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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| MrAdams Newbie Scotland Joined 5487 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, French | Message 1 of 3 23 November 2009 at 12:40am | IP Logged |
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Introduction -
Languages have always been a mild curiosity of mine. The ability for one person to have in their contemplation a concept, which, through the sheer luck of birth cannot be expressed to another is quite a depressing and unfortunate reality which many people deal with on a day to day basis. This is not a problem which will or can vanish over night and it is only recently with the advent of a globalising world that mankind is striving to remove such a fundamental barrier to the understanding of peoples. However, with globalisation comes the freedom and availability of knowledge and of tools with which we can use to better our lives and develop as human beings. The irony of the help given by globalisation in striving towards a unified language whilst at the same time providing the shame of laziness by not being willing to sit down and to learn another language is not lost. French - So the pillar of this journal, primarily because of the fortunate situation I have found myself in with regards to the language, is French. I am a Law student and through this academic pursuit I have found myself 'stuck' in Holland for a year on an exchange learning scheme. Of course, as is the way with such schemes, the international students are herded together in an attempt of coaxing some kind of mutual understanding and recognition. I say that in a rather cynical manner but in fact I have found that people are the same more or less regardless of their national origin. Generally the only barrier to friendships and rigorous conversation is language. Most international students come to Europe to 'practice' their English and it is to my surprise that the same can be said for French people coming to Holland/the UK. I have been allocated a small flat with a sweet French girl and through this flat I have been swamped by what can only be described as a 'sea of French'. It is interesting to note that the French seem to make extra effort to stick together and make little effort amongst themselves to practice English the language they came to Holland to practice; but other than this quarrel, they are genuinely incredibly nice people with acceptable levels of English proficiency. This somewhat rude element of the French people is actually for me silver lined. Due to the awkward and somewhat embarrassing periods of silence following the realisation that not everyone in the room can speak French, I have been left with the feeling that it is I who is rude for not knowing how to speak French not the French for not wanting to speak English (this is the lazy ignorance which being a native English speaker grants). So I got to thinking that maybe I should make an effort to learn French. I had already spent a vast amount of time in high school learning French and had a high level of success with it. I did hate my teacher however, and all in all the experience of a government facilitated language experience is jarring in my memory to this day. None the less, I feel that if an effort was to be made in relearning French it would be a more rewarding experience to be able to actually speak to a French person instead of being awarded a grade on a paper. So I am now beginning at the beginning again, learning to speak French. Japanese - This is a slightly different story. As a young boy I was naturally interested in many shonen anime, ‘super costume’ action dramas such as the Power Rangers and video games. Again, naturally for many young boys this lead to an active interest in Japan – constantly hearing of games and technologies only released or pre released in Japan inevitably leads to curiosity. On holiday one year I met another young Australian boy and was amazed to discover that Japanese was a curriculum language in the schools there. His prompting resulted in my first language book. From here the story goes somewhat sour. High school, university, student life and general immaturity have lead to a ‘half arsed’ approach. Not even that;- an ‘eighth arsed’ approach. This has lead me to move very little forward, it is really a poster case for the “if you want to get anywhere, prepare to work” ethos. Now though, I feel that I am mature enough to start learning Japanese again and to really stick at it. Other than university, I have little in the way of distraction. In addition to the practical benefits of knowing languages such as Japanese and French, certain dynamic benefits like employability in an increasingly competitive legal field are worth their weight in gold. Plan – So how do I plan on learning these languages? I see at the moment three distinct phases for both these languages and 4 distinct techniques. First the two phases: - Audio programs - Literature/traditional text books As an easy way to break into a language which requires minimal effort and can be somewhat rewarding I do not think there is a better method than audio programs. I have previously completed the Pimsleur Japanese I and through that was able to have the immensely rewarding experience of being able to casually request what I wanted to drink and eat at the house of a Japanese person I randomly found myself at. Audio programs however, for me, seem to limit or pigeonhole people into being able to respond and communicate so long as the native speaker knows what you have been taught in the course. Logical deduction and understanding are not provided by these programs and so once I have completed the first phase, I will move to the traditional use of grammatical and vocabulary textbooks which I hope will push me to fluency with enough time and practice. This leads me to the 4 distinct techniques. - Audio programs - Media - Native speakers - Textbooks The usage of these techniques is entirely dependent on a very important decision I need to make with regards to both languages – do I want to only ‘speak’ them, or do I want to read and write as well? This is a question I have not answered yet and is another prime reason as to why I have chosen audio programs as the first phase in my learning. They will give me a good understanding of the language and a platform upon which to make an informed decision as to where I want to go with the languages. It may be that I will only want to learn how to speak these languages, in which case learning kana/hiri/katakana will be a useless and over all de-motivating affair. Similar can be said for French spelling – something I hated in high school. I am fortunate to be surrounded by French people and so I will be (and already have been able) to speak French casually but may not need to worry about spelling. With Japanese it is more difficult as I only have a Japanese friend back home with whome I talk to via instant messaging services. This is not as good as having a speaker present but it may however push me to want to learn to write in Japanese. We will see. Over the next few weeks I will be taking a Pimsleur lesson in each language a day. I have started from the beginning with Japanese and so my previous knowledge is making things a bit tedious on that front. Once my French catches up I can see myself having a more interesting time with Japanese through Pimsleur. In addition to these courses I am also going to be using the Michel Thomas French course, again, one CD per day. As I only have 8 of the Michel Thomas CD’s at the moment these will be recycled over and over till I have completed the 3 Pimsleur levels. For Japanese I have discovered the ‘Lets Learn Japanese’ video lessons on you tube which provides me with 52 half an hour lessons in basic Japanese. Both the ‘Lets Learn Japanese’ and the ‘Michel Thomas’ courses will be used to supplement the Pimsleur course and not as much emphasis will be placed on them as the Pimsleur course. This is because I see the Pimsleur course as the ‘easier’ and more ‘enjoyable’ way to learn a language as a beginner. The continued repetition instils a confidence in the listener that is not duplicated in either the Michel Thomas or the Lets Learn Japanese methods. I find that I learn in a more substantial way through those other sources, but it is not as concrete. Conclusion – So I would say that the main reason for this blog is motivation. I recognise the massive character defect of mine which prevents me from doing anything with substance unless another person is relying on me and so perhaps by having my laundry in the air for people to see I will take more care in ‘washing’ it. I will also see the updates on this journal as somewhat of a reward to myself. A ‘here, you can show off’ if you will. At the moment, at what is an ungodly hour, I feel somewhat apprehensive as to the challenge I have ahead of me over the coming year but to be at the very least bi-lingual is something I have always wanted to say I am. P.S. Due to the late hour of writing this I am not going to proof read/read it till tomorrow. Any mistakes in spelling or grammar therefore will have to be accepted forever. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| MrAdams Newbie Scotland Joined 5487 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, French | Message 2 of 3 26 November 2009 at 10:58pm | IP Logged |
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26/11/2009 -
So I have been working somewhat hard over the last couple of days with both languages. It has already become apparant that learning two languages will come with particular difficulties. For a start off, it is easy for a language to 'fall behind'. By that I mean, it is easy to skip a lesson a day and then have to make up 2 lessons the next day and skip the other languages lesson. This can lead to gaps in time where a lesson routine is not being followed - which has happens a couple of times now. This is primarily because I have aquired the Japanese Michel Thomas lessons and so am trying to desparately catch up with French Michel Thomas lessons I am following. So far I am at Pimsleur lesson 13 in both Japanese and French and Michel Thomas lesson 5 with French, lesson 4 with Japanese. Another primary problems at such an early stage in the learning process results from my 'switching of memories banks'. When I study for law exams I find that I create areas of memory dedicated to storing a certain exams necessary law. Usually the memory of the different areas of law do not mix and so I am left with isolated pockets of knowledge. However, with languages I am finding it increasingly hard to switch between memory banks. This is especially the case when I go from following two lessons of one language straight into two lessons of the other. It is something that I will have to find a way to overcome. Luckily the languages are quite different. Although, with the Pimsleur method especially, because I am speaking to English prompts, it is very easy to get mixed up. As far as general comments on the Pimsleur and Michel Thomas methods go I would definitely say that the Pimsleur methods is the better tool for a new learner of a language. The Michel Thomas method loads you with a lot of very useful vocabulary very fast in a way which I do not altogether think is managable. It is entirely managable at the time you are taught the vocabulary, but long term memory is clearly not a key goal here. I find that through the Michel Thomas way I have more tools at which to 'guess' at the correct way to say something, but with the Pimsleur method I am far more confident that the piece of rehersed language I am using will be understood this in turn encourages me to use what I have learnt instead of shy away. I will continue to work my way through both the Michel Thomas and Pimsleur methods in both languages. Things to do before the next update: Decide what language proficiency exams I want to take and when. The JLPT 3 and 4 I hear are very simple, but they could provide a useful and motivating target for early next year. I will however have to learn kanji, katakana and hirigana which could be a pain. As far as proficiency exams for French... I have no idea. (P.s. I HAAAATEEE the 'useful ways of remembering words' she provides in the Japanese Michel Thomas* lessons, I get the word pronounciation recognition and correlation method, but honestly...) Edited by MrAdams on 28 November 2009 at 5:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| MrAdams Newbie Scotland Joined 5487 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, French | Message 3 of 3 29 November 2009 at 4:41pm | IP Logged |
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Today I tried to increase the ammount of Pimsleur lessons I am taking per day in an attempt to rush through the course. I have noticed that some people on this forum have expressed dissatisfaction with the length of the Pimsleur course as they can cover 8 lessons a day, finishing the entire course in a matter of weeks. I have found that they may be able to do this, but today in attempting to cover 5 Japanese lessons I had to stop due to quite serious fatigue and indifference. I have decided that I will now stick to one lesson of Pimsleur and one lesson of Michel Thomas a day and will cover the last 4 Pimsleur Japanese lessons I completed today again. Although this means progress will be far slower I will retain my motivation to learn the language and I think this is by far the most important thing I need to maintain untill I can get satisfaction from using the language actively.
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