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.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
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.
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