Spanish Day 3 report

Today was probably the worst day of study yet. It was very busy at work with a visit from some investors from the corporate office, and then outside work, I observed people playing my RPG for 4 hours. All said I got maybe 1-2 hours of Spanish study. However, I did create a self introduction today.

Yo soy Scott y soy conserje. Soy de Estados Unidos. Mi tia es de Mexico. Por eso, mi prima habla español. Tambien, mi colega es de Mexico y habla español. Por eso, estoy estudiando español. Mucho gusto.

I did make that breakthrough talking to my coworker today. When she came in to work, I said to her "Buenas Dias. Estas Buen?" because she wasn't at work yesterday. Turns out, she has some things she should see a doctor about. This is the reason we are trying to learn Spanish at my work, so that we can be a better, more cohesive team...

So, I pushed myself today. Made it through some things and actually started watching my position in the leaderboard. It turns out, that stupid system is a motivator.

Well, some progress was made, but now it is time for bed. Buenas Noches!

Spanish Day 2 Report

As I stated at the beginning of this renewed blog, I am going to use it as a way to keep myself accountable. I almost went to bed without updating my progress, which meant that I almost failed on Day 2. Can you believe it? Well, here's the update:

Today, I did not see my Spanish-Native coworkers (not entirely sure why) so I was not able to challenge myself to speak to them. However, because I had my Spanish books out and was reading them when I had the chance, I was approached by 4 different residents who informed me that they were also learning Spanish (I guess language learning is a New Year's Resolution for many people). I was aware that one of them was, but I was surprised by the other 3. I found it quite interesting, and we swapped ideas about study methods/technology.

Meanwhile, I made it through the first 2 chapters of Spanish Demystified. I must say, I feel like I am less mystified. The book does a pretty decent job of explaining that some things in Spanish are ALWAYS true, some things are OFTEN true, and some things are CONFUSING. So, at least the author is being honest. BUT, I did get the point that j's are yiddish Ch sound, as are sometimes g's, so that's good. I'd say that's fair.

It was a slow day at work, so Duolingo got a lot of use today. I am now 5 on Intro, Phrases, and Travel, and can say things like "Yo tengo un vaso de cafe con azucar sin leche" which is far more than I new when I started this challenge a few days ago. I kept messing up the verb forms (bebo v. bebe v. bebes) in my evening review, however, so I'm hoping I can get better at that. I also messed up a bunch of masculine/feminine indicators... lame. Good progress though.

I did not know that Duolingo had sponsored podcast episodes. I ended up listening to the story of a lady who inherited her abuelo's Mescal factory on my way to work today. That's a neat feature which I do recommend.

In conclusion: Yo necesito acostarse. Mi esposa esta alli. Buenas Noches

Spanish Day Beginning Report

Well, it took 3 days to get my language book and phrase book, both of which arrived today, but in the meantime, I opened up Duolingo on my phone and began crunching away at the first few lessons. Duolingo does not have any real explanations about WHY things are, but it does a very good job of having  you repeat relatively nonsensical words and phrases until you begin to be able to organically start forming your own sentences. I found myself repeating the phrase "Donde esta el bano" on my dog walk today, but by the time I was returning home, I had begun to answer the question and form others. Here's the fake conversation I had with my dog on our walk:

• Me: ¿Donde esta el baño?
• Dog Voice: El bano esta aqui
• Me: ¿Donde esta Scott?
• Dog Voice: Scott en el baño.
• Me: ¿Donde esta su pasaporte?
• Dog Voice: Yo tengo su Pasaporte.
• Me: Gracias. Disculpe. Tu eres el perro?
• Dog Voice: Si. 
• Me: Tu español es bueno
• Dog Voice: Gracias. Adios
• Me: ¡Hasta mañana!

Obviously, this is a fairly bizarre conversation to have. First off, how does my dog have any understanding of what a passport is other than the little blue paper thing that she can't be near when I have it out. Secondly, why is her Spanish better than mine? Finally, I put this together with the words and phrases I was learning from Duolingo plus like 5 words I knew from outside my studies thus far.

I know, you might look at the above and thing that I'm not a beginner at Spanish. I am. Aside from some random lessons during elementary school over 20 years ago, I have never studied Spanish. However, I have determined with my brief three day interaction thus far, it seems easier than Korean and therefore I might have a slight advantage with Spanish that I did not have with Korean or Japanese. Plus, everyone knows random Spanish words like "Si" and "Gracias" and "Adios." I think like 90% of Americans just know these things from TV and movies at the very least (I mean, I bet every American between 20-60 is well aware of Schwarzenegger's "Hasta La Vista, Baby!" from T2).

Anyway, I decided to go with "Spanish Demystified" because of its many positive reviews. I am a non-traditional language student, so when I read that this was a non-traditional language approach, the $13 price tag did not seem like much of a gamble. I'll probably get more out of it than most people.

In the meantime, I have this practice of doing a refresher exercise on Duolingo in the morning, than do 20 minutes of Duolingo around noon-ish during my work lunch break. I'm going to start using my other resources now that I have them. I have also been using some of my break time to watch "La Patrona" on my phone (about 20 minutes at a time) without the subtitles. I know it's overly cheesy (as are most Telenovela's I understand), but just hearing people talking in longer phrases with each other helps keep the brain active. Don't ever turn down the opportunity to listen to some native speakers talking, even if talking jibberish or small talk. I found some news streams via Youtube, so I'm gonna start using those, but right now, I kinda want to know who is going to win this fight over being "La Patrona."

I have not yet tried to start talking to my coworkers, but perhaps tomorrow I will break through the fear and try really hard to say something other than "Tu eres una mujer?" to my coworker. We'll see. I am officially counting today as Day 1 of Spanish now that I have the study materials. I'm not sure if this breaks the 30 day challenge, but we shall see.

30 Day Language Challenge RENEWED (2020 Version)

From my 2012 original post: As an American, I’m embarrassed by our serious inability to speak languages. It’s not our fault that the North American continent is a predominantly English language continent and Europe is a predominantly multi-lingual continent. But I’m embarrassed nonetheless whenever I hear people from a different country forgiving Americans for not understanding their language or stumbling through their customs like a rhino on a rampage. It’s sad that even with a bachelor’s degree in any language, we can hardly make claims to “know” a language other than English. That’s why, based on the teachings and concepts of Barry Farber and A.G. Hawke, I came up with this 30-day language challenge. I don’t think it’s impossible or improbably to assume that given the right motivation and right materials, one could, within 30 days, learn a new language. Obviously, no one can become a “Native” speaker of any language they aren’t a native speaker of, but I believe that within 30 days, any person with a sound mind and clear focus, could learn enough of any language to be beyond the help of any “100-level” or “First Year” college language course. I’m inspired by the amount of language advertisements I’ve seen on the internet these days to take on this challenge myself to prove it.

About Me

I have been around for a while. I started this blog and the “30 Day Language Challenge” in 2012. I don’t know if this makes me the first person to think of this, which I doubt very seriously, but it’s been a thing I’ve been up to since. The above statement still holds true. It still embarrasses me how little we know in the US and so I keep challenging myself. And so I’m at it again, this time with something a little closer to home, and while I doubt anyone will read this blog, I’m using it to hold myself accountable.

I have been living my life with my wife, my dog, and my freemasonry a little comfortably, and now its time to learn Spanish. Because there are much more opportunities for me to speak Spanish in my daily life than there has ever been with Indonesian, Russian, or Mandarin, I feel like this will hold a little better. I mean, there are some willing coworkers who are native Spanish speakers and some vendors that I occasionally interact with that are the same.

THE PROGRAM (2020 Edition)

The program that I compiled works like this: Follow the rules, study often, overwhelm your brain, and become a speaker in 30 days. It requires a series of materials and a serious effort – no slackers accepted. Here’s what I (you) need for the program to work:

• Notebook
• Blank 3x5 cards
• A coursebook in the target language.
• A language APP that includes actual conversations (Pimsleur is good for this)
• A Language APP that has Phrases and words (like Duolingo). If you can’t find one you like, I recommend a book.
• A Grammar Book (can be PDF). There’s no substitute (I’ve tried), and things like PDFs can be forgotten, but having a thick tome on the desk will remind you to study.
• A Quick Reference sheet
• Newspaper or Magazine
• Language challenge games (There’s a bunch of these out there now)
• Movies and music in the target language
• Highlighter pens

Rules for learning the language

1. Never take a day off
2. Utilize all hidden moments to review 3x5 cards, listen to the conversations, or hit up the app (Hidden Moments are the moments where you are not doing anything, like waiting for food at a restaurant, driving, or laying in bed scrolling through facebook)
3. Set aside at least 30 clear minutes a day to update your 3x5 cards on the language or to read more lesson from your book
4. Study a few vocabulary words from the previous day each morning when you wake (This gets harder as you learn more, but it’s important)
5. Study a few vocabulary words from the day before going to sleep each night (Duolingo lets you review, which is cool)
6. Use Harry Lorayne's magic memory aid - Tell a story to remember the words your studying. Ex. In Indonesia, my family all lives in one roomah. (Rumah=Family)
7. Study words together with opposites, it's easy to remember (hot/cold, etc.)
8. Pick conversations with other speakers of the language with gusto. Have no fear, boldly go into it like you’re picking a fight. 
9. Use Word-Denial games (Don't let yourself have dessert until you can remember a word, etc.)
10. Don't study profanity, but do study idiomatic phrases
11. Keep it simple at first, don't try to outpace yourself by knowing words like "megalomaniac."
12. Try to find a community within your town that speaks the target language natively (or close) and find reasons to hang out with them (go to their restaurant, etc.)
13. Choose to listen to the target language music instead of your own when listening to music. Better yet, choose to listen and interact with the language audio instead of music
14. Remember to interact with language audio, none of them work without interaction
15. Watch Target Language movies or TV rather than English (this is easy with streaming services)
16. For the first 30 days, live, breath, and eat your target language

So, for the next 30 days, I’m going to blog a day at a time. This is keep myself in check more than anything else, but if it helps someone, than great.

Technology and Language in 2017

Now that it's no longer 2012, I think it would be weird to leave out the technological updates that exist when it comes to language learning. In 2012, when I first proposed this program, I was still stuck in the advice of the older generations. I have modified my understanding and have embraced the technological advancements of Youtube, Netflix, Smartphones and internet games and apps. The following are the technological items that I have found useful in my language learning.

1. Youtube: Say what you will about Cat Videos and Epic Fails, but Youtube is an extremely good source for language learning. On top of being able to find pronunciation or common vocabulary videos, there are a whole lot of videos made by normal people like you and me in which they speak in their native language. Most of the time, they speak alot. There are political debates, news broadcasts, and even generic cooking or make-up videos. That's a whole lot of information.
2. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, etc.: The user driven streaming video companies make a killing, but in order to do so, they have to provide content for their subscribers. What that means is that they have "foreign films" and shows. While someone suggested changing the language (this does help a little), the best way to get the most of your programs is to filter searches to only those with the "audio" for your target language. That will me that all the options for you will be in your target language. There's alot of science that suggests people choose options within restrictions with just as much thought and enjoyment as option without restrictions. This will be a good way to make sure that you immerse yourself in the language. (PS Subtitles are not as good as audio)
3. Smartphone Apps and games: I like Duolingo and Memrise. I know there are many many others, but I like that Memrise turns vocab into a real game and Doulingo's requirement for you to form sentences. These are both very good apps when it comes to learning languages. They make it fun.
4. Networking and Platforming apps: I recently learned about Lingbe and I have found it be awesome. It actually connects you to people randomly in the target language. The exchange is that you also have to spend time talking with people in your native language. Basically, it forces you to actually GIVE in order to receive as part of the language exchange. This means that there are always people willing to speak to you in their language because it means they can speak to someone else in the language they want. The biggest failing about language exchange companies and pages is that you have alot of people wanting to speak English and very few people willing to tutor other languages. I guess that's where the money is. And while I recognize that there is not real POLICING of the issue on Lingbe, people still have to open themselves up for people to talk to them in order to get what they want. It's good stuff.

Well, I hope you could get some advice. I didn't want to get into specifics on how to filter your searches for movies and TV because there are different for each service. I'm sure you can google how to do it if it's not very intuitive.

30 Day Language Challenge RENEWED (2017 Version)

As an American, I’m embarrassed by our serious inability to speak languages. It’s not our fault that the North American continent is a predominantly English language continent and Europe is a predominantly multi-lingual continent. But I’m embarrassed nonetheless whenever I hear people from a different country forgiving Americans for not understanding their language or stumbling through their customs like a rhino on a rampage. It’s sad that even with a bachelor’s degree in any language, we can hardly make claims to “know” a language other than English. That’s why, based on the teachings and concepts of Barry Farber and A.G. Hawke, I came up with this 30-day language challenge. I don’t think it’s impossible or improbably to assume that given the right motivation and right materials, one could, within 30 days, learn a new language. Obviously, no one can become a “Native” speaker of any language they aren’t a native speaker of, but I believe that within 30 days, any person with a sound mind and clear focus, could learn enough of any language to be beyond the help of any “100-level” or “First Year” college language course. I’m inspired by the amount of language advertisements I’ve seen on the internet these days to take on this challenge myself to prove it.

About Me

I speak Japanese and Korean, though the skills have atrophied in recent years because I haven’t been back to Japan or Korea since 2010. I have tried my hand at Mandarin, Indonesian and Russian. Russian was pretty hard, but I can still remember the basic greetings, “Sto” and a smattering of other vocabulary. Indonesian is worse, but when looking at it, it comes back to me quickly, only to leave quickly again. Mandarin is a bit better, but my tones still suck.

I just finished a Masters of Arts in International Conflict Management and I’m now 32 years old. It’s hard to believe that I came up with this challenge 5 years ago, but hey, time flies. I still agree with my perspective 5 years ago, so I left the intro above. But at 32, engaged, and an Advanced Degree Graduate, I’m a different person. I’m a Freemason and I do believe in charity. So I offer the world my thoughts on learning languages.

THE PROGRAM

The program that I compiled works like this: Follow the rules, study often, overwhelm your brain, and become a speaker in 30 days. It requires a series of materials and a serious effort –no slackers accepted. Here’s what I (you) need for the program to work:

• Notebook
• Coursebook in the target language (“Teach yourself Chinese,” etc.)
• Grammar book for the target language
• Dictionary for the target language
• Phrase book for the target language (Both Farber and Hawke recommend Berlitz)
• Blank 3x5 cards
• Language CD/MP3’s
• A Quick Reference sheet
• Newspaper or Magazine
• Interactive Computer programs to do instead of computer games
• Movies and music in the target language
• Highlighter pens

Rules for learning the language

1. Never take a day off
2. Utilize all hidden moments to review 3x5 cards
3. Set aside at least 30 clear minutes a day to update your 3x5 cards on the language or to read more lesson from your book
4. Study a few vocabulary words from the previous day each morning when you wake
5. Study a few vocabulary words from the day before going to sleep each night
6. Use Harry Lorayne's magic memory aid - Tell a story to remember the words your studying. Ex. In Indonesia, my family all lives in one roomah. (Rumma=Family)
7. Study words together with opposites, it's easy to remember (hot/cold, etc.)
8. Pick conversations with other speakers of the language like drunks pick fights (with gusto) 
9. Use Word-Denial games (Don't let yourself have dessert until you can remember a word, etc.)
10. Don't study profanity, but do study idiomatic phrases
11. Keep it simple at first, don't try to outpace yourself by knowing words like "megalomaniac."
12. Try to find a community within your town that speaks the target language natively (or close) and find reasons to hang out with them (go to their restaurant, etc.)
13. Choose to listen to the target language music instead of your own when listening to music. Better yet, choose to listen and interact with the language audio instead of music
14. Remember to interact with language audio, none of them work without interaction
15. Watch Target Language movies instead of American films when watching movies
16. For the first 30 days, live, breath, and eat your target language

So, for the next 30 days, I’m going to blog a day at a time, just to show the progress someone who doesn’t know a language would go through. Check back daily to see the progress.

Day 8 - July 8th вы знаете русский?

Как вы поживаете? I'm am learning to say all kinds of stuff. Unfortunately, it's a whole lot of gibberish. I talked to a friend of mine today who cleared up some stuff about the русский язык, like the fact that you will never get used to the genders of words. He also pointed out that there are so many declination of words, that it's hard to pinpoint their root.

Awesome. Imagine me, like Garfield, looking at you right now. Actually, lets do grumpy cat. Let's do a Russian grumpy cat. Let's do an angry, Russian grumpy cat with tanks and planes.. Let's do an angry, grumpy Russian grumpy cat with tanks and planes and a flag. And maybe a huge "NYET". GOOGLE AWAY!

FOUND! I love the internet sometimes.

Anyway, I have a lot to study. And I tore my first vocab card on my makeshift card ring. Awesome. Well, I guess I have to remake it. Today has been a downward swing for the motivation. I know that I have to push through and get over it.

Maybe I should have listened to more Russian TV today. I did more hanging out with friends. Social life is a hindrance. Maybe I should start hanging out in places around Portland where the Russians hang out... like places that sell vodka.

Just kidding. Please don't kill me.