Irish Challenge Underway!

Dad and I have been doing colored film lately--this is one from the first roll we got back!

Hey all,

So, I really want to document my language learning more closely. After having finished my Spanish tree on Duolingo this week (woo!), I feel really inclined to push forward, get more trees done, and build on my already known knowledge.

Irish, so far, is very captivating to me. I haven't had time to focus on it too much, because ASL has been seducing me to learn more signs (thank goodness I finished the Switched at Birth seasons, because otherwise I wouldn't have so much learning time!), and now it feels like Irish is fighting back! I'm really excited. :)

Just being able to learn a whole new language from scratch (because some of my current languages have been on and off projects, while some have just stayed with me the whole time) is totally mindblowing, and I'm dedicated towards challenging myself with a brand-new, completely I-don't-know-what-this-looks-like language!

My target date to "finish" my Irish studies is December 22nd, 2014. Why am I picking a date so close to Christmas? Well, as we all have experienced, November and December are go-mad-finding-gifts months and I want to see how well I can push myself during those busy months! Plus, I really love winter--it's my most favorite time of the year (surprisingly), and that's why I feel the warmest inside and cozy. Why not learn a new language when you know you're going to be uber happy?

I'm also picking this solely because I've already been playing around with the language, and my one month Portuguese challenge was SUPER successful during August (I think I still have to write about that ;) )! With my blog, I'll document my progress so that you can see what I go through while learning a new language every Saturday. And if I don't, you can yell at me.

I hope that some will go along with me and use the it's-almost-Christmas date as their deadline too! What language will you be challenging?

How to Learn a Language (For Real)

Hey all,

So, learning languages is becoming a big deal nowadays, and while it's great that people have this new (or perhaps old and longing) interest in learning a language, a lot don't know where to start. What do you learn first? Where do you learn the grammar, vocab, etc.?

Before I go into the steps, I just want to say this--it's habit-enforced.

Huh?

I'm just saying that you need to spend time with your language, on a daily basis, in order to learn it. That doesn't mean that you spend 3 hours on it everyday--it could be just ten minutes of your time. There's really no excuse for not learning a language, because even the smallest amount of time will help you to improve.

In case you need some more convincing on what I'm doing (because I know that a lot can preach their ideas, but haven't experienced it themselves (not trying to sound like a bitch haha)), I'm currently learning eight languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, ASL, German, and Gaelic). I understand that 5 of them are categorized under one group of languages, but that doesn't mean that I don't take time with each of them. I practice all of them by themselves, and it's totally worth it.

So let's say you're just beginning with a second language--that would only be thirty minutes a day. That's not bad at all, unlike the sound of my four hours :)

Can you guess how long it takes me per day to practice them? I usually like to aim for thirty minutes each--which would account to four hours of learning (which makes me laugh). BUT, I don't do them all in a row. I'm a college student, and I'm loading six classes this semester and, with studying, reading, exams, papers, blah blah blah, I use my breaks to practice my languages. That is the best habit I've ever found. Let me emphasize that again--I USE MY BREAKS DURING STUDYING TO PRACTICE MY LANGUAGES.

Whew. That got intense. ;)

Okay, blah blah blah, here ya go!

1. Listen--Gosh, what a miracle this is. I'm all about sounding "authentic", which means that I need to listen listen listen and catch any letters they may use that we don't have in English. It's great if you can find a pronunciation video on YT or another website, because you can mimic. And acting like a monkey every once in a while doesn't hurt.
2. Learn Greetings/Find a Program--Duolingo has helped me tremendously start my Gaelic journey because they include tips, audio, and have feedback from other users. If you Google "[language] greetings" or "learn [language]", you will find several sites that are "promising". Take your time to look through them and see what you like doing--we all learn in different ways. Whether you like looking at pictures, or seeing a list of vocab, it's all up to you and what you like.
3. Read, write, listen, speak, repeat--I go through 4 things each day in those thirty minutes--I read someone online in the language (even if it's just 4 sentences, you're still practicing), write something with my known knowledge, listen to a video in the language, and speak to myself. Speaking to yourself may sound silly, but it allows you to practice stringing words together and forming sentences. The more you practice, the quicker your sentences come together.
4. Find a native--this is probably my most intimidating moment, just because self-learning can put you into your own little bubble, where you're comfortable and don't feel like getting out. Well, pop that bubble! I use HelloTalk (an app for Apple and Android) that allows you to meet native speakers of the language you are learning that are (most likely) willing to talk to you. You can make some awesome acquaintances or penpals this way, and it allows you to use that info you've worked so hard to learn! I now have a friend in Brazil who's my age and wants to practice his English and Spanish, and he helps me with my Portuguese. I've learned so much about this kid that it feels like we go to school together! Penpals really help you to connect with the language on a different type of basis. Try it and you'll see what I mean :)
5. Speak up! Allow yourself to boast about it if someone needs help--I know that we're usually shy when we first begin to speak with others and use our vocab and grammar and put it to the test, but it's really cool to others and your self-esteem majorly skyrockets into the universe of polyglothood.

If you have any questions on learning a language that I maybe didn't go about talking here, feel free to hit me up and I'll get back to you asap :)

My First Love: Livemocha

Roses are red, violets are blue
Livemocha rocks, and so do you

Really, though, you do rock ;) you rock SO MUCH that I'm going to share my first true love. No, not a story about that crush I had in fourth grade, but my first language love.

When I was first intrigued to learn French, I didn't know where to start. There were programs like Rosetta Stone (don't mention that name to me--it's forbidden on my site!) that cost a lot of money, which wasn't an option for me since I didn't work. During my search, I found a website called Livemocha.

Now, after finally using something other than Internet Explorer, I can use it again--yay!

This website is really nice for beginners to get on their feet with a new language, especially if you don't have people who speak the language around you. You can make friends, chat, and provide advice for people learning languages you speak.

Here, I am going to show you some screenshots from my attempt at Swedish with Livemocha. There are four stages that you go through per lesson, which we will go further into depth.


1) Learn--probably the most required for the lesson, this part focuses on introducing you to the new vocabulary/phrases, the pronunciation, and the meanings.

As you go through the sentences, you will hear the pronunciation as well as the sentence in the chosen language. To see the English translation, you hit <Translate> under the photos on the left hand side. To see tips on the sentence, you can view them on the left hand side of the screen.

After you finish going through the lesson, you will be able to create a flashcard set, which can be a plus if you plan on printing them out and taking them with you somewhere. I have used this part of the website and it is nice to be able to have the set of flashcards, but I prefer using sites like Quizlet or Memrise for memorization.

2) Review--you will be "quizzed" on your newly-learned vocabulary with reading and listening exercises. You will have to match a photo with the description/phrase, or re-create the sentence. Both of these ways are to help you remember the phrases and (hopefully) place them into long-term memory. (IMO) it's a really fun way to recognize and remember the new information, and it is simple.

3) Write--this can be a bit complicated at first, but the meaning of the exercise is to allow you to understand how to use your new vocabulary. When you hit <Submit>, others will be able to make corrections for you and/or tell you how well you did.

4) Speak--ah, the fun part! During this exercise, I've noticed that they'll give you words that you haven't yet learned. While that's okay, it may be frustrating since you may not know how to pronounce them. Once you add audio, you can submit it, where it will be reviewed by another speaker. Some speakers are kind enough to make a recording of their own voice so that you can hear the pronunciation better, which rocks!

And, you're done! All set to go onto the next lesson! If you want extra practice, you can hit one of the three tabs under <Skill Builder Exercises> on the bottom right hand corner.

The thing that always amazes me about the site is how much content they allow people to learn for free. There are courses which you can buy, called Active Courses, and from my personal experience they work really well if you are dedicated to learning the language. Those courses offer more insight and grammar lessons, and allow you to participate in "role plays" with your voice recording. They also have quizzes and tests, which makes me jump for joy (sadly). I completed three of the four Active French courses and I really did enjoy them, but the free courses are great as well!

If you have any questions at all about the program, feel free to ask away! What I would recommend, from personal experience, is to get a notebook for the specific language and write your notes/new vocabulary in there, as well as grammar explanations that you find difficult. That way, you can find all of your progress in one spot.