The way I tackle it, I'll spend time learning, say, 1000 new words over a month or two, then spend a few weeks rewatching the content I learned those words from and using the words to do speaking and writing exercises to better cement them into my active vocabulary instead of just my passive comprehension. These activities are usually going on simultaneously as I'm usually actively trying to use vocabulary while also building my vocabulary comprehension. My favorite way to practice active vocabulary is to write out a description of my day in as much detail as I have the vocabulary for, then record a short video of myself summarizing what I wrote down. Then I'll get a native speaker to check for any errors like once a week during a conversation in the target language. It's my best method I could come up with for practicing comprehension, written and spoken output, and grammar.
Good advice with writing mandarin characters - when I started with Japanese I developed a lunchtime habit of doing Duolingo (yeah, I know, I know), but then writing out each answer by hand - this greatly accelerated my ease of dealing with Kana. I probably should have kept going with kanji, but unfortunately I got caught up with using the Heisig method which I now know is a mistake for a part time student like me. I think learning characters individually only works if you are doing a lot of immersion simultaneously (i.e. if you are a full time student). For a casual learner, its a waste of time because you don't retain what you learn without getting exposed to lots of characters in real sentences. As for flashcards, I think anki is useful for starting out with a language, but only if the flashcards are sentence based, not individual word based. Ive seen research indicating that SRS is efficient for learning the most common words, but for less common words it is less efficient than just getting lots of exposure to the words in different contexts. In my own learning, I find I've had to go back to basics - I was too influenced by 'all Japanese all the time' methodologies, and spent a lot of time with material which was too advanced. But it really didn't work for me - now I've gone back to simpler material I find my progress is much improved.
The problem for me is that in theory it is a nice idea to get to a certain level by comprehensive input - the problem is that some vocabulary just has to be learned by heart because the words do not appear so often in books and serials I'm interested in, neither are they part of my daily life (currently in Poland), for example kitchen utensil, administration stuff....
I know what you mean. To start, it's a really easy way to get used to the language and build the habit. I really like reading so I get exposure to a much wider vocabulary but it depends on your goals etc. No problem with looking up words or making flashcards if you want to. I think for beginners though the main thing is finding something they can do that keeps them consistent. They need to become a language learner first, then they can optimise the process down the line
If a word never comes up in conversation with native speakers, or in anything you watch or read, you probably don't need to learn it. If it comes up very rarely, just learn it when it does come up.
Matt. A video on habit. It is above the theory or grammer or verbs etc...Doing listening and reading for daily learning then flashcards, apps et al later down the line.
To learn chinese you wilk need to learn the hanzi to be able to read anything. The absolute best way to do that is to use memory techniques AND flashcards to help you memorize them over time. When you have a superficial knowledge of the hanzi BEFORE you see it in context or in lessons evertyhing is so much easier to understand! The difference is huge.
Now, for years I absolutely could not stand using flash cards until I found a website called Hanzi Hero. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but to find them was an absolute game changer! They utilize a memory technique based on the Madonna method and similar to the mandarin blueprint method together with SRS in one simple app or website. It's awesome. You just have to sit down and study, no extra work on making cards and things like that. To learn the Hanzi is really perfect.
I really enjoy your videos about language learning,And the way you explained your experience about language learning is working for me, I can stick on watching UA-cam videos but I don’t listen to the content repeatedly, I just keep watching the new videos,does that still work?
As i said to an English learner... We write "me and you" or "you and me" but we say me'n you or ewan me and you will never hear And unless it is at the start or emphasised... I went to the park AND i saw a single shoe like Tom Hanks find. So learning AND will not help you in most cases.
Matt, it seems like you're suggesting not to study words, and that was the conclusion of the professor you interviewed in your last video it seems, but here it seems like you're actually advocating studying Mandarin words, and that's what you're planning to essentially do again to rejog your memory by writing them out? I'm wondering what you would recommend, and what that professor would recommend, for people starting out with Mandarin or Japanese - is sitting down with Anki and studying the most common few thousand words (or something similar, writing it out by hand etc) necessary, or is it avoidable? It's much more enjoyable to immerse yourself in things, but you can't really 'immerse' in a book when you don't understand a single word.
I'm confused. First you talk about how it is useless to just study words. Then you talk about not wanting to write it down because you're not interested in bettering your handwriting. Then you end on talking about how useful it is to write the symbols (ie words) over and over again and study the words. I felt like the whole video seemed a bit unclear, or what am I overcomplicating here? 🤷🏻♂️
Most underappreciated language learning channel 100%
The way I tackle it, I'll spend time learning, say, 1000 new words over a month or two, then spend a few weeks rewatching the content I learned those words from and using the words to do speaking and writing exercises to better cement them into my active vocabulary instead of just my passive comprehension.
These activities are usually going on simultaneously as I'm usually actively trying to use vocabulary while also building my vocabulary comprehension.
My favorite way to practice active vocabulary is to write out a description of my day in as much detail as I have the vocabulary for, then record a short video of myself summarizing what I wrote down. Then I'll get a native speaker to check for any errors like once a week during a conversation in the target language.
It's my best method I could come up with for practicing comprehension, written and spoken output, and grammar.
be patient please, i see a great potential for this channel, it just takes time, great content as usual 🔥💯☕
Good advice with writing mandarin characters - when I started with Japanese I developed a lunchtime habit of doing Duolingo (yeah, I know, I know), but then writing out each answer by hand - this greatly accelerated my ease of dealing with Kana. I probably should have kept going with kanji, but unfortunately I got caught up with using the Heisig method which I now know is a mistake for a part time student like me. I think learning characters individually only works if you are doing a lot of immersion simultaneously (i.e. if you are a full time student). For a casual learner, its a waste of time because you don't retain what you learn without getting exposed to lots of characters in real sentences.
As for flashcards, I think anki is useful for starting out with a language, but only if the flashcards are sentence based, not individual word based. Ive seen research indicating that SRS is efficient for learning the most common words, but for less common words it is less efficient than just getting lots of exposure to the words in different contexts.
In my own learning, I find I've had to go back to basics - I was too influenced by 'all Japanese all the time' methodologies, and spent a lot of time with material which was too advanced. But it really didn't work for me - now I've gone back to simpler material I find my progress is much improved.
The problem for me is that in theory it is a nice idea to get to a certain level by comprehensive input - the problem is that some vocabulary just has to be learned by heart because the words do not appear so often in books and serials I'm interested in, neither are they part of my daily life (currently in Poland), for example kitchen utensil, administration stuff....
I know what you mean. To start, it's a really easy way to get used to the language and build the habit. I really like reading so I get exposure to a much wider vocabulary but it depends on your goals etc. No problem with looking up words or making flashcards if you want to. I think for beginners though the main thing is finding something they can do that keeps them consistent. They need to become a language learner first, then they can optimise the process down the line
If a word never comes up in conversation with native speakers, or in anything you watch or read, you probably don't need to learn it. If it comes up very rarely, just learn it when it does come up.
At some point, Matt, you’re gonna need to explain to my family why I keep leaving them in the middle of mealtime to watch your videos.
🤣 They can watch too surely!
😂
I like your vibe so much. Your videos are very insightful.
Matt. A video on habit. It is above the theory or grammer or verbs etc...Doing listening and reading for daily learning then flashcards, apps et al later down the line.
I'm mad keen on learning new words.
80/20 rule. 80% of the words we use to a day to day basis, is only 20% of the language. Is that a good mindset to have?
That sounds much more accurate to me... good one
To learn chinese you wilk need to learn the hanzi to be able to read anything. The absolute best way to do that is to use memory techniques AND flashcards to help you memorize them over time.
When you have a superficial knowledge of the hanzi BEFORE you see it in context or in lessons evertyhing is so much easier to understand! The difference is huge.
Now, for years I absolutely could not stand using flash cards until I found a website called Hanzi Hero. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but to find them was an absolute game changer! They utilize a memory technique based on the Madonna method and similar to the mandarin blueprint method together with SRS in one simple app or website. It's awesome. You just have to sit down and study, no extra work on making cards and things like that.
To learn the Hanzi is really perfect.
I really enjoy your videos about language learning,And the way you explained your experience about language learning is working for me, I can stick on watching UA-cam videos but I don’t listen to the content repeatedly, I just keep watching the new videos,does that still work?
Have you started speaking yet using the dreaming spanish method?
Yep. Might post and update at some point!
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As i said to an English learner... We write "me and you" or "you and me" but we say me'n you or ewan me and you will never hear And unless it is at the start or emphasised... I went to the park AND i saw a single shoe like Tom Hanks find. So learning AND will not help you in most cases.
I used to know a fella called Ewan Mee. True story!
Matt, it seems like you're suggesting not to study words, and that was the conclusion of the professor you interviewed in your last video it seems, but here it seems like you're actually advocating studying Mandarin words, and that's what you're planning to essentially do again to rejog your memory by writing them out? I'm wondering what you would recommend, and what that professor would recommend, for people starting out with Mandarin or Japanese - is sitting down with Anki and studying the most common few thousand words (or something similar, writing it out by hand etc) necessary, or is it avoidable? It's much more enjoyable to immerse yourself in things, but you can't really 'immerse' in a book when you don't understand a single word.
Save yourself a LOT of time and suffering and look up Hanzi Hero.
I'm confused. First you talk about how it is useless to just study words. Then you talk about not wanting to write it down because you're not interested in bettering your handwriting. Then you end on talking about how useful it is to write the symbols (ie words) over and over again and study the words. I felt like the whole video seemed a bit unclear, or what am I overcomplicating here? 🤷🏻♂️
That's a good video. It's good to see a CI advocate highlighting that other forms of learning are OK; that they aren't the work of the devil, lol