मेरो नेपाली भाषा सिक्ने यात्रा (My Nepali Learning Journey)
Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2019 11:07 am
I am going to try my hand at keeping a log of my Nepali learning.
I tend to over-think / over-edit written things. So I am going to try and resist that urge and keep things rough around the edges (spelling mistakes and all)--otherwise I may never post!
First, a little background. I've lived in Nepal for a little over five years. I think I am currently somewhere in the B2 range of fluency (probably on the weaker side of B2). I am aiming for a solid C1. I have employed a variety of language learning approaches over the years. I'll tell more about that at a later time.
I am currently having class with a tutor twice a week for an hour and half each session. Outside of this I spend about an hour a week on vocabulary reviews and 3 hours listening to Nepali (at meetings and via recorded shows). And of course, there is the out and about dialog with shopkeepers, neighbors and taxi drivers (most of this is transactional / pleasantry type conversation that isn't all that stretching).
The areas I want to grow in the most are:
1. Vocabulary. I am aiming to add 1,000 new words a year to the list of words I am familiar with or know. I've seen some sources estimate that a C1 level requires around 8,000 word lemmas. If so, I am about half way there. Whew. It may be awhile!
2. Conversation. I want to be able to participate in intermediate level conversations at natural speed. Currently I need to ask for things to be repeated, ask questions to confirm I am tracking, and bump up against the gap of what I want to say vs. what I can say.
3. Reading comprehension. I want to be able to read announcements, notices, and letters I receive in the course of living here and understand both the main point and important supporting details. Currently I am at about a 3rd grade reading level.
Lately what is working well for me to make progress on these goals is splitting my sessions with my tutor between conversation and reading practice. This surfaces new vocabulary and is stretching me on the conversation and reading comprehension fronts. I only study new vocabulary I encounter through conversation, reading, or during the week in the 'wild'. Learning random words without a context doesn't work all that well for me.
Since I am reading at a 3rd grade level, I am reading kids books. The book I am currently working through is यती भेट्ने केटी (The Girl Who Met The Yeti). It is written by Nepali author Anuradha. I believe it is only available in Nepal. After finishing this book I am going to switch to some that I recently found with PDF copies online. I may post little reviews of each book along with link as I finish them.
Well, this gets my Nepali learning log started. To anyone who wants to follow along from time to time, thanks for reading!
I tend to over-think / over-edit written things. So I am going to try and resist that urge and keep things rough around the edges (spelling mistakes and all)--otherwise I may never post!
First, a little background. I've lived in Nepal for a little over five years. I think I am currently somewhere in the B2 range of fluency (probably on the weaker side of B2). I am aiming for a solid C1. I have employed a variety of language learning approaches over the years. I'll tell more about that at a later time.
I am currently having class with a tutor twice a week for an hour and half each session. Outside of this I spend about an hour a week on vocabulary reviews and 3 hours listening to Nepali (at meetings and via recorded shows). And of course, there is the out and about dialog with shopkeepers, neighbors and taxi drivers (most of this is transactional / pleasantry type conversation that isn't all that stretching).
The areas I want to grow in the most are:
1. Vocabulary. I am aiming to add 1,000 new words a year to the list of words I am familiar with or know. I've seen some sources estimate that a C1 level requires around 8,000 word lemmas. If so, I am about half way there. Whew. It may be awhile!
2. Conversation. I want to be able to participate in intermediate level conversations at natural speed. Currently I need to ask for things to be repeated, ask questions to confirm I am tracking, and bump up against the gap of what I want to say vs. what I can say.
3. Reading comprehension. I want to be able to read announcements, notices, and letters I receive in the course of living here and understand both the main point and important supporting details. Currently I am at about a 3rd grade reading level.
Lately what is working well for me to make progress on these goals is splitting my sessions with my tutor between conversation and reading practice. This surfaces new vocabulary and is stretching me on the conversation and reading comprehension fronts. I only study new vocabulary I encounter through conversation, reading, or during the week in the 'wild'. Learning random words without a context doesn't work all that well for me.
Since I am reading at a 3rd grade level, I am reading kids books. The book I am currently working through is यती भेट्ने केटी (The Girl Who Met The Yeti). It is written by Nepali author Anuradha. I believe it is only available in Nepal. After finishing this book I am going to switch to some that I recently found with PDF copies online. I may post little reviews of each book along with link as I finish them.
Well, this gets my Nepali learning log started. To anyone who wants to follow along from time to time, thanks for reading!