Fun experiment: getting started with a language by learning to read aloud without knowing the meaning of the words

[Khayyam]

Well, I cheated and started learning what the words meant before I was even halfway done with the story. But really, that's a point in favor of this approach, isn't it? Motivation's always paramount, and that's seldom higher than when curiosity is unbearable.

I'm becoming convinced that the chanting is a gateway to an altered state of consciousness that's better than my normal state for memorization, and for thinking far outside the English-language box. The chanting itself would give rise to this state whether or not I was chanting the words I wanted to memorize. How convenient that learning them is the object.

Once I've memorized all the words on a page, and I know what they mean, I like to recite them in a loop but switch between focusing on the sound and the physical experience of making them, and thinking of what they represent. Sometimes I read the words on the page, sometimes I try to visualize them as I hear them, and sometimes I ignore the letters completely. It's working, and not just in terms of my "passive" ability; I can recall the words quite well. Recall has always been a problem for me with German, so maybe I'll try shadowing (it's not blind shadowing if you're a fluent reader) with German and see if my recall improves.

[Khayyam]

I'm also listening to this song (I already posted about it in another thread, so tut mir leid if that's annoying) and processing it in a similar way to the story. There's a place where the vocalist seems to be fighting back tears as his emotions reach a peak, and I'm dying to know what he's saying there. (BUT FARSI SPEAKERS DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME. For now, I don't want to know anything about the song except what I learn for myself.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TblWnHKTxBg