Based on some chat I've had with others, I'm posting this to the blog.
Study Tips
Learning a new language is not easy. However, it can be made much more doable by understanding how people learn - especially, how you learn - and finding new ways to make learning efficient and interesting.
The same goes with most forms of learning. However, language is special in many ways because it is not specifically set in stone; rather, it is a fluid and evolving idea that often changes depending on the context, the region, etc.
The following applies mainly to learning Chinese and Japanese.
Rote repetition is not the end-all-be-all way to learn, perhaps, but it is, to some extent, effective in certain *aspects* of the language. For example, writing characters. What I found works wonderfully when memorizing new characters and words is: First, write it down two or three times by copying the actual character. A dry erase board works best so you can quickly erase and go again. Then, after the 2nd or 3rd time, erase and draw from memory without any references. Repeat twice without looking at the original, making sure you don't check yourself until you've finished drawing. This gets the character or drawing stuck in your short-term memory real quick, and helps it to lodge into your long-term memory.
Another important thing is remembering to use multiple approaches. Many "classic" methods are great, but in small, balanced doses, not prolonged agony. So, let's say you're learning a list of vocabulary words. Don't just look at them. Repeat them in your head - and out loud, if you can. Write each one down. Repetition is effective, but you typically don't need to repeat more than 3 or 4 times at once (more than that and you just get tired).
If you have the opportunity, listen to the words spoken - preferably by a native speaker. Many websites let you do this. I've found that, for languages where pronunciation rules are fairly strict and set in stone - such as Japanese or Chinese - Google Translate's new audio option is really effective at letting you hear how words are pronounced.
You always want a variety in your learning approach. To completely grasp new concepts, you really need to hear them, see them, touch them, and make practical usage of them. So, add new vocab words to sentences you already know how to say. i.e., "Hello my name is Jim and I work for Megacorp" is your base sentence. You learn how to say "Macarena" in Japanese, so now you can say "Hello my name is Jim. I work for Megacorp and I can do the Macarena!" This does two things. First, it reinforces what you already know. Second, it helps you grasp exactly how these new words are used by putting them in practical terms in a familiar setting. When learning, split your time between reading, listening, and writing practice.
When practical, speak it frequently. If you can go to the country - or a neighborhood (i.e., Japantown in San Francisco) where the language is spoken, do it. And find a study partner. Study partners let you practice and bounce ideas off one another, and help build confidence.
As you will find out studying any Asian language, balance is key. Zen yourself a bit. In order to achieve success learning a language, you must balance your learning techniques. Increase the workload in areas where you are weak, but don't forget to continue to build all three key areas: reading, listening, and speaking. Writing may not seem particularly important as we have computers and such, but the act of writing -- specifically, drawing kana and kanji -- helps reinforce not only what everything looks like, but also the actual meaning of your words, at a deeper level. This is especially true with Kanji, where you will begin to understand how the different radicals work together to form characters - and how they are similar in other characters.
Mnemonics are fine if they work for you. Associating new vocab words with familiar English phrases/stories does not work for me, but does for some. It all has to do with your learning style -- read on for more.
The Three Learning Styles:
The three main learning styles are Visual, Auditory, and Kinestetic (tactile: touching/grasping things). All three learning styles are important and should be used when you can; however, most people tend to be biased in favor of one style, and will learn more from that than the other two. Do you learn better by looking at the problem or reading the manual? Hearing someone lecture about it? Or do you learn best by just grabbing it and trying to figure it out yourself? For many people it can be very difficult to tell because all three styles are, to some extent, very important for learning, and should be blended in some way.
I've found that I am more of a visual learner. Although the other two styles have their advantages, I tend to figure things out better by reading about them, looking at pictures, etc. I'm actually a really bad Auditory learner, and often need things repeated to me in order to understand. This explains why my reading is so good but my listening scores tend to falter. You'll learn more quickly when you find which method suits you best, and try to stick to it - not exclusively - but more frequently than other styles. I'm not sure how or if genetics plays a role in this, but I think it have more to do with how you're raised or trained.
For example, I spent much of my young life reading. A lot. Also, although I can figure most things out by playing around a bit, I'm more likely to figure out how to fix a car by reading a how-to article than by opening the hood and experimenting. Anyone can work on improving their weak areas of learning. Your style may change over time, depending on your social interaction, level of education, maturity, etc. So there are many different styles of learning. Experiment them and find out what works for you.
Memory Exercise
Mind exercises will help you learn faster and retain longer. The aforementioned style of write, erase, repeat from memory is primarily a memory-enhancing technique, which increases your brain's ability to keep things in short-term memory. The longer and more accurately they stay there, the more likely they will transfer to long-term.
I noticed that after a couple months of using these techniques, I found I would memorize things after fewer repetitions. Where I started with 5 or 6 reps or more, I eventually could memorize a new list or diagram by repeating it twice. Even today, although my mind is not quite as sharp as it was a few months ago (it's a use-it-or-lose-it technique!), I'm finding my memory still tends to be better.
Additionally, to the extent you can, you'll want to stay healthy, ensure you're getting plenty of physical exercise, sleep, and proper nutrition. Mental exercises and variety will only do so much; in order to take advantage of these things, you need to be alert and healthy. Physical activity helps sharpen the mind, so exercise in the morning.
The human body, on average, should get 7-9 hours of sleep a night; more or less over a long period is unhealthy. Regularity in the sleep schedule matters, too - so, if you "make up" for lack of sleep all week by sleeping in on the weekends, it doesn't really help. And your body and brain wont function properly for long without proper nutrition to keep you healthy, fight off disease, and keep you relaxed and focused.
Study Tips
Learning a new language is not easy. However, it can be made much more doable by understanding how people learn - especially, how you learn - and finding new ways to make learning efficient and interesting.
The same goes with most forms of learning. However, language is special in many ways because it is not specifically set in stone; rather, it is a fluid and evolving idea that often changes depending on the context, the region, etc.
The following applies mainly to learning Chinese and Japanese.
Rote repetition is not the end-all-be-all way to learn, perhaps, but it is, to some extent, effective in certain *aspects* of the language. For example, writing characters. What I found works wonderfully when memorizing new characters and words is: First, write it down two or three times by copying the actual character. A dry erase board works best so you can quickly erase and go again. Then, after the 2nd or 3rd time, erase and draw from memory without any references. Repeat twice without looking at the original, making sure you don't check yourself until you've finished drawing. This gets the character or drawing stuck in your short-term memory real quick, and helps it to lodge into your long-term memory.
Another important thing is remembering to use multiple approaches. Many "classic" methods are great, but in small, balanced doses, not prolonged agony. So, let's say you're learning a list of vocabulary words. Don't just look at them. Repeat them in your head - and out loud, if you can. Write each one down. Repetition is effective, but you typically don't need to repeat more than 3 or 4 times at once (more than that and you just get tired).
If you have the opportunity, listen to the words spoken - preferably by a native speaker. Many websites let you do this. I've found that, for languages where pronunciation rules are fairly strict and set in stone - such as Japanese or Chinese - Google Translate's new audio option is really effective at letting you hear how words are pronounced.
You always want a variety in your learning approach. To completely grasp new concepts, you really need to hear them, see them, touch them, and make practical usage of them. So, add new vocab words to sentences you already know how to say. i.e., "Hello my name is Jim and I work for Megacorp" is your base sentence. You learn how to say "Macarena" in Japanese, so now you can say "Hello my name is Jim. I work for Megacorp and I can do the Macarena!" This does two things. First, it reinforces what you already know. Second, it helps you grasp exactly how these new words are used by putting them in practical terms in a familiar setting. When learning, split your time between reading, listening, and writing practice.
When practical, speak it frequently. If you can go to the country - or a neighborhood (i.e., Japantown in San Francisco) where the language is spoken, do it. And find a study partner. Study partners let you practice and bounce ideas off one another, and help build confidence.
As you will find out studying any Asian language, balance is key. Zen yourself a bit. In order to achieve success learning a language, you must balance your learning techniques. Increase the workload in areas where you are weak, but don't forget to continue to build all three key areas: reading, listening, and speaking. Writing may not seem particularly important as we have computers and such, but the act of writing -- specifically, drawing kana and kanji -- helps reinforce not only what everything looks like, but also the actual meaning of your words, at a deeper level. This is especially true with Kanji, where you will begin to understand how the different radicals work together to form characters - and how they are similar in other characters.
Mnemonics are fine if they work for you. Associating new vocab words with familiar English phrases/stories does not work for me, but does for some. It all has to do with your learning style -- read on for more.
The Three Learning Styles:
The three main learning styles are Visual, Auditory, and Kinestetic (tactile: touching/grasping things). All three learning styles are important and should be used when you can; however, most people tend to be biased in favor of one style, and will learn more from that than the other two. Do you learn better by looking at the problem or reading the manual? Hearing someone lecture about it? Or do you learn best by just grabbing it and trying to figure it out yourself? For many people it can be very difficult to tell because all three styles are, to some extent, very important for learning, and should be blended in some way.
I've found that I am more of a visual learner. Although the other two styles have their advantages, I tend to figure things out better by reading about them, looking at pictures, etc. I'm actually a really bad Auditory learner, and often need things repeated to me in order to understand. This explains why my reading is so good but my listening scores tend to falter. You'll learn more quickly when you find which method suits you best, and try to stick to it - not exclusively - but more frequently than other styles. I'm not sure how or if genetics plays a role in this, but I think it have more to do with how you're raised or trained.
For example, I spent much of my young life reading. A lot. Also, although I can figure most things out by playing around a bit, I'm more likely to figure out how to fix a car by reading a how-to article than by opening the hood and experimenting. Anyone can work on improving their weak areas of learning. Your style may change over time, depending on your social interaction, level of education, maturity, etc. So there are many different styles of learning. Experiment them and find out what works for you.
Memory Exercise
Mind exercises will help you learn faster and retain longer. The aforementioned style of write, erase, repeat from memory is primarily a memory-enhancing technique, which increases your brain's ability to keep things in short-term memory. The longer and more accurately they stay there, the more likely they will transfer to long-term.
I noticed that after a couple months of using these techniques, I found I would memorize things after fewer repetitions. Where I started with 5 or 6 reps or more, I eventually could memorize a new list or diagram by repeating it twice. Even today, although my mind is not quite as sharp as it was a few months ago (it's a use-it-or-lose-it technique!), I'm finding my memory still tends to be better.
Additionally, to the extent you can, you'll want to stay healthy, ensure you're getting plenty of physical exercise, sleep, and proper nutrition. Mental exercises and variety will only do so much; in order to take advantage of these things, you need to be alert and healthy. Physical activity helps sharpen the mind, so exercise in the morning.
The human body, on average, should get 7-9 hours of sleep a night; more or less over a long period is unhealthy. Regularity in the sleep schedule matters, too - so, if you "make up" for lack of sleep all week by sleeping in on the weekends, it doesn't really help. And your body and brain wont function properly for long without proper nutrition to keep you healthy, fight off disease, and keep you relaxed and focused.
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