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 Language Learning Forum : Lessons in Polyglottery |  | |
| J-Learner Senior Member Australia Joined 5817 days ago 556 posts - 636 votes  Studies: Yiddish, English* Studies: Dutch | Message 1 of 13 14 April 2009 at 10:23am | IP Logged | ||
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Hello Professor A (and indeed everyone else).
I have been attempting to learn languages and other subject/tools for almost eight years running. Unfortunately, I have had absolutely no success with any of it. I have tried dozens of methods and languages and still seem to be lack the ability to persevere. I love the subjects and skills that I attempt to learn but the studying has become irritating even to the point of depression and anger. This is obviously a negative situation from which I wish to remove myself. My question is simple but the answer, I expect, will not be. How do I develop the ability to study efficiently and avoid stress and burn out? Thankyou for your time, Yehoshua. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6226 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 2 of 13 14 April 2009 at 11:26am | IP Logged | ||
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A few tips, which have been given to you before:
1) Stick with something. No one can get anywhere spending three days on a subject, then ignoring it for years. 2) Consider starting with small amounts; Professor Arguelles has written elsewhere on this forum about starting with half an hour a day if you're not used to systematic study. Then, do it regularly, without excuses; and when there's the inevitable occasional glitch, don't beat yourself up on it, and get back into your schedule. 3) Do activities you find at least somewhat enjoyable, not ones you hate. 4) Don't give up and yell about failing after 2 days or 2 hours. 5) Stick to one method long enough to see some results from it; 1000 flashcards with sentences and 1 month of watching DVDs won't get you all that far if you start from zero, and neither will doing a handful of Assimil or FSI lessons. Combining 2 and 3, deciding to start doing a large number of hours a day of techniques you dislike, from zero, is a recipe for large amounts of stress; don't do it. Good luck. Catalin Martone 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Sgt.Pepper Newbie Ukraine Joined 5496 days ago 38 posts - 32 votes Speaks: Ukrainian* | Message 3 of 13 14 April 2009 at 6:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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Something an Italian professor told me once stuck with me forever, I think it might
help you too: "Every day you neglect your studies you cancel out three days of progress" In other words, if you study 30 minutes a day for 6 days, and then take 2 days completely off you basically arrive nowhere! Naturally this is more a maxim than a scientific statement… but the message is lucid and true! Try not to take days off, be consistent. 30 minutes a day is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than 4 hours every Sunday. Also, on days when you absolutely can’t study (which shouldn't happen often but will happen) try to sneak in something language related. For example, I listen to Assimil audio on my mp3 as I do chores. This is more passive than active, but still better than nothing. So remember, study EVERY DAY… and if you are not motivated think of my professor, every day you slack you kill THREE days of earnest work you already put in!!! The ironic thing is that I did not take his advice when it came to Italiano… stupid me. -- Sébastien Rousseau Edited by Sgt.Pepper on 14 April 2009 at 6:19pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| J-Learner Senior Member Australia Joined 5817 days ago 556 posts - 636 votes Studies: Yiddish, English* Studies: Dutch | Message 4 of 13 15 April 2009 at 8:30am | IP Logged | ||
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I am quite aware of the need to study every day. For a long time I have know that it is best to do 10 minutes each day than 1 or even 2 hours once a week.
I'm am going to try studying a smaller amount and building up slowly. Thanks. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sgt.Pepper Newbie Ukraine Joined 5496 days ago 38 posts - 32 votes Speaks: Ukrainian* | Message 5 of 13 15 April 2009 at 7:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Yehoshua,
Although you are as you say "aware" of the need to study every day, your logs show that you often do not. Also I do not think you can learn a language in 10 minutes a day. 30 minutes of intense study 3 x 10 minute sessions is (I think) the bare minimum. And you should really strive for at least 6 x 10 a day. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sennin Senior Member Bulgaria Joined 5821 days ago 1457 posts - 1759 votes 5 sounds | Message 6 of 13 15 April 2009 at 10:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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I strongly disagree that "it is best to do 10 minutes each day than 1 or even 2 hours once a week".
Studying in big blocks gives you the opportunity to focus on what you are doing. In 10 minutes you can't focus properly. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sgt.Pepper Newbie Ukraine Joined 5496 days ago 38 posts - 32 votes Speaks: Ukrainian* | Message 7 of 13 15 April 2009 at 10:51pm | IP Logged | ||
Sennin, I cannot agree with you 100% completely. That is, I wholly agree that "10 minutes each day" is not enough. However I disagree with the universal application of "big blocks". I only see extended study (more than 15 minutes at a time) useful during "immersion exercises" ... what I define as all exercises meant for you to dive into the language to try your best at understanding the context. Watching a movie or shadowing a tape are two good examples of this. However, when it comes to another important study skill - acquisition of information, nothing beats quick 10-15 minute bursts with flash cards. Our brain is simply incapable of memorizing material actively for 2 hours. Sure, we can sit in front of a vocabulary list and write down definitions for 2 or even 4 hours straight, but the overall results will be (at least in my case) terrible. -- Sébastien Rousseau 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| J-Learner Senior Member Australia Joined 5817 days ago 556 posts - 636 votes Studies: Yiddish, English* Studies: Dutch | Message 8 of 13 16 April 2009 at 5:02am | IP Logged | ||
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10 minutes was only an example If you really read my logs you would see that I do far more than 10 minutes per day.
I did not start this thread to be a place for idle debate. Thankyou. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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