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Language people
Those of you who've successfully learned other languages - what sort of study strategies did you use? One of my problems is that I've been able to retain just enough information for just long enough to regurgitate it into tests, and maintain a B or B+ average, so throughout highschool and undergrad, I never actually learned to study. It was less of a problem in grad schoo, because the fields I went into were a bit more focused on analysis than on internalizing data (when you're a librarian, it's all about leanring how to look it up, natch :D), so study skills were not actually required.*
And thus I throw myself on the mercy of the internet again for help in this. I also need some sort of language-neepery related icon, but I'm fresh out of ideas.
And if I manage to get four pages toned quickly, I'll toss up some of the pictures from this Italian book, just to prove to everyone that "Mark" (un altro americano) is gay and to show everyone the six-legged dog.
* My first stint in undergrad, the MA in anthropology, required more learning of that nature than did library school**, and my mother didn't let fall the gem of information that she was a kinesthetic learner, and thus typed all her notes throughout school because the action of typing fixed it in her brain, until the very last two weeks of the very last semester of my MA. I tried that, typing in the answers from our study guide, and by God it worked. Am I bitter that she didn't tell me that, say, back my freshman year of undergrad? GOSH NO WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT.
** Which requires approximately zero. The only test I had that wasn't open-book was a one-question essay test where the exact question had appeared on our qualifying exams the week before. The professor kept our blue books - she was pretty upfront that the primary reason for giving the exam like that was to have the results for her records so she could show people what the students were learning.
And thus I throw myself on the mercy of the internet again for help in this. I also need some sort of language-neepery related icon, but I'm fresh out of ideas.
And if I manage to get four pages toned quickly, I'll toss up some of the pictures from this Italian book, just to prove to everyone that "Mark" (un altro americano) is gay and to show everyone the six-legged dog.
* My first stint in undergrad, the MA in anthropology, required more learning of that nature than did library school**, and my mother didn't let fall the gem of information that she was a kinesthetic learner, and thus typed all her notes throughout school because the action of typing fixed it in her brain, until the very last two weeks of the very last semester of my MA. I tried that, typing in the answers from our study guide, and by God it worked. Am I bitter that she didn't tell me that, say, back my freshman year of undergrad? GOSH NO WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT.
** Which requires approximately zero. The only test I had that wasn't open-book was a one-question essay test where the exact question had appeared on our qualifying exams the week before. The professor kept our blue books - she was pretty upfront that the primary reason for giving the exam like that was to have the results for her records so she could show people what the students were learning.
no subject
I'm a super-enthusiastic language person, so I might not be the best person to ask, because I'm not average. However, here are some things I do.
1) Flashcards
They work wonders for random noun/verb vocabulary. And remember, if you're stuck in a foreign country and you can get out the noun and the verb, someone will figure out what you're talking about. Go over your flashcards every day, becuase it's very easy to lose a language you don't use all the time.
2) Self-quiz
At random times of day, try to remember that random new word you learned today.
3) Write it out
Write out your vocabulary, and just keep drilling it into your head.
4) Think in the language
This can be really frustrating, but no one will be there to laugh at you. Allot ten or fifteen minutes a day when you're only allowed to think in the particular language you're learning, even if it's just "I have a cat. The cat is brown."
5) Talk to yourself
The only way you're going to get the accent is to talk out loud and mimic. You might feel weird doing this in public, but talking to yourself in the language makes you feel like a superstar.
6) Listen to it
It doesn't matter if you don't understand anything. Rent movies in the language, listen to music in it, and try to catch snippets of conversations on the train/bus. Just hearing the rhythm and tone of the language will work wonders. And if you're watching a movie with subtitles, read the subtitle fast, and then try to work out the original language sentence.
7) Talk to native speakers who don't speak much English
You'll have nothing to fall back on. Sometimes they're hard to find, but they'll probably be willing to help. Just memorize how to say "I want to learn _______, will you correct me if I make a mistake?" and of course "thank you very much!"