#multiple languagues

Welcome to #clearthelist, my monthly update on my language learning goals and progress.

This month’s update is a little different from the usual fare because it’s the start of a new year! I will be going deeper into my progress with the Chinese language, and have chosen to record my update as a podcast this time.

You can listen to the show right here:

Fluent Language Updates

At the end of November, my life here at Fluent Language entered an intensive phase with the launch of the new Language League membership programme. Many people joined us during the Black Friday promotion, and in December I sat down to record my first video training for these language learning heroes.

If you have not heard about Language League yet, you can find out more about this brand new group at www.fluentlanguage.co.uk/languageleague.

German Retreat

I followed Black Friday with another highlight: the 2020 German Retreat in Berlin! What a week. In Berlin, I met 3 hyper-motivated language learners, the most dedicated group I’ve ever seen. The participants committed to speaking German almost 24/7 as we explored the amazing stories Berlin has to offer.

I was supported at this retreat by a wonderful vegan chef who looked after us for the week, and emerged both happy and exhausted from a week of stellar teaching and learning.

My Language Goals and Progress

With such a busy season in my working life, I was not able to give myself a lot of spare learning time. So the Christmas break came in, a perfect opportunity to regroup and consider where I’m at in December 2019.

In Chinese I feel like I’ve covered most of the basics but I’m untethered. I need to get better at following a clear guiding resource. And I’m wondering if it’s worth continuing with the slow slow progress I’ve been feeling.

In Welsh I’m loving the language just as much as always. I understand and speak well now, almost fluently, and I don’t want to neglect this language too much.

My other language with regular contact is French where I can still drop into a B-level conversation and most of a podcast at any given time. I don’t actively study French, but I make sure to check in and maintain that level.

Should I Keep Learning Chinese?

There are lots of other languages I’d like to dabble in, study, enjoy. 2019 was a busy year for me, especially in the second half, and I want to stay realistic about my goals and keep languages as a source of joy in my life. This means that every now and then I consider what I’m doing.

My Chinese studies are enjoyable enough, but they haven’t given me that buzzy reward of progress at the same rate as other languages do.

There might be lots of reasons for this, here are my suspicions:

The completely different and very intricate writing system takes up a lot of learning capacity, and it feels like it doubles the study effort

Words and expressions are made up of short syllables, and in the past I’ve found that I’m better at remembering long words…I love a compound noun

I’ve not had enough listening practice, so spoken Chinese is still a book with 7 seals

In order to work out what’s next, I asked myself a few questions:

What did I come to Chinese for?

For me, it was curiosity and the wish to show myself that I can absolutely pick up an Asian language and understand it.

What have I got from Chinese so far?

I am much more aware of how the language works as a system. This is what I look for at the beginning of learning any language as it makes me feel capable of learning more. The foundation is there, and I am not a complete beginner.

What do I enjoy when learning Chinese?

Mostly, I feel like I have got good tones and pronunciation. My Skype lessons supported by a computer translation are chaotic, but they’re also fun and make me feel capable of expressing myself. I’ve even started putting together my own little sentences.

I’m enjoying Lingodeer and Assimil’s “Chinese False Beginners” workbook.

What don’t I enjoy when learning Chinese?

Obviously, no one enjoys forgetting words and making slow progress. This is the challenge. I know from my experience with other languages that this doesn’t mean I need to stop right now…in fact often this moment is where something does fall into place.

I can see how persisting a little longer would get me over that hump and provide me with the kind of skill and knowledge that means I don’t forget it all as soon as I take a break. So for now, Chinese will play a part in my 2020 plan.

My 2020 Language Plan

Planning out languages for an entire year right now feels like it would go nowhere, so let’s focus on January-March instead.

Mandarin Chinese in 2020

I’m gonna persist! At least until March, Chinese will be my focus language. As I get the feeling it would all progress much faster without the added layer of the writing system, I will skip those and focus on interaction and structure.

I recently found a used Teach Yourself Beginner’s Chinese course and will work with that to tick off those foundations. My goal is to feel more at ease in interactions and try out some role-play scenarios in my lessons.

Welsh in 2020

This language still makes me so happy, and I can’t wait to work with it at an even deeper level. I’ve finally managed to get Level 3 of Say Something in Welsh working for me. My other plans are

to go to Wales, of course!

to learn more about the song Myfanwy and use it as a cultural study opportunity

to take more Welsh classes and keep chatting to the friends I’ve made who are Welsh speakers

There is no hard-and-fast goal here except to continue and learn ever more about the language. In particular, speaking more will be great.

I’ve been reducing my use of Instagram overall so I’ve not been using my Welsh dedicated account as much…watch this space.

Onwards

My curiosity and heart are drawn to so many other languages and I don’t think I want to spend a whole year resisting all of them and getting my Chinese to a higher level. So once I hit March, it’s time to slow down on Chinese and decide which level I’d like to maintain. Or if I happen to love it by that point, I might just take a few months off Welsh? Who knows!

Here are the other languages I’m hoping to improve this year:

BSL: I loved the trial sessions I took online in October, and BSL is taught locally at most adult colleges so I could join an IRL class.

Italian: I studied Italian when I was a teenager and adored it but then swapped it for Latin and Spanish as my full-time education changed. I have been hoping to return to Italian for years and think I could hit a B level with some focus and effort this year.

Polish and Swahili: Now we’re in the more experimental choices where it may be fun to have a dabble for a while, but I know very little about these languages at this point.

What About You?

What are your plans for language learning in 2020? Leave a comment below and let me know if you enjoyed the podcast format for my personal check-in!