Entry 1 - Type of learner

[Abigail Sohkhlet]

When it comes to languages I am afraid I have never been good at it. When I tried learning Hindi and my friend’s language, Nagamese, which are both Indian dialects, I was never able to remember the words. I think learning new languages is hard for me because of the memorization part of it. I did not have trouble learning the Hindi alphabet or how to read it. I always had trouble memorizing the words. I was never taught how to construct sentences in both the languages but I feel that once I have those tools in hand it would be easier. I have no recollection of learning English and my native language, Khasi, from scratch. I remember taking lessons to improve my vocabulary but that is about it. My English vocabulary has improved a little bit since I came to college but not to an extent where I can construct a well written essay. I suppose this is why I have always been a bit hesitant and afraid of learning a new language since I have barely mastered my own mother tongue. By looking at the FIRE model, I know that I am a rational learner however, I think I am a bit of a factual learner as well. When it comes to task work I prefer detailed descriptions of what I am expected of while learning. When I took higher level Biology in highschool, it was easy for me because remembering facts was easy. I used methods such as story-telling and mnemonic techniques, which perplexes me because it is so much harder to do now. I prefer organization as well instead of clusters. I need to know organize the approach to which I am going to learn and I need to organize my notes as well so in this way I am also a bit of an intellectual learner. I feel that I am a bit of both the three. I need to be organized but I dislike structure as well. I cannot learn under routines or schedules because I grow tired of them. However, I think in this self-directed learning, I will experiment using routines since it is advised. Language is about memorization and for better data encoding routine is the best method.