Do you remember what fascinated you as a child?
Around the age of five, I developed a love for the bookstores and geography encyclopedia. It thrilled me to flip through the books, inhale the smell of new prints, and glide my fingers across the pictures.
In school, I enrolled in English camps, French, Japanese, and Korean classes. (Though I was never the best students in my foreign language classes, often falling asleep during lectures and messing up conjugations.)
Then, my priority shifted during college. It's all about what could help me land a good job. I devoted myself instead to earnings forecast, market matrix, agile strategy.
Last year, feeling burned out from work and cryptocurrency, I picked up French again. I was reminded of what brought me joy in the past. So in 2023, I'm going to spend more time on languages.
Broad goals
Chinese
Although this is my mother tongue, I often failed to find the right words to express myself in speaking and writing. I want to learn more words so I can be more precise.
English
I'd like to improve my comprehension skills in structurally complex texts, especially in scientific journals & philosophy texts.
Cantonese
I want to get back to speaking Cantonese. I haven’t used it in a while and probably have forgotten a lot of words. Aim is to be able to give clear, detailed opinions. (If you're curious whether Cantonese is a language or a dialect, click here)
French
Studied in high school but never used it since. This year my focus is on vocabulary and reading comprehension. My goal is to be able to read novels in French.
Korean
Studied for two years in college and rarely use it. Aim is to get back to TOPIK level 2, with a focus on listening & shadowing.
Japanese
I used to know how to read hiragana and katagana but forgotten a lot of it...This year I want to understand basic Japanese conversations since I'm travelling to Japan.
Spanish
Just want to get started and see where it goes.
How I split my time
Jan~Apr: focus on french & japanese
May~Aug: focus on french & spanish
Sept~Dec: focus on french & korean
Mindset
Language learning depends on 1. Your attitude 2. The time you spent with the language.
Stephen Krashen, one of the most reknown scholar on language acquisition:
“We do not acquire language by study, or by speaking or writing. We acquire in only one way: by understanding what we hear or read. What we call ‘comprehensible input.’ The ability to produce language is the result of getting the right kind of input.”
Watch this video for his thoughts on optimal input. In summary, it is a focus on storytelling + reading for pleasure. Anyone can learn a new language.
