[ SECRET POST #2874 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2874 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 074 secrets from Secret Submission Post #411.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 4 - random images ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Duolingo?

[(Anonymous)]

I have used it! It helps you pick up vocabulary on the go, for sure. It's definitely a good tool for repetition, though it doesn't teach you much grammar (other than by absorption). I would also recommend checking out LiveMocha!

Re: Duolingo?

[(Anonymous)]

Re: the grammar by absorption thing, there's a school of thought that says it's actually easier to learn that way (i.e. by seeing it working in context rather than learning the rules of it first and then being shown examples), because that's how we naturally pick up our own native languages. A lot of kids, for example, will pick up on grammatical constructions like contractions very early on, and while they're using them on the wrong words they still get the gist of how it's meant to work.

Apparently the older we get the more we lose the ability to learn new languages at all though (or at least to retain them), so how well it applies in practice I don't know. But yeah, that's why a lot of newer learning programs, be it Duolingo, Livemocha, or Rosetta Stone kind of throw you into it without much information beforehand.

Re: Duolingo?

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

Yep, and I think absorption does help to some extent (it's why you almost always improve more by practice than independent study-- the trick to all those "fluent in 3 months!!" sites). But beyond the critical period in childhood (if you believe in the CPH, which I do), that form of immersive study is not, in my experience, sufficient in exclusion.

Then again, I'm a linguist by trade, and so I've always found rule-based grammatical instruction both fascinating and intuitive, which may not be (in fact probably is not) the case for all language learners :)

In conclusion, different people learn differently! And definitely, the more exposure to your target language, regardless of whether you have a textbook by your side, the better. Learn all the grammar in the world, but you won't sound natural or fluent until you have read, watched, and interacted with native speakers.

For the original anon, I'd recommend, from my own practice in language studying, forcing yourself to do something with the language every day. Review a list of words. If you're doing a sudoku, read the numbers in German. Look at a German newspaper on your phone and see if you can understand the point or topic of the article (don't worry if you don't understand the actual grammar or sentences, if you're a beginner). Watch movies or TV shows with subtitles and see if you can at least identify which parts of the sentences correspond to the subtitles (that's good practice for developing your ability to parse spoken language). Try to narrate what you've done over the day in your target language. If you find there are particular words you keep running into, look them up. But in general, the most important part of fluency is not having the widest vocabulary-- it's being able to communicate your point, regardless. When I was at my most advanced level of classes in my target language, I often encountered situations where I didn't know the specific technical word I meant-- but I was able to explain what I meant to my conversational partner, and that's all that mattered.

Good luck!

Re: Duolingo?

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

That's very true! I'm definitely more of a hands-on, learn-by-doing type so I've found that sort of immersive experience of the language working in context (rather than e.g. learning vocab lists by rote, like we used to in high school) works much better for me. I don't know whether it taps into something instinctive -- I'm bilingual from birth and constantly switch from one to the other in daily life so I don't know whether that has something to do with it -- or just taps into my specific manner of learning.

That's not to say there's no value to the by-rote stuff for me (and certainly not for those who learn more effectively that way!), just that it tends to be more supplementary/for reference rather than the primary means. So when it comes to something like Duolingo, I find I'm picking up on the grammatical structures and patterns despite having to take a guess sometimes at the actual vocab, and that would be the thing I'd have trouble remembering via more linear or traditional methods.

Definitely agree with the advice regarding doing/reading/watching random things in your chosen language! Quite apart from grammar and vocab, it helps enormously with the actual sound and rhythms of the language.