Posts Tagged ‘study habits’
Feb
Feb
Make time for learning
It can stay exciting, if you keep the right attitude. But just as that emotional burst you get from your excitement can keep you going all year, the disruption you get from distractions and competing obligations will be there to slow you down or make you give up altogether. We’re not going to let that happen!
Feb
Feb
Describing people and things in Italian
The key to remembering what you learn is to use it. If you have a friend you can talk to in your language, that helps. But if not, it’s still okay to talk to yourself. Just look at the world around you and see how much you can already describe.
Feb
Feb
Practice everywhere!
You’re learning a lot of great stuff. In fact, if you’ve been following along with me for the past couple of weeks, you should already be surprised with how much you’ve already learned! But don’t forget to use it! Always remember that it’s not a race, and that there are no points given to the guy who finishes the lesson first. The winner is all of us, when we can talk to more people because we’ve learned a new language, and the only way to get there is by practice!
May
May
How I’m using my iPad to learn languages
There has been a lot of talk about the iPad since it’s announcement, but it’s been a lot of reaction and uninformed opinion, and very little helpful advice for using the iPad to learn languages
May
May
Let your method of learning reflect your goals with the language
A recent discussion between two language bloggers got me thinking about the methods we all use to learn, and what works best for each of us, and I made a surprising realization!
Jul
Jul
Mid-year progress report, part 1
It’s mid-year, and even though I have only completed 5 months with Italian (I started this blog in February), is seems appropriate to consider this my half-way point.
So… how is my progress?
General assessment
Today I want to give a general self-assessment and talk about what sticks out in my mind… how I “feel”…
Jul
Jul
Where do you find the time?
Not long after I started this blog, I stumbled into a Facebook conversation about me. Someone shared a link to this site, telling his friends that I learn a new language fluently every year, and that I write about it on a blog. One of the first responses was, “Yeah? He must be unemployed.”
Some…
Oct
Oct
Learn the words you use
So often, people rigidly follow lesson plans, or course books, or flashcard decks expecting those things to lead them to fluency, only to find themselves unable to say what they really want to say because they haven’t learned the words they use most!
Following programs or courses as they are laid out is a good…
Oct
Oct
Learning as a lifestyle
Usually, when people want to learn a new language but never do it, it’s because they don’t think they have the time for studying. They think they have to make time to study, to go to classes, to listen to CDs, to use software, to do flashcards and exercises… Eventually the thought of all that…
Oct
Oct
Sipping from the language hose
I recently discussed learning as a lifestyle, and said that I learn by using the language, not by studying it. I’ve pointed out that I don’t do lessons, I don’t use flashcards, I don’t take classes, and I don’t think you should either.
I claim that I learn from reading, listening to music, watching movies,…