One thing I really enjoy about Journaly is the community it has created. It´s a place full of people learning languages and helping each other out. Now I need your help;
How do you do when you study a language?
I may sound really stupid for asking this, but I would really appreciate some tips and strategies. I love learning languages, and I do have classes for both English and Spanish (but there are some problems with the Spanish class. I cant go into to much detail about it, but I can say that I´m not learning very much in that class). Everything I do online I do in English (except for the YouTube videos I watch in Spanish). I am also reading books in Spanish, so I am definitely getting some imput. But what can I do more than this, if I want to actually study the language? I´m pretty much clueless.
So please feel free to share everything about how you do when you study a language!
(P.S I have trouble making apostrophes on my keyboard, so that´s why they look like they do.)
Well, listening to music, watching videos and reading helps a ton. I think strategies differ from person to person, you'll have to find what suits you best. And the level you are in each language is also an important thing to take into consideration. But, I'll share with you some of the things that I like to do. One thing that I believe is truly helpful (in any level, but specially in the lower ones) is listening to music, I think is more effective to create a playlist (a relatively short one, mine has 18 songs, which is kinda equivalent to 1 hour of music) and to listen exclusively to those songs until you have both learned to sing along perfectly as well as you are able to understand absolutely everything that it's being said (without having to translate it in your head). In lower levels, I also like to record short videos of myself speaking it (usually about my day), of course you can just talk to yourself without a camera, but I think, looking forward it will be nice to be able to see your progress. In intermediate levels, I'd get as much input as possible. On listening skills, I like to listen to podcasts and try to transcript them (to write word by word); it takes plenty of time, so I don't do it super often, but it's a great way of improving listening, grammar and vocabulary all at once. On advanced levels I believe that reading is a must, as well as writing. And they go together, the more you read the better your writing skills will get. Hopefully, some of this will be of any use to you :)
Your English is almost perfect! It's almost like reading English from a native speaker (except for a couple of "I am"s). In terms of how I go about studying languages, I would recommend you visit a site called refold.la. Lots of interesting and useful information. Take your time reading it and take notes - it's a big site. But it offers invaluable insight into language acquisition. Good work!
title: How Does One Actually STUDY a Language?
I have just created a "study plan" for my Spanish. So yet to see how that focuses my studying. But if you don't have a study plan you could start there. I think it would be especially useful since you are studying more than one language. Initially I focused primarily on listening and with Journaly I have branched out to writing and reading. Speaking is where I don't have much exposure. My plan is to focus on a smallish number of YouTube channels and podcasts (focus on grammar taught in Spanish and just pure listening). I also plan on doing follow-up grammar work based on what I watched that week. I will continue to write in Journaly and my plan is to read a book in Spanish every two months (right now I am reading "young adult" books). I have also started to jot down specific things I have learned (in addition to any more in-depth notes I take) so that I can see what I have learned. This is especially useful for Instagram as I can spend an hour there and not really learn anything. Good luck!! And your English is quite good already :)
Oh... there is one thing I should mention. "Language Transfer" is a series of audio recordings that come in multiple languages. There is an apps in the Apple store or you can go to the website. https://www.languagetransfer.org/free-courses-1 I found it very useful and I plan on going thru it again. You need to be fully engaged in the sessions (not just listening while doing something else). I highly recommend it.
In addition to all that's already been said: I like to watch movies or tv shows I know quite well in my target language. I already know the plot, so there's no need for understanding everything thoroughly.
I agree with a lot of the above. Songs are incredibly helpful for hearing different ways of saying things and practicing "shadowing". Watching tv, movies, or youtube 'vlogs' in the target language is also helpful. One person told me once they learned Spanish from watching Peppa Pig in Spanish! There is also so many apps. I like Language Transfer (but it has limited languages), also Busuu is great at explaining small pieces of grammar and vocabulary. You have to find what fits your style and schedule. And more importantly you must enjoy it!
Thank you so much everybody! I´m sorry I haven´t answered (a lot of things happened in my life the last week, so I was quite busy). Thank you so much for your tips and kindness! It really means a lot.