Snesgamer Groupie Afghanistan Joined 6613 days ago 81 posts - 90 votes Studies: English*, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Scottish Gaelic
| Message 9 of 13 15 May 2009 at 9:19am | IP Logged |
Languages are like roller coasters. Often when you think you're getting somewhere, you can fall into periods where you feel like a complete beginner at times. This is completely natural - just remember to never give up and use your disappointment to motivate you to study even harder.
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theallstar Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5804 days ago 81 posts - 85 votes Studies: Japanese, Esperanto
| Message 10 of 13 15 May 2009 at 9:48am | IP Logged |
I often feel like this with Japanese too. Some days it seems like you're really getting somewhere and others it's like you'll never make any real progress. I often wonder if it's down to the vocabulary being used at the time. It's definitely my weakest area (perhaps it is for a lot of people) and so I'm totally at mercy of whether or not words I know are used. Grammar I find to be less of a hinderance.
In a funny way this is why I became interested in languages in the first place - it seems to learn one to fluency is like achieving the impossible. Just be thankful you don't have kanji to learn too ;)
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Tyr Senior Member Sweden Joined 5784 days ago 316 posts - 384 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swedish
| Message 11 of 13 15 May 2009 at 1:41pm | IP Logged |
A problem I find in practicing listening skills is a lack of materials at my level.
I can find a lot at the bare basics 'hej, jag heter johan' and then a hell of a lot at advanced, native level but in between? Not so much.
Tupiniquim wrote:
2. You possess more knowledge that can be used to speed up the process (consider that you had to learn English from scratch). Example: you can use etymology to remember new words more easily, like kyrka: church, (or when their meaning is just similar) kräva (demand): crave, (even when the meaning has evolved into something completely different - read on why it has changed) gift (poison): gift, (sometimes making reference to another language) krig: krieg, etc... |
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Yes, that is indeed a very good way to learn words, I love reading on the origins of words and how they morphed into their English version and their Swedish version. Such information is not common to find though.
Edited by Tyr on 15 May 2009 at 1:43pm
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josht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6448 days ago 635 posts - 857 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Spanish, Russian, Dutch
| Message 12 of 13 15 May 2009 at 3:18pm | IP Logged |
Tyr wrote:
A problem I find in practicing listening skills is a lack of materials at my level.
I can find a lot at the bare basics 'hej, jag heter johan' and then a hell of a lot at advanced, native level but in between? Not so much.
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Then use brute force methods - grammar study, word lists, etc. - to bring yourself to the level of the material you're working with. Once you reach a certain level, the biggest barrier between one "level" and the next tends to simply be vocabulary and usage of grammar, say going from a vocabulary of 1500 words to 4000, and using more subjunctive or what have you. Learn more words and become more familiar with advanced grammar topics, and you should find more materials are within your grasp.
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TheBiscuit Tetraglot Senior Member Mexico Joined 5925 days ago 532 posts - 619 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Italian Studies: German, Croatian
| Message 13 of 13 15 May 2009 at 5:12pm | IP Logged |
Try not to see it as a set-back but merely part of the process. You're learning, though it may not be noticeable. As well as the language itself, you're learning social interaction in another culture. I remember when I first came to Mexico - I did a lot of listening!! It was frustrating but little by little you begin to speak and interact. Once you're fluent you'll take it for granted and won't remember the nights of endless listening! Keep at it.
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