i’m relatively new on lingq and found this language learning tool by searching for effective language learning method and i stumbled on a blog which praised lingq. After testing lingq, i’m convinced and i want to become a paid member. I’m studying Japanese and i can read read very easily material from intermediate 1. I followed one of steve kaufman’s lingq power user webinar and know how to use lingq basically.
My working schedule changed completely recently, i now have five hours free to learn japanese instead of only one. One hour in the morning, two in the afternoon and two in the evening. I tried to establish a schedule or rather a method and got very fast overwhelmed, what to do and where to start? I searched on the internet and i always stumble upon methods which promise miracle, like learn japanese in 1 year, etc… So i wanted to know if some people would give me some advice on how to procede, or how to learn efficiently with Lingq. Lingq in itself is a very efficient tool to use, but how can i use it to obtain the most out of it during my 5 hours of learning time?
No I wouldn’t look into phonology. It should come naturally through listening and speaking. Studying phonology is highly inefficient and a waste of time.
What is ‘inefficient’ is being fluent but being misunderstood because you often pronounce ‘ou’ like ‘u’ because there is no ‘ou’ in English but there is in French. Ask my fluent wife, who would have avoided this problem by studying a simple phonology course for a few hours.
This doesn’t ‘just come naturally’ and it DOES cause problems.
Getting the sounds of the language in place first, along with listening for general rhythm and intonation in the beginning, means you can then place sound to written word much easier from the offset. Which is a huge huge HUGE help when reading.
Those of us who actually have to use language with native speakers outside of our bedroom know this.
I think both of you are right but we just need to add the age factor. Adults need to study phonetics to sound correct. On the other hand Demolitionator does not need phonetics at all, because being very young, he can learn good pronunciation just with what he mentioned. The world belongs to the young:)
I have no proof just my own observations. I have talked to many teenagers on Skype from various countries and those who are really into a language, hanging out with natives, watching series or playing online games with a voice chat sound to my imperfect ears better than my peers who do exactly the same, well perhaps with lower intensivity due to less free time.
It’s also an interesting phenomenon that nowadays it is not rare that those passionate teenagers have better pronunciation than their language teachers, even though of course their overall skills are much lower.
All the school kids who do many years of foreign languages and still suck at it disprove what you’re saying. The scienfitic literature relating to someone in the kid up there ^ 's position also disproves you.
Let’s stick to facts instead of unqualified conjecture about what you ‘reckon’.
You gave an example of your wife and I gave examples of my friends so we are both just expressing opinions. Most school kids are not being immersed in the language, because they don’t want to. All I want to say is that I don’t believe a 12 or 14 year-old will not develop a decent pronunciation if he devotes many hours to listening and some speaking.
My wife can’t pronounce the ‘u’ and ‘ou’ properly sometimes. She could improve this by studying phonology properly. This isn’t opinion, it’s objective fact.
You gave an opinion about obtainable pronunciation level based around age, as a result of talking to a handful of people.
Not the same things.
My contention is that some kid in a non-immersive environment studying alone has no advantage over pronunciation compared to a regular adult in the same situation.
I think the most effective way (at least for myself) is to spend my time on lingq doing what I feel like doing.
Generally I just read a page of content then go back and listen while reading along. Sometimes I mix it up and listen first and read second. If I just want to read I tend to pick content without audio/video, such as news stories.
Unlike most people here I rarely if ever repeat the same content, I hate repeating the same content over and over. I have way more fun reading as much different content as possible near my skill level while I watch the available courses get checked off.
Just do whatever you find most enjoyable and keeps you motivated. Also I think 5 hours is awesome if you can pull it off consistently over a long period of time, but trying to do so much at once might be why you burned out the first time, its okay to have the occasional “slow day.” Just remember to still do something every day.
Thank you Blicer for your advice! Don’t worry, i don’t study 5 hours in one sitting, it’s spaced throughout the day, with long hours of pauses between them.