Comments on: How to Resurrect Your High School Spanish… or Any Language (Plus: Be on the CBS Early Show!) http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/ Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:39:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Franis Engel http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/comment-page-1/#comment-106823 Franis Engel Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:31:21 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/#comment-106823 I had a professor teach me Chinese characters to the tune of over 100 characters a week (for five weeks, as an "experiment.") He deconstructed a complex character into its many individually pictured parts, (some were historical parts.) For each "character family," he created a story to link them together. I learned to write the group of characters individually, or the parts of each type of character could together be assembled into the more complex character in the ways he had indicated. He made it very easy to remember and learn. Unfortunately, I've forgotten it all, because I never reached fluency. I've also forgotten fluency in Spanish that I used to have - So I was intrigued to find out how I could "reactivate" at least one language again! - Thanks! I had a professor teach me Chinese characters to the tune of over 100 characters a week (for five weeks, as an “experiment.”) He deconstructed a complex character into its many individually pictured parts, (some were historical parts.) For each “character family,” he created a story to link them together. I learned to write the group of characters individually, or the parts of each type of character could together be assembled into the more complex character in the ways he had indicated. He made it very easy to remember and learn.
Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten it all, because I never reached fluency. I’ve also forgotten fluency in Spanish that I used to have – So I was intrigued to find out how I could “reactivate” at least one language again! – Thanks!

]]> By: Becky http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/comment-page-1/#comment-100794 Becky Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:43:17 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/#comment-100794 Hey Tim, Great article. We've just re-tweeted it and Facebooked it to all our Expanish Spanish School students in Buenos Aires. We get hundreds of Spanish students coming from all over the world to study in Argentina and many of them come thinking they'll remember what they learnt back home. And the reality is they've forgotten it. It's painful thinking of all those wasted years of learning it, just to have to re-learn! Becky Hey Tim,

Great article. We’ve just re-tweeted it and Facebooked it to all our Expanish Spanish School students in Buenos Aires. We get hundreds of Spanish students coming from all over the world to study in Argentina and many of them come thinking they’ll remember what they learnt back home. And the reality is they’ve forgotten it. It’s painful thinking of all those wasted years of learning it, just to have to re-learn!

Becky

]]> By: Mike http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/comment-page-1/#comment-92145 Mike Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:56:43 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/#comment-92145 Hello all, I strongly believe that in order to be successful (no matter what the field is), you have to keep doing the continuous effort, and without it there is no success in practical field, and yeah few hours a week isn't much to fulfill your dreams, it requires much more than that. Hello all,

I strongly believe that in order to be successful (no matter what the field is), you have to keep doing the continuous effort, and without it there is no success in practical field, and yeah few hours a week isn’t much to fulfill your dreams, it requires much more than that.

]]> By: Jesse http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/comment-page-1/#comment-78902 Jesse Thu, 11 Nov 2010 19:10:04 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/#comment-78902 To learn Mandarin grammar and vocab rapidly, I used the free podcast by Serge Melnyk available via iTunes. Try it out. I think you'll like it. To learn Mandarin grammar and vocab rapidly, I used the free podcast by Serge Melnyk available via iTunes.

Try it out. I think you’ll like it.

]]> By: [personal name] http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/comment-page-1/#comment-73134 [personal name] Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:07:29 +0000 http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/09/20/how-to-resurrect-your-high-school-spanish-or-any-language-plus-be-on-the-cbs-early-show/#comment-73134 I still can't get away from the desirability of maintaining a language. I mean, instead of it having to be some time intensive laborious task, couldn't we find some easier ways to "maintain"? For instance, your idea about watching the movies with English subtitles. Wouldn't that be a good thing to do on a regular basis, and perhaps even an enjoyable thing to do on a regular basis? On top of that, hearing the foreign language spoken in the movie should keep your pronunciation tuned up instead of allowing it to go bad as you say. I've just gotta think that there are more passive ways to keep up your language skills, but, my foreign language is Spanish, and I guess that there are much more resources for Spanish speakers in the United States than there are for other languages. Also, I just wanted to point out, I tried to click through on that link you posted for the Vis-Ed flashcards, but apparently, it's now a bad link for some reason. I still can’t get away from the desirability of maintaining a language. I mean, instead of it having to be some time intensive laborious task, couldn’t we find some easier ways to “maintain”? For instance, your idea about watching the movies with English subtitles. Wouldn’t that be a good thing to do on a regular basis, and perhaps even an enjoyable thing to do on a regular basis? On top of that, hearing the foreign language spoken in the movie should keep your pronunciation tuned up instead of allowing it to go bad as you say.

I’ve just gotta think that there are more passive ways to keep up your language skills, but, my foreign language is Spanish, and I guess that there are much more resources for Spanish speakers in the United States than there are for other languages.

Also, I just wanted to point out, I tried to click through on that link you posted for the Vis-Ed flashcards, but apparently, it’s now a bad link for some reason.

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