Prepare for two steps forward - take one step back
The hardest part of learning a foreign language isn't the learning. It's continuing to learn. If on your first day you learn 10 words, mathematically speaking you have increased your vocabulary infinitely. If you keep adding ten words, your vocabulary doubles, then goes up 50%, then up 1/3... but ever diminishing.
With Mandarin, I have reached the point where the distance I have to go looms large and the distance I have come no longer seems so exciting. And so it was time for a boost. This afternoon I got up to the City (San Francisco) and looked at the four languages I'm working with right now:
1. Spanish - because it's all around me and I can't help it, though I'm not especially motivated to learn a language I speak every day.
2. German - because I've sworn I'm going to actually learn it for 12 or 14 years now, but never gotten to it.
3. Mandarin - because it's the first language I've seriously applied myself to in a while, as opposed to dabbling.
4. Turkish - because it's on my list and I've felt inspired about it lately.
Not being made of money, I decided to settle on two. Spanish almost got a slot because I found a reader that was easy enough for me to think in Spanish while thumbing through. But the enthusiasm wasn't there. As usual, there wasn't much for German. Nichts for German.
For Mandarin, though, I found the Speak-in-a-Week and realized I didn't need something to take me further so much as something to remind me how far I'd come. After reading the first two lessons in less than half an hour, I was more aware of just how much I can say and that I haven't truly wasted the last few months. I feel much better about my Mandarin now and think I may even look at other materials that I've avoided working forward in. But I will definitely read through the next two lessons tomorrow, keeping the language a little fresher and my discouragement down.
For Turkish, I got the Talk Now set. I've been carrying around a notebook and Beginner's Turkish the last few days and have transcribed the dialogues from the first three lessons, as well as stories and poems from TurkishClass.com. These I read through both for practice and to reinforce the idea that I'm capable of reading Turkish, at least at some level. And with the Talk Now set, I quickly racked up perfect scores on the First Words, Colors and Numbers exercises. I'm pumped up about Turkish.
I recommend both my purchases today, but especially for review. And that brings us to today's lesson and tip:
The hardest part of learning a foreign language isn't the learning. It's continuing to learn. To keep yourself going, the best thing to do isn't to push yourself till you burn out, but to come at the language from another angle, reinforcing what you've learned and discovering how much better at it you are than you felt when you hit your most recent plateau.
With Mandarin, I have reached the point where the distance I have to go looms large and the distance I have come no longer seems so exciting. And so it was time for a boost. This afternoon I got up to the City (San Francisco) and looked at the four languages I'm working with right now:
1. Spanish - because it's all around me and I can't help it, though I'm not especially motivated to learn a language I speak every day.
2. German - because I've sworn I'm going to actually learn it for 12 or 14 years now, but never gotten to it.
3. Mandarin - because it's the first language I've seriously applied myself to in a while, as opposed to dabbling.
4. Turkish - because it's on my list and I've felt inspired about it lately.
Not being made of money, I decided to settle on two. Spanish almost got a slot because I found a reader that was easy enough for me to think in Spanish while thumbing through. But the enthusiasm wasn't there. As usual, there wasn't much for German. Nichts for German.
For Mandarin, though, I found the Speak-in-a-Week and realized I didn't need something to take me further so much as something to remind me how far I'd come. After reading the first two lessons in less than half an hour, I was more aware of just how much I can say and that I haven't truly wasted the last few months. I feel much better about my Mandarin now and think I may even look at other materials that I've avoided working forward in. But I will definitely read through the next two lessons tomorrow, keeping the language a little fresher and my discouragement down.
For Turkish, I got the Talk Now set. I've been carrying around a notebook and Beginner's Turkish the last few days and have transcribed the dialogues from the first three lessons, as well as stories and poems from TurkishClass.com. These I read through both for practice and to reinforce the idea that I'm capable of reading Turkish, at least at some level. And with the Talk Now set, I quickly racked up perfect scores on the First Words, Colors and Numbers exercises. I'm pumped up about Turkish.
I recommend both my purchases today, but especially for review. And that brings us to today's lesson and tip:
The hardest part of learning a foreign language isn't the learning. It's continuing to learn. To keep yourself going, the best thing to do isn't to push yourself till you burn out, but to come at the language from another angle, reinforcing what you've learned and discovering how much better at it you are than you felt when you hit your most recent plateau.
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