Active Study and Schedule

[german2k01]

Hello Guys,

I have a query regarding what kinds of language tasks you follow when it comes to doing active study and how much time do you dedicate to it every day? And, what does your week schedule mainly consist of? There are so many language-related activities learners can follow over the course of a week. However, I am asking from getting more bang for your buck point of view. Let's say if you want to be proficient in all three major skills such as listening, reading, and speaking. Passive consumption of the language is excluded as you can do it anytime.

As an aside, why do you include active study in your language learning days? What benefits do you see in it for youself?

Thanks

[zenmonkey]

What level? Clearly activity choices depend on level (and probably, somewhat less, on language).

[german2k01]

Beyond A2 level.

However, there are some learners who even shadow Assimil courses right from the beginning.

[BeaP]

Active study has one huge benefit: It saves time. It's possible to learn a language without active study (observe, imitate, observe, imitate), but active study speeds up the process. I also see its results more clearly, which is motivating.

A1-B2
I do active study with monolingual coursebooks and skill developers. Again, it saves time if you don't have to prepare study material for yourself. I prefer those books that have short lessons and few small pictures. Unfortunately it's relatively difficult to find such books.
Some examples: CLE Progressive, Deutsch üben (Hueber), Deutsch Intensiv (Klett)

Plus translation: I take sentences or clauses / phrases from these books, fold an A4 paper into two, write down the date and the sentences with their translations. Example: Martha denkt, dass Max dumm ist. - Martha thinks that Max is stupid. Later I try to translate the sentences orally. My level is high enough for that, but it might be a good idea to write them down as well.

C1-C2
I use the same books, these series go up to C2.

Plus summary / transformation: I take an article and try to summarise it with my own words. I try to reproduce the article in writing. I tell myself (or the dogs following rdearman's example) my own thoughts about the topic.

How much time?: It depends, working with coursebooks requires concentration, silence and a desk. I don't always have these. Translations can be done anywhere. I usually get tired after 45 minutes or an hour. Even if I have a lot of free time, 3-4 rounds a day is the top.

[german2k01]

Thanks, I will definitely give it a try. Your activity sounds interesting as it involves an act of writing that may cement an individual sentence subconsciously. BTW, during the course of the day do you take a look at your written sentences on that A4 folded paper for memorization and recalling purposes?

[BeaP]

Yes, I try to revise it regularly. I know that using Anki would be even better, but for me this method is effective enough. I retain things quite easily if they're important for me or at least they seem important. For example at B1 level I find it much harder to learn a C2 word list than a B2 one. I don't know the reason for this. But my experience is that choosing sentences at the right level leads to quick learning with a small number of repetitions. Coursebooks with CEFR labels can also help in this respect.

One thing I find crucial is to stick to one main resource if possible. There are long periods of time when I don't learn a certain language. If I resume learning, I do one quick repetition of my materials from the beginning and then I move on. I keep the hand-written things in a folder. I only throw out things that I'm sure I won't repeat again. (Like Spanish A1-A2.) The worst thing I could do is start a level again and again with different materials. I've moved the low-level books to our auxiliary building to reduce the temptation.

[german2k01]

I don't know the reason for this. But my experience is that choosing sentences at the right level leads to quick learning with a small number of repetitions. Coursebooks with CEFR labels can also help in this respect.

Yes. I agree with that. I have recently read a few books by Angelika Bohn ranging from A1 all the way to B2 levels. The book aimed at the B2 level was slow reading in comparison to other books. In fact, I learned more about German grammar from reading these books than from reading a contemporary novel aimed at native speakers. The ideas expressed in such books are simple.

A couple of days ago I visited Thalia's bookshop in my home town. I checked out those above-mentioned publishers. These course books are full of exercises covering different grammar concepts. I mean, they are not sufficient on their own? As a side question, when do you actually delve into reading native materials and watching original stuff?

[BeaP]

Coursebooks in the strict sense of the word like Aussichten or Menschen always contain grammar. For me it's usually enough, but I study a bunch of similar languages, I also read novels and watch series. These courses have several levels, and if they're done well, their progression is like going through a series of concentric circles. So the same thing appears several times, always with a little more depth. It doesn't really matter if you miss something, it will come up again. So yes, they're sufficient on their own as materials for active study. I write the translation notes for the expressions that I'd like to remember, but couldn't learn just by doing the exercises in the book.

However, in some cases I don't find a coursebook that I like, and then I need to substitute it with something (or actually several things). Higher levels of German or French are like this for example. If you mean whether or not they need to be supplemented with input, I'd say it's not strictly necessary, but it's always a good idea to observe how native speakers write and speak in real life. You see the expression from your coursebook in a TV series, and you feel you're on the right path. It also counts as repetition, so it helps retention, and shows you another context where a certain phrase is used. Another reason is that active study can be extremely tiring on its own.

I started to watch series very early, after some units in all my languages. (Except for English that I took up long before the internet and some years before cable TV.) I think that if you don't have to pass an exam for academic or immigration reasons, you have time to be flexible and experiment a little with different routines. I usually don't care too much about gaps in my understanding, although I try to choose detective novels or mysteries instead of 1000-page streams of consciousness. I started reading books for natives around B1, and if I felt them too difficult, I put them away for later and chose another one. (Amazon extracts kind of solved this.) I don't like graded readers, but many people do. It's a huge advantage that they come with exercises and a key, so you get feedback on your comprehension.

[luke]

For example at B1 level I find it much harder to learn a C2 word list than a B2 one. I don't know the reason for this. But my experience is that choosing sentences at the right level leads to quick learning with a small number of repetitions. Coursebooks with CEFR labels can also help in this respect.

It makes sense, in that C2 words may be more nuanced or less common?

You're making me think of something else, another approach. The Le Petit Nicolas books in French target young people, but they're funny enough for adults to remember grade school and enjoy the stories. I probably should have looked for something similar in Spanish, as opposed to Cien años de soledad, but that's where experience in language learning can be super helpful.

If anyone isn't familiar with Le Petit Nicolas, they're short stories about a 7-10 year old and his friends and their escapades. There are several books and audiobooks. One book might have a dozen stories. Each audiobook is about 2 hours long.

Young people books are not as precise as using CEFR graded material, but thinking now I could have (and still can) see if there's a bookstore in the more Latino part of town that might have something like this.

On the subject of active study, I do a good bit of it and split it up throughout the day.

[BeaP]

It makes sense, in that C2 words may be more nuanced or less common?

It's a question I've been thinking about for long, but I don't have an answer yet. More nuanced is OK, frequency is not really important. I get the same result when I skip input, and only learn from the coursebook. I saw a video by Paul Nation some years ago, where he said that you need to meet a word 8 times to retain it. I think that the average number might be something like this, but there's a huge difference between the necessary repetitions of different words. Some words can be remembered instantly, others need 20 repetitions. So I concluded not to force the latter ones, but try to work with as many words each day as I can, and retain those that are in the former group at the time. I got the impression that my brain chooses the words that it wants to hold on to without my control. (Cheating the brain is possible, though.) I remember my idea was to read through a whole series of coursebooks in a month or so and then start again from the beginning. In the end I didn't do it, but I still think about trying it sometimes.