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 :)

Learn a Language: DIY Grammar Booklet!

Hey guys,

Well, I've decided--this is the month to learn Portuguese. No excuses. I began learning it a couple of months ago, as school was coming to an end, but now, I want to learn it. Dive in head first. All in a month.

...what?

That's right--this month, I'm learning Portuguese full speed! After doing my Spanish challenge for three months the beginning of this year, I noticed that I like small challenges. Small, though. Not three months.

Looking back on my posts (I was learning this language, then not, then this one, then not...), let's just look at the languages I'm learning right now:
French
Italian
Spanish
Portuguese
Romanian
Dutch (perhaps?)

I want to get back into Swedish (because I miss it :( ), but this is the month of Portuguese! I recently also tried Dutch, since it was the first language I worked on before French (which was my first serious language four years ago), but Portuguese needs my full attention right now. No more excuses.

While I'm incorporating new ideas/methods to learn Portuguese, I'd like to share them. Just so you have more methods you can incorporate in your language learning :)

IELanguages has been a gift for me. Whenever I wonder about grammar in one of the languages I'm learning, I always go to this site! If the site doesn't have the language I'm learning (for instance, Romanian is one of them), then I scour the web for the juicy grammar rules.

This past week I used Microsoft Publisher to make a Portuguese Grammar booklet, and it is GORGEOUS! I'm very glad I made it because, when I'm practicing my writing skills on lang-8, I now don't have to scurry onto the web and try finding what I'm looking for. This nice booklet answers all my questions.

Not from IELanguages, but My Languages

Notice how I don't like a lot of white space ;)

Taken directly from IELanguages.

So, where do you start? This is as easy as I can make it:

1. Go to Google
2. Search "______ grammar"
3. Find a website that you enjoy/has grammar points that you consider to be necessary for your desired language (Ex: conjugating verbs, irregular verbs, prepositions, everyday vocabulary...)
4. Open Microsoft Publisher and open More Page Sizes
5. Click on the folder entitled Booklet
6. Click on dimensions of 5.5 x 8.5 (8.5 is the regular length of the paper, 5.5 is half of the width)
7. Copy and paste (unless you find errors)

And... walah! I hope that you consider making a grammar book--they are VERY USEFUL when beginning and everything looks like a jumbled mess! I'll be adding more tips and methods as I continue my journey with Portuguese, but, in the meantime, have fun!

Question of the Post: What's your favourite method in learning a language?

PS--Italy photos soon to come up! :)