Comments on: Crowd Wisdom: How Study Hacks Readers Suggest You Study Foreign Languages

By: Nina

Nina — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:08:03 +0000

These study tips are great, I’m sure, for spoken languages. However, I am currently studying American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting. While some of the tips offered above can be converted and then applied to my studies, such as, exposing yourself everyday to the language, having conversations in that language while trying to integrate new vocabulary and structure, some of the tips are just not transferable. For example, the sheer amount of online reading material in spoken languages is just not met by the amount of ASL video available online or in stores. To practice “reading” ASL, YouTube videos of Deaf vlogs are the best bet. However, this does not provide you with learning the culture through literature which is important for understanding how to interpret culturally specific phrases like idioms. This method only works at improving your receptive skills, which is important but doesn’t help you fully understand the language. In order to familiarize yourself with the culture through literature, DVDs of literary performances, storytelling, poetry, comedy, etc., must be found, which is hard to do. Another tip that isn’t transferable to ASL is the vocabulary flash cards. There are flash cards out there for ASL vocabulary, but trying to practice a 3D sign from a 2D notecard and have it be correct is unnecessarily frustrating and rarely successful. Another thought to consider is that most spoken languages taught in college are well researched and come with a wealth of dictionaries and translation guides. ASL is in its research infancy and has neither of these documents in abundance. In fact, finding an ASL dictionary that’s worth its salt requires intense effort and a heavy knowledge of search engines!

In short, I suppose my question, then, is, what study method and plan is feasible for learning a signed language rather than a spoken one and where can I find it?

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:15:29 +0000

listen to foreign music, translate the lyrics yourself, and learn the songs, it helps to make a blog like this
http://iwanttolearngreek.blogspot.com/

it helped me learn basic phrases before adding on more complicated words and ideas.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:09:59 +0000

My own solution for flashcard management is to use StudyCards, a computer program that can be used to create your own flashcards for many of the Texas Instrument calculators like the TI-83. The advantage over Genius (Mac-only) and Quizlet (Internet-only) is that after making the flashcards and transferring them to your calculator, you can use the flashcards whenever you have your calculator with you. I always have my calc with me, so this is great. Granted, you need a calculator for this, but most students have to buy those for advanced math classes anyway. For me, StudyCards allows me to have the perfect balance of portability and organization.

By: Julian

Julian — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:24:17 +0000

Exactly because language is productive, learning isolated words is not enough (at least not for me) – it is believed that language is stored in “chunks” or “patterns”. Learning phrases and sentences helps internalize the word order and grammar patterns (which may be different from your native language) and stores words with their collocations (other words they frequently appear with). I tried both methods (isolated words / phrases+sentences) and my current progress in Spanish (phrases+sentences) is much faster than my progress in English (isolated words) used to be.

I’ve got your point here. And I have to admit that I just considered English (and maybe French and Latin) for my comment (and therefore was a bit narrowminded).
But I’ll stick to my argument insofar as it works for quite similar languages (e.g. English and German are both Germanic and therefore quite similiar). Because the you don’t really need to learn grammar patterns etc., at least not to that extent and it’s much more important to enhance your vocabulary. As a matter of course grammar can’t be taught due isolated words, but learning a new sentence for each vocab?

Maybe your approach is superior when it comes to learning languages that are more different. I could imagine that, in this case, learning whole sentences gives far more “grip”.
And it also depends of the level of learning. Maybe in the beginning and in the intermediate level, sentences are better, but in higher levels, when the patterns are already internalized, this approach is maybe rather redundant.

By: Jirka Lahvicka

Jirka Lahvicka — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:12:15 +0000

“But as a learner of a foreign language you shouldn’t learn phrases by heart. Language is productive and therefore it’s enough to learn the words (and e.g. their article or preposition).”

Exactly because language is productive, learning isolated words is not enough (at least not for me) – it is believed that language is stored in “chunks” or “patterns”. Learning phrases and sentences helps internalize the word order and grammar patterns (which may be different from your native language) and stores words with their collocations (other words they frequently appear with). I tried both methods (isolated words / phrases+sentences) and my current progress in Spanish (phrases+sentences) is much faster than my progress in English (isolated words) used to be.

“I would like to ask everyone here what their opinion is of the rosetta stone software? If anyone has tried it please let me know how it turned out.”

I used version 2 (the current version is version 3) for Russian and German. In my opinion, it is a nice supplement to your study (it definitely helps connect words/phrases directly to images and enables you to think in the target language), but I would not recommend it as your only (or even main) material (too much stuff is missing and there ARE mistakes and unnatural constructions).

For a lot more information, check out
http://www.how-to-learn-any-language.com/

By: Mouyyad Abdulhadi

Mouyyad Abdulhadi — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:15:37 +0000

I would like to ask everyone here what their opinion is of the rosetta stone software? If anyone has tried it please let me know how it turned out.

By: James

James — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 21:17:00 +0000

As a perpetual language student, there is one utility that I have found more helpful than almost any other: Quizlet. Basically, it is an online, shared, user-driven flashcard program. Incredibly well executed.

By: Julian

Julian — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:27:03 +0000

Linda is right, podcasts are amazing. I love to listen e.g. to macbreak video just for the sake of hearing some native speakers (and to hear some mac news of course). But it still has some “perils”. In some podcasts you may here rather slang (e.g. hackcollege tends to this) or at least colloquial language. You need to keep that in mind in my opinion (it’s still great :> )
But I don’t really like tip #5. Learning phrases is imo something for tourists who want to learn some phrases for the sake of “communicating” in the foreign country (this means to order their food). But as a learner of a foreign language you shouldn’t learn phrases by heart. Language is productive and therefore it’s enough to learn the words (and e.g. their article or preposition). BUT there is one important exception: idioms. Idioms, I think this is clear, MUST be learned by heart. And I they are really important, not knowing them can lead to severe missunderstandings or false friends.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:24:02 +0000

I appreciate the advice – wish I could have had this when I was back in highschool taking AP Spanish. Yes, flashcards definitely help. Creating lists of words and definitions (one side of the paper for the word, the other for the defenition) and then covering the definition and trying to come up with it worked for me just as fine. You could also go backwards if you wanted.

Cal, how about doing a blog/piece about how to do well in science laboratory classes? As a science major, I would appreciate it – as I’m sure would others. I read through your most recent book and found that it lacked this information.

By: Linda Bilak

Linda Bilak — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:24:09 +0000

As a veteran Spanish teacher, I have to include listening to topical podcasts in the target language. Instructional podcasts are fine too, but it you want to hear native speakers and stretch your limits more-go for podcasts made for native speakers and listen over and over gaining more comprehension after repeated listens.I use these in middle school and you would be amazed how much you can pick up with focused listening.