Language Immersion Strategy - Dragon-and-Crane-Dojo/learn GitHub Wiki

Traditional Learning / Output

Boris Shekhtman - How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately: Foreign Language Communication Tools

  • Tool 1 - Social - Show Your Stuff

    • expand, link, and hook β†’ handful of sentences: "I live in Brooklyn"
      • I: "My name is Ivan. I was born in Moscow. I am an engineer. Now I work in a large company"
      • live: "I like to live in New York. I like the climate here. This is a very big city. There is more to do. In Russia I lived in a small town."
      • Brooklyn: "I live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is a part of New York. I live near the beach. There are many Jews from Russia in Brooklyn. There are many good Russian and Georgian restaurants."
      • "chain reaction" away from original topic
    • benefits:
      • creates communicative atmosphere
      • attract interest
      • limits language initiative of native
      • sets natural tone for convo
      • make participants equal
    • 1 Minute Exercise
      • rule: speak for bounded time (1, 2, 5 mins) β†’ transfer of controrl via Qs
        • "What is your opinion about this issue?"
        • "Do you agree with me?"
        • "What do you think?"
      • why useful:
        • fixed period survival
        • group communication env
        • transitional devices to get/relinquish control
        • yield control at will
    • Do Not Stop Exercise
      • rule: as long as possible til mistake or pause
      • benefits:
        • prevent "interrogation"
        • escape "interrogation"
        • allow talk about what they can and avoid what can't
    • Develop It Exercise
      • provide prompt eg "Yesterday I was at a restaurant"
      • time or error limit
      • strategies to control length/content of convo
        • will to extend monologue
        • opportunity to review language already know
        • opportunity for self-drill

  • Tool 2 - Social - Build Your Islands

    • value
      • shift quickly into fast and confident speech
      • variety of grammatical patterns applied to different contexts and situations
    • linking: steps leading towards island
    • baiting: as question corresponding to island
    • control of island
      • small, specific, modular, combined
      • practical need
      • self-constructed
      • variety of memorizing techniques
      • repeat as often as possible
    • categories
      • personal: self, family, friend, day, house, work, colleague, media, travel, hobby, climate
      • non-personal: culture, language, history, society, politics, economics, youth, science, literature, events, leaders

  • Tool 3 - Social - Shift Gears

    • basic escape examples/tactics: "What kind of trees do you have in your yard?"
      • ex 1: brute force
        • minimal response: "Oh, all kinds. I don't remember. tbh this doesn't really interest me."
        • diversionary question: "Do you live in an apartment or house?"
      • ex 2: clumsy steps
        • address topic minimally: "What kinds? Oh all kinds. I honestly don't remember. Tbh I'm not really interested"
        • transition away from topic: "I prefer spending my time indoors reading books."
        • establish new topic: "I have a lot of books in my house."
        • develop: "I'm quite proud of my library. I have many classical authors."
        • redirect back to speaker: "Do you collect books?"
    • ex 3: "and you?" trick
      • F: "Different kinds. And what kind do you like?"
      • N: "fruit trees"
      • F: "what kinds of fruits?"
      • N: "Maple"
      • F: "Oh, I have a maple"
      • optionally end with tacking on previous transition towards books

  • Tool 4 - Substantive - Simplify, Simplify

    • lack vocab/grammar β†’ express as simply as possible
    • do not try to express in native then translate
    • mechanisms
      • substitute vocab
      • substitute grammar
      • break up sentences
    • applying β†’ identify what to swap
      • competence triage / dev vs. prod

  • Tool 5 - Substantive - Break Away

    • rules:
      • speak only using foreign language grammar structures
      • know structures automatically
      • know as many structures as possible

  • group 1 exercises:

  • deliver speeches under observation (incl translation) β†’ review and correct

  • transmitting exercises cat 1: Q&A

  • transmitting exercises cat 2: translating by meaning, not word

  • group 2 exercises:

  • models: "you want to say that..."

  • Tool 6 - General - Embellish It

    • special devices
      • exclamations and repetitions: "Oh!", "Right on!", "You bet!", "Uh-huh", "Yes, yes", "No, no", "Sure, sure"
      • (expressions): "You know", "In my opinion", "Of course", "Without a doubt", "On the one/other hand", "I'd say"
      • (sentences): "When I went to Paris - I was still in college then - I hardly knew any french"
      • rhetorical Qs: "But who really cares about that?"
      • guidance Qs: "Sorry, what did you ask?"
      • adverb time/place/way modifiers: "yeterday", "later", "nearby", "around", "perfectly", "loudly"
      • synonym reps: "the boss, my supervisor, is strict, rigid, and stern, approached me head-on, said, no hissed..."
      • expressions and slang: "you're kidding me", "what's going on?"
    • using: easy to learn, unwilling to use β†’ habituate
    • exercises
      • ex 1: prompt β†’ rephrase and expand
      • ex 2: prompt β†’ restate with synonyms
      • ex 3: dialogue ping pong β†’ bare sentence loses
    • complements simplify: core vs accessories
    • resistance to "good speaking" - not redundant

  • Tool 7 - General - Say What?

    • 2 pass listening
      • screening for general idea/topic
        • listen for words recognize
        • listen for words already know well
        • ignore unfamiliar words
    • comprehend details
      • ASK FOR IT
      • "one more time?"
      • "what was that?"
      • "I didn't get that"
      • "can you speak more slowly?"
      • "can you put that differently?"
      • "what was that word?"
      • "what's another word for that?"
      • "you're talking about ___ right?"
      • "lemme make sure I understand that right: ____"
    • Qs β†’ all other tools
      • Show Your Stuff β†’ control flow
      • Islands β†’ steer topic towards
      • Shift Gears β†’ steer topic away
      • Simplify ← influence Qs, craft clear simple Qs
      • Break Away β†’ grammar
      • Embellish β†’ rhetorical
    • Category 1 Ex
      • general Qs: "Do you speak English?"
      • specific Qs: "What language do you speak?"
      • alternative Qs: "Do you prefer summer or winter?"
      • tag Q: "This is a book, isn't it?"
    • Category 2 Ex: condition exprses automatically Qs related to sentence
    • Category 3 Ex: translate from native to foreign

Resources

KR Study Strategy

reddit/r/Korean - Is the Korean Grammar in Use series worth it?

I think this process is still the best way for learning Korean:

  1. Fluent Forever Korean Pronunciation Trainer (Hangul and pronunciation), then TTMIK levels 1-3 and Korean Verbs Guide (most basic vocab/grammar).
  2. Darakwon's "2000 Essential Words: Beginner" (single word cards).
  3. Darakwon's "KGIU: Beginner" (sentence cards).
  4. Darakwon's "Korean Pronunciation Guide" (first half)
  5. Do TOPIK I (level 2) practice tests to get very basic reading/listening experience. At this point you should start doing conversation exchanges.
  6. Darakwon's "2000 Essential Words: Intermediate (single word cards)
  7. Darakwon's "KGIU: Intermediate (sentence cards)
  8. Darakwon's "Korean Pronunciation Guide" (second half)
  9. Do TTMIK's "My Weekly Korean Vocabulary" (listen and transcribe every sentence, and then read through the translations to learn collocations). After that point, your formal study is done

KR Resource Listings

KR Vocab Lists

KR Grammar

Korean Wiki Project - Irregular Verbs

note: μŠ΅λ‹ˆλ‹€ has fewer irregularities so popular with 2nd gen speakers

Advice

Software

  • Anki
  • MPV Player

Workflow

Folders

  • To Watch
  • Seen
  • Listen

Tips

  • content by natives for natives
  • make listening effortless => separate device always playing
  • refresh content on 1 week cycle
  • strip gaps to condense listening

Japanese

Basics

Kanji

Content

KR Kids Shows

  1. Hello Jadoo TV
  2. Netflix - Korea No. 1
  3. Netflix - The Haunted House

JP Kids Shows

YT Kids Shows for Learning JP

  1. けびまる子けゃん
  2. Japanese Classical Stories
  3. はγͺかっぱ
  4. γ—γΎγ˜γ‚γ†
  5. γ‚γŸγ—γƒ³γ‘
  6. γƒγƒΌγ‚Ίγ‚Ήγ‚€γƒΌγƒˆγƒ›γƒΌγƒ 
  7. ァアエさん
  8. クレヨンしんけゃん

Series for Learning JP

Exercise YT Channels

deep engagement, low speed, salient vocab

Gaming YT Channels

high entertainment, high volume, high speed, coloquialisms