I was delighted that my humble blogsite was nominated as part of this year’s Top 100 Language Lovers competition. A big first for me (guess I’ll have to spruce up the site and add some cool pictures in the unlikely case it wins more than one vote). 🙂
you deserve it !:)
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Cheers Mahesh! I’m just happy to share my insane love of languages and language learning with my patient readers out there, and hope that from time to time my experiences can offer some inspiration or comfort to others on a similar journey. 🙂
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i have learnt a great deal from here ,but only think i lack is your determination, reading a novel in new language is great deal for me i am not able to pass through 3 or 4 pages by then i am exhausted .
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Determination is definitely helped along by good materials, methods, and motivation. I initially try to choose material that I’m really into (which is not always that easy of course), ideally simpler parallel texts at first, leading on to more complicated novels when my vocabulary starts to level up. A good plot and text that’s not too tough keeps me focused and eager to turn the next page.
As for methodology, I aim to alternate shorter intervals of intense study with rewarding intervals of extensive play – all in Russian of course. 😉 I always try to accompany everything with audio and keep away from dictionaries as much as possible in the early stages. And the moment I feel tired or bored, I simply stop whatever I’m doing and start playing with something more fun in the language, or otherwise take a break or little nap. This helps maintain my energy and focus for longer.
And with an eye always on how to make things more motivating, I try to find new ways to make each little step towards my language goals more visible and rewarding (this is particularly important for me when I hit the dreaded intermediate plateau and progress seems to halt). Hence all the colourful little belts and grades you’ll find plastered over my blog. 🙂
These are just a few of the things that help bolster my determination and help fight fatigue and burn-out.
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