Fundamentals

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Word of the Day:

English: Building

Spanish: Edificio

French: Bâtiment

Italian: Edificio

German: Gebäude

Dutch: Gebouw

Fundamentals

This week (1/20/13 - 1/27/13) has been about learning the basics and making phone calls. I've stopped riding my bike to school. Instead, I walk everywhere. I put an extra book in my backpack in the morning to get used to a heavier weight. Travelling to and from school, I use the paid version of the app 50 Languages for the Android. I start by repeating the English word or phrase, then say an alternate language's translation twice. The app is nice, as it has the same version of each lesson for each different languages. This allows for  an easy comparison between whichever language you're trying to learn.

In addition to the 50 Languages app, I am also using a website called Memrise. Again, it is useful because it reinforces the language with verbal commands as well as images, placing the vocabulary and phrases firmly in your memory.

To be honest, the process of learning languages is slightly more difficult than I anticipated. I was hoping to learn the core values of Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Dutch at the same time. However, I feel this isn't the best option anymore, as words become cluttered and phrases turn into strange, foggy clouds. It makes this a challenge now, and what is greater than overcoming a task that is challenging? Hopefully through consistent reinforcement and practice, the core values for each language can be obtained relatively quickly. It will just take practice, practice, and more practice.

Just checking in for the week.

Thanks for reading!

-Sam