企图心是通往成功的道路，坚持是载你抵达终点的车辆。

Learning a foreign language is intimidating to many students, so I though I’d share some of my best tips for effective language studying!

MEMORIZE SMARTLY

Be selective about vocabulary. If you’re learning a language for class, you most likely won’t have much control over the material you learn. However, if you’re self-studying and you do have a choice, invest your time and energy wisely by prioritizing vocabulary to memorize based on what is significant and relevant.

Significant words are the ones that are the most common in the language. Learning these core words and phrases will give you a bigger return by allowing you to sooner start comprehending more things. For example, studies show that 0.5% of the English language, or the 3000 most common words, makes up 95% of the content in any given conversation or written text (source). You can search online to find lists of the words that appear most frequently in your target language. I used this list of the top 1000 French words to get me started.

Relevant words are the ones that pertain to your unique needs and interests, such as vocabulary to describe yourself, your career, and/or your family members. If you’re traveling to another country, you may need phrases for introducing yourself, asking for directions, or buying things. If you’re a gourmand, you may want to learn the names of different types of food. You’ll be more likely to retain and use words that are interesting and relevant to your own life.

Use spaced repetition to memorize faster. I explain how to use the spaced repetition method in this post, although you can also achieve the same effect without using Anki.

Apply the vocabulary you’ve learned. You can engage with new vocabulary by doing the following:

Make it a goal to incorporate the word you’ve just learned into your next three conversations.

Learn phrases and idiomatic expressions that include the new word (ex: if you’ve just learned the English word green, learn green thumb and green with envy next).

Research the context the word is usually used in– is it formal? casual? vulgar? specific to one particular use or topic?

Write funny, creative sentences or stories using your new word(s) to help them better stick in your memory. This is especially important for verbs, so you can see the conjugations in action instead of merely memorizing a table of endings.

Don’t neglect memorizing correct spelling, accent marks, or the genders of new words. These often seem like trivial details to beginning language learners, but slacking off on these will come back to bite you down the road. Even small mistakes can change the entire meaning of what you want to say. Genders, especially, are hard to memorize but imperative to know for making adjectives and object pronouns agree.

AVOID TRANSLATING

Most language learners will hear/read something being spoken/written in their target language, mentally translate it to their native language and formulate a response in their native language, then translate their response back to their target language. This direct translation will slow down your rate of comprehension and expression, make you unable to speak naturally and fluently, and increase your chances of making mistakes with idiomatic expressions (ex: incorrectly writing Je suis 12 ans instead of J’ai 12 ans). Aim to avoid internally translating as much as possible.

Instead, learn to think in your target language by using the following methods:

Connect new vocabulary and phrases with images and ideas, not translations or definitions in your native language.

Draw doodles that represent new vocab words you receive. This doesn’t work for all words, but I try to draw a picture for all the words on my weekly French vocabulary list, and I’ve found it very helpful.

When making flashcards, put the new word on one side and an image to represent it (as opposed to the translation in your native language) on the other.

Look around you and describe items you see in your target language (color, size, use, etc.)

If you’re reading and you come across a word you don’t know, attempt to ascertain its meaning through context clues instead of immediately looking it up.

Once you’ve reached an intermediate/advanced level, use a monolingual dictionary so definitions for all new vocabulary will be in your target language instead of your native one.

However, don’t feel discouraged if you find yourself frequently translating in your head. The way most schools teach foreign languages focuses on translating, not thinking in the target language, so you’ll likely have some tendencies and habits that are hard to break. Practice, practice, practice, and you’ll get better!

IMMERSE YOURSELF

Obviously, the fastest way to learn a new language is to travel to a foreign country where you’ll be forced to use it. But if you don’t have the resources to take a trip, there are many ways to get the immersion effect from the comfort of your own home.

Consume a variety of written and spoken language though television, movies, music, news, blogs, poetry, comics, podcasts, audiobooks, YouTube videos, and/or children’s books.

If you’ve already completed your Duolingo course, try doing it backwards.  Instead of the native language to target language course, do the target language to native language course. If you know 3+ languages, do the Language 2 to Language 3 course for an extra challenge!

Speaking of Duolingo, the immersion feature is a great way to find articles in your target language that are both appropriate to your skill level and relevant to your interests. I tend to avoid the translation aspect for reasons stated in the previous section, but I still think reading the articles is useful.

Find a pen pal who’s a native speaker. You can communicate through email or online chat, but snail mail could allow you to also send each other trinkets and souvenirs from your respective countries/cultures. HelloTalk is a great app that allows you to connect with native speakers of your target language who are learning your native language, so you can teach and help each other.

Change the language on your phone, laptop, and/or browser to your target language. You can change the language in your device settings, and I personally use the extension Language Immersion for Chrome for my browser. Just make sure you know how to change it back!

Lastly, have confidence and take risks! Make an attempt to say something even if you’re not 100% sure it’s correct. I know how embarrassing mistakes can be (I once used “un baiser” as a verb and I still cringe thinking about it. Yikes!), but ultimately it’s all part of the learning process and leaving your comfort zone is the only way to improve. Trying to learn other languages is admirable in itself, so take pride in that and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there!

Thanks for reading! If you have questions, feedback, or post requests, feel free to drop me an ask.

+Click here for the rest of my original reference posts!

—Sophia :)

🌼🌻study smarter🌻🌼

(here are some study tips straight from my psych notes)

1. interest: the brain prioritizes by meaning, value, and relevance so u remember things better if ur interested

find a study partner

do extra practice or research

teach it to someone else (this works so well!)

2. intent: be actively paying attention. very little learning actually takes place without attention

use a concentration check sheet (every time u get distracted, put a check on ur sheet. this is supposed to program ur mind to pay attention)

while u read, talk back to the author

ask questions during lectures (this is scary ik!! but do it!)

3. basic background: make connections to what u already know

preview and skim the material before u read it. or google it!

write out a list of vocab words before a lecture and leave some spaces between them to fill in during the lecture

read ahead of lectures

watch crashcourse tbh

4. selectivity: start by studying whats important

look for bolded words, graphics, pictures, chapter review questions in ur readings

listen for verbal clues like emphasis and repetition during lectures

make urself a study guide as u read and write down questions for urself to answer later as review (kinda like cornell notes)

5. meaningful organization: u can learn/rmr better if u group ideas into diff categories

apply vocab words to ur life

make flashcards and sort them (try not to have more than seven items in one category!)

use mnemonics

6. recitation: saying ideas aloud in ur own words strengthens synaptic connections! when u say something aloud u r forcing urself to pay attention

after u read, ask urself questions

talk abt what u learned w/ classmates outside of class

again, teach someone else

7. visualization: ur brain’s quickest and longest-lasting response is to images

convert info into a chart or graph

draw it out

make a mental video of a process

look at picture/video examples

8. association: memory is increased when facts are consciously associated w something u already know. memory = making neural connections

ask urself: is this something i already know?

9. consolidation: give ur brain some time to establish a neural pathway

make a list of what u remember from class

review notes at the end of the day, every day

stop after reading each prg to write a question in ur notes

make ur own practice quiz

10. distributed practice: we all know cramming doesnt work but we do it anyway! but yeah short and frequent study sections work better

make a daily/weekly study schedule

create a time budget/time tracker (track everything ur doing for a week and see how u can be more efficient w/ the time u waste)

divide the reading/vocab by the number of days before an exam and do a little bit each day (u can use sticky notes to divide ur reading)

other tips:

stop stressing! this sounds stupid and it isnt going to be easy, but anxiety causes u to lose focus. try ur best to think positively. sleep a lot. minimize ur caffeine intake. take a walk maybe

when u need to remember something, look upward or close ur eyes (when ur eyes are open ur using visual parts of ur brain that u might not need to be using)

find a rival! (like the person right above u in class rank) secretly compete w/ them (envy can improve mental persistence bc it makes u focus more intensely) but dont overdo it! 

walking and sleeping build memory storage in ur brain

eat flavonoids! (grapes, berries, tea leaves, cocoa beans make neurons in the brain more capable of forming new memories + increase blood flow to the brain)

obstacles force ur brain to try harder, so space learning lessons apart or create a puzzle to solve or change ur physical setting

我会在伤痛中找到力量并改变我的方法。

I’ll find strength in pain and I will change my ways.

100 days of languages: day 10

day 10: learn 4 idioms

1. 如火如荼 rú huǒ rú tú like wildfire, unstoppable

他的生意如火如荼。

2. 大街小巷 dà jié xiǎo xiàng great streets and small alleys, everywhere in the city

每天晚上都有很多警察在全市的大街小巷进行查巡。

3. 赞不绝口 zàn bù jué kǒu to praise without cease, to praise to high heaven

游客总是对我们的优美环境赞不绝口。

4. 平易近人 píng yí jìn rén amiable and approachable, easy-going

好的领导平易近人。

8 Body Language Tricks To Instantly Appear More Confident

If you’re not as confident as you’d like to be, some slight modifications to your body language can have a huge impact. 

Learn to fake it until you make it with these eight tricks:

Continue reading

就餐 (jiùcān)-to have a meal

喧哗 (xuānhuá)-full of confused noise; hubbub

缺损 (quēsǔn)-damage

询问 (xúnwèn)-ask about; inquire about

逗留 (dòuliú)-stay; stop

舞弊 (wǔbì)-fraudulent  practice; malpractice

交头接耳 (jiāotóujiēěr)-whisper to each other

暗号 (ànhào)-secret signal; countersign; watchword

抄袭 (chāoxí)-plagiarize

撕毁 (sīhuǐ)-tear up; tear to shreds

空儿 /kòngr/ -  free time, spare time

有空儿  /yǒu kòngr/ - free

没空儿 /méi kòngr/ - busy

抽空儿 /chōukòngr/ - to manage to find time to do something

明天下午你有空儿吗？/ míngtiān xiàwǔ nǐ yǒu kòngr ma / - Are you free tomorrow afternoon?

两点以前没空儿，两点以后又空儿。/liǎng diǎn yǐqián méi kòng er, liǎng diǎn yǐhòu yòu kòngr./ - Before 2PM, I’m busy, after 2PM I’m free.

Hey everyone! I’m really excited to (formally) introduce my first real “big” project / post here on tumblr! It’s called the “Reasons to Learn a Language” Project, and it’s something that everyone can be involved in!

What is it?: This is a community project where tumblr users can send in their  “reason(s) to learn a foreign language” to my blog (@cactii-studies) via ask. The reasons can be long or short, and as in depth (or not) as you’d like them to be. The reasons that I’ve received will then be compiled into one large post with the sender’s username by the reason. The final setup will be similar to @study-well‘s “100 Reasons to Study” post. 

Why?: My hope is that this will serve as a motivational list of reasons for taking up foreign language studies. I personally think that foreign language studies are incredibly important, and I’d like to compile everyone’s thoughts in one place for people to look at, and hopefully inspire others to take the leap into learning a new language. 

Who?: Everyone! I’m not kidding! You don’t have to be a langblr to send in a reason. This is a community project that is open to everyone who has a tumblr account, no matter the content of your blog. Whether you’re learning Arabic, German, Japanese,  Afrikaans, or American Sign Language, you’re welcome to participate. This project is not language specific. Therefore, it would be nice if your reason did not include a specific language. (Perhaps those of you in other language communities would be interested in making posts like “Reasons to learn (insert language here)”? That’s up to you guys though, and would be a separate project!) Also, you don’t have to be learning a foreign language to participate! Just send in a reason why you want to start learning one! 

When?: This project starts November 19, 2017, and will end on December 27, 2017. I will be using December 28-31 to compile the final list, which will be posted on January 1, 2018, in order to kick off a new year of language learning! 

I’m going to tag some blogs that showed interest when I initially mentioned this idea in order to get the word about this project out there. That being said, most of my connections are to Japanese langblrs or studyblrs, so please please please spread this around! 

@uni-venture | @yoimosezu | @languagesque | @hinodestudies | @lovelybluepanda | @the-notegarden | @peraperagengo | @ccstudys | @the-delusion-polyglot | @worldapprentice | @jpnstudynet | @milkastudies | @fuckstudy | @mochiilang | @therenoplaceforus | @emmastudies | @phctcsynthesis | @studyquill | @studyflwr | @smallstudyblrsunite | @equaticns | @focusign

If you have a question, please ask, and I’ll answer as quickly as I can! I hope that this project is something that people are interested in, and will participate in! 

Oh, all posts regarding this project with be tagged with #rtlalproject

the best language learning thing is when you learn a really simple grammar rule and it completely transforms your vocabulary