B ldeas for |ax|n|z|ng

Your |anguage |earn|ng Journey

B ldeas tnat w||| ne|p you be nore eff|c|ent,
nore effect|ve, and nave nore fun |earn|ng anotner |anguage.
by Aaron G Myers
As l often say at 1ne |veryday |anguage |earners b|og, l nave yet to
neet anyone wno d|dnt tn|nk |earn|ng anotner |anguage was a good
|dea. lf you are read|ng tn|s, l suspect tnat you fee| tne sane. |ernaps
youve a|ready |earned a few |anguages. |aybe you nave tne |tcn to
beg|n your f|rst.
|egard|ess, everyone can |earn anotner |anguage. |eop|e a|| over tne
wor|d nave done |t and are do|ng |t on a regu|ar bas|s. 1ne fact of tne
natter rena|ns tnat nost of tne wor|d a|ready knows two or nore
|anguages. |or nost |t |s norna|.
But |f you are ||ke ne, |f you grew up nono||ngua| |n a nono||ngua|
soc|ety, tne |dea of |earn|ng a second |anguage can seen nore tnan a b|t
daunt|ng. lt was for ne.
|y year of Gernan |n co||ege f|fteen years ago was ]ust nortn of fut||e.
1en years of |earn|ng 5pan|sn on ny own were educat|ona| - and a |ot
nore successfu|. 5o by tne t|ne l started |earn|ng 1urk|sn |n 2DDB l nad
f|gured out sone tougn |essons, rece|ved sone great tra|n|ng for be|ng
an |ndependent |anguage |earner and was ready to |earn tne |anguage on
ny own and |earn |t we||.
W|tn Gernan l was s|ogg|ng tnrougn w|tn ||tt|e success. |or 5pan|sn l
was work|ng nard but nak|ng s|ow, steady progress. W|tn 1urk|sn
tnougn, l began to nave fun, exc|ted by tne progress and prospect of
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
|ets get ser|ous about
|earn|ng anotner |anguage
naster|ng tne |anguage. 1nere are a |ot of reasons for tne d|fference,
but |n tn|s snort art|c|e l wou|d ||ke to snare w|tn you e|gnt |deas tnat l
tn|nk w||| ne|p you nax|n|ze your |anguage |earn|ng. 1ney d|d for ne.
l w||| try to be c|ear and succ|nct |n descr|b|ng tnese e|gnt |deas. l dont
want to t|e up too nucn of your t|ne nere. lf you fee| tne need to read a
b|t nore, l nave |nc|uded a ||tt|e extra read|ng at tne end of eacn sect|on.
|ee| free to c||ck on tnese and tne ||nk w||| take you to a post l nave
wr|tten about tne top|c at tne b|og. As you read tnese, fee| free to snare
tnen w|tn your fr|ends or |eave a connent. Botn wou|d be apprec|ated.
Okay, |ets get started.
'. ||ect Yourse|f |res|dent
|ernaps tne nost |nportant step toward nax|n|z|ng your |anguage |earn|ng
exper|ence |s |n nak|ng tne cno|ce to take cnarge of your own |earn|ng. You
nave to take respons|b|||ty. You and you a|one know wnat works best for you,
know your own |earn|ng sty|e, your persona||ty and tne tne tn|ngs about wn|cn
you are pass|onate.
1nere are |ots of fo|ks out tnere ready to te|| you tnat tn|s or tnat netnod |s tne
very best for |anguage |earn|ng. 5one w||| te|| you tnat |anguage scnoo| |s tne
on|y way to go. Otners tnat |anguage scnoo|s were created sonewnere |n tne
darkest p|ts of ne||. And depend|ng on your persona||ty and |earn|ng sty|e botn
nay be r|gnt.
1nere |s no s||ver bu||et for |earn|ng anotner |anguage. l w|sn tnere were.
1nere are nowever a wno|e buncn of |ead bu||ets wn|cn conb|ned togetner can
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
ne|p you create a persona| |anguage |earn|ng progran tnat w||| a||ow you to
successfu||y |earn anotner |anguage on your own terns.
Wnen you e|ect yourse|f pres|dent of your |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney you put
yourse|f |n contro|. Any good pres|dent w||| ||sten to n|s or ner adv|sors, ||sten
to d|fferent perspect|ves, even exper|nent a b|t w|tn d|fferent |deas - but |n tne
end, |t |s tne pres|dent wno nakes tne f|na| dec|s|on on wnat w||| or wont work.
extra read|ng
||nd Your 5ty|e
1ne Wor|ds Best |anguage |earn|ng |etnod
2. Contro| 1ne ||ow
As a |anguage |earner you want to qu|ck|y take contro| of tne f|ow of tne |nput
you are rece|v|ng as a |earner. lnput |s any nessage |n tne |anguage: wr|tten
or spoken. We use |nput to |earn tne |anguage wnen we near a word and
nake a connect|on |n our n|nds to tne words nean|ng.
lf we read or near sonetn|ng |n tne |anguage and we understand notn|ng, |f |ts
]ust sound or |etters on a page w|tn no nean|ng - we wont |earn anytn|ng. lt
w||| be |nposs|b|e to acqu|re tne |anguage.
lf on tne otner nand we near sonetn|ng |n tne |anguage tnat |s presented |n a
way tnat denonstrates tne nean|ng - we g|ve our bra|ns a cnance to nake
connect|ons to tne nean|ng of tne sounds and |etters we are near|ng or
see|ng.
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
As an exanp|e l nave used e|sewnere, |f |n ny f|rst nontns nere |n lstanbu| l
were to nave turned on tne rad|o and ||stened to a progran about bra|n
sc|ence tnere wou|d nave been very ||tt|e tnat l wou|d nave nade any
connect|on to and l wou|d nave ga|ned very ||tt|e fron tne t|ne spent ||sten|ng.
lt wou|d nave ]ust been sounds.
lf on tne otner nand, l nad turned on CNBC on 5aturday norn|ng and sat down
w|tn ny two k|ds to watcn tne cartoon `Dora tne |xp|orer, l wou|d nave seen
Dora runn|ng down tne road as sne to|d us sne was runn|ng, runn|ng, runn|ng
down tne road. Dora narrates near|y everytn|ng sne does, sne |nteracts w|tn
tne v|ewer w|tn tne sane quest|ons aga|n and aga|n and |n genera| says words
repeated|y as tne ob]ects spoken of are n|gn||gnted on tne screen. |ven
w|tnout know|ng nucn 1urk|sn l was ab|e to understand nucn of wnat Dora
was ta|k|ng about and |earned a |ot of new words, express|ons and grannar
forns wn||e watcn|ng.
5o |t |s |nportant tnat you work nard to contro| tne f|ow of tne |nput you w|||
rece|ve. 1n|s |s nost|y about tne cno|ces you nake, cnoos|ng a con|c book
to read before a nove|, cnoos|ng to watcn your favor|te nov|e dubbed |n tne
|anguage over a news progran about tne po||t|ca| s|tuat|on |n tne country. lt |s
about tak|ng steps to set tne paraneters, to bu||d background know|edge and
to take contro| of tne |nput you rece|ve.
extra read|ng
Conprenens|b|e lnput
25 Ways to ||nd Conprenens|b|e lnput
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
3. H|t lt |ron A|| 5|des
One way to nake nore connect|ons, qu|cker w|tn tne new words, concepts,
grannar structures and express|ons of a new |anguage |s to n|t tne |anguage
fron a|| s|des. We need to enter tne |anguage fron a var|ety of d|rect|ons.
We do tn|s tnrougn read|ng and wr|t|ng and ||sten|ng and speak|ng. 1nrougn
rev|ew|ng f|asncards and read|ng con|c books and wr|t|ng stor|es and watcn|ng
nov|es and study|ng a grannar book.
As a |earner, g|ve yourse|f as nany opportun|t|es to be exposed to tne tn|ngs
you are |earn|ng as you can. 1n|s |s best done by obta|n|ng nass|ve anounts
of |nput fron a var|ety of sources.
lf for exanp|e you nave a new word on a f|asncard wn|cn you rev|ew a few
t|nes eacn day and tnen you cone across tne word |n tne book you are
read|ng and |ater near |t used |n a song you are ||sten|ng to, you nave g|ven
your n|nd a wno|e |ot of repet|t|on and created a stronger and nore nuanced
connect|on to tnat word. 1n|s w||| nove tne word nore qu|ck|y |nto your
usab|e vocabu|ary and w||| speed tne |earn|ng process.
extra read|ng
|u|t| |ntry
4. lntegrate 1nat |ev|ew
l probab|y snou|dnt adn|t |t, but l was a C average student |n n|gn scnoo|. You
see scnoo| d|dnt work out for ne because tney actua||y wanted ne to study,
to |nterrupt ny ||fe of fun and adventure to study. 1ne nerve!
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
Wnat l needed was a way to rev|ew a|| of tnat stuff wn||e l was nav|ng fun. l
needed to |ntegrate ny |earn|ng |nto ny ||fe. As a |anguage |earner, f|gur|ng
out now to do tn|s nas nade a trenendous d|fference |n tne anount of t|ne l
an ab|e to put |nto |earn|ng 1urk|sn.
lntegrat|ng rev|ew |s about creat|ng systens tnat take tne work out of
study|ng. 5ystens tnat f|t |nto tne f|ow of ny day, tnat dont requ|re ne to set
as|de |arge cnunks of t|ne for study, tnat create eff|c|ent ways to capture and
rev|ew new nater|a| and nore qu|ck|y nove |t fron ny snort tern to |ong
tern nenory.
Dont get ne wrong. You w||| st||| need to study. But |n order to nax|n|ze tnat
study t|ne and nave fewer `l renenber |earn|ng tn|s once nonents,
|ntegrated rev|ew |s a nust.
extra read|ng
lntegrated |ev|ew - tne v|deo tutor|a| w|tn exanp|es
|anguage |earn|ng 1|p: Os|ng ||asncards |ffect|ve|y
Handcrafted Aud|o for |enenber|ng Wnat You |earn
5. |||| tne |r|dge
lf you nave ever nade a New Years reso|ut|on to eat nea|tn|er and fa||ed, |t
cou|d because you fa||ed to f||| tne fr|dge. lt |s a great goa|, but |f you fa|| to
c|ean out a|| tne bad food fron your sne|ves and fr|dge and tnen |n turn f||| tnen
fu|| of nea|tny food and on|y nea|tny food, |t w||| be d|ff|cu|t to overcone tne
urge to eat tne 1w|nk|e tnat st||| stares out at you fron |ts corner of tne
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
cupboard. lf you want a snack and tnere |s on|y nea|tny food |n tne nouse,
tnen |t |s easy to cnoose nea|tny food.
'
As a |anguage |earner, you too want to f||| your none w|tn tnose tn|ngs tnat w|||
support your |anguage |earn|ng. lf your nov|e drawer |s f|||ed w|tn nundreds of
great nov|es |n your nat|ve |anguage and on|y two |n tne target |anguage -
two tnat you nave seen so nany t|nes youve grown to nate tnen - you
wont be watcn|ng nov|es as part of your |anguage |earn|ng.
lf you nave an |tcn to put |n sone t|ne w|tn tne |anguage, but your on|y
|anguage nater|a| |s upsta|rs |n tne back bedroon, you nay be nore apt to
]ust go back to anotner funny Youtube v|deo. But |f tne|r |s a copy of a target
|anguage ed|t|on of your favor|te nagaz|ne on tne end tab|e, a booksne|f fu|| of
target |anguage read|ng nater|a| across tne roon and a stereo |oaded up w|tn
great nus|c - |n tne target |anguage of course - you w||| great|y |ncrease your
cnances of putt|ng |n tne t|ne.
A r|cn |anguage |earn|ng env|ronnent |s sonetn|ng tnat you can bu||d. By
do|ng so you w||| great|y |ncrease tne anount of exposure you nave to tne
|anguage and g|ve yourse|f a better cnance to be successfu|. lnners|on |n
todays wor|d |s nore a natter of cno|ce tnan |t |s of |ocat|on. Do wnat you
can to surround yourse|f w|tn tne |anguage.
extra read|ng
Creat|ng a |ersona| |anguage |earn|ng Cu|ture
Create a 1arget |anguage Bubb|e: Jo|n |acebook
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
1
This idea of lling the fridge with healthy food comes from a great blog post called Bad Goal, Good
Goal which can be found at All Japanese All The Time.
G. One |ore ||nute Dad
One sure s|gn tnat ny son |s nav|ng fun |s tne frant|c p|ea for `One nore
n|nute dad! 1ne gane |s ]ust too nucn fun to qu|t r|gnt tnen. 1ne
|nag|nat|ve adventure too conpe|||ng. Cant ne ]ust nave one nore n|nute.
l suspect tnat you too nave nad your adu|t vers|ons of `one nore n|nute dad.
You |ay |n bed unt|| 2:DD A| to f|n|sn tne book youve been read|ng. You
wa|k |n ten n|nutes |ate to work w|tn an excuse about bad traff|c wnen rea||y
you were s|tt|ng |n your car |n tne park|ng |ot ||sten|ng to tne c|os|ng n|nutes of
a Wor|d Cup qua||f|er natcn.
Joy |s a powerfu| enot|on. ||nd|ng tn|ngs we enJOY tnen |s an |nportant part
of nax|n|z|ng tne |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney. 1ap |nto your pass|ons, your
nobb|es and tne tn|ngs you |ove for your |anguage |earn|ng.
|earn|ng a |anguage |s un|que |n tnat we can |earn |t tnrougn any top|c we
cnoose. lf you want to |earn natn or wor|d n|story - you nave to study natn
and wor|d n|story.
But |f you want to |earn |rencn and you |ove rock c||nb|ng you can nake rock
c||nb|ng tne top|c tnrougn wn|cn you |earn |rencn. lf you want to |earn 1urk|sn
and you |ove scrap book|ng, you can read scrap book|ng b|ogs |n 1urk|sn. And
|f you are 1|notny |err|s and you want to |earn Japanese so you can conpete
conpet|t|ve|y |n Judo |n Japan - and you dont want to get k|||ed - you can get
a book teacn|ng Judo wr|tten |n on|y |n Japanese.
2
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
2
Timothy Ferris!s blog post How to Learn Any Language in Three Months at his blog The Four Hour Work
Week. Interesting article.
5o |dent|fy tne tn|ngs tnat nake you cone a||ve, tnat you |ove, tnat nake you
say, `one nore n|nute dad and tnen f|nd tnose top|cs |n tne target |anguage.
extra read|ng
1rad|t|ona| 5tudy verses ||a|n O|e |un
7. W||| You Be |y |r|end?
Wny do you want to |earn tn|s |anguage? lf you are ||ke ne |t |s pr|nar||y
because you want to be ab|e to speak w|tn nat|ve speakers of tne |anguage.
lt |s because of tne peop|e.
|or tn|s reason, you need to f|nd nat|ve speak|ng fr|ends. You need to f|nd
tnen and you need to f|nd tnen now. 1nere |s no t|ne ||ke tne present.
lf you are an expat ||v|ng overseas, you probab|y a|ready nave sone. lf not,
get out tne front door and f|nd sone.
lf you are |n your none country, |t nay be a b|t nore d|ff|cu|t, but |t |s not
|nposs|b|e. 1nere are nost ||ke|y nat|ve speakers |n a c|ty near you. 1ne c|ty
of Cnar|otte, Nortn Caro||na |n tne states for exanp|e |s reported to nave
speakers of 'GD d|fferent |anguages. 1nats |n a c|ty of ]ust 2 n||||on peop|e.
But |f you cant f|nd soneone to s|t down and buy a cup of coffee for, you can
at |east f|nd fr|ends on||ne. 1nere are scores of webs|tes ded|cated to ne|p|ng
|anguage |earners connect w|tn tnose wno speak tne|r target |anguage. You
]ust need to s|gn up and get started.
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
You need to bu||d fr|endsn|ps for a nunber of reasons. ||rst and forenost |s
purpose. We a|| do better wnen we nave a sense of purpose |n wnat we are
do|ng and a fr|end wno speaks tne |anguage w||| do nucn to connect us to tnat
purpose.
A second reason |s for encouragenent. Your co-workers probab|y dont care
tnat you want to |earn anotner |anguage. 1ney nay tn|nk |t a neat |dea but w|||
|end ||tt|e |n tne way of encouragenent. A nat|ve speak|ng fr|end nowever
cares |nnense|y. You are work|ng to |earn tne|r |anguage, tne|r notner
tongue and tney w||| be your b|ggest fan.
5o work to nake fr|ends |n tne target |anguage fron day one.
extra read|ng
'2 |esources for ||nd|ng |anguage |artners
Dest|ny + |xper|ence = |owerfu| |anguage |earn|ng
B. |artner Op
lt nas often been sa|d tnat tne true neasure of a nan |s found |n wnat ne does
wnen ne |s a|one. 1nere |s a |ot of trutn to tnat d|ctun and so l want to
encourage you to not go on tne |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney a|one.
lf l an nonest w|tn nyse|f, l an |az|er and |ess focused tnan l |et on.
Accountab|||ty tnen |s a great renedy for ny own snortcon|ngs.
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
||nd|ng otners to snare |n tne |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney |s not on|y a great
source of accountab|||ty but a|so of encouragenent. 1ne wr|ter of
|cc|es|astes says |t best pernaps:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls
down and has no one to help him up!
Your best bet tnen wou|d be to |earn anotner |anguage w|tn a fr|end or two.
1ogetner you can encourage one anotner and keep one anotner accountab|e
to stay tne course. 1ogetner you can nead down to Cn|na town or tne
|ex|can grocery store or tnat autnent|c rurd|sn restaurant to nake sone new
fr|ends and pract|ce speak|ng and ||sten|ng. And you w||| a|ways |earn fron one
anotner.
|ack|ng a fr|end to ]o|n you on tne ]ourney, cons|der tne ||uent |n 1nree
|ontns forun wnere you can post your `|anguage n|ss|on, keep a |og of your
progress, snare your |deas and |earn fron otners wno are |earn|ng your target
|anguage.
|ew of us nave tne stee| |n our sou|s to acn|eve our goa|s pure|y on our own.
||nd a partner, a fr|end or co-worker w|tn wnon you can so]ourn on tn|s
]ourney toward f|uency |n anotner |anguage.
extra read|ng
||uent |n 1nree |ontns |orun
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
5one ||na| 1nougnts
l want to beg|n tnese c|os|ng tnougnts by tnank|ng you for ]o|n|ng tne |veryday
|anguage |earner connun|ty and for tak|ng tne t|ne to read tn|s snort art|c|e.
l nope |t nas been enpower|ng and encourag|ng and l |ook forward to
cont|nu|ng to be a part of your |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney. l nope you w||| take
a nonent to snare 1ne |veryday |anguage |earner w|tn your fr|ends on
|acebook, 1w|tter or by ]ust stand|ng up wnerever you are at and nak|ng
announcenent:-).
1nanks so nucn for read|ng and b|ess|ngs on your |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney,
-Aaron
You can a|so keep up to date w|tn a|| tn|ngs |D|| by fo||ow|ng a|ong on:
|acebook
1w|tter
Youtube
Goog|e+
5tunb|e Opon
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
A |ew |esources
lf you are at a p|ace of need|ng nore d|rect|on as you beg|n to |earn anotner
|anguage, cons|der s|gn|ng up for 1ne 1en Week Journey. lt |s a free ena||
course des|gned to wa|k you |nto se|f-d|rected |anguage |earn|ng.
C||ck on tn|s ||nk to |earn nore about 1ne 1en Week Journey
lf you nave been on tne |anguage |earn|ng ]ourney for a wn||e but nave at
t|nes run out of stean, tnen you nay want to cneck out ny free ebook,
5usta|n|ng. lt was wr|tten to ne|p you create, na|nta|n and protect your
not|vat|on, conn|tnent and att|tude toward |earn|ng anotner |anguage.
C||ck tn|s ||nk to read 5usta|n|ng now.
||na||y, l want to encourage you to be sure and exp|ore tne b|og and see wnat
otner great resources are ava||ab|e to ne|p you as you |earn anotner |anguage.
A few pages you nay be |nterested |n are:
|anguage |earn|ng Act|v|t|es: 1n|s page |s f|||ed w|tn act|v|t|es you can use to
|earn tne |anguage |n persona| study, w|tn a nat|ve speak|ng ne|per or out |n tne
connun|ty.
|anguage 5pec|f|c |age: 1n|s page - f|||ed w|tn f|ags - nas ||nks to resources
for eacn of tne |anguages found tnere. lf tne |anguage you are |earn|ng |s not
present, send ne a nasty ena|| and l|| get on |t r|gnt away.
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER
Gett|ng 5tarted |esources: 1n|s page nosts ||nks to |oads of |anguage |earn|ng
resources tnat can be found on||ne, nost for free.
l do nave two ebooks for sa|e. Cneck tnen out |f you wou|d ||ke. {And
renenber, you can rece|ve a 3D d|scount by us|ng tne d|scount code: newnenber3D)
C||ck nere to |earn about 1ne Gu|de 1o 5e|f-Assessnent
C||ck nere to |earn about tne Gu|de to Gett|ng 5tarted
{1ne ||rst C|ass ed|t|on of tne Gu|de to Gett|ng 5tarted |nc|udes tne Gu|de to 5e|f-
Assessnent, 3 great |nterv|ews w|tn everyday |anguage |earners, 2D aud|o |essons, p|ann|ng
worksneets and nore)
_________________
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THE EVERYDAY LANGUAGE LEARNER