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 Language Learning Forum : Lessons in Polyglottery |  | |
| Bart Triglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 6961 days ago 155 posts - 159 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, French, English Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese, Swedish | Message 1 of 3 04 May 2008 at 8:08pm | IP Logged |
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Professor,
I am a 20 year old university student, but am planning to change subjects next year. Thus, as the next school year in Belgium will only start in october, I am finding myself with quite a lot of time on my hands. Quite a nice spot to be in as a language enthusiast, obviously! Since I am still young and (relatively) inexperienced in the field of language learning I would like to benefit from your experience and know-how to be able to use these few months to the fullest. At the moment I am studying Japanese, Swedish and Spanish, and I would also like to try my hand at Russian (but I wouldn't really mind dropping that idea). What is, in your opinion, the best way to go about studying these languages in order to achieve the best possible results in the few months I have ahead of me? My study is mainly oriented towards your very own shadowing and scriptorium techniques, and I have found these to work very well for my particular learning style. I own the Assimil courses for all four of the languages I want to tackle, but I also have a wide range of other material available. (Mainly FSI though) Obviously I want to spend as much time as possible on each language, but I'd really like your opinion on how to spend my time as beneficial as possible. I'm looking forward to your advice, and I'll be sure to take note of any tips you'd care to give me. Bart P.S.: If any of my sentences come of as rude and/or inappropriate I'd like to apologise in advance, as this would be unintentional and a product of the fact that I am not a native speaker of English. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7057 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes | Message 2 of 3 11 May 2008 at 9:26pm | IP Logged |
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Bart,
First of all, your English is perfectly appropriate and conveys exactly the tone I rather wish all letters in this room would embody. If you already own Assimil courses for all four languages and you find that internalizing them through shadowing and scriptorium techniques works well for you, then I would recommend that you leave off wondering about or experimenting with other methods until you have gotten all that you can out of these. You do not mention any specific goals or any specific number of hours that you expect to study each day, so I will assume that you have the holistic desire to make as much progress and learn as much as you can, and that you do not yet have an idea for an exact study schedule. Thus, I would recommend that you begin keeping a detailed study log, indicating not only what you do (as I do on my charts), but also, more subjectively, when and where you do it and how you feel about it, at least until you have determined your ideal and most effective study regimen (this is really something that you could do much more efficiently under my personal guidance, but I know that we are separated by oceans and continents). The first thing you should try to determine is your ability to focus. It will probably be in the 15 to 30 minute range. Then, divide your study time into blocks accordingly. In this fashion, if you are at all like me, you will, by changing subjects, be able to stay fresh and focused and thus study more effectively. As you must certainly already be aware, Swedish will be easiest for you, then Spanish, then Russian, then Japanese, and so, if it should happen to be important to you to progress at roughly equal rates (and there is actually no particular reason why this should in fact be the case), then you will need to give more time blocks to the latter languages. In any event, do certainly alternate between them. Will you be able to study all day, every day? Then you will certainly make the most progress! If not, then also try to divide your study periods equally throughout the day, i.e., have a morning, a noon, and an evening session. Always remember that systematic regularity and consistency are the keys to success. I hope this is enough to begin with? Study well and hard, and write again when you need more advice. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| workerbee Senior Member United States Joined 6652 days ago 173 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish Studies: Russian, German | Message 3 of 3 14 June 2008 at 2:02pm | IP Logged |
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On allowing different time blocks for different languages, I am finding it difficult to transition from one language to another. When I go from German to French, I want to answer the French questions in German, for around the first 10-15 minutes. I know that it is not the correct language (so I am not experiencing some type of unconscious slip), but I can't think of a proper response in French fast enough. I do not find this in Spanish where I am solidly at intermediate level or English my native tongue. Nor do I find this when practicing Russian where I am only a beginner. Is this a sign of getting languages mixed up?
Also for transitioning in between languages during your larger study periods, do you try to interrupt the study time blocks of different languages with non-language activities or is it better to transition by breaking up audio language x to reading language y and then back to an audio exercise? Does anyone else experience a type of brain freeze? I appreciate any of the member's thoughts, as I am much more of a beginner than many of the posters in this room. Thank you! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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