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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| jody Senior Member United States Joined 6244 days ago 242 posts - 252 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Bulgarian | Message 9 of 11 03 November 2008 at 8:11am | IP Logged |
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I have a question. Everybody keeps saying to listen more. Twenty minutes is not enough. I agree, you really need to listen for an hour or two (passively or actively) every day. But what if you are like me? I seriously don't have two hours a day to listen to my target language. It's not possible to listen passively at work, and i have a busy schedule at home (5 kids!!!) I'm just trying to squeeze my language learning in whenever i can. I realize i won't be fluent in a year. I probably won't be fluent in 10 years. That's not my goal. My goal is to at least communicate effectively. I would love to speak Spanish so well that I think it, dream it, and get mistaken for a Puerto Rican every day (i already look the part). But as long as I can just communicate without too much trouble, that's all i really care.
Is this still a reasonable goal, so long as i realize that 20-30 minutes a day is all i can manage? And it will take me many times longer than usual? THanks for your input. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6445 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 10 of 11 03 November 2008 at 8:36am | IP Logged |
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You presumably have a commute, you presumably wait in lines at times, depending on your partner you may or may not find it feasible to have some Spanish TV/radio/music on in the background before you fall asleep, etc. If you cook meals, think about listening to Spanish while doing it - many families have a radio or TV on in the background much of the time, and it doesn't have to even really interfere with communication between family members. Basically: be creative, and get Spanish into little nooks and crannies of your life; they add up.
Whether what you seek is possible with 20 minutes a day, I do not know. I'd be really surprised if you couldn't get to more than 20 minutes a day most days, though, if you're willing to count very passive activities. These very passive activities definitely aren't anywhere near as effective as the same amount of time in more focused study, but they're still significantly better than nothing. For me, the single most important tool for 'sneaking in' listening time is a portable mp3 player; I got one for this specific reason, and it's added hundreds of hours of background listening I otherwise wouldn't have had over this last year. Barry Farber wrote a fair amount about 'hidden moments' and flash cards - and his point was sound, though I can't stand flash cards. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6915 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 11 of 11 03 November 2008 at 9:19am | IP Logged |
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An mp3 player is great tool. I use mine whenever there's a free moment, and combining it with other activities (commute, walks, sports, listening-reading* et.c.) could make it very worthwhile.
Perhaps it's more important to spend a lot of time on listening in the beginning stages, so eventually it's possible to reduce that activity to say, 20 minutes a day. I remember Professor Arguelles saying that he maintained scores of languages each day in 15-minute slots. * search for L-R or listening-reading 1 person has voted this message useful |
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