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A method for dealing with wanderlust? | ||
Tags: Wanderlust | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| holly heels Groupie United States Joined 3885 days ago 47 posts - 107 votes  Studies: Mandarin | Message 9 of 25 31 July 2014 at 12:30am | IP Logged | ||
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I need to study Spanish too but Mandarin is such a demanding language it gets jealous when I spend any time with another language, so the wanderlust doesn't last long.
But I believe you can juggle those 2 languages at the same time. And if you reach a conversational level in Spanish, you're not likely to to subconsciously lapse into Mandarin too often, because it is so different and the mental conditioning necessary to learn it is so different. But I wouldn't slack off too much on the Mandarin either even though you have reached a level many people would be satisfied with. I was where you were August last year, my understanding of Mandarin news almost "non-existent", but now my comprehension is much much better, because I started watching "easier" Mandarin talk shows and eventually "graduated" to news. It has opened up a whole new dimension for me but it takes hundreds of hours, and you wouldn't want another language to eat into that time. Before you do too much Spanish, why don't you sit down and watch a TV show with one of your conversation partners and test your comprehension level that way? Your friend can ask you questions based on program content. For English speakers Spanish would be a low maintenance language and easier to latch on to. Mandarin is just the opposite. Along with the native material I watch and listen to every day, I have to do long daily oral vocab reviews, wih tones and everything. I hope in the future I am at the point where I no longer have to do the daily reviews and that if I am suddenly seized by language wanderlust I pray to God it will be an easier language. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 10 of 25 31 July 2014 at 12:37am | IP Logged | ||
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Yeah, don't look forward to finishing a language. You'll miss out on a lot of fun :)
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| ihoop Newbie United States Joined 4609 days ago 29 posts - 66 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Mandarin | Message 11 of 25 31 July 2014 at 6:12am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks for all the great replies! You guys have given me some good ideas about how to
deal with my language wanderlust. A couple of you have asked me why I am feeling this way with Mandarin. Honestly, I think the largest part of it is frustration of being stuck at a sort of intermediate plateau. Sometimes I just lose my motivation to study when I can't understand things like the news and still need to heavily rely on a dictionary to even read simple novels. Of course, I know this is all part of the process, and that I must make a conscious effort to break through to the next level. But, after two years of active study, part of me does kind of want to give it a rest for a bit so I don't get completely burnt out. As others have said, it would be impossible for my Mandarin to disappear at this point, mainly because it is all I speak with my significant other. The other part of me wants to study Spanish because my step mother and step brother both speak it. I also really want to do some personal experiments with things like intensive reading which would be much easier with Spanish since I already recognize the alphabet. With mandarin, doing intensive reading is incredibly difficult (at my current level). 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5165 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 12 of 25 31 July 2014 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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You case of wanderlust isn't that serious; the fact you managed to go up to a B1-B2 level in Mandarin without giving up due to wanderlust proves you can get serious about your goals. I believe adding up Spanish won't be a problem. You may start by just doing whichever you feel like of them. You're already maintaining your Mandarin just by practicing it with friends; just give Spanish a shot whenever you feel like. Maybe you will find Spanish boring after reaching a B1 level (which will probably happen earlier than with Mandarin) and you will find this is enough to keep talking to people you know in real life. If you were studying 7 languages and wanted to add an 8th, I'd be worried, but so far it's a pretty mild case of wanderlust.
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| rlnv Senior Member United States Joined 3950 days ago 126 posts - 233 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 13 of 25 01 August 2014 at 2:31am | IP Logged | ||
Hot sun through a magnifying glass focused on paper can start a fire. The sun shining without the focusing effect will only warm the paper. If you are frustrated with your intermediate stage now, it will only be prolonged if you spread your time with another language. I believe you mentioned only studying Spanish after a certain amount of Mandarin study was done. That time that could be used for goofing off in Mandarin, such as reading native materials or watching movies or shows. Over the months, that extra time spend with Mandarin could make a huge difference. Spanish will always be there for you. How bad do you want Mandarin? 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 14 of 25 01 August 2014 at 3:46am | IP Logged | ||
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Kujichagulia has had a great experience with adding Portuguese as a fun distraction from Japanese. The main difference is that he lives in Japan and simply needs the language, rather than actually likes it.
Also, at least for me "only do X when you're done with Y" only leads to stress and procrastination. I don't procrastinate in L1 so it's not too bad though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4706 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 15 of 25 01 August 2014 at 3:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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Think less and study more. If Chinese is a part of your life you will not forget anyway. See
how far you get. If you are advanced, don't expect to progress through old habits. Force yourself up a level. Don't stop. Life begins where your comfort zone ends. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5206 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 16 of 25 01 August 2014 at 4:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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I find that just using the language is enough to keep away wanderlust. When I'm sitting at home or daydreaming in the office, or even watching a film and understanding without problems, it can be easy to think that I'd love to study a whole bunch of other languages. But when I actually go out and speak I get a sharp reminder of how much I still need to practise and learn in order to reach the level I'd like, and how much effort is required. That's enough to keep me focused and stop me from wandering!
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