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Getting back in the saddle | ||
Tags: Activating a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5143 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 17 25 June 2013 at 6:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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For personal reasons I have been unable to put much effort into language learning lately, and I am struggling
to find my way back to the true path :-) Any good ideas on how to restart it? I have started listening to CDs again, and was considering Anki (where I must have about 10 000 words waiting for me...) and perhaps a film or two so I'd do something for the Super Challenge. Any brighter ideas? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5156 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French | Message 2 of 17 25 June 2013 at 7:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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First of all, nice to see you back here, Cristina! We’ve missed you.
I don’t have much good advice to give, but if I were you, I would emphasise those activities that I enjoy, rather than those I know are productive. There’s nothing wrong with starting slow and getting more and more done day after day. Good luck with everything, Emme 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4818 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 3 of 17 25 June 2013 at 7:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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Really good to see you back, I totally agree with Emme.
Beginning with something fun is never a bad choice :-) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5071 days ago 2237 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 4 of 17 25 June 2013 at 7:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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Welcome back Christina!!!! I've missed you.
You could start with a quick review of the language(s) you're currently working on and go on from there. I'd also add in something fun, like a film or a tv show. It will start coming back to you quickly and then you can move forward when you think you're ready. That's what I would do if it were me. Edited by iguanamon on 26 June 2013 at 12:23am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5341 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 17 25 June 2013 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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Welcome back! I agree that TV is always good for languages where you can understand it. It's easy and fun and it always reactivates my French.
As for Anki, that backlog is overwhelming and no fun at all. If you try to somehow clear it, it will be poisonous and kill all your joy in learning. I can see two choices: 1. Delete your decks. 2. Limit your daily reviews and prune aggressively. Specifically: a. Set Anki's daily rep limit to 25–75 reps, so you don't need to see the backlog. b. Make your it your new goal to delete as many cards as possible. I've found the following advice from Khatzumoto is useful:
I know this sounds strange, but deleting SRS cards really does feel good. If a card is too hard or too easy or too boring or just "meh", delete it. Don't even bother to answer it first if you don't want to. The goal is to save only those cards which make you smile, or bring a you a real feeling of satisfaction. I sometimes set a goal of deleting at least 50% of the cards I review, and it makes my deck much more agreeable, in the same way a clean house is agreeable. And the only other alternatives are either to delete the decks entirely, or to burn yourself out by trying to clear a multi-thousand-card backlog. Avoid that Anki burnout at all costs. You're much better off messing around with some fun native media or chatting with people. 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| juman Diglot Senior Member Sweden Joined 5027 days ago 101 posts - 129 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: French | Message 6 of 17 25 June 2013 at 8:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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Just a guess... but you seem to be a "people person" so maybe just talk to some of your
polyglot friends and switching back and forth between some languages might make that itch start up again. Or if you have some specific language as focus try to communicate with someone native in that language which might help you set a goal again :) Good luck! 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5776 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 17 26 June 2013 at 2:00am | IP Logged | ||
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Cristina, I am in a similar place right now. I have made very little progress lately because of poor concentration and fatigue and other troubles due to unrelated matters in the last few months.
I'm getting back into regular study, but I know that when I gather my books and stuff for several languages at once, I just get overwhelmed. I feel that I've forgotten so, so much! And I have, but that knowledge is still there, it's just dormant. Fortunately it's much faster and easier to relearn than to learn for the first time. It's been much more effective for me to focus on one language to restart the habits of studying and learning. Right now, I'm doing a German review and it is going OK. I've found that not only does that language return, but the others do, too! All at once, even when I'm not thinking about them! I suppose it is the connections already established in the brain becoming active again. I'll review my other languages too of course, but I'm trying to concentrate on only one for now until my brain is a little stronger. I find that as I work with one language, I reinforce my former study habits too, so I'll be ready before long to review the others. Wanderlust will catch up with me before long! The number of Anki reviews I have is something I don't want to deal with right now - too much. But I'll sometimes make little decks from material I have recently worked with and that helps. I can delete them later and return to my main decks. You are a far more advanced learner than I am, so I don't know if this is helpful, but it's working for me right now. Edited by meramarina on 26 June 2013 at 2:02am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tanya b Senior Member United States Joined 4587 days ago 159 posts - 518 votes Speaks: Russian | Message 8 of 17 26 June 2013 at 6:18am | IP Logged | ||
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I think a great way to ease back into the language learning groove is to record yourself reading a newspaper article in the TL, and the following day listening to the recording. The one-day interval is long enough so you don't remember everything and so it's almost like hearing it for the first time, allowing for hopefully spontaneous comprehension of a familiar voice.
If your pronounciation is decent, it should be very helpful. This exercise covers the "Big 3" of language learning--reading, speaking and understanding and is actually quite relaxing and paves the way for TV watching without subtitles. It's sad that sometimes learners for whatever reason are deprived of the chance to continue studying. I empathize because you feel like a day or a week lost is the end of the world. I feel strongly about my languages and I really don't know what I would do without them. Bcero dobrovo! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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