Do you write in your textbooks?

[jeff_lindqvist]

In high schoool I generally wrote in my textbooks (interlinear translations!) and exercise books. I also underlined anything related to the grammar topic introduced in the current lesson. Last year when I dug out my thin booklets for Classical Greek, I could hardly read anything of it...

[Steve]

I rarely write in books. When I do, it's usually correcting errors using a mechanical pencil with fine lead. On occasion, in mathematics and physics texts, I may very neatly add a few "steps left to reader". If I want something to write on or to carry with me in a pocket or something, I'll scan or photocopy a page and then abuse the copy as needed.

As an aside, my wife likes doing various artsy things including making her own paper for use in greeting cards and wrapping paper. Though it turns out cool, I still cringe when I see her bring home a stack of (mostly unwanted) books and sheet music and maps from the thrift store or rummage sales and start hacking them apart and turning them into mush. I get this protective urge to keep her away from my books to make sure they don't accidentally end up in the wrong pile.... sort of like a mama bear around her cubs.

[aaleks]

No, I usually don't write anything in them. When I was in school we didn't buy any textbooks, we borrowed them every year from a school library and were supposed to give back in good shape and one piece . Besides, back then I was taught to view books as something very special. So I prefer to write in a notebook, even though consciously I understand that there's nothing wrong in writing in textbooks.

[gsbod]

I grew up on library books and school textbooks which had already seen many classes before they ended up in my hands. I also hated it in my university days when I would get a book out of the library to find it full of someone else's notes. Their pen thoughts were such a distraction. Needless to say writing in books was taboo for me.

When I started my German evening class my teacher was quite insistent that we should use our textbooks as workbooks and write all over them. I was resistant to start with, until at some point I realised I could get my homework done in half the time while achieving the same amount of learning and I started to relax a little.

So now I am not totally averse to writing in books if they are workbook style, but whether I do or not depends on how likely I am to either want to use the book multiple times myself or to pass it on second-hand to another lucky language learner. In any case, I always write in pencil!

[Carmody]

Yes. I absolutely write in my language books always and as much as I can! In my French novels I write word definitions, note idioms and syntax, etc. In my dictionary, I write or mark the word, when I look up a word.

I distinguish between my language books and the regular books I own. My language books are learning tools. Like shovels or picks, I need to interact with them to make them productive and to keep m concentration focused and learning the material. With French In Actionthat I am currently carefully reviewing from the beginning, plus the French novels I read, the more I make notes in them and become a part of them then the more I am learning.

If I am not making the effort to analyze vocab, syntax, verbs, idioms, etc. and noting it on the page, then I am not investing sufficient concentration and effort in my time spent. Owning these books and going back and reviewing my notations speeds up my review of the material.

Language learning efficiency is very important to me so my book interaction is a main component in increasing my language learning efficiency.

Note that those books that I own that are not for French learning are not written in, but I use paperclips so that I can go back and review significant passages.

That said, I truly believe everyone learns differently; that no two people learn a language in the same way. The hard thing is finding one's own way to learning and from there 'keep on keeping on.'

[the1whoknocks]

In school, I rarely wrote in my textbooks. They were either being passed on to my siblings, or rented. I did in University, but only if I planned to keep the book.

Now, I almost always write in my Spanish textbooks. Especially the grammar workbooks - usually in pencil, but sometimes in pen. I'll even write inside 'regular' books I'm reading. The only exceptions have been:

- A book I intended to pass on to someone else.
- One book that teaches Spanish composition, and it's only because I anticipate revisiting it a few times.

I've come to appreciate being able to look though an old workbook that is full of writing, and somewhat tattered. They bring back fond memories, and remind me of what I was struggling with at the time. Beyond that, they usually serves as motivation to work through something else. I consider them to be a bit like trophies; something to look back on, if I choose, that act as reminders of the work I put in. ... or maybe I'm just too lazy to get a separate notebook

To be fair, most of my Spanish textbooks are in-expensive, and my answer might be different under other circumstances.

[MorkTheFiddle]

Did I write in textbooks? In public school, no way. As an undergraduate In college, absolutely. For class notes, I used notebooks like everyone else, but I marked significant (what I thought were significant, anyway) passages and I would make a kind of outline of the book writing outline-like letters and numbers in the margins. Before an exam I would review the "outline" to recall the substance of the book.

In language classes, all homework based on text exercises had to be turned in to the instructor, so writing answers in the texts was pointless.

After college, I underline or bracket passages that I think are particularly meaningful or worth remembering. For example, I like this expression in Balzac's Père Goriot: "les vieilles gens ... ne sortaient pas du quartier et vivaient dans la pension comme des huîtres sur un rocher."(The old folks don't leave the neighborhood and live in the boarding house like oysters on a rock.) Sometimes I type these into notebooks.

To practice grammar in texts, I write in the text if there is room. I used to write answers on separate sheets of paper, but the paper gets lost or is just too inconvenient for me to deal with. Part of the thinking was to keep the page clear if I went back later, but I never go back, so it was pointless.

[tommus]

I don't like writing in books but I think I should write in language grammar books. That might bring me back to them more often, which would be a good thing. One book I had in university was certainly not one of my favorites. I wrote across the ends of the pages (so you could read it when the book was closed) 0.01% junk, 99.99 % paper.

[Iversen]

I don't like to write in my textbooks, one main reason being that my intensive methods demand that I write things on paper for later study and repetition - and then I can just as well write everything there (including grammatical tables).

The only exception would be marking words that should be looked up later (in textbooks or 'normal' texts). OK, then there are two possibilities: 1) I get it done, and then I have to transfer the words to a wordlist later - which would have been easier if the words had been noted down on a separate sheet from the beginning, 2) I don't get it done, and then I have just sullied my book without getting anything in return. I do however sometimes put curvy lines below interesting expressions because it takes forever to copy them by hand. I never cover whole passages with an ugly yellow colour, and I refused to do it even while I was a student.

Besides I mostly use textbooks to get ultra-easy texts (until I'm ready to the reasonably easy ones). Writing in expensive paperbooks is an abhorrent thought, but I sometimes do it if the information isn't sufficient - like when I add a cross in a map in a guidebook to indicate the position of my hotel or the local zoo (which Lonely Planet often tries to keep as a secret). But I wouldn't add linguistic comments - only factual information.

[Cavesa]

In normal books: no way!

In textbooks in general: Yes. What counts is the content of my brain after the encounter, not the state of the book. If I knew my brain would magically retain everything if I tore it in small pieces, I would (too bad it isn't so easy). My medical textbooks could make weaker individuals sick. Seven colours of highlighters, sometimes pen, sometimes pencil.

Of course I don't usually write in library books. Well, sometimes it is even useful (I remember an ophtalmology textbook, whose previous borrowers made it much more useful and student friendly, they basically remedied some of the shortcomings of the authors and publisher). But most times, I don't. Some notes by previous authors can be annoying, yes, but sometimes it almost feels like not studying alone.

Language textbooks: I don't write inside usually. In the workbooks yes. If there is enough space (like in the GdUdE), than I find writing inside with a pencil much more practical. When there is too little, I give up and use a notebook, as I couldn't read it after myself anyways