A walk in the woods to live your language
Doing textbook exercises and audio drills has its place in language learning. But if your approach to language learning focuses on packing more and more information into your brain, you're going to get hung up on the language in and of itself, when what you're really looking for is a way of expanding your world and your access to the world as others see it. To truly make a language a part of you, it can't be all about learning. It also has to be about living, and letting the language come naturally.
What you need: Vocabulary for colors, basic description and everyday objects in nature; some grammatical structures for talking about weather and describing things, a place to take a walk.
What you do: Note down your vocabulary, write some sample sentences for describing things you might see on a walk, leave the sheet at home and take your walk.
As you take your walk, when you notice things you can describe in your new language, either from what you've put on the sheet or from your other studies, do so. But don't get too preoccupied about it. The idea here is to create a space where you start to live in your language, but without getting stressed about it. The language should be simple and explanatory:
On days when I take my "language walks," I find the evening study sessions go easier, more smoothly, because my last association with the language isn't untangling things I wasn't sure about or learning the chapter vocabulary; it's associated with a state of "just being."
The "language walk" can be applied to other things - staring out the window, listening to music or having a cup of coffee in a café. The main thing is that it be a sort of "mindless" activity - one where you can pull back from acting and content yourself with observing the world around you. In this way, you can let your new language groove its way into your brain, making it a way of understanding your world instead being an independent thing you try to learn and understand.
What you need: Vocabulary for colors, basic description and everyday objects in nature; some grammatical structures for talking about weather and describing things, a place to take a walk.
What you do: Note down your vocabulary, write some sample sentences for describing things you might see on a walk, leave the sheet at home and take your walk.
As you take your walk, when you notice things you can describe in your new language, either from what you've put on the sheet or from your other studies, do so. But don't get too preoccupied about it. The idea here is to create a space where you start to live in your language, but without getting stressed about it. The language should be simple and explanatory:
The trees are tall. The grass is green. The weather is lovely today. There are some birds. The sun is warm. The path is narrow.The point of the exercise is not to drill yourself on language knowledge, but to live it in a relaxing and rejuvenating manner.
On days when I take my "language walks," I find the evening study sessions go easier, more smoothly, because my last association with the language isn't untangling things I wasn't sure about or learning the chapter vocabulary; it's associated with a state of "just being."
The "language walk" can be applied to other things - staring out the window, listening to music or having a cup of coffee in a café. The main thing is that it be a sort of "mindless" activity - one where you can pull back from acting and content yourself with observing the world around you. In this way, you can let your new language groove its way into your brain, making it a way of understanding your world instead being an independent thing you try to learn and understand.
4 Comments:
I love this idea, and i am absolutely going to implement it. The Norwegian words that come most naturally to me are the ones i learnt when living with a native speaker, using them over and over to refer to things that eventually took on the meaning of the foreign words as well as the words in my native language. Using your method to recreate this familiarity with the language is a great idea!
These are great suggestions! These type of self-talk exercises are invaluable. Particularity because its relaxed, there is no pressure. It helps you get more comfortable.
In traditional language courses, like in school, I think they make a big mistake by throwing students into public production of the language immediately. And also that they jump out to correct you at the slightest mistake. It makes people afraid to speak.
I think alot of people in the beginning/intermediate stages have a much higher speaking ability than they actually exhibit, just because they are so self conscious.
Cheers!
David and Kamilshka,
Thanks for your comments.
And David, interesting post on spaced repetition learning systems (http://www.hackyourlife.org/?p=51). It goes to the heart of why after I missed using Anki for three days, I never really got back into it.
Thanks for this post. I have been meaning to do something similar to this for every, but I guess I forgot about it and have never done this. I think this is a great idea and will this time make the effort to go out for a walk. Good exercise too.
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