MamaPata wrote:Maybe you’re trying to tell me to stop being so hell bent on perfecting all the little things, move on and get on with the stuff that matters?
That’s it! Sorry, I assumed that was clear. I think you’re definitely already C1, I am sure you can get to C2 no problem. Honestly I think doing the exam might be a great thing for you, both to see where you are and what your strengths are, and to help yourself let it go. It’s just an exam, you’re doing it for yourself.
Thanks MamaPata for taking the time to clarify. Yes, I think you are completely right. It’s just an exam, and it’s high-time I gave it a go.
MamaPata wrote:Nobody can know all of the words in a language - I had to look something up in English today. You’ve gotten to a great point with your French, you’ve made it part of your life, you’ve been able to translate for patients. That’s incredible.
Thanks again. Yeah, you’re right, I can’t know them all, and I think one of the main things that will help me in the lead up to the exam, is that I let go of those perfectionist tendencies and focus on exposure to LOTS of native French. Other than that, I really MUST focus on the exam preparation stuff AND do considerably more exchanges. This means, that as much as I’m finding Anki useful lately, I think I must let it go again, because I’m finding that I’m entering SO MANY WORDS/EXPRESSIONS into my decks, that I think I’m defeating the purpose - that is, lots of exposure! I’ve done much in the way of focused intensive study, and now although I must do some, I’ve got to be mindful of my tendencies to overdo it to the point my advancement comes to a standstill. Instead of looking for clarify through intricacies in the detail, I ought to be letting go and looking for clarity via the feel of the language, which requires more native content exposure (extensive reading, extensive watching, exchanges).
MamaPata wrote:But you keep setting yourself plans in which you do 3 hours of French study a day even though you have a job, a family, and a life. It just seems to me that you might feel a lot better and stick to a plan better if you lowered your expectations and just did the things you think are useful for maybe 45mins. That’s still loads! And then anything you do above that would be for the pleasure of it. Life is short, you should enjoy yourself.
I agree life’s too short, but I do actually enjoy the study (most of the time, that is). I will continue to do lots of study, especially in the lead up to the exam, but I’ll try to come back to your words and remind myself of your wisdom - that is that it doesn’t need to be painful, nor all-consuming. Thank you
MamaPata wrote:If you want to learn Russian, fantastic! As a Russian learner, I think you should definitely do it and come chat in the Russian study group! But mostly I think you should only do it if you will enjoy it. If you will start it and then feel bad that you’re not perfect, why put yourself through that?
Learning Russian is actually a low priority for me. And since we’re on the topic (of wanderlust), my current order of languages to be learned in order of priority goes something like this:
French
Dutch
Spanish
German
Norwegian
Luxembourgish
Russian
Arabic
... so as you can see, the whole fanciful notion of learning Russian, is well at this point, just fantasy, and given my learning styles up to this point, it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever actually learn Russian if the language wish list remains in this order and my techniques don’t change/and or I don’t take away a lot from this whole French over half-decade marathon.
And since the French thing is taking so long, well this is what gives me the impetus from time to time to ‘complete’ the mission, that is, reach (and pass) a C2 exam. For perhaps only then I’ll truly be able to reflect on the distance I’ve covered and what I can definitely do to make the path more efficient for subsequent languages.
The whole not being perfect thing. I don’t understand how not to be this way. For me, learning means you put in the effort to learn the words, grammar and phrases you don’t understand along the way, and that seems pretty standard/normal for me in terms of language learning. Perhaps where I need to let go, is that I should learn to do so with extensive hours and learn to transition the ratio of intensive to extensive study perhaps sooner on my language learning journey, and not only perhaps sooner, but ensure the ratio is always moving towards predominantly extensive learning at some point (or at least more balanced that what it has been).
I guess this is all learning, i’m still learning how to learn from myself and others and I value your input highly, MamaPata. It’s left me feeling quite positive today about my French. Thank you, and I hope you’re going well yourself with your studies and enjoying Russian in particular!