September 2, 2012
SDLAP 110
Entry #1
Learning Plan:
As mentioned in my cultural post, my goal for the year is to achieve “intermediate” fluency. See “Cultural Post 1” for details.
Goal for the week:
My goal for the week was to learn basic greetings, introductions, farewells, and the alphabet.
Result:
This goal was met and surpassed. I learned to order food from a menu, use random phrases, basic Bosnian history, and started to build a vocabulary base.
Method:
We met Monday through Friday for 30 minutes and took a field trip to a Balkan restaurant on Saturday where I successfully ordered food and drink. She would read her prepared material aloud, and then I would read her prepared material aloud while she corrected whatever mistakes were made. When appropriate, she would explain the cultural context of usage and other idiosyncrasies. I recorded her reading of some phrases in order to capture intonation, pronunciation, and manner. We drilled and role played with dialogue she provided as well.
My own practice sessions ranged from half an hour to two hours during this first week. They were primarily a combination of drama and rote repetition. I’d imagine myself in a certain situation and repeat the phrase with as perfect pronunciation as I could over and over again often times with verbal and physical exaggeration. When I felt comfortable with the meaning and verbalization, I’d read the thing over and over again before speaking with Bosnians I’d run into. I’d also look up random concepts, phrases, or words that interested me (ie shut-up).
Evaluation of Effectiveness:
Week 1 expectations surpassed expectations, so I am pleased. It was fun too. I was able to get a feel for the process of learning a language on with a partner. Next week, my goal is more topic-specific: to be able have a somewhat meaningful and informative conversation with a Bosnian about soccer. This should allow me to pick on grammar structures and an understanding of the cultural role of soccer in Bosnia as well. Since I am now familiar with a basic set of introductions, phrases, and vocabulary, my language partner will be able to speak with me even more in the target language.
At this point, I’m not prepared to limit myself to a method of language learning because it is so early in the process. I feel as if my mentor and I are actively creating new strategies. Nevertheless, I’m taking mental notes of our processes as we go along in hopes of eventually creating a personal “language-learning criteria.” As of now, I’d say I like the challenge of having an overwhelming amount of material thrown at me and of reciting and practicing dialogue.
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