It's now been three weeks since I've started. Two of which have been pure studying while the first was research. Last week I was happy to say I memorized over 200 words within several days, and so I planned on memorizing much more this week.
Because I'm still learning how to plan and set goals, I didn't add many words to my Italian vocabulary, but I have learned many valuable lessons (I didn't fail!! haha. If you're confused, read my Baby Steps post)
What worked:
Livemocha, Unit 2, Lessons 1-3: This unit is much more interesting than the last because I'm learning verbs which I can use regularly. If you use Livemocha (or any learning software) I highly recommend listening to the audio first! With audio and a picture you can gain a 'fuzzy' meaning of the word. It's extremely important not to associate the word with the spelling or another English word because you will not memorize it very well.
Writing: It sounds unimportant to write a summary of what you've learned or studied each day and each week (such as these weekly updates), but I've found it's extremely helpful with keeping me motivated. It also helps me plan and see what I can improve. On top of that, all the great and successful people do it, so why not?
Audio Books: This week I tried out listening to the Harry Potter audio book while reading the text, and I've found it extremely helpful in several ways.
1. I'm learning how to follow an Italian conversation at a normal speed, (they don't speak in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n , haha)
2. Because I love the Harry Potter books and movies and I know the story, I can make out what's happening even though I can understand only about 1 word or less per sentence.
3. It's fun! The beginning steps of learning a language isn't about memorizing grammar and verb conjugations. We learned our native language all by listening, therefore listening is extremely important. And when I can understand the meaning of what is being saying it's a huge accomplishment, and I'm proud of it! (<- Motivation)
Goal/Plan: I learned that studying a new language is more about how to create goals, plans, and managing time that it is about the grammar and vocabulary words. Having goals and plans is harder than it sounds, but it's extremely effective!
If I remember more, I'll add it here, alright?
What didn't work:
LingQ: because this website was recommended, I tried it out. I found the audio/text reading section slightly helpful, but you had to pay for the native audio/writing reviews. I will try it again because it's worth checking out.
Smart.fm: This is an excellent website for memorizing any names or symbols such as the Japanese writing system and country names. Otherwise, it was very hard to memorize verbs with this site.
If I remember more, I'll add it here, alright?
So that's it!
Week 3 = new learning methods + some grammar + ~50 words
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