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[KorvinOdAmbera]

http://www.gay-serbia.com/forum/viewthr ... ?tid=42550

Not only is the attending the school (or private) classes important for learning a language, but it's also a constant effort to use it, to talk in it, to think in it.

I have several exercises that I have found quite useful, as I was learning German. For instance, whenever I have been coming back from my classes, I used to try and name all the things I could see on the way home, like traffic light, pavement, people, trees, and so on.

Or, because I really like listening to music, I have also translated all the lyrics, minding the rhyming and the number of syllables. This is especially good because it forces you to find synonyms or better ways to express yourself.
And afterwards I tried to sing these songs, the minute I've heard them on my player.

[loreenche]

Hmmm... Gotta admit, you're some pretty weird fella'... Like... Translating lyrics, minding it rhymes... Kinda extreme don't you think? Anyway, my mental exercises? Ummm... I guess sometimes I like thinking in English... I usually dream in English... Weird, I know... But I find it very challenging

[Dušan Maljković]

I don't do mental exercise, just oral one.

[loreenche]

HaHaHa... Awesome

[KorvinOdAmbera]

Originally posted by SmallTownBoy_91

Hmmm... Gotta admit, you're some pretty weird fella'... Like... Translating lyrics, minding it rhymes... Kinda extreme don't you think? Anyway, my mental exercises? Ummm... I guess sometimes I like thinking in English... I usually dream in English... Weird, I know... But I find it very challenging

Hahahah.. I like it.. I've been doing it since I was, I don't know eleven, twelve, when the Leontina had her song "Sreda". I've translated it and the entire class has sung it in English.

Thinking is really important. It's the best mental exercise. But for instance, whenever I have been trying to think in German, I've ended up fighting with someone in my thoughts.. Weird.. Maybe it's because of the language, dunno...

[Speculum Columbae]

I always use the rhyme - The rain in Spain, stays mainly in the plain, and I feel absolutely and utterly charming.
Be that as it may, the important thing in learning language is grammar. That is the best (mental) exercise.

[loreenche]

Originally posted by KorvinOdAmbera

But for instance, whenever I have been trying to think in German, I've ended up fighting with someone in my thoughts.. Weird.. Maybe it's because of the language, dunno...

That's because you don't know what's happening until you get to the end of sentence (verb at the end)!

[Speculum Columbae]

Omg...the same thing happens to me!

[simarrgL*]

/me feels stupid while talking/writing in English around Serbs

[Speculum Columbae]

And I remembered one more method how to learn language: Learn poetry by heart.

[KorvinOdAmbera]

Originally posted by Dante

And I remembered one more method how to learn language: Learn poetry by heart.

That's a great way. I like poetry.

Originally posted by simarrgL*

/me feels stupid while talking/writing in English around Serbs

Why, hun?

[dukkehjem]

I like to let my cubsoncious do the job...
For example, when I wanted to learn the days of the week in Norwegian, I simply made a picture (in which every day had its colour and some other details) and set it as my background both on cell phone and computer... I was surprised when I found out I really knew the days of the week (while on the other hand I've never learned French words )

Usually, I like letting the language inside of me spontaniously.

Still, it is always good to make some asociations/connections, and find simularities with other words of other languages you know, or within the one you're trying to learn. For example man - men, or in Norwegian en man, mannen; menn, mennen, sister - søster etc.

It was very interesting for me to find out that a word for "sad" in French (triste) was very similar to the Norwegian one...

[Speculum Columbae]

Well, you can connect the terms with such - colours, music, words you already know, words from another language...

[loreenche]

cubsoncious?




I know it's just a typo, but we gotta have good laugh too, right?

[dukkehjem]

@dante absolutely, and it is great.
(also do the youtube, movie, music stuff for sure XD )

[dukkehjem]

Originally posted by SmallTownBoy_91

cubsoncious?




I know it's just a typo, but we gotta have good laugh too, right?

come on, it was A lapsus calami...
subway, suburb, subtitle, subrogation, subconscious, subtransmission, subtext...

[dukkehjem]

gosh, I haven't seen the "I know it was just a typo" part

[nsBeckie]

When I was learning English I used to count my steps in it, or I would calculate all sorts of things in English. This can be a good mental exercise.... (Counting is something that naturally comes to us in our native language, almost subconsciosly, since it is "more natural/instinctive" to use the language you have acquired as your mother tongue and not a language you learn later in life. Practicing to count and calculate in a non-native language can therefore bring you a little closer to that instinctive usage which is usually reserved only for your native language, which means it will come more naturally to you after a while.)

Now, from when I first started learning French (on my own-without any tutor): as far as learning vocabulary is concerned, my advice for learners of any foreign language is to keep a small self-made dictionary of all new words in a separate notebook, constantly adding new ones, and to test themselves at regular intervals, for example, once a week or once in two weeks, starting from the beginning of the list to the end. After each test, they should give themselves a mark, or count all the words they got right (for example, 19/20, 56/72) and keep that score written somewhere, to follow their own progress. Of course, as the list grows, it may become a little too long for one test, so they can decide to skip the earlier easier words if they are sure they know them and concentrate on the latest entries. The test is easy - first just read the words/phrases** in the foreign language and give the translations, and then try the other way around. This self-testing can work really well if you have the discipline to do it regularly, and it doesn't matter whether you are learning the language on your own, in school/at university, or at a private language school.

** An important note about learning vocabulary of any language is to learn how words collocate with each other, or how they combine, so it is always best to learn the expression rather than just the individual words. For instance, "make progress", "take a break" (and not "make a break"), "have lunch", and so on.

[nsBeckie]

Originally posted by KorvinOdAmbera

Originally posted by Dante

And I remembered one more method how to learn language: Learn poetry by heart.

That's a great way. I like poetry.

Yes, that's great. I used to do that, too. Shakespeare, who else?

[AngraMaina]

First and foremost, you need to LOVE the language you want to learn.

Second, written translations (letters, translating short prose passages).

Third, song lyrics--writing down and translating them.

Fourth, the one you have mentioned--to engage in an internal monolog as often as possible.

Fifth, to find an "initiator"--a native speaker(s) willing and able to talk about language issues, idiomatic usages etc.

Sixth, to read literary and (optionally) scholarly works in the language you are trying to learn.

Seventh, to read newspapers and watch TV.

[porno papilotna]

I'm born in England

[nsBeckie]

Originally posted by porno papilotna

I'm born in England

Well, that's nice, but that doesn't really mean anything... Acquiring a language does not have anything to do with the place of birth. Unless you are surrounded by native speakers of the English language during the first few years of your life, you won't acquire it as your first language. It also need not have anything to do with the parents. Imagine a situation - the baby was born in Serbia, by Serbian-speaking parents, but then right after birth moved to Japan and surrounded only by the Japanese language... He/she will acquire Japanese as his/her first language and will not speak a word of Serbian. It is a proved fact that any child can acquire any language if it is exposed to it enough during the critical period of language acquisition, regardless of their origin, ethnic or national background.

The correct expression, by the way, is "I was born in England".

ONT: I thought of another good mental exercise: writing in the language you are learning. Just writing - even if it's only your thoughts and feelings, e.g. keeping a diary, or maybe trying to write poetry or a really short story - just writing to express yourself.... It can be hard at the beginning, but later sentences will come more easily - it is a good exercise for trying to use new expressions in context, and you learn to express yourself in a foreign language. This can lead to actually thinking in that language while you write, which is, of course, the goal, because when you think in your native language and then mentally translate your thoughts to write in the foreign language, the sentences you write will sound more or less unnatural, under the influence of your native language.

[porno papilotna]

Originally posted by nsBeckie

Originally posted by porno papilotna

I'm born in England

Well, that's nice, but that doesn't really mean anything... Acquiring a language does not have anything to do with the place of birth. Unless you are surrounded by native speakers of the English language during the first few years of your life, you won't acquire it as your first language. It also need not have anything to do with the parents. Imagine a situation - the baby was born in Serbia, by Serbian-speaking parents, but then right after birth moved to Japan and surrounded only by the Japanese language... He/she will acquire Japanese as his/her first language and will not speak a word of Serbian. It is a proved fact that any child can acquire any language if it is exposed to it enough during the critical period of language acquisition, regardless of their origin, ethnic or national background.

The correct expression, by the way, is "I was born in England".

ONT: I thought of another good mental exercise: writing in the language you are learning. Just writing - even if it's only your thoughts and feelings, e.g. keeping a diary, or maybe trying to write poetry or a really short story - just writing to express yourself.... It can be hard at the beginning, but later sentences will come more easily - it is a good exercise for trying to use new expressions in context, and you learn to express yourself in a foreign language. This can lead to actually thinking in that language while you write, which is, of course, the goal, because when you think in your native language and then mentally translate your thoughts to write in the foreign language, the sentences you write will sound more or less unnatural, under the influence of your native language.

I'm not born in England, and I wasn't born in England,

It's been quite boring night and I tried to make a joke......

conclusion is I am illiterate

I won't smoke my stash from now on in the middle of the night...

[AngraMaina]

nsBeckie: IMHO your English is perfect. The only thing--you use commas like the Serbs In fact you could easily erase ALL the commas in your previous post (except one) and your text would still flow naturally or even more so.

For some reason English is very reluctant to commas and people use them only when it is absolutely necessary. I got used to it in time but at first it seemed to me that everyone was illiterate. They just love to make it more confusing I guess.

[nsBeckie]

Originally posted by AngraMaina

nsBeckie: IMHO your English is perfect. The only thing--you use commas like the Serbs In fact you could easily erase ALL the commas in your previous post (except one) and your text would still flow naturally or even more so.

For some reason English is very reluctant to commas and people use them only when it is absolutely necessary. I got used to it in time but at first it seemed to me that everyone was just illiterate. They just love to make it more confusing I guess.

Thanks.

Although that is not exactly true about erasing all the commas in the above text (more than one are, in fact, necessary), you are quite right that I use a lot of commas and punctuation in general. It is a part of the way I write - not because I am Serbian, but because I write the way I think - in chunks - almost like poetry.... And sometimes that means using additional (perhaps unnecessary) punctuation to emphasise when to make a pause in reading. The truth is, I write like someone whose words are meant to be read aloud... I know that's silly, but there it is. That's the real explanation.

Oh, and do not be fooled by the seeming reluctancy of English to commas - this can lead you to forget to place them when they ARE necessary. For example, before "but"....
However, you are right about me - here is how I would write what you just wrote:
For some reason, [comma not necessary]
English is very reluctant to commas and people use them only when it is absolutely necessary.
I got used to it in time, {this one is necessary}
but at first, [not necessary]
it seemed to me that everyone was just illiterate.
They just love to make it more confusing, [not really necessary]
I guess.

See what I mean when I say pauses in reading, like poetry?... soo lame, I know, but that's my style of writing....

[bern]

Originally posted by nsBeckie

It is a part of the way I write - not because I am Serbian, but because I write the way I think - in chunks - almost like poetry....

And you are not alone, because many writers do the same. After they turn in the text there is a constant battle with editors about how to shape the final version. Because, writers feel the rhythm of the sentence, while editors are more grammar-oriented.

[loreenche]

Originally posted by nsBeckie


ONT: I thought of another good mental exercise: writing in the language you are learning. Just writing - even if it's only your thoughts and feelings, e.g. keeping a diary, or maybe trying to write poetry or a really short story - just writing to express yourself....

I used to do this at school! Like, I was writing almost every sociology lesson in English! Had really hard time learning the lesson later however...

[nsBeckie]

Originally posted by bern

Originally posted by nsBeckie

It is a part of the way I write - not because I am Serbian, but because I write the way I think - in chunks - almost like poetry....

And you are not alone, because many writers do the same. After they turn in the text there is a constant battle with editors about how to shape the final version. Because, writers feel the rhythm of the sentence, while editors are more grammar-oriented.

Well, unnecessary does not mean ungrammatical. Editors who delete such things are changing the writers' style, not correcting their grammar, so I understand the writers' frustration. It's OK to delete a comma in the middle , [sic!] of a sentence, where it's clearly ungrammatical, but not where the comma is not ungrammatical and only used as a style-marker. Conclusion: I don't like editors very much either!

[Speculum Columbae]

My bed is atrocity and my greatest woe.

[dukkehjem]

Each day leave hour or a half of your time for the language you are learning , it is much better then 5 hours in 2 weeks...