Well an update is long overdue at this point, so here it goes:
Last semester was the first semester where I managed to maintain fairly consistent language study without having to stop due to homework. Unlike previous semesters, last semester I prioritized language study over my own classwork, which ended up working out really well. I got three A’s and a B+ (or four A’s–I never checked because, honestly, it doesn’t matter.). And now that the the semester is over, I’ve been devoting much more time to studying languages. Since I took my last final, I’ve been studying over 5 hours/day on average.
Here are my language-related goals for the summer:
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Reach conversational fluency in French
I know somewhere between 2,000 and 2,500 words, so vocabulary isn’t an obstacle at this point. It’s just a matter of improving listening skills and the ability to rapidly form complex sentences. I’ve been studying with a girl from my university who’s already fluent. -
Read a complete textbook on Japanese grammar
Specifically, the “textbook” is Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese, and I’m just over 1/3 way through. I highly (HIGHLY) recommend it to anybody who’s studying Japanese seriously. It’s an amazing resource. -
Start laying the foundation for further studies in Chinese
By this I mean becoming very proficient at all the tones and acquiring a vocabulary of at least several hundred words. 500 would be a nice minimum, but we’ll see. For now, pronunciation is key. My current word count is roughly 100. -
Improve general proficiency in Spanish
This goal is a little nebulous, but it still made the list. -
Learn some basic German
Another goal that’s a little vague. The idea here is to just get used to conjugation patterns and the different cases (nominative, accusative, etc.). This is sort of an extra goal. The others take precedence.
As for the memory palaces, not much has changed. I continue using the same techniques until the words are naturalized in context.
That’s it for now. I’ll continue to post with updates in the future.