General Language Learning Tips

I’ve tried learning a few languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean and a bit of Mandarin) by self study and class study. Here’s what I’ve worked out does and doesn’t work for me. Take it with a pinch of salt!

1) Learn grammar, but don’t sweat it too much. There’s a debate about whether to ignore grammar completely and pick it up, or whether to rigourously study it. Do what you want, but in my experience, learning the concept, then constant application is best.

For example: Learn a new structure, make your own example sentences and then get a native speaker to check them. You’ll end up hearing the grammar too, which can be helpful

I tried the “just pick it up method” for Spanish and French, and it kind of worked, but I made a ton of mistakes with grammar and couldn’t work out how to correct them until I actually learned the concept

2) Don’t just use flashcards for vocabulary learning. They are a great tool, but not alone. Application again is really useful. For example, go through a deck on Quizlet and learn the words. Once you’re sure you’ve memorised them, look at the translation in your native language and write example sentences with those words in your target language, and again check them with a native speaker. This method could also pair with your grammar studies. This is just a recommendation, but try and find a way to apply the vocab.

3) For getting native speakers to correct you, there isn’t always a native or advanced speaker at your disposal. Apps like HiNative or a language exchange app like Tandem is good for this.

4) It’s so easy to get discouraged when you watch a TV show and you struggle to understand, or you read a book and don’t understand every other word. With harder sources, be a little lighter on yourself. Put on subtitles in your target language, or look up every word you don’t understand, then re-read the passage, glancing back at your vocab list. Eventually it will get easier as long as you keep doing it

5) Another way to learn vocabulary is to just look up words that you can’t translate as you come across them. This is how I learn the majority of my Italian vocabulary. I read an article or a text, and I annotate words I don’t know with the translation, then read over the text again. I don’t review the words, I just look them up again if I don’t recognise them the next time I see them. This is great for when you feel lazier or not in the mood to memorise. I used this method with Japanese song lyrics too, and it even helped me with Japanese sentence structure

6) Output>Input. Speak and write whenever you can. Speak to yourself, write a diary, write with a language exchange partner, repeat phrases you hear watching TV.

7) ^^ That being said, give yourself as much input as possible. Listening to music is my favourite method for this, but I’ve started watching a series in Spanish and Italian, which I recommend for intermediate learners. Reading books is also good for intermediate learners. Beginners, I recommend music and children’s books, but still check out stuff for intermediate learners if you wish.

8) When you hit a stump with grammar or vocabulary, or you feel like you can’t speak at all, target that for however long you can. Repetition of phrases and methods should help you. Check different sources for different explanations or a different method. If that really doesn’t work, revisit it in a week or so.

That’s all I can offer. Please message me if have any questions or queries, and I’ll happily answer!

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CHINESE MASTERLIST!

*for future reference the masterlist link should be under my profile pic on my homepage!

FLASHCARDS

C-SERIES INTEGRATED CONTEXT VOCAB

01_10 Flashcards

02_16 Flashcards

03_18 Flashcards

04_18 Flashcards

05_17 Flashcards

06_15 Flashcards

07_18 Flashcards

RADICAL VOCAB

01_General Vocab

02_Colours

03_Valentine’s Day

HELLO TALK - Real life Chinese Conversations with Native Speakers

Part O1

Work, Continuing a conversation, Clarifying questions, Language ability, Getting ready in the morning

OTHER VOCAB

EMOTIONS

Emotions vocab list (w GIFS)

APPEARANCE

What type of boys do you like?

What type of girls do you like?

CHINESE PARTICLES

The three DE’s

MISCELLANEOUS VOCAB

01_My Mr. Mermaid + Body Parts

02_My Diary Phrases

03_My Mr. Mermaid + Body Parts PT2

04_My Mr.Mermaid ep 2 + 3

05_My Mr. Mermaid ep 3 + Chinese Pod describing drinks

06_PETS (describing animals/pets)

07_My Mr. Mermaid ep 4 + Home vocab

08_My Mr. Mermaid ep 4. cont

Sentence Order

Basic sentence order

Time/place word order

Test Yourself:

C-SERIES vocab lists 1-5

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littlelanguagefox

5 years ago

Writing a job application in French!

Monsieur / Madame – dear sir / madam

Aux principaux concernes – to whom it may concern

Je souhaite poser ma candidature pour le poste de... – I would like to apply for the position of…

Je travaille actuellement pour… – I currently work for…

Je suis diplômé / diplômée en… – I am a graduate in…

Mes qualités principales sont… – my strengths are…

Mon domaine d'expertise est… – my area of expertise is…

Ma langue maternelle est… – My first language is…

Mais je parle aussi… – but I also speak…

J'ai une connaissance pratique de… – I have a working knowledge of…

Je suis un utilisateur confirmé de… – I am an experienced user of…

Je suis disponible pour un entretien le... – I am available for an interview on…

Veuillez agréer, Monsieur / Madame – Yours sincerely,

Capacité de communication – communication skills

Capacité de créativité – creative skills

Capacité d'encadrement – management skills

Capacité à résoudre les problemes – problem solving skills

Capacité à prendre la parole en public – public speaking skills

Compétences en organisation – organisational skills

Motivé / motivée - motivated

Travailleur / travailleuse – hardworking

Un CV – A CV

Une lettre de motivation – A cover letter

Une candidature à un emploi – A job application

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago

You’re doing great :))

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago

4 exercises to improve speaking skills in your target language:

Tell a story. It’s a great exercise to improve not only your speaking, but also your grammar and vocabulary. Think about what happened to you or anyone else, that you would talk about to your friends or family. Then tell a story out loud using only your target language. Telling stories is a huge part of our everyday talks, so it’s really important to practice that.

Talk about a book, a movie or whatever you want. Imagine you’re convincing someone to check out (or not to check out) a book you have already read. Review every movie or TV series you want, and don’t worry about spoiling anything or offending someone. If it’s a piece of shit, learn how to say that when talking to Queen Elizabeth II, and how to say that when chatting with someone you’d meet at the bar.

Discuss an important topic that is interesting to you. You can choose from anything: society issues, politics, economics, science, environment, culture… First try to explain it and then tell your own opinion on the subject. It’s different than the second exercise since it develops the specific vocabulary.

Read an article and summarise it. Find an article in your target language that interests you and talk about it. You can do it like you would when asked about it in school, or you can do it in more of a “sharing knowledge with my friends” manner.

Et c’est tout! You can call it “act like a youtuber” exercises. If you want, record yourself while speaking. Remember that work is the key to success.

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago

she’s gonna pass her classes and she’s gonna graduate

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago

So I’m in the final semester of my undergrad.

Which means its grad school application time for me (I’m starting a little late because of personal reasons (-: ) Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there on the great blue gradblr had any recommendations or tips for writing a personal statement?

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littlelanguagefox

5 years ago

the cure to self-sabotage is to anchor yourself to the universal truth that you are worth it. you are worth the effort. you are worth the difficulty, you are worth the time, you are worth the consideration. there is never a point in your life, in time itself, that you are not worth it. return to this truth when you feel yourself slipping. do not let it go.

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago

I hope every shawol does well on their finals

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littlelanguagefox

6 years ago