin skills decline.
Thanks, -CaoMei 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| lady_skywalker Triglot Senior Member Netherlands aspiringpolyglotblog Joined 6901 days ago 909 posts - 942 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Mandarin Studies: Japanese, French, Dutch, Italian | Message 2 of 17 15 December 2006 at 3:39pm | IP Logged |
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I don't think there's any one answer to this. Some people feel their skills drop after only a week while others can easily dive back in after a month or more.
I notice a drop in my own abilities if I spend more than 2 weeks away from my target language and find that some vocabulary slips out of my head when I'm not using the language nearly every day. Ideally, daily exposure to the language is the best way to guarantee that you maintain your skills to a high standard but this isn't always very practical, especially if you have other important things to attend to. The next best thing, in my opinion, is to either expose yourself to the language for a few minutes each day (even if it's just listening to some Mandarin music or taking a quick glance at a book) or set aside half an hour or so each week. Watching some Mandarin movies or TV shows might be a nice way to immerse yourself in the language a bit without feeling like you're studying. Everyone needs a break from studying once in a while so you could use your limited free time to do something fun *and* keep your skills up. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6920 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 3 of 17 15 December 2006 at 5:40pm | IP Logged |
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I think it depends on your current "intensity" and level. If you're still a beginner and learn some new words per day/week you may not feel like you lose so much if you take a break for a week or two. On the other hand, a beginner used to hours of study each day will probably miss something (but come back to the level pretty fast).
Perhaps it can be compared to professional athletes/musicians who usually practice for several hours a day with no exception. A day without the "program" is a disaster (according to them). ;) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| TDC Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6932 days ago 261 posts - 291 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, French Studies: Esperanto, Ukrainian, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Persian | Message 4 of 17 16 December 2006 at 11:30am | IP Logged |
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I think if you're serious about the language you should try your best to use it every single day. Even if it's only 10-15 mins. Which in the long run really adds up, and isn't too much that you couldn't fit it into your schedule.
10 mins a day over a year = 60 hours 15 mins a day over a year = 90 hours This time is very important b/c according to FSI it takes 720 hours to get to a high level in Mandarin. Just a little bit everyday definitely helps. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| winters Trilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Italy Joined 7055 days ago 199 posts - 218 votes Speaks: Croatian*, Serbian*, Russian*, English, Italian, Latin, Ancient Greek Studies: Greek, French, Hungarian | Message 5 of 17 16 December 2006 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
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It is highly individual.
I suppose that I am one of the 'lucky' ones, for no matter how long my breaks have been, my language abilities remain intact. For example, I went through three months without using Classical Greek in any way - I finished an academic year one month earlier, and two months were summer break. After that we were given an initial test in the class when we returned in the school and I had the best score in the class, despite the fact I did not even open a textbook, let alone prepare for that test. The same goes for Italian. I can make a break as long as I want (I also went through few months without usage), and my skills will not deteriorate. Certainly, I will not be better of course, but I will nicely remain at the level I was at. The same goes for the languages I am not so advanced in - I will not be better, but I will not be worse at all. Since I study most of my languages as a part of my regular education it is hard to have 'real' breaks except during holidays, but I go every once and then through phases of not doing literally anything for a language aside schoolwork (which basically equals doing nothing except having 2-3 lessons per week, since we hardly ever have any homework), and my skills are mostly in the level of stagnation, without any serious consequences. I do not like to "force" things, and I simply allow myself to study things when and how much I feel like (which is usually pretty much though :)). If I want a break, I do not even think about it, I simply naturally quit doing things for a while and then return to it, without pondering too much over my 'break' or stressing over it and its possible consequences. It might not be the most disciplined attitude towards it, however, it works perfectly for me. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bunni Triglot Newbie United States Joined 6564 days ago 13 posts - 13 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, Mandarin Studies: Cantonese, French, Spanish, Arabic (Written), Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, Indonesian, Swahili, Twi | Message 6 of 17 16 December 2006 at 5:54pm | IP Logged |
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Whenever you begin forgetting things you have learned in the past, it is too long.
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| FuroraCeltica Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 6876 days ago 1187 posts - 1427 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French | Message 7 of 17 16 December 2006 at 6:18pm | IP Logged |
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I find that I have pretty good recall of things I've learned, even after quite long gaps. I worked through my Dutch materials, and "finished", then there was a 6 month gap during which time I never touched them. I went to Flanders on vacation a few weeks ago. I spent about a week before hand revising, and found that it came flooding back rapidly, and I had a highly successful vacation (from a language point of view). You can read about that trip in the cultural experiences thread :)
I think that you will never forget the "core" if you learned it properly, and the more advanced stuff whilst theoretically fragile to memory decay can very quickly be "re-learned". Take my example, where a brief review over 7 days was enough to bring it all back. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LilleOSC Senior Member United States lille.theoffside.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6702 days ago 545 posts - 546 votes 4 sounds Speaks: English* Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 8 of 17 18 December 2006 at 6:23pm | IP Logged |
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Is just watching television,or listening to the radio in your target language considered a break or can that still really help your language skills?
1 person has voted this message useful |
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