Lose weight and learn a language!
John Biesnecker comments on language and lots of other things. The other day, he linked an article on weight loss (forgive the title) with some good advice for most any self-directed endeavor. Most of this is familiar stuff, but it's good to be reminded. Below, I've noted a few of the points and their application for language learning:
1. Run your diet past your doctor before you begin
Consult with someone who has actually learned your language to get tips on what to focus on.
2. Ignore magazine covers that claim to teach you how to lose 10lbs in 7 days
If the program promises to teach you X in 3 days, it probably won't. Some of these programs offer a nice introduction to the barest basics, but learning a language takes time and effort.
3. Cut the cable
If you can watch television in the language you're learning, that's good. But in your own language, all you'll be practicing is thinking in your native tongue, and usually not very interesting thoughts at that.
6. When you get bored, mix it up
If you're really not looking forward to your next study session, use a different book, or listen to music, or watch a movie. You don't want to associate your language with boredom, drudgery or worse. So when motivation slips, you need to do something else to keep the language in your brain, preferably something fun that will motivate you to want to know more.
8. Make sure there is plenty of variety in your diet
If you've only got one book and you aren't surfing the net or renting movies, you're likely to get worn out on the project. Make sure to hit your language from multiple angles. It will give you fresh perspectives on what you're learning and assure that when you get bored, you'll have something else to look at (see tip 6).
9. If you plateau, kick it up a notch
Starting to learn a language is easy. Continuing to learn a language when you're no longer doubling your knowledge every week is hard. Motivation is key, and results are the biggest motivator. If you feel like you're not progressing, it's time to listen to music, watch a movie or challenge yourself in some other way with real, authentic language. This will a) stretch you and b) show you that you can do more than you might have realized.
My favorite:
10. Brainwash yourself
Now that I'm reading Borges, Spanish is exciting after all. Now that I'm reading Spanish, Borges is exciting after all. Reading Borges in Spanish helps me make progress and see how much progress I'm making. Not reading a little Spanish makes me disappointed in myself, because I miss out on reading Borges, and now that I'm reading Borges, Spanish is exciting after all...
Seriously, mindset is important, and avoiding negative phrases about your language and brainwashing yourself with the idea that working at it makes you feel better about yourself - and not working at it doesn't - is a way of reinforcing the initial enthusiasm that prompted you to start learning a language in the first place.
In addition to reading Borges, which is making Spanish exciting after all, I've been reading El Poder de Ahora, a Spanish translation of The Power of Now,. With Borges, I've been meticulously verifying that I understand everything, making notes in the margin and trying, seriously, to get the most I can out of it. With Tolle (El Poder...), I've just been reading. If I don't understand a sentence, I re-read it. If I still don't understand, I read the next one and keep going. I've found that switching between these two approaches is helping me build my vocabulary and better understand structures without skipping over too much or getting bogged down. Not only that, but I hope to soon appreciate the miracle that is me in this moment... ;)
1. Run your diet past your doctor before you begin
Consult with someone who has actually learned your language to get tips on what to focus on.
2. Ignore magazine covers that claim to teach you how to lose 10lbs in 7 days
If the program promises to teach you X in 3 days, it probably won't. Some of these programs offer a nice introduction to the barest basics, but learning a language takes time and effort.
3. Cut the cable
If you can watch television in the language you're learning, that's good. But in your own language, all you'll be practicing is thinking in your native tongue, and usually not very interesting thoughts at that.
6. When you get bored, mix it up
If you're really not looking forward to your next study session, use a different book, or listen to music, or watch a movie. You don't want to associate your language with boredom, drudgery or worse. So when motivation slips, you need to do something else to keep the language in your brain, preferably something fun that will motivate you to want to know more.
8. Make sure there is plenty of variety in your diet
If you've only got one book and you aren't surfing the net or renting movies, you're likely to get worn out on the project. Make sure to hit your language from multiple angles. It will give you fresh perspectives on what you're learning and assure that when you get bored, you'll have something else to look at (see tip 6).
9. If you plateau, kick it up a notch
Starting to learn a language is easy. Continuing to learn a language when you're no longer doubling your knowledge every week is hard. Motivation is key, and results are the biggest motivator. If you feel like you're not progressing, it's time to listen to music, watch a movie or challenge yourself in some other way with real, authentic language. This will a) stretch you and b) show you that you can do more than you might have realized.
My favorite:
10. Brainwash yourself
Now that I'm reading Borges, Spanish is exciting after all. Now that I'm reading Spanish, Borges is exciting after all. Reading Borges in Spanish helps me make progress and see how much progress I'm making. Not reading a little Spanish makes me disappointed in myself, because I miss out on reading Borges, and now that I'm reading Borges, Spanish is exciting after all...
Seriously, mindset is important, and avoiding negative phrases about your language and brainwashing yourself with the idea that working at it makes you feel better about yourself - and not working at it doesn't - is a way of reinforcing the initial enthusiasm that prompted you to start learning a language in the first place.
In addition to reading Borges, which is making Spanish exciting after all, I've been reading El Poder de Ahora, a Spanish translation of The Power of Now,. With Borges, I've been meticulously verifying that I understand everything, making notes in the margin and trying, seriously, to get the most I can out of it. With Tolle (El Poder...), I've just been reading. If I don't understand a sentence, I re-read it. If I still don't understand, I read the next one and keep going. I've found that switching between these two approaches is helping me build my vocabulary and better understand structures without skipping over too much or getting bogged down. Not only that, but I hope to soon appreciate the miracle that is me in this moment... ;)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home