Yesterday I took my road trip to Greenwood for the Delta Dinner and Blues class at Viking Cooking School.
It was a moderately long drive, so I used the opportunity to plow through Learning Spanish Like Crazy lessons on my iPod through lesson 12.
Even if the LSLC lessons didn't introduce new material, the review would be handy. But right from the first lesson there's a slight divergence between material covered, so I'm continuing to get a mix of novelty & review.
But it's familiar enough that going through a bunch of lessons during a road trip doesn't introduce a meaningful amount of stress.
The road trip itself, however, was exhausting. It kept me on the road until midnight, which blew my schedule.
The most intense Spanish-related exercise today was watching El Canal de Historia with closed captioning on.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
How long does it take? Part 3
Is there any real point to all this speculation? Maybe in some odd way I can't think of off-hand. It might scare off people thinking of learning a foreign language, which would be unfortunate.
The point isn't that it takes a long time to learn a foreign language, but that it doesn't take that long to learn a foreign language.
I work as a Programmer Analyst at Sourcelink (which I love, despite my constant bitching). I spend 40 hours each week behind a desk, 5 hours at lunch, 5 hours commuting, etc.
Those 40 hours belong to the company as long as the checks clear. It used to be that the 5 hours of commuting time belonged to the road, and then I started devoting them to Spanish.
That time wasn't mine at any point, because I was stuck behind the wheel. I don't just dislike the commute, but deeply loathe it. Audio Spanish lessons turned that lost time into productive and enjoyable time!
Instead of letting the stress of the commute eat at me (and oh how it did), Spanish lessons have redirected my thoughts in better ways, and my quality of life is better as a result.
After my lessons have run their course, I expect I will reactivate one of my old satellite radio subscriptions and use that time to listen to piped-in Spanish audio in the form of news, music etc.
If you have a half-hour commute like mine, I'd say you can pick up the basics of a second language within as little as four months just by putting that commute to good use.
The point isn't that it takes a long time to learn a foreign language, but that it doesn't take that long to learn a foreign language.
I work as a Programmer Analyst at Sourcelink (which I love, despite my constant bitching). I spend 40 hours each week behind a desk, 5 hours at lunch, 5 hours commuting, etc.
Those 40 hours belong to the company as long as the checks clear. It used to be that the 5 hours of commuting time belonged to the road, and then I started devoting them to Spanish.
That time wasn't mine at any point, because I was stuck behind the wheel. I don't just dislike the commute, but deeply loathe it. Audio Spanish lessons turned that lost time into productive and enjoyable time!
Instead of letting the stress of the commute eat at me (and oh how it did), Spanish lessons have redirected my thoughts in better ways, and my quality of life is better as a result.
After my lessons have run their course, I expect I will reactivate one of my old satellite radio subscriptions and use that time to listen to piped-in Spanish audio in the form of news, music etc.
If you have a half-hour commute like mine, I'd say you can pick up the basics of a second language within as little as four months just by putting that commute to good use.
How long does it take? Part 2
It's tough to say with any accuracy how much time I'll spend over the next several months reading and writing Spanish, working with flash cards, etc. I'll have to keep an eye on that and see if I can figure out some estimates.
The LSLC Teleclass is one hour each week (missing some weeks, such as this past Wednesday, when I was too exhausted to participate).
Each episode of Destinos is half an hour and takes place entirely in Spanish. So it should be easy enough to figure out how much time I put into watching the show by noting the number of episodes I've watched and how many times I've viewed each one.
Tracking my viewing of Spanish language TV and such may be trickier. Some times I'm paying relatively close attention for comprehension, and some times I'm just contemplating Paulina Rubio in ways that would not likely win points with her father.
But even the more casual viewing has been paying dividends, because a catchy hook will get stuck in my head, and my subconscious will slowly decode what's being sung, so in the middle of the day I'll suddenly figure out a Belanova lyric. I believe that kind of language internalization is actually quite valuable within the scope of a disciplined study routine.
It's considerably more difficult to factor the actual duration of brief exchanges in Spanish with local native speakers. That sort of thing is very valuable time spent, but can't be fit into neat blocks of study time.
The LSLC Teleclass is one hour each week (missing some weeks, such as this past Wednesday, when I was too exhausted to participate).
Each episode of Destinos is half an hour and takes place entirely in Spanish. So it should be easy enough to figure out how much time I put into watching the show by noting the number of episodes I've watched and how many times I've viewed each one.
Tracking my viewing of Spanish language TV and such may be trickier. Some times I'm paying relatively close attention for comprehension, and some times I'm just contemplating Paulina Rubio in ways that would not likely win points with her father.
But even the more casual viewing has been paying dividends, because a catchy hook will get stuck in my head, and my subconscious will slowly decode what's being sung, so in the middle of the day I'll suddenly figure out a Belanova lyric. I believe that kind of language internalization is actually quite valuable within the scope of a disciplined study routine.
It's considerably more difficult to factor the actual duration of brief exchanges in Spanish with local native speakers. That sort of thing is very valuable time spent, but can't be fit into neat blocks of study time.
How long does it take? Part 1
Just for kicks, I did a bit of googling this morning on how long it takes to learn a foreign language.
Although I consider this sort of question something just barely north of pure entertainment, I did find some comments that seemed interesting and possibly even true.
After learning that first foreign language, no matter what it is, learning any other additional language is said to be much easier.
Learning a language similar to a language you already know is said to be made easier due to the similarity. Example groups of similar languages were Romance languages (Spanish, Romanian, French, Portuguese, Italian, etc.) and whatever grouping includes English and Dutch.
Estimates of the sheer number of hours of focused study vary pretty wildly for a variety of reasons.
So I got to thinking about the number of actual study hours I put in toward learning Spanish.
First off, I don't count time spent browsing language forums, blogging about Spanish, etc. But I do count the time I spend writing posts in Spanish, reading posts in Spanish, and such, because that is time spent actually in the target language.
I opened IDLE (an interactive Python programming thingy) and started adding up a few figures.
Pimsleur Spanish I-III contains a total of 90 half-hour lessons. (I don't count the "bonus" lesson in each set, because I don't use them.) That's 45 hours if one only went through each lesson once.
I've worked through each of the lessons in Spanish II and Spanish III at least two or three times, but seldom more than that. And I slogged through the Spanish I lessons over and over, because that's what it seemed to take to get them into my brain.
I believe I can safely say that I put 150 hours into Pimsleur and could easily put in another 50 for review of sets II and III at some point.
If I counted right, LSLC (through Nivel Dos) contains 72 roughly half-hour audio lessons and about an hour of video.
Assuming I zip through some of the LSLC lessons with relative ease due to Pimsleur having already made me familiar with the material, I'll estimate 100 hours of additional study with the audio lessons.
That puts me at 250 hours just working the audio lessons.
Although I consider this sort of question something just barely north of pure entertainment, I did find some comments that seemed interesting and possibly even true.
After learning that first foreign language, no matter what it is, learning any other additional language is said to be much easier.
Learning a language similar to a language you already know is said to be made easier due to the similarity. Example groups of similar languages were Romance languages (Spanish, Romanian, French, Portuguese, Italian, etc.) and whatever grouping includes English and Dutch.
Estimates of the sheer number of hours of focused study vary pretty wildly for a variety of reasons.
So I got to thinking about the number of actual study hours I put in toward learning Spanish.
First off, I don't count time spent browsing language forums, blogging about Spanish, etc. But I do count the time I spend writing posts in Spanish, reading posts in Spanish, and such, because that is time spent actually in the target language.
I opened IDLE (an interactive Python programming thingy) and started adding up a few figures.
Pimsleur Spanish I-III contains a total of 90 half-hour lessons. (I don't count the "bonus" lesson in each set, because I don't use them.) That's 45 hours if one only went through each lesson once.
I've worked through each of the lessons in Spanish II and Spanish III at least two or three times, but seldom more than that. And I slogged through the Spanish I lessons over and over, because that's what it seemed to take to get them into my brain.
I believe I can safely say that I put 150 hours into Pimsleur and could easily put in another 50 for review of sets II and III at some point.
If I counted right, LSLC (through Nivel Dos) contains 72 roughly half-hour audio lessons and about an hour of video.
Assuming I zip through some of the LSLC lessons with relative ease due to Pimsleur having already made me familiar with the material, I'll estimate 100 hours of additional study with the audio lessons.
That puts me at 250 hours just working the audio lessons.
Friday, October 12, 2007
terminando Pimsleur y mi excursion este fin de semana
Acabo de terminar la ultimo leccion de Pimsleur Spanish III.
Mañana voy a manejar a Viking Cooking School en Greenwood para estudiar como cocinar tamales y otras comidas de la Mississippi Delta.
Mientras manejando, voy a estudiar unas lecciones de Learning Spanish Like Crazy en mi iPod.
Es muy importante que no termino mis estudios. Hay tanto mas que aprender, y debo continuar mientras puedo.
Creo que aprendiendo español está haciendo mi vida mejor. En todo caso, hay tantas personas muy agradables para quien español is el idioma primera. Espero que conocer unas estas buenas personas.
Mañana voy a manejar a Viking Cooking School en Greenwood para estudiar como cocinar tamales y otras comidas de la Mississippi Delta.
Mientras manejando, voy a estudiar unas lecciones de Learning Spanish Like Crazy en mi iPod.
Es muy importante que no termino mis estudios. Hay tanto mas que aprender, y debo continuar mientras puedo.
Creo que aprendiendo español está haciendo mi vida mejor. En todo caso, hay tantas personas muy agradables para quien español is el idioma primera. Espero que conocer unas estas buenas personas.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
fluency re-visited
While idly skimming a language learning forum shortly ago, I saw someone asking the question that never dies for long about what constitutes fluency.
One can blow a lot of time chasing that one. And some times I do for kicks.
Some of the suggestions I've seen involve the knowledge of enough vocabulary, rules, and colloquial speech to be able to do XYZ without having to look things up or mull it over.
Despite my unusually large and esoteric knowledge of English, I do still frequently pause while speaking to figure out how to express myself, and I look up terms for meaning, spelling, etc. So I will be surprised if I ever attain a level of Spanish mastery such that I don't have to do the same.
Some point out that terms such as "competency" and "proficiency" are far more useful than "fluency" in meaningful discussion, and I'm inclined to agree.
In my last entry I balked at the Minutemen patrolling the southern U. S. border and engaging Spanish speakers without any knowledge of Spanish. For some of these guys, a desirable level of competency might involve a core set of terms and expressions useful for conveying to migrant workers that one has no intention of shooting them but to smugglers that one is indeed willing to pull the trigger.
I'm more interested in being able to talk about food, computer programming, weather, current events, etc. I would like to be able to get through business meetings, enjoy a little recreational reading, and make friends.
So it makes sense for me to learn some specialized Spanish in addition to generalities. The Minutemen really just need to pick up a very small subset of Spanish in order to get by.
For day-to-day matters, it's less a question of "Am I fluent" and more one of "Can I do this thing I need to do?"
One can blow a lot of time chasing that one. And some times I do for kicks.
Some of the suggestions I've seen involve the knowledge of enough vocabulary, rules, and colloquial speech to be able to do XYZ without having to look things up or mull it over.
Despite my unusually large and esoteric knowledge of English, I do still frequently pause while speaking to figure out how to express myself, and I look up terms for meaning, spelling, etc. So I will be surprised if I ever attain a level of Spanish mastery such that I don't have to do the same.
Some point out that terms such as "competency" and "proficiency" are far more useful than "fluency" in meaningful discussion, and I'm inclined to agree.
In my last entry I balked at the Minutemen patrolling the southern U. S. border and engaging Spanish speakers without any knowledge of Spanish. For some of these guys, a desirable level of competency might involve a core set of terms and expressions useful for conveying to migrant workers that one has no intention of shooting them but to smugglers that one is indeed willing to pull the trigger.
I'm more interested in being able to talk about food, computer programming, weather, current events, etc. I would like to be able to get through business meetings, enjoy a little recreational reading, and make friends.
So it makes sense for me to learn some specialized Spanish in addition to generalities. The Minutemen really just need to pick up a very small subset of Spanish in order to get by.
For day-to-day matters, it's less a question of "Am I fluent" and more one of "Can I do this thing I need to do?"
reflections as I prepare to finish off Pimsleur Spanish III
Tomorrow I will work on the final lesson of Pimsleur Spanish III. I've enjoyed the program quite a bit and have learned a good bit of useful Spanish.
Although I can't really claim that Pimsleur has given me an advanced level of fluency, it goes deeper than some had led me to expect.
For instance, I heard a commercial for an internet service provider in Spanish shortly ago and was able to make out the gist of it from Pimsleur-provided knowledge and context.
Interestingly enough, this was during a show about the southern U. S. border featuring a bunch of Minutemen who patrol the border. The fact that not one of these guys can read or speak any Spanish at all comes into play in scene after scene. Not one? Seriously?
By the end of Spanish 3, the lessons have dealt with scenarios such as an ATM eating one's card, dealing with various business-related matters in more depth than in Spanish 2, scrambling to find express dry cleaning service, renting an apartment, and quite a bit more. The scenarios are common enough needs for travelers and provide context for conversation practice.
To further boost my vocabulary as well as improve my level of literacy with the vocabulary I've learned verbally, I've obtained a set of 1000 Visual Education (Vis-Ed) Modern Spanish Bilingual Vocabulary Cards. I'm a long-time fan of flash cards, because they seem to work well with my learning style and can be used in literal spare moments instead of half-hour increments.
Stuck at a red light? Waiting in line? On hold? Draw a random card & see if you can guess its meaning.
Although I plan to use my Pimsleur lessons for review after the last one is done, I'll be moving on to Learning Spanish Like Crazy, Destinos, and other programs in a more determined way starting this weekend. Review is always important, but at this stage I think the best thing I can do is keep the levels of challenge and novelty pretty high for a while.
LSLC may present some additional challenges for the commute than did Pimsleur, because at a glance it seems that their lessons aren't always a neatly packaged 30 minutes, but I expect that will prove to be a small matter. However it works out, I'll share what insights I can here in hopes it will help someone else.
In honor of my soon-to-be achievement....
Although I can't really claim that Pimsleur has given me an advanced level of fluency, it goes deeper than some had led me to expect.
For instance, I heard a commercial for an internet service provider in Spanish shortly ago and was able to make out the gist of it from Pimsleur-provided knowledge and context.
Interestingly enough, this was during a show about the southern U. S. border featuring a bunch of Minutemen who patrol the border. The fact that not one of these guys can read or speak any Spanish at all comes into play in scene after scene. Not one? Seriously?
By the end of Spanish 3, the lessons have dealt with scenarios such as an ATM eating one's card, dealing with various business-related matters in more depth than in Spanish 2, scrambling to find express dry cleaning service, renting an apartment, and quite a bit more. The scenarios are common enough needs for travelers and provide context for conversation practice.
To further boost my vocabulary as well as improve my level of literacy with the vocabulary I've learned verbally, I've obtained a set of 1000 Visual Education (Vis-Ed) Modern Spanish Bilingual Vocabulary Cards. I'm a long-time fan of flash cards, because they seem to work well with my learning style and can be used in literal spare moments instead of half-hour increments.
Stuck at a red light? Waiting in line? On hold? Draw a random card & see if you can guess its meaning.
Although I plan to use my Pimsleur lessons for review after the last one is done, I'll be moving on to Learning Spanish Like Crazy, Destinos, and other programs in a more determined way starting this weekend. Review is always important, but at this stage I think the best thing I can do is keep the levels of challenge and novelty pretty high for a while.
LSLC may present some additional challenges for the commute than did Pimsleur, because at a glance it seems that their lessons aren't always a neatly packaged 30 minutes, but I expect that will prove to be a small matter. However it works out, I'll share what insights I can here in hopes it will help someone else.
In honor of my soon-to-be achievement....
Friday, October 5, 2007
pressing ever forward, and a few reflections
Nothing dramatic to report today, but I've been continuing daily study & practice.
Lesson 25 of Pimsleur Spanish 3 today, and last night I zipped through lessons 3 and 4 of Learning Spanish Like Crazy (LSLC). The early LSLC lessons are mostly review so far, but there's still value in going through each of them at least once in my opinion.
They introduce new general-use vocabulary, speak at a different tempo from the Pimsleur speakers, emphasize a less formal manner of speaking than does Pimsleur, and adopt a somewhat different approach in general. And more advanced lessons will assume a foundation of the earlier material.
Mostly, though, my experience with Pimsleur has proven to me that repeated exposure to and practice using fundamental Spanish will increase my confidence and facility with the language.
LSLC came with lessons in .mp3 format and transcripts in .pdf (plus a number of .mp4 video lessons). I refer to the .pdf transcripts when/if doing so suits me, but Pimsleur's trained me to focus on listening & speaking first before letting my mental impressions of the text get in the way.
We'll see how my approach develops as I engage the material further.
The LSLC Wednesday evening Teleclass really has me kinda excited, though. I've now participated in two of them, and I have a feeling this may turn out to be a really valuable resource for accelerated improvement.
I've also been reading a book entitled Easy Spanish Reader by William T. Tardy. I've read the first 15 pages in idle moments over the last few days, and it is indeed pretty easy reading.
I hit up international news in Spanish in my Treo's web browser when I'm out & about some. Reading the news is more challenging, but I find it interesting. And anything that keeps up my interest in Spanish surely helps keep the whole process going.
The other day I scooted through a crowded gas station in Madison on my way to work, because I wasn't feeling well & figured I'd better start the day with a full stomach.
While ducking & weaving through the crowd, I noticed how rapidly strangers & I spoke to one another in passing, rattling off things like, "Skewzm'therebd." (Excuse me, there, buddy.)
We had no trouble understanding one another as native speakers of English, but I saw a fair number of people in the room for whom English did not appear to be a primary language. I wondered if they found my utterances totally incomprehensible.
I'm acquainted with some local expats from Spanish-speaking countries to the south, and have noticed some of them gradually cultivating reasonably advanced English skills over the last several years. How much time and effort have they had to invest?
Lesson 25 of Pimsleur Spanish 3 today, and last night I zipped through lessons 3 and 4 of Learning Spanish Like Crazy (LSLC). The early LSLC lessons are mostly review so far, but there's still value in going through each of them at least once in my opinion.
They introduce new general-use vocabulary, speak at a different tempo from the Pimsleur speakers, emphasize a less formal manner of speaking than does Pimsleur, and adopt a somewhat different approach in general. And more advanced lessons will assume a foundation of the earlier material.
Mostly, though, my experience with Pimsleur has proven to me that repeated exposure to and practice using fundamental Spanish will increase my confidence and facility with the language.
LSLC came with lessons in .mp3 format and transcripts in .pdf (plus a number of .mp4 video lessons). I refer to the .pdf transcripts when/if doing so suits me, but Pimsleur's trained me to focus on listening & speaking first before letting my mental impressions of the text get in the way.
We'll see how my approach develops as I engage the material further.
The LSLC Wednesday evening Teleclass really has me kinda excited, though. I've now participated in two of them, and I have a feeling this may turn out to be a really valuable resource for accelerated improvement.
I've also been reading a book entitled Easy Spanish Reader by William T. Tardy. I've read the first 15 pages in idle moments over the last few days, and it is indeed pretty easy reading.
I hit up international news in Spanish in my Treo's web browser when I'm out & about some. Reading the news is more challenging, but I find it interesting. And anything that keeps up my interest in Spanish surely helps keep the whole process going.
The other day I scooted through a crowded gas station in Madison on my way to work, because I wasn't feeling well & figured I'd better start the day with a full stomach.
While ducking & weaving through the crowd, I noticed how rapidly strangers & I spoke to one another in passing, rattling off things like, "Skewzm'therebd." (Excuse me, there, buddy.)
We had no trouble understanding one another as native speakers of English, but I saw a fair number of people in the room for whom English did not appear to be a primary language. I wondered if they found my utterances totally incomprehensible.
I'm acquainted with some local expats from Spanish-speaking countries to the south, and have noticed some of them gradually cultivating reasonably advanced English skills over the last several years. How much time and effort have they had to invest?
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
spiffy new Ko̱nyin keyboard
I've been beyond sick of trying to insert non-ASCII characters into documents, email messages, google searches, etc. for some time now.
And to address it, I've hunted for a Spanish keyboard, but never found anything that quite did it for me.
But now I have a new toy!
It's a Ko̱nyin K-2060UM-US, to be specific, one in a series of keyboards designed to take the pain out of using international characters in documents. The main feature that wooed me was a 2nd shift key designed for easy access to international characters and character modifiers.
For example, I can press the [e] key on the keyboard, then hold down the 2nd-shift key while pressing the key with the backtick to create the character "è".
Previously, this meant recalling and entering a special code, or sluggishly looking for the desired character in the Character Map utility in Windows. I never really came to appreciate either method.
My only meaningful concern was whether the keyboard would work with Vista, because an impressive lot of stuff doesn't. But it installed quickly & painlessly.
And to address it, I've hunted for a Spanish keyboard, but never found anything that quite did it for me.
But now I have a new toy!
It's a Ko̱nyin K-2060UM-US, to be specific, one in a series of keyboards designed to take the pain out of using international characters in documents. The main feature that wooed me was a 2nd shift key designed for easy access to international characters and character modifiers.
For example, I can press the [e] key on the keyboard, then hold down the 2nd-shift key while pressing the key with the backtick to create the character "è".
Previously, this meant recalling and entering a special code, or sluggishly looking for the desired character in the Character Map utility in Windows. I never really came to appreciate either method.
My only meaningful concern was whether the keyboard would work with Vista, because an impressive lot of stuff doesn't. But it installed quickly & painlessly.
Monday, October 1, 2007
an unexpected source of Spanish-language entertainment
I'm a fan of the show Heroes. Not a rabid fan, but I'm into it.
I not only watch the show, but in the stray idle moment I poke around in some of the odd websites & such they've created that supposedly take place in the Heroes universe.
What's this got to do with Spanish? Well, a very small bit, as it turns out.
This season, they've introduced some Spanish-speaking characters, and I received an email alert of sorts notifying me of updated content on a blog supposedly maintained by one of the characters. In it, she's taken to collecting newspaper articles in Spanish about mysterious deaths & Mayan prophecy, complete with translations.
http://www.samantha48616e61.com/ has it for now.
I not only watch the show, but in the stray idle moment I poke around in some of the odd websites & such they've created that supposedly take place in the Heroes universe.
What's this got to do with Spanish? Well, a very small bit, as it turns out.
This season, they've introduced some Spanish-speaking characters, and I received an email alert of sorts notifying me of updated content on a blog supposedly maintained by one of the characters. In it, she's taken to collecting newspaper articles in Spanish about mysterious deaths & Mayan prophecy, complete with translations.
http://www.samantha48616e61.com/ has it for now.
noting a bit of progress
Either early this year or some time last year, I watched several episodes of Destinos to see if I could make out much of what was said. At the time, I couldn't make out any meaningful amount of what was spoken, although I did recognize a few words & phrases, and could follow along with some of what was happening based on context.
Today I received a package from someone with whom I've been swapping some Spanish study materials. Inside was a... "well-loved" old Destinos book and set of audio CDs intended to be used along with it in a classroom environment (by the looks of it).
This got me wondering if I might notice any progress in understanding Destinos now that I've worked most of the way through Pimsleur Spanish III.
To my mild surprise, I was able to follow all but literally a couple of words/phrases in the first episode!
Hey, it's progress... right?
Today I received a package from someone with whom I've been swapping some Spanish study materials. Inside was a... "well-loved" old Destinos book and set of audio CDs intended to be used along with it in a classroom environment (by the looks of it).
This got me wondering if I might notice any progress in understanding Destinos now that I've worked most of the way through Pimsleur Spanish III.
To my mild surprise, I was able to follow all but literally a couple of words/phrases in the first episode!
Hey, it's progress... right?
Saturday, September 29, 2007
regresando otra vez
In some of my posts, I mention having completed some lesson or achieved some milestone. For instance, today I'm working Lesson 20 of Pimsleur Spanish 3. Within the next two weeks, I expect to mention having "completed" Spanish 3 all together.
But there's a bit more to it than that, isn't there?
In the Pimsleur method, material isn't covered only once. As one progresses through the lessons, previously introduced material is brought up again later to reinforce lessons learned and increase memory retention.
If you encounter something only once, the memory may not retain it fully. But if something appears in the mind again before it's forgotten, the mind may deem it significant enough to recall for a while. The more pre-forgetfulness repetitions of information, the more thoroughly it will be pressed into memory.
Additionally, if it appears again in more than one context, each additional bit of context will provide another way for the memory to access it. I have noticed, for instance, that if I work through a lesson CD while driving to work, some times the next time I see a landmark I noticed while working through a particular part of a recent lesson, that part of the lesson will come right to mind.
You can make this work for you by engaging native speakers in conversation and using terms from your lessons, and by exposing yourself to the material again in written, spoken, and song form. The more you do this, the more meaningful context will build up around the material you are learning.
It's very helpful to continually expose yourself to fresh vocabulary and usage of your target language, but don't forget to return again and again to the material you have already encountered before you forget it. Doing this will help you more effectively learn that which you've already taken the time to study, so that study time won't be lost.
But there's a bit more to it than that, isn't there?
In the Pimsleur method, material isn't covered only once. As one progresses through the lessons, previously introduced material is brought up again later to reinforce lessons learned and increase memory retention.
If you encounter something only once, the memory may not retain it fully. But if something appears in the mind again before it's forgotten, the mind may deem it significant enough to recall for a while. The more pre-forgetfulness repetitions of information, the more thoroughly it will be pressed into memory.
Additionally, if it appears again in more than one context, each additional bit of context will provide another way for the memory to access it. I have noticed, for instance, that if I work through a lesson CD while driving to work, some times the next time I see a landmark I noticed while working through a particular part of a recent lesson, that part of the lesson will come right to mind.
You can make this work for you by engaging native speakers in conversation and using terms from your lessons, and by exposing yourself to the material again in written, spoken, and song form. The more you do this, the more meaningful context will build up around the material you are learning.
It's very helpful to continually expose yourself to fresh vocabulary and usage of your target language, but don't forget to return again and again to the material you have already encountered before you forget it. Doing this will help you more effectively learn that which you've already taken the time to study, so that study time won't be lost.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LSLC Teleclass
I just had a fascinating experience!
Since I'm coming up on the end of Pimsleur Spanish 3, I've been shopping around for something with which to continue my studies. Specifically, I'd like to be able to continue making use of my commute to the office as practice time.
Of all the options I've checked out, Learning Spanish Like Crazy (usually abbreviated LSLC) looked promising enough that yesterday I went ahead & bought it.
LSLC has some content that looks to be useful for in-car use, but it also comes with transcripts, bonus videos, and other perks. Two very interesting perks are a web forum for LSLC customers to foster a sense of community learning and a weekly conference call Teleclass.
I just participated in my first Teleclass, and I'm pretty upbeat about the experience.
In this session, we were reading and discussing together a text in Spanish under the direction of a teacher, who kept us moving forward at a brisk pace and ensured that each of us was engaged personally in the process. Quite a challenge!
I have a feeling that my studies and progress are in for some meaningful acceleration and look forward to finding out.
Since I'm coming up on the end of Pimsleur Spanish 3, I've been shopping around for something with which to continue my studies. Specifically, I'd like to be able to continue making use of my commute to the office as practice time.
Of all the options I've checked out, Learning Spanish Like Crazy (usually abbreviated LSLC) looked promising enough that yesterday I went ahead & bought it.
LSLC has some content that looks to be useful for in-car use, but it also comes with transcripts, bonus videos, and other perks. Two very interesting perks are a web forum for LSLC customers to foster a sense of community learning and a weekly conference call Teleclass.
I just participated in my first Teleclass, and I'm pretty upbeat about the experience.
In this session, we were reading and discussing together a text in Spanish under the direction of a teacher, who kept us moving forward at a brisk pace and ensured that each of us was engaged personally in the process. Quite a challenge!
I have a feeling that my studies and progress are in for some meaningful acceleration and look forward to finding out.
when the power goes out
Unos minutos despues de llegar a mi casa despues de trabajo...
A few minutes after arriving at my house after work...
...the power went out.
I live in what we call "Hurricane Alley", where outages of power, water, cable, phones, etc. are just periodic parts of life. So before this evening, I'd already long since had to solve problems such as how to study Spanish when the power is out (whether for hours or for weeks).
A few tips from my experience:
Keep an iPod full of Spanish lessons, whether they be Pimsleur, Learning Spanish Like Crazy, FSI, or (preferably) a healthy collection. While you're at it, be sure to include a lot of podcasts for Spanish study.
Having ready access to a portable satellite radio receiver so you can listen to Spanish language programming is also handy. XM and Sirius both have at least some offerings of value, and I've got a receiver with enough spare batteries to last for around 12 hours of steady use.
Don't forget books, printed lessons, etc.
Light sources including but not limited to candles, LEDs, shaker lights, etc. are indispensable. And don't forget to keep a healthy stash of batteries handy, including some that can be (and are routinely) recharged.
And you can always do what we did first this evening, and head to a local eatery outside the outage area where you can converse in Spanish with the amigos you should have gotten to know by now.
Ciao.
A few minutes after arriving at my house after work...
...the power went out.
I live in what we call "Hurricane Alley", where outages of power, water, cable, phones, etc. are just periodic parts of life. So before this evening, I'd already long since had to solve problems such as how to study Spanish when the power is out (whether for hours or for weeks).
A few tips from my experience:
Keep an iPod full of Spanish lessons, whether they be Pimsleur, Learning Spanish Like Crazy, FSI, or (preferably) a healthy collection. While you're at it, be sure to include a lot of podcasts for Spanish study.
Having ready access to a portable satellite radio receiver so you can listen to Spanish language programming is also handy. XM and Sirius both have at least some offerings of value, and I've got a receiver with enough spare batteries to last for around 12 hours of steady use.
Don't forget books, printed lessons, etc.
Light sources including but not limited to candles, LEDs, shaker lights, etc. are indispensable. And don't forget to keep a healthy stash of batteries handy, including some that can be (and are routinely) recharged.
And you can always do what we did first this evening, and head to a local eatery outside the outage area where you can converse in Spanish with the amigos you should have gotten to know by now.
Ciao.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
What I'm really getting out of learning Spanish so far.
I don't have the most clear motivations for learning Spanish, to be honest.
I hope that becoming increasingly fluent in this second language will prove of some financial benefit, but I didn't set out to learn the language for that reason. Pimsleur is increasingly oriented toward business vocabulary as the lessons progress, by the way, for those who do consider business Spanish important.
I also hope that learning Spanish will open up more prospects for friendship, but this is also not a primary motivation.
And I hope to do some travel to places where having learned Spanish will prove beneficial.
In fact, as I learn more and observe the passage of time, I see more and more practical benefits to multilingualism.
But when it comes right down to it, I just find the whole process inherently gratifying. Understanding or using some previously-unfamiliar sliver of language gives me a bit of a jolt, maybe somewhat similar to the kick I used to receive from a cigarette.
And on a less immediate level, I can sense myself experiencing and perceiving the world around me differently as I learn more of the new language. Even though I only know what might be described as intermediate Spanish at this point, the additional language seems to illuminate my perception of life more and more, revealing depth and detail I had vaguely assumed to be there before, but can now more directly experience.
I hope that becoming increasingly fluent in this second language will prove of some financial benefit, but I didn't set out to learn the language for that reason. Pimsleur is increasingly oriented toward business vocabulary as the lessons progress, by the way, for those who do consider business Spanish important.
I also hope that learning Spanish will open up more prospects for friendship, but this is also not a primary motivation.
And I hope to do some travel to places where having learned Spanish will prove beneficial.
In fact, as I learn more and observe the passage of time, I see more and more practical benefits to multilingualism.
But when it comes right down to it, I just find the whole process inherently gratifying. Understanding or using some previously-unfamiliar sliver of language gives me a bit of a jolt, maybe somewhat similar to the kick I used to receive from a cigarette.
And on a less immediate level, I can sense myself experiencing and perceiving the world around me differently as I learn more of the new language. Even though I only know what might be described as intermediate Spanish at this point, the additional language seems to illuminate my perception of life more and more, revealing depth and detail I had vaguely assumed to be there before, but can now more directly experience.
Friday, September 21, 2007
What strange Klingon is this?
I suspect I'll miss Pimsleur when I wrap it up in a few weeks.
The lessons keep an odd sense of pace, so that some times I feel that some point is being hammered through the wall and well into the next room, then material previously covered but not fresh on the mind will reappear. And even if at some point in the past I thought they'd beaten that old material half to death, it suddenly seems fresh again, even challenging.
And from time to time, something totally new will be introduced to shake up everything. And all that old material suddenly turns out to have facets that I hadn't been thinking about, but mean so much in the new context.
This week, for instance, I've been exposed to things like, "The party was great. I think you would have liked it."
I fumbled about some, trying to figure out how to spell some of the unfamiliar Spanish words in use in these new lessons, because I could tell something new was going on, and I wanted to hit the books.
After a fair bit of guesswork, googling, and good old-fashioned book-flipping, I found what appears to be the word: "Subjunctive"
These leaps into whole new material feel like a stretch when first encountered, but after the new know-how has had time to seep into the brain it seems to come progressively easier.
I polished off Lesson 12 today, and I know they can only cram a certain amount into the remaining lessons. But they way the challenges just keep coming, I'm sure I'll have a bunch more tools in my belt by the time it's time to turn the lights out on Pimsleur & focus more on something else.
The lessons keep an odd sense of pace, so that some times I feel that some point is being hammered through the wall and well into the next room, then material previously covered but not fresh on the mind will reappear. And even if at some point in the past I thought they'd beaten that old material half to death, it suddenly seems fresh again, even challenging.
And from time to time, something totally new will be introduced to shake up everything. And all that old material suddenly turns out to have facets that I hadn't been thinking about, but mean so much in the new context.
This week, for instance, I've been exposed to things like, "The party was great. I think you would have liked it."
I fumbled about some, trying to figure out how to spell some of the unfamiliar Spanish words in use in these new lessons, because I could tell something new was going on, and I wanted to hit the books.
After a fair bit of guesswork, googling, and good old-fashioned book-flipping, I found what appears to be the word: "Subjunctive"
These leaps into whole new material feel like a stretch when first encountered, but after the new know-how has had time to seep into the brain it seems to come progressively easier.
I polished off Lesson 12 today, and I know they can only cram a certain amount into the remaining lessons. But they way the challenges just keep coming, I'm sure I'll have a bunch more tools in my belt by the time it's time to turn the lights out on Pimsleur & focus more on something else.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
picking up the pace
The more Spanish I learn, the more I find my motivation growing here lately.
I want more... and more!
At some point, probably about the time I started Pimsleur Spanish 3, I started making it more of a point to just force myself to stick to a lesson per day. So far this has worked out to mean working through each lesson once in the morning and once more after work.
Currently I think this may be about right. It obliges me to focus on getting the material down in a couple of passes instead of living with the luxury of knowing I can keep at it for as long as it takes. And whatever part of me that learns this stuff seems to be stepping up to the challenge!
So that's 1 hour per day (with the concession that weekends are tougher from a scheduling perspective) on Pimsleur.
I have also been a bit more disciplined lately about spending at least some time each day to watching Spanish-language programming (with Spanish subtitles when possible), attempting to make out as much as I can. I check new material against Google Translate and my collection of reference materials to fill in the gaps.
This has tended to add at least another half hour of exposure per day, although the quality of the exposure can vary pretty wildly.
And I seek out reading material where I can. Thanks to the internet connection here, there's a lot to be found. Last night, I was googling on the subject of yerba mate and found the blog of an English professor's sabbatical in Buenos Aires, which I have been reading with mild fascination.
Here's one of his entries, mostly in intermediate Spanish.
A couple of guys on staff at a local Mexican restaurant I frequent chatted with me at Latin Fest, and remembered me when I stopped by for lunch yestereday (and gave me some free food, mmm). Although I love the food, I would honestly go for just the conversation.
I noticed yesterday that I'm beginning to understand at least some small bit of full-speed Spanish if that which is being said or asked is sufficiently familiar.
Considering the relative enormity of the task, I'm just working on those little goals of learning new verb tenses, building some vocabulary, etc.
Baby steps.
I want more... and more!
At some point, probably about the time I started Pimsleur Spanish 3, I started making it more of a point to just force myself to stick to a lesson per day. So far this has worked out to mean working through each lesson once in the morning and once more after work.
Currently I think this may be about right. It obliges me to focus on getting the material down in a couple of passes instead of living with the luxury of knowing I can keep at it for as long as it takes. And whatever part of me that learns this stuff seems to be stepping up to the challenge!
So that's 1 hour per day (with the concession that weekends are tougher from a scheduling perspective) on Pimsleur.
I have also been a bit more disciplined lately about spending at least some time each day to watching Spanish-language programming (with Spanish subtitles when possible), attempting to make out as much as I can. I check new material against Google Translate and my collection of reference materials to fill in the gaps.
This has tended to add at least another half hour of exposure per day, although the quality of the exposure can vary pretty wildly.
And I seek out reading material where I can. Thanks to the internet connection here, there's a lot to be found. Last night, I was googling on the subject of yerba mate and found the blog of an English professor's sabbatical in Buenos Aires, which I have been reading with mild fascination.
Here's one of his entries, mostly in intermediate Spanish.
A couple of guys on staff at a local Mexican restaurant I frequent chatted with me at Latin Fest, and remembered me when I stopped by for lunch yestereday (and gave me some free food, mmm). Although I love the food, I would honestly go for just the conversation.
I noticed yesterday that I'm beginning to understand at least some small bit of full-speed Spanish if that which is being said or asked is sufficiently familiar.
Considering the relative enormity of the task, I'm just working on those little goals of learning new verb tenses, building some vocabulary, etc.
Baby steps.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
internet resources for learning Spanish
The world wide web makes available a significant supply of good (and less good) resources for learning Spanish.
If you use iTunes, you can download free podcasts for learning Spanish at various levels with a bit of searching.
Email lists devoted to helping one another with the learning process can be found, and can help cultivate valuable relationships useful for not only practice and study, but also for eventually sharing of resources.
I've seen some pretty good blogs about learning & studying Spanish, and some have relatively active communities of readers who offer comments, corrections, and deeper exploration of material.
Some websites offer notes, recordings, quizzes, and other resources to fill your brain with core knowledge.
Depending on your tastes and level of proficiency, you may well be able to find streaming audio and/or video of news, sports, or whatever interests you.
A bit of free advice: If you find a podcast or other resource that interests you but seems to be more advanced than your current level of proficiency, you may want to go ahead & download it for later use. You just have no way of knowing when something cool on the internet will suddenly disappear forever.
If you use iTunes, you can download free podcasts for learning Spanish at various levels with a bit of searching.
Email lists devoted to helping one another with the learning process can be found, and can help cultivate valuable relationships useful for not only practice and study, but also for eventually sharing of resources.
I've seen some pretty good blogs about learning & studying Spanish, and some have relatively active communities of readers who offer comments, corrections, and deeper exploration of material.
Some websites offer notes, recordings, quizzes, and other resources to fill your brain with core knowledge.
Depending on your tastes and level of proficiency, you may well be able to find streaming audio and/or video of news, sports, or whatever interests you.
A bit of free advice: If you find a podcast or other resource that interests you but seems to be more advanced than your current level of proficiency, you may want to go ahead & download it for later use. You just have no way of knowing when something cool on the internet will suddenly disappear forever.
translating the hand-written note on mate curing
Yesterday at the festival, I was given a hand-written note on the curing of a mate gourd.
Here's my re-type of the note:
And here's my translation/paraphrase thus far (with the assistance of Google Translator and Oxford Spanish Dictionary 3rd ed.):
I'll keep at it a bit, cross-referencing against other info I can find on mate curing to see if I can improve it.
I've updated my translation/paraphrase a bit, now that I've had a bit more time to explore the matter in some detail.
I've also begun curing my mate gourd using a process similar to the one described here. One exception, though, is that instead of using a whiskey, I'm using a high-quality aged reposado (tequila aged for a period of less than one year).
Here's my re-type of the note:
para curar el mate
que tenga buen sabor
primer dia - echar yerba agua ir viendo
segundo dia - [notes were blank here]
tercer dia - [notes were blank here]
primer dia - echar yerba casi lleno y poner agua ir viendo - hacer un hueco en el medio del mate con la bombilla y echar bastante whisky
segundo dia - volear lo que tiene y hacer la misma operacion
tercer dia - la misma operacion pero sin whisky
cuarto dia - lavar bien y tomar sabrosos mate
Hector Urite - un argentino de Gualeguay (entre rios)
bien matero
And here's my translation/paraphrase thus far (with the assistance of Google Translator and Oxford Spanish Dictionary 3rd ed.):
In Order to Cure the Mate (the gourd)
that it tastes good
first day - to put yerba (the herb) water to be seeing
second day -
third day -
first day - to put almost full yerba (the herb) and to put water to be seeing - to make a hollow in the middle of the mate with the bombilla (the special straining straw used for mate drinking) and to put enough whiskey [I believe the gist of this is to fill the mate/gourd almost full with yerba/herb, pour in water until you can see it, use the bombilla straw to create a divot, and fill that divot with whiskey.]
second day - throw out its contents and conduct the same operation again
third day - the same operation but without whiskey
fourth day - wash well and drink flavorful mate (the beverage)
Hector Urite - an Argentinean of Gualeguay (between rivers)
Have a nice mate!
I'll keep at it a bit, cross-referencing against other info I can find on mate curing to see if I can improve it.
I've updated my translation/paraphrase a bit, now that I've had a bit more time to explore the matter in some detail.
I've also begun curing my mate gourd using a process similar to the one described here. One exception, though, is that instead of using a whiskey, I'm using a high-quality aged reposado (tequila aged for a period of less than one year).
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Latin Festival 2007
I put my skills to the test in a variety of conversations & transactions at Festival Latino today.
Although nearly all of that which was announced over the public address system in Spanish was lost on me, I did a lot of shopping and a bit of general socializing with great success.
I had no trouble whatsoever carrying out the moderately detailed conversation required to find out about prospective foods (of which I ate plenty) and other goodies when dealing with people whose English is, in fact, apparently more limited than my own Spanish.
Conversation wasn't strictly limited to carrying out transactions, although I made it a point not to use up enough of people's time to cost them other business.
Beyond the "Spanish practice" facet of the day, I got to enjoy some fine music, some fantastic food, buy some nice things, and enjoy a day away from the office.
It was also nice not being the only guy around in a cowboy hat!
I bought a mate gourd (somehow encased in metal), a bombilla, and a bag of yerba mate from a gentleman who ultimately decided to give me a page of hand-written notes about mate in Spanish. Being given the hand-written notes was one of the highlights of my day, to be honest.
Although nearly all of that which was announced over the public address system in Spanish was lost on me, I did a lot of shopping and a bit of general socializing with great success.
I had no trouble whatsoever carrying out the moderately detailed conversation required to find out about prospective foods (of which I ate plenty) and other goodies when dealing with people whose English is, in fact, apparently more limited than my own Spanish.
Conversation wasn't strictly limited to carrying out transactions, although I made it a point not to use up enough of people's time to cost them other business.
Beyond the "Spanish practice" facet of the day, I got to enjoy some fine music, some fantastic food, buy some nice things, and enjoy a day away from the office.
It was also nice not being the only guy around in a cowboy hat!
I bought a mate gourd (somehow encased in metal), a bombilla, and a bag of yerba mate from a gentleman who ultimately decided to give me a page of hand-written notes about mate in Spanish. Being given the hand-written notes was one of the highlights of my day, to be honest.
Friday, September 14, 2007
fluency
Google "spanish fluency" and you'll see an interesting mish-mash of results.
Some of the top hits are people discussing how to become fluent or (in a good many cases) someone trying to sell a method for becoming fluent quickly & easily.
At this point, I have vague fluency goals of things like being able to carry on more meaningful conversations, which I suspect is true of the (fabled) typical language learner.
Audio courses such as Pimsleur, Learning Spanish Like Crazy, variations on FSI, etc. are oriented toward developing a foundation of basic conversational ability.
Vocabulary-building is also key. I've seen it said that you can get through emergency situations by being able to say, "blood doctor me help cut ouch" better than you could with perfect grammar but total inability to express the fact that you're bleeding & need help. This strikes me as a fascinating argument, but I hope I don't have to put it to the test any time soon!
Pimsleur provides some useful vocabulary, but it's not my only source of new words. I turn on closed captioning and watch Plaza Sesamo (Spanish language version of Sesame Street), MixMex (Spanish language pop music videos), El Canal de Historia (History Channel in Spanish), and other shows.
Most of this is frankly lost on me, but I look things up, listen, and gradually understand more and more.
I make use of various Spanish textbooks, workbooks, and reading material, as well, although I'm focused more on Pimsleur than anything else until I finish off Spanish 3. Even considering its limitations, Pimsleur seems to provide the glue that makes sense of much of the other material at my disposal.
I should have a copy of Destinos on the way soon, which I understand attempts to expose the student to a vocabulary I've seen estimated to be 10 times larger than that of Pimsleur.
The learning tools are great, but for my purposes, engaging in conversation whenever possible, in whatever limited ways I can manage, is what really moves the process forward. All the study is just to help me find a way to communicate when the opportunities present themselves.
Some of the top hits are people discussing how to become fluent or (in a good many cases) someone trying to sell a method for becoming fluent quickly & easily.
At this point, I have vague fluency goals of things like being able to carry on more meaningful conversations, which I suspect is true of the (fabled) typical language learner.
Audio courses such as Pimsleur, Learning Spanish Like Crazy, variations on FSI, etc. are oriented toward developing a foundation of basic conversational ability.
Vocabulary-building is also key. I've seen it said that you can get through emergency situations by being able to say, "blood doctor me help cut ouch" better than you could with perfect grammar but total inability to express the fact that you're bleeding & need help. This strikes me as a fascinating argument, but I hope I don't have to put it to the test any time soon!
Pimsleur provides some useful vocabulary, but it's not my only source of new words. I turn on closed captioning and watch Plaza Sesamo (Spanish language version of Sesame Street), MixMex (Spanish language pop music videos), El Canal de Historia (History Channel in Spanish), and other shows.
Most of this is frankly lost on me, but I look things up, listen, and gradually understand more and more.
I make use of various Spanish textbooks, workbooks, and reading material, as well, although I'm focused more on Pimsleur than anything else until I finish off Spanish 3. Even considering its limitations, Pimsleur seems to provide the glue that makes sense of much of the other material at my disposal.
I should have a copy of Destinos on the way soon, which I understand attempts to expose the student to a vocabulary I've seen estimated to be 10 times larger than that of Pimsleur.
The learning tools are great, but for my purposes, engaging in conversation whenever possible, in whatever limited ways I can manage, is what really moves the process forward. All the study is just to help me find a way to communicate when the opportunities present themselves.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
a bit of Pimsleur Spanish III (3) criticism
Hoy estudiado leccion cinco de Pimsleur Spanish III.
Today I studied lesson five of Pimsleur Spanish 3.
Normally, I'm not very critical of the Pimsleur Spanish lessons. Taken as a whole, I think they're quite decent at imparting spoken Spanish skill to gringos like me.
But now that I've been through the first several lessons of the third set, I can point to some things I'd rather they did differently.
There is entirely too much repetition of content in the past several lessons. Pimsleur is legendary for beating certain things right into the ground, and this is something of a selling point when one considers the value of mastering a core subset of Spanish such that it rolls right off the tongue when needed.
But in the early lessons of Spanish 3, I think way too much emphasis is placed on ordering two plates of the specialty of the house. I am deadly serious about this and even found myself shouting "Enough, already!" at the CD player this morning.
Truth be told, if you have been faithfully working your way through Pimsleur Spanish this far, I suggest skipping the first half of lesson 5 in its entirety (not counting the listening comprehension bit at the beginning, because novice Spanish speakers probably can't get too much listening comprehension practice).
I'm also way sick of the words "engineer" and "engineering" beyond expression. For god's stake, stop it.
The second half of lesson 5 introduces some useful terms, but because so much time is wasted on pablum in the first half, I feel they had to rush through the good stuff.
I'm still really enthusiastic about the Pimsleur way of learning a spoken language. But when they hit a lull, they really commit to it. heh
Today I studied lesson five of Pimsleur Spanish 3.
Normally, I'm not very critical of the Pimsleur Spanish lessons. Taken as a whole, I think they're quite decent at imparting spoken Spanish skill to gringos like me.
But now that I've been through the first several lessons of the third set, I can point to some things I'd rather they did differently.
There is entirely too much repetition of content in the past several lessons. Pimsleur is legendary for beating certain things right into the ground, and this is something of a selling point when one considers the value of mastering a core subset of Spanish such that it rolls right off the tongue when needed.
But in the early lessons of Spanish 3, I think way too much emphasis is placed on ordering two plates of the specialty of the house. I am deadly serious about this and even found myself shouting "Enough, already!" at the CD player this morning.
Truth be told, if you have been faithfully working your way through Pimsleur Spanish this far, I suggest skipping the first half of lesson 5 in its entirety (not counting the listening comprehension bit at the beginning, because novice Spanish speakers probably can't get too much listening comprehension practice).
I'm also way sick of the words "engineer" and "engineering" beyond expression. For god's stake, stop it.
The second half of lesson 5 introduces some useful terms, but because so much time is wasted on pablum in the first half, I feel they had to rush through the good stuff.
I'm still really enthusiastic about the Pimsleur way of learning a spoken language. But when they hit a lull, they really commit to it. heh
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
talking
I worked my way through Lesson 27 of Pimsleur Spanish II today. I've practiced chatting with the phantom Spanish speakers in my CD player quite a bit by this point!
But there's a difference between talking to the Pimsleur phantoms and talking to real people.
To me, it's a somewhat scary difference. When I first started learning, I was basically terrified of making a fool of myself, but choked it down and exchanged greetings, asked questions, etc.
Fortunately, I've encountered a friendly lot of native Spanish speakers! Friendly and patient.
Also fortunate is that I love tequila and some of the various edibles available at local Latin American restaurants (although, a decir verdad, a good many eateries are staffed by native Spanish speakers).
I learned early on that to obtain something with a lot of hot pepper, you ask for something muy picante. Muy caliente means "hot" but as in temperature. The fajita skillet is caliente, and the habanero pepper is picante.
When sticking those first few toes in the water, I hit the Hablo un poco dead end quickly and often. But I kept at it.
At one point, I noticed a small tattoo on the hand of a waiter and asked ¿Qué tiene aqui? (or something to that effect, but it was a while back and I'm fuzzy on the details)
Es mi nombre, he replied. A pleasant conversation about our respective tattoos followed, in which I learned that what initially sounded like the "bur-jinn" was "Virgin" and referred to the Virgin Mary. I've had numerous pleasant exchanges with him since that occasion, and he has continued to teach me new words.
This evening I was able to share with another similar acquaintance that Mi mamá fue a Texas hace un mes. Ha regresado hoy. (...testing recent Pimsleur material as usual.) These guys know my mom, and hadn't seen her in a month, so I wasn't just walking through a mall announcing that my mother's been in TX. heh
The basic idea is to keep trying out those modest Spanish skills with people willing to lend you a few seconds here and there. I'm not ashamed to occasionally whip out a pocket Spanish-English dictionary or phrase book, or even google something on the Treo, if need be.
On that particular note, Google Translate is way useful if you're equipped to browse the web on your preferred mobile device. (But having taken the time to learn at least some basic Spanish spelling & punctuation will save you heartache & wasted time!)
It may well be possible to work through a program like Pimsleur Spanish I-III in a few months and deposit yourself in Montevideo for a little sink-or-swim. But if you can find some native Spanish speakers with whom to share a few friendly moments, I think you'll probably enjoy that swim even more.
But there's a difference between talking to the Pimsleur phantoms and talking to real people.
To me, it's a somewhat scary difference. When I first started learning, I was basically terrified of making a fool of myself, but choked it down and exchanged greetings, asked questions, etc.
Fortunately, I've encountered a friendly lot of native Spanish speakers! Friendly and patient.
Also fortunate is that I love tequila and some of the various edibles available at local Latin American restaurants (although, a decir verdad, a good many eateries are staffed by native Spanish speakers).
I learned early on that to obtain something with a lot of hot pepper, you ask for something muy picante. Muy caliente means "hot" but as in temperature. The fajita skillet is caliente, and the habanero pepper is picante.
When sticking those first few toes in the water, I hit the Hablo un poco dead end quickly and often. But I kept at it.
At one point, I noticed a small tattoo on the hand of a waiter and asked ¿Qué tiene aqui? (or something to that effect, but it was a while back and I'm fuzzy on the details)
Es mi nombre, he replied. A pleasant conversation about our respective tattoos followed, in which I learned that what initially sounded like the "bur-jinn" was "Virgin" and referred to the Virgin Mary. I've had numerous pleasant exchanges with him since that occasion, and he has continued to teach me new words.
This evening I was able to share with another similar acquaintance that Mi mamá fue a Texas hace un mes. Ha regresado hoy. (...testing recent Pimsleur material as usual.) These guys know my mom, and hadn't seen her in a month, so I wasn't just walking through a mall announcing that my mother's been in TX. heh
The basic idea is to keep trying out those modest Spanish skills with people willing to lend you a few seconds here and there. I'm not ashamed to occasionally whip out a pocket Spanish-English dictionary or phrase book, or even google something on the Treo, if need be.
On that particular note, Google Translate is way useful if you're equipped to browse the web on your preferred mobile device. (But having taken the time to learn at least some basic Spanish spelling & punctuation will save you heartache & wasted time!)
It may well be possible to work through a program like Pimsleur Spanish I-III in a few months and deposit yourself in Montevideo for a little sink-or-swim. But if you can find some native Spanish speakers with whom to share a few friendly moments, I think you'll probably enjoy that swim even more.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Pimsleur Spanish II
This set moves at what feels like a more rapid pace than the first series of lessons. Whereas the first series of lessons created a foundation of core vocabulary and speech patterns, those are expanded upon and reinforced with significantly more variety and depth.
The “listening skills” conversations initiating each lesson become progressively more involved.
Other tenses are introduced. The conversation becomes increasingly complex as time and change are introduced.
The more informal “tú” is introduced in addition to further exploration of “usted”. This is practiced quite a bit in various lessons.
Idiomatic use of verbs such as “tener” and “hacer” are explored in more depth.
“Beber”, which was used a good bit in the first series, mostly disappears. The very useful “tomar” comes into play.
Discussion of family and friend relationships becomes more involved. Business relationships are introduced and explored.
Travel-related discussion mostly revolves around vacation, business trips, and meetings. Terms related to each of these are introduced.
Common business terminology pertaining to documents, clients, punctuality, etc. are fairly normal.
Sentence structures expand to include more complex sentences, questions, and directives.
Directions to the student are increasingly stated in Spanish and become more wordy and challenging.
Conversations spanning past, present, future, and even hopes for how things will work out become the norm well before this series is done.
Adverbs, days of the week, months, fiestas, and numerous exclamations are among topics introduced.
The student learns to say that “it's expensive” (as opposed to simply “it costs too much” from series 1), “the client changed his mind,” “I have been here since yesterday morning,” “Hopefully not,” “I thought we could all play some tennis Wednesday morning,” “He shouldn't change his mind again. Now he won't finish school in June,” “You still haven't finished your work for the client's new building, so I'll bring lunch,” etc.
By the end of Pimsleur Spanish 2, most of the material covered in Hugo Latin-American Spanish in Three Months is quite familiar. If the student has used this or some similar educational material to look up terms covered in Pimsleur 1 & 2 in written form, he may find himself (as I did) reading at least some Spanish news articles with a gratifying amount of success.
The student should, by the end of Spanish 2, be able to converse with friends, acquaintances, and business associates in a somewhat more meaningful and varied way. He should be able to express basic needs and desires, wishes and hopes, a certain range of opinions and preferences, and a tiny bit of personal narrative.
The student should be able to initiate and terminate conversation with greater elegance than was possible at the end of the first series. He should be able to find out when the stores will open after the holiday and how best to arrive there.
Pimsleur Spanish I
This set moves at what feels to many users to be a very slow pace, which some appreciate more than do others. There is, in fact, a meaningful difference in the sense of pace between this series and the ones to follow.
For the most part, conversation takes place in the present tense.
Compound sentences and complex questions are relatively minimal.
A few basic exclamations are introduced.
Telling time, possession, adjectives, direct and indirect objects, “por” vs. “para”, articles, a few common conjunctions, relative pronouns, negation, the personal “a”, and “saber” vs. “conocer” are among the topics covered in varying degrees of depth.
Forms of request and command are introduced, but in a limited way. This is done in such a way as to introduce patterns that apply well to other forms introduced later on.
Common terms pertaining to family and friends are used.
Reflexive verbs are explored in moderate depth.
The dialog is mostly situational, dealing with core subjects such as obtaining directions, negotiating transactions (including simple bargaining), pleasure and displeasure, use of numbers, etc.
The polite/formal “usted” is used to say “you” when referring to one person.
A core set of basic vocabulary is introduced, along with common phrase patterns. These are put to use in a variety of ways to develop a sense of comfortable fluency that proves invaluable as the dialog becomes increasingly sophisticated later on.
Both regular and some common irregular verbs are introduced.
The student learns to express concepts such as “too much/little”, “rapidly/slowly”, “good/bad”, “right/left”, etc.
By the end of this first series, the student should be able to navigate some basic conversations with patient native speakers in a polite, formal manner. The student's pronunciation will have far exceeded his vocabulary.
The student should be able to solicit, obtain, give, and follow directions on a basic level. He should also be able to find out how much something costs and successfully complete the subsequent transaction. He should be able to initiate and end basic conversation effectively.
Directions provided to the student are mostly stated in English, but directions are provided in Spanish to a small extent by the end of the course.
Pimsleur Spanish
I have usually seen language proficiency broken down into four distinct categories: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Pimsleur Spanish is designed almost exclusively to cultivate speaking skills, although limited listening and reading skills come about mostly as a side-effect.
At the beginning of each lesson, a conversation is played twice for the student to use in cultivating listening comprehension skills.
The pace of speech in Pimsleur is more slow and deliberate than the student will encounter in most real world Spanish conversation. This is easily put to good use in developing solid pronunciation skills. But in all honesty, listening comprehension skills will ultimately have to be cultivated using other means.
In every meaningful sense, Pimsleur is audio-only. The student listens and verbally responds to the half-hour lessons as though conversing with a one-on-one tutor. Pimsleur seems best used to practice conversation skills.
Several people have borrowed some of the first lessons from me after I began to show progress, and I noticed that students who only listen and (inexplicably) just won't talk back to the lessons fail to make any progress, then quit entirely. So, if you simply will not talk back to an imaginary tutor, I'll go ahead and say save your money and time.
I've seen differing points of view on the WWW regarding how best to make use of the Pimsleur lessons. My basic contribution to the discussion is that one should, to the extent reasonably possible, work through one lesson per day without interruption, listening and responding to the lessons as directed.
I seem to recall some official suggestion from Pimsleur that one not proceed at a rate greater than one lesson per day, but that one proceed to the next lesson as soon as one feels one has about 80% of the material in a lesson correct. In my experience, working through a typical lesson three times is usually about right. I've tried tackling the material at slower paces, and feel that this actually hindered the process.
At some point in learning Spanish, most adult self-learners seem to take at least one protracted break from the process. Life gets in the way, motivation ebbs, or whatever, but it happens. At one point, I felt that the past perfect tense was melting my brain a bit several lessons into Pimsleur Spanish II, and I decided to take a break. I'd planned on taking a break of a day or two, but it turned into months.
When I picked the material back up, I wasn't able to just pick back up where I left off, but I found a good solution. I played part of a lesson from about where I left off, but found I wasn't quite up to it. So I picked one several lessons back, but still wasn't up to it. Skipping backward several more lessons, I landed on one with which I was completely comfortable, and just resumed from that point.
Over the next few weeks, I was able to pick up a lot of momentum and confidence working through lessons that were already somewhat familiar from several months back. When I made it to the lessons that had beaten me before, my renewed confidence and motivation carried me right through. I have proceeded at a rate of almost a lesson per day since then.
Oh, Pimsleur's retail price intimidates some, to say the least. I shop with great care and have had no real trouble finding the various sets of lessons for under $150 per set of lessons on CD in mint or near mint condition.
At the beginning of each lesson, a conversation is played twice for the student to use in cultivating listening comprehension skills.
The pace of speech in Pimsleur is more slow and deliberate than the student will encounter in most real world Spanish conversation. This is easily put to good use in developing solid pronunciation skills. But in all honesty, listening comprehension skills will ultimately have to be cultivated using other means.
In every meaningful sense, Pimsleur is audio-only. The student listens and verbally responds to the half-hour lessons as though conversing with a one-on-one tutor. Pimsleur seems best used to practice conversation skills.
Several people have borrowed some of the first lessons from me after I began to show progress, and I noticed that students who only listen and (inexplicably) just won't talk back to the lessons fail to make any progress, then quit entirely. So, if you simply will not talk back to an imaginary tutor, I'll go ahead and say save your money and time.
I've seen differing points of view on the WWW regarding how best to make use of the Pimsleur lessons. My basic contribution to the discussion is that one should, to the extent reasonably possible, work through one lesson per day without interruption, listening and responding to the lessons as directed.
I seem to recall some official suggestion from Pimsleur that one not proceed at a rate greater than one lesson per day, but that one proceed to the next lesson as soon as one feels one has about 80% of the material in a lesson correct. In my experience, working through a typical lesson three times is usually about right. I've tried tackling the material at slower paces, and feel that this actually hindered the process.
At some point in learning Spanish, most adult self-learners seem to take at least one protracted break from the process. Life gets in the way, motivation ebbs, or whatever, but it happens. At one point, I felt that the past perfect tense was melting my brain a bit several lessons into Pimsleur Spanish II, and I decided to take a break. I'd planned on taking a break of a day or two, but it turned into months.
When I picked the material back up, I wasn't able to just pick back up where I left off, but I found a good solution. I played part of a lesson from about where I left off, but found I wasn't quite up to it. So I picked one several lessons back, but still wasn't up to it. Skipping backward several more lessons, I landed on one with which I was completely comfortable, and just resumed from that point.
Over the next few weeks, I was able to pick up a lot of momentum and confidence working through lessons that were already somewhat familiar from several months back. When I made it to the lessons that had beaten me before, my renewed confidence and motivation carried me right through. I have proceeded at a rate of almost a lesson per day since then.
Oh, Pimsleur's retail price intimidates some, to say the least. I shop with great care and have had no real trouble finding the various sets of lessons for under $150 per set of lessons on CD in mint or near mint condition.
hablo un poco
Because I've been making some meaningful progress learning Spanish, I thought I'd blog some of my reflections and notes.
Presently, I'm at about the end of Pimsleur Spanish II and on track to begin Spanish III by about the end of the week.
Specifically, I'm working on Lesson 26 of 30 today and have been proceeding at a rate of around a lesson per day through most of Spanish II. I moved through Spanish I much more slowly, but now feel that the lesson-per-day pace is generally more effective.
The next few entries are essentially copy/paste from some notes I jotted down earlier to compare the first two sets of Pimsleur Spanish lessons while the material is fresh on my mind.
But in the future I expect I'll have much to say that's not so Pimsleur-specific. It's just that these days Pimsleur is my main study track.
Presently, I'm at about the end of Pimsleur Spanish II and on track to begin Spanish III by about the end of the week.
Specifically, I'm working on Lesson 26 of 30 today and have been proceeding at a rate of around a lesson per day through most of Spanish II. I moved through Spanish I much more slowly, but now feel that the lesson-per-day pace is generally more effective.
The next few entries are essentially copy/paste from some notes I jotted down earlier to compare the first two sets of Pimsleur Spanish lessons while the material is fresh on my mind.
But in the future I expect I'll have much to say that's not so Pimsleur-specific. It's just that these days Pimsleur is my main study track.
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