The holidays is fast approaching and I am excited as I can be. One thing that's part of the holidays (at least in my part of the world) is alcohol. I'm curious tho on how people from different cultures cure their hangovers lol. This is what I normally do:
quick shower
1 paracetamol
lots of water or Gatorade
a nice sandwich
Has it ever happened to you? What steps did you do to get out of the rut?
Personally, I have studied Japanese on and off for years. I've tried going to language academies, I have also tried popular alternatives like SRS and Pimsleur.
The problem that I noticed when studying regardless of style, is the fact that I always focused too much on getting down X vocab/grammar/kanji in Y months. Having a timeline is fine and has worked for lots of people in school, but for me, I've come to realize that enjoyment should always be my first priority when learning something new. I've been using the same mindset in my MMA classes and I've seen steady progress there too.
So now my way of studying is to just immerse myself in the language as much as I can. I use fun activities like reading manga and watching Japanese cooking shows. Do I still use SRS and grammar books? Yes, but I'm not as obsessed to it as before.. I used to cram 30 cards in a session but now it's been reduced to 5. Also, if I feel a little bit burned out I back off and get back at it after a couple of days.
I'd like to know how you guys cope with this too. Share away :)
I have met some people who have learned a language strictly by ear (by mostly working abroad), meaning that their writing skills are beginner level at best. Do you think that this is a viable way of learning a language given its limitations?
Ok maybe I'm just a freak, but I absolutely LOVE watching chiropractic videos before going to sleep. I don't now what it is really, but I find it very calming and it brings a cool ASMR vibe to their vids. A good 20 minute video and I am ready to tuck it in.
I've read that some dudes like to watch similarly odd videos like pimple popping, beard shaving, weird commercials and the like lol
How about you guys? What weird videos do you find yourself watching?
What are your most recent memory of "leveling up" in your language studies? Big or small let's hear it!
For me, I have started to again slowly study Japanese again after years of neglect lol. I'm planning to use my old textbook and supplement it with podcasts from Youtube. This time I'm going to go at my own pace and try to not quit for the nth time.
I really like her explanation here. I always thought about this and I agree with her points.
Do you place a lot of emphasis in your reading skills? If so, what kind of material do you read? In my case, I try to read as much as I can. I can't read native Japanese materials yet, so I mostly read the exercises from my books.
I was thinking about this last night. If you were to choose between the 2, which would be the better option to drastically improve your skills in a language?
My thoughts:
Foreign country - You'll probably struggle at first especially when there's no one to teach you the technical side of the language. But you'll eventually get the language via osmosis and constant practice.
School study - Gradual progression is a good benefit when you learn in a class. However relying too much on books can be detrimental as there are cases where guys who learn solely from books sound "unnatural" in the way they express themselves.
I am a big fan of fighting and all of its (legit) forms. I've been doing Jiujitsu/MMA for 5 years and it's practically the only sport I follow. Any other fans out there?
I'm sure you've searched for cool songs based on the language you're studying. Share them here please!
Here's mine. This is a song from the anime Slam Dunk. I remember my Japanese teacher sang this one time when we were at the karaoke lol. It may sound silly but I learned a lot of new words with this song.
I read another post mentioning that movies and music can be a good way to enhance language learning. I totally believe that and have used songs to improve my vocab numerous times. I'd like to share this style called Sub2SRS in which you place all new words in a SRS tool like Anki.
Here's the link to a site that talks all about it: http://learnanylanguage.wikia.com/wiki/Subs2srs_decks
So I've been thinking about learning Portuguese for the past months. I have never "officially" started other that listening to random videos on Youtube, but I noticed that I've already learned some slang without really trying by watching Jiujittsu fights online lol.
I think this is a cool way of learning a language, you get to pursue your other hobbies while slowly building your competency in the language of your choice. Anybody experienced something similar?
I'm a droid user and I use Anki as my primary tool to learn Japanese. The only other app that I use is a J-E dictionary (forgot the name). I'd like to know what you guys are using to supplement your learning. :)
For the guys who are studying languages with unique writing systems like Chinese, how do you do it? I tried SRS and I don't think it works well with me. I appreciate the tips, thanks.
I watched a Jiujitsu video on YT and one dude mentioned the 4 stages of learning as a guide to one's journey in learning anything. Basically there are four stages of learning that everyone transitions through when learning a new skill.
Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence.
Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence.
Stage 3: Conscious Competence.
Stage 4: Unconscious Competence.
I thought about my development in Japanese and I'd have to say that this is an accurate representation of my learning path. I think I am still at Stage 2 and I'm totally fine with it.
Do you guys think that using extensions like rikaikun can be beneficial to reading native level sites? I've heard that it can serve as a way to slowly understand hard text. Anyone tried it?
This is an absolute gamechanger for Japanese language learners. This site presents the current events in the region (just like regular NHK), but uses a much simpler approach to the language, complete with a kana translation and a narrator among other things.
Check it out here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/
Check this out. This is Mr Buffett's tips for productivity. Watching this actually has a lot of overlap to learning a language.
25 minutes uninterrupted learning, sounds simple it's actually brilliant!
Hey guys, anyone of you use SRS (in particular Anki) as a means of quickly jamming information to your memory? Research has proven that it is a quick way to learn AND retain information.
Look at this Wikipedia article, it mentions the many benefits of this and much more. I guess the reason why I am asking is because I have used it to some success when I started learning Japanese. Thing is, it got boring real quick... and I quit because of it.
Do you think it's best to try again? I mean I guess I can go the usual route of reading books and such but idk. Looking forward to your replies :)
