If I can’t learn German with the resources I have on hand, I’m not cut out to learn German at all. I believe I’m going to do it, but the past several weeks have gotten significantly more difficult and frustrating. The reason for the difficulty is that I’ve reached a critical juncture. I understand all [...]
I just have one point to make this week about language learning, something I’ve discovered greatly helps language retention. Remember that book I was talking about a few weeks ago that was written in 1889, The Gastineau Method? Rather than learning a language an hour or two at a time every day, Mr. Gastineau suggests breaking your lessons [...]
I‘ve had several people ask me why in the world am I studying German when Spanish is a much more useful language, generally speaking, for Americans to know. Well, the answer to that is simple. My Spanish, while not super duper awesome, is serviceable. I can carry on conversations and communicate what I want. That’s [...]
I‘ve reached level 3 in my Rosetta Stone course for German. I’m told that constitutes about 150 hours of material thus far. Not bad. Language learning, though, cannot be measured purely on the hours spent practicing. It also matters what kind of practice. Memorizing flashcards, for instance, is useless. When we learn languages we should [...]
Learning languages necessitates immersion. I’ve been utilizing the next best thing to complete immersion, the Rosetta Stone language community. Notice there that I didn’t say simply, “Rosetta Stone software”. The software alone isn’t enough. Sure the program is great; it’s the best of all the language learning programs on the market. The fact remains, though, [...]
I‘ve really been on a learning rampage recently. My language studying went from a modest 1 hour per day when I started to almost 3 hours a day in the last several weeks. When I learned Spanish I remember getting frequent headaches from constantly trying to process new words. I didn’t think it was [...]
Parents too often put the desires of their kids before their own personal goals. I spend a good portion of my day homeschooling my boys, driving them to and fro, and entertaining them, all of which, despite the occasional feelings of servitude and drudgery, have elements of personal gratification. The pride I take in [...]
There is great interest in this country in teaching little kids a second language. As a learning tool, I completely agree that a second language stimulates neural pathways and is an excellent mind strengthening activity. Learning a new language forces the brain to think in new directions. It gives us invaluable insight into other [...]
