JBLM/DLI "bootcamp challenge"?
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:12 pm
As the new year draws closer, I'm wondering if anyone would like to start 2019 with a challenge lasting 4 weeks using a common resource: the 200-Hour Familiarization Course.
This material is meant as a supplement for Department of Defense staff among others in the military needing a bit of training in a foreign language before shipping out. The course content has a clear military bent only in one chapter (out of the 20); the remaining topics are fine for civilians and typical of what you'd see in a volume of "Teach Yourself..." or "Colloquial...".
Apart from being freely-downloadable, the other advantages of these familiarization courses is that they include audio (albeit with words in vocabulary lists and sentences from dialogues split into individual .mp3 tracks) and answer keys to about half of the exercises. I think that these are suitable for someone here wanting to do a primer on some foreign language, and learn a bit about the culture (circa 2005) of the region or country where the language is native.
I'm about to start working through the course for Azeri but will use it to review the knowledge that I've gained so far by using other resources. If anyone would like to spend January getting a primer in Azeri, feel free to "enlist". Perhaps this could be a good opportunity for someone who finds learning a little Azeri to be too intimidating without some support, and for better or worse I can answer certain questions already about the bare basics of the language. If someone likes it, he/she is free to extend the "deployment" for another month using this course. I'll be studying Azeri all the while by chugging along with "Elementary Azerbaijani" and "Azerbaijani for Beginners".
I think that this kind of very short challenge sticking to one textbook (and/or one language) is also easier to handle than a longer one. The Turkic Challenge was drawn out at 23 months and covered several languages (albeit all of the same group), and frankly, I as the leader could count only on myself going to the end. I did have more success with a mini "challenge" of Northern Saami, in which a few of us spent a month working through a primer of Northern Saami that I had created at hribecek's request. It seems that challenges are more likely to succeed when thought of like gym memberships. The enthusiasm and team spirit are greatest in January while they're dead by Valentine's Day. With that in mind, spending just one month (maximum) on one language with a free primer (and offline) is more likely to succeed than something that lasts longer regardless of how many languages are involved or how many free resources are made available. The FLC reminds me a little of how the Turkic challenge plodded along. The 6WC is different with its scorekeeping, and doesn't necessarily lend itself to teamwork when everyone can use different material.
Of course, if anyone would like to lead a challenge for January 2019 only to explore some other language using this material, feel free. Who knows how long this material will be available. If I had nothing to do (hahaha) and wanted to be a nerd about a new language, I'd probably sign up to start small doing a month's work with the Indonesian or Tajiki course.
This material is meant as a supplement for Department of Defense staff among others in the military needing a bit of training in a foreign language before shipping out. The course content has a clear military bent only in one chapter (out of the 20); the remaining topics are fine for civilians and typical of what you'd see in a volume of "Teach Yourself..." or "Colloquial...".
Apart from being freely-downloadable, the other advantages of these familiarization courses is that they include audio (albeit with words in vocabulary lists and sentences from dialogues split into individual .mp3 tracks) and answer keys to about half of the exercises. I think that these are suitable for someone here wanting to do a primer on some foreign language, and learn a bit about the culture (circa 2005) of the region or country where the language is native.
I'm about to start working through the course for Azeri but will use it to review the knowledge that I've gained so far by using other resources. If anyone would like to spend January getting a primer in Azeri, feel free to "enlist". Perhaps this could be a good opportunity for someone who finds learning a little Azeri to be too intimidating without some support, and for better or worse I can answer certain questions already about the bare basics of the language. If someone likes it, he/she is free to extend the "deployment" for another month using this course. I'll be studying Azeri all the while by chugging along with "Elementary Azerbaijani" and "Azerbaijani for Beginners".
I think that this kind of very short challenge sticking to one textbook (and/or one language) is also easier to handle than a longer one. The Turkic Challenge was drawn out at 23 months and covered several languages (albeit all of the same group), and frankly, I as the leader could count only on myself going to the end. I did have more success with a mini "challenge" of Northern Saami, in which a few of us spent a month working through a primer of Northern Saami that I had created at hribecek's request. It seems that challenges are more likely to succeed when thought of like gym memberships. The enthusiasm and team spirit are greatest in January while they're dead by Valentine's Day. With that in mind, spending just one month (maximum) on one language with a free primer (and offline) is more likely to succeed than something that lasts longer regardless of how many languages are involved or how many free resources are made available. The FLC reminds me a little of how the Turkic challenge plodded along. The 6WC is different with its scorekeeping, and doesn't necessarily lend itself to teamwork when everyone can use different material.
Of course, if anyone would like to lead a challenge for January 2019 only to explore some other language using this material, feel free. Who knows how long this material will be available. If I had nothing to do (hahaha) and wanted to be a nerd about a new language, I'd probably sign up to start small doing a month's work with the Indonesian or Tajiki course.