Still more Mandarin
This weekend, I found the Assimil Chinese with Ease. I loved Assimil's Using French when I lived in France and was getting my French up to speed, and I've enjoyed Assimil ever since.
One of these days, I need to stop going through beginning books, but each time through, I get more comfortable and confident. I've finally started muttering in Chinese without realizing. Right now, it's mostly things like "I'm hungry," "I'm thirsty," the time and such. But it's something.
I suppose this calls for words of wisdom of some sort, so here they are: The language learner's number one best friend is time. No matter how stumped you might be by a language, if you keep exposing yourself to it long enough, it starts to sink in and become a part of you and your thinking.
One of these days, I need to stop going through beginning books, but each time through, I get more comfortable and confident. I've finally started muttering in Chinese without realizing. Right now, it's mostly things like "I'm hungry," "I'm thirsty," the time and such. But it's something.
I suppose this calls for words of wisdom of some sort, so here they are: The language learner's number one best friend is time. No matter how stumped you might be by a language, if you keep exposing yourself to it long enough, it starts to sink in and become a part of you and your thinking.
3 Comments:
I just got the Using French. There is very little instruction included. How did you use the course?
Musigny,
With using French, you don't use the course, you use French! That's sort of a facile answer, I know. The thing is, language isn't something you learn, per se. It's something you get in the habit of using.
When you're little, one of the ways you learn structured language is by listening to stories. Often times, a child will want to hear the same story over and over. And one of a child's first experiences of "reading" is often sitting with a preferred book and reading along, except that the child can't actually decipher the words - he simply knows what they are.
Assimil works opposite of the child with a favored storybook: You can read the words - in the sense of pronouncing them - but you don't know what they mean. By careful study of the facing English text and the notes, however, you'll start to get a sense of what's going on with the language. What's important is that it's not explicit. Sure, some of the notes will give you rules. But in large measure, it's about you piecing together your new language by using the text in your new language and the context provided by the facing page.
I assume that you already have a basic command of French (if not, you should start with French With Ease). Once you have the book in hand, all you have to do is read it, checking the notes and translations whenever you're confused and reading through those notes you haven't already read afterwards to make sure you haven't missed anything.
A point about Assimil: It's not for "learning" language, it's for assimilating it. I've found a four step process for getting the most out of it: 1) skim your chapter in the morning so you know what it's about. 2) Work through it later in the day, making sure you understand anything addressed in the notes (and letting pass anything that isn't - if it's important it will come up again). 3) Read the passage again in the evening. 4) At the end of week, when you do your review chapter, also skim the chapters from the previous week.
The value of this plan - and of Assimil - is that rather than studying and memorizing, in steps 3 and 4 you're reading something you already understand and even in step 2 you're reading something you're already familiar with. If you have audio, I would also listen before the first reading and after the last reading. In this way, you can build up solid passive understanding of the language.
One other point: to boost your speaking knowledge, it's good to read at least the main passage aloud each time. That will get your mouth used to speaking and your brain used to hearing you speak.
I hope this is of help. If you follow the Assimil course and stick to your lessons every day, you'll soon find that you know way more than you could have consciously learned. (Incidentally, if you fail to stick to the routine, don't beat yourself up about it, but do resume work with the last week's worth of leassons that you completed in earnest.)
Thanks for your detailed and enlightening comments. Your point on assimilating the language was key for me.
Interesting note Assimil makes in the introduction-they state that daily exposure is key and that it would be better to read the text even ten minutes daily than to spend two hours one day a week studying.
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