Comments on: Summary of first month of mission & top 100 language blogs nomination http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/ Unconventional language hacking tips from Benny the Irish polyglot; travelling the world to learn languages to fluency and beyond! Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:53:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-450 benny Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:38:20 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-450 Thanks for your good wishes! For me the purpose of this blog is sharing my attempt to become fluent in 3 months while actually having a life and maintaining my polyglot status at the same time. This experiment won't end in September. I may decide to become fluent in Thai or Russian etc. and what I've learned this summer will be applied then. I've already got an even crazier plan for the last 3 months of this year. For the moment, don't give up on me on my Czech experiment until mid-September. In August I'm pulling out the big guns in my dash to the finish line ;) Thanks for your good wishes! For me the purpose of this blog is sharing my attempt to become fluent in 3 months while actually having a life and maintaining my polyglot status at the same time. This experiment won’t end in September. I may decide to become fluent in Thai or Russian etc. and what I’ve learned this summer will be applied then. I’ve already got an even crazier plan for the last 3 months of this year. For the moment, don’t give up on me on my Czech experiment until mid-September. In August I’m pulling out the big guns in my dash to the finish line ;)

]]> By: dzurisova http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-415 dzurisova Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:30:26 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-415 I just have to smile at your statement "shouldn’t you be disappointed if I ignore Czech and eventually just forget it?" - Not to sound like a self-serving jerk, but why would I be care if you forgot it after the hypothesis is proven? :) Yes, I know that makes me sound like a self-serving jerk. lol But when it comes to my interest in this blog, it is completely self serving. My whole interest in your experiment is due to the fact that I've been telling Czechs and others for years "if I could spend the whole summer there, I'd learn it right away". Several people have counted my statements as foolish nonsense. Now someone comes along - you - and begins an experiment to prove what I've been saying all along. Therefore, you can see my enthusiasm with your experiment and my disappointment if your failure stems merely from your side mission. If failure was because it couldn't be done, I would reconsider my belief that it can be done. But your statement - "This is why, even if I only reach “pretty good” Czech after 3 months, I will still be convinced that anyone would easily reach fluency in 3 months or less if they applied the right methods and were more focused." - brings disappointment in that you aren't actually proving my statements. :) So to sum it up, my disappointment stems from a mere selfishness on my part.  I can't prove my own hypothesis (due to employment commitments) so I was hoping you would do it for me! lol However, I sincerely hope you have fun in all that you do and if I were you, I wouldn't abandon your side mission either - but I still claim that it ruins your entire experiment. That's just the social-worker in me that truly enjoyed my "research methods" class and likes experiments to be concrete and focused in its methods without adding too many variables. :) I just have to smile at your statement “shouldn’t you be disappointed if I ignore Czech and eventually just forget it?” – Not to sound like a self-serving jerk, but why would I be care if you forgot it after the hypothesis is proven? :) Yes, I know that makes me sound like a self-serving jerk. lol But when it comes to my interest in this blog, it is completely self serving. My whole interest in your experiment is due to the fact that I’ve been telling Czechs and others for years “if I could spend the whole summer there, I’d learn it right away”. Several people have counted my statements as foolish nonsense. Now someone comes along – you – and begins an experiment to prove what I’ve been saying all along. Therefore, you can see my enthusiasm with your experiment and my disappointment if your failure stems merely from your side mission. If failure was because it couldn’t be done, I would reconsider my belief that it can be done. But your statement – “This is why, even if I only reach “pretty good” Czech after 3 months, I will still be convinced that anyone would easily reach fluency in 3 months or less if they applied the right methods and were more focused.” – brings disappointment in that you aren’t actually proving my statements. :) So to sum it up, my disappointment stems from a mere selfishness on my part.  I can’t prove my own hypothesis (due to employment commitments) so I was hoping you would do it for me! lol

However, I sincerely hope you have fun in all that you do and if I were you, I wouldn’t abandon your side mission either – but I still claim that it ruins your entire experiment. That’s just the social-worker in me that truly enjoyed my “research methods” class and likes experiments to be concrete and focused in its methods without adding too many variables. :)

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-403 benny Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:14:50 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-403 Valid points dzurisova! Let me explain... It may sound a bit arrogant, but I actually believe that based on what I've learned and my experience with language-learning so far, I could possibly learn a language to fluency in just one month or less if I was more focussed, with no distractions and no work. And of course, this is because of using the right learning methods rather than just being "that smart". I've never intensively studied any language and I reached fluency in them rather casually and with part time focus and studies. I still believe that Czech's apparent "difficulty" is not a valid excuse to not reach fluency quickly. I haven't changed anything about my guidelines. I always planned to speak other languages, I have only just decided <b>to reveal it</b> on the blog in this post. Why do you think I chose Prague instead of Brno etc.? :) Because of the easy access to all the other languages from tourists and other visitors (how I meet them will be explained later). My side mission was always important to me. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve and surprises that I will reveal bit by bit :) You say you're disappointed, but look at it this way: if I <b>were</b> to speak Czech fluently (or for example, someone else who lived in the Czech Republic for a year or so who reached fluency) and left to live in other countries, shouldn't you be disappointed if I ignore Czech and eventually just forget it? There's no point in reaching fluency if you are just going to abandon the language after the momentary claim of fluency. I've put a lot of work into learning all of my languages and I don't want to forget them and actually want to further improve them, even when not in the country that speaks it. I haven't yet decided if Czech will permanently be part of the languages that I will want to always claim fluency in (for example, I never maintained my German level), but I don't want to slowly forget my French, Portuguese etc. Reaching fluency isn't the only important objective I want to share in this blog, <i>maintaining</i> it should be given equal importance. That is my side mission; it may not be directly relevant to Czech, but it's extremely relevant to the whole idea of this blog ;) And as you say, it's my life and my experiment ;) I'll continue doing what I feel I know best and adjust my learning methods appropriately. I'm not sabotaging anything, I'm specifically <u>not sabotaging</u> all the work of all the years travel and language study up to now :D I may or may not reach fluency in 3 months in Czech, but I'll analyse why and reach it the next time. This isn't a once-off experiment for me; I always think long term. Thanks for the birthday wishes! Valid points dzurisova! Let me explain…
It may sound a bit arrogant, but I actually believe that based on what I’ve learned and my experience with language-learning so far, I could possibly learn a language to fluency in just one month or less if I was more focussed, with no distractions and no work. And of course, this is because of using the right learning methods rather than just being “that smart”. I’ve never intensively studied any language and I reached fluency in them rather casually and with part time focus and studies. I still believe that Czech’s apparent “difficulty” is not a valid excuse to not reach fluency quickly.
I haven’t changed anything about my guidelines. I always planned to speak other languages, I have only just decided to reveal it on the blog in this post. Why do you think I chose Prague instead of Brno etc.? :) Because of the easy access to all the other languages from tourists and other visitors (how I meet them will be explained later). My side mission was always important to me. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve and surprises that I will reveal bit by bit :)
You say you’re disappointed, but look at it this way: if I were to speak Czech fluently (or for example, someone else who lived in the Czech Republic for a year or so who reached fluency) and left to live in other countries, shouldn’t you be disappointed if I ignore Czech and eventually just forget it? There’s no point in reaching fluency if you are just going to abandon the language after the momentary claim of fluency. I’ve put a lot of work into learning all of my languages and I don’t want to forget them and actually want to further improve them, even when not in the country that speaks it. I haven’t yet decided if Czech will permanently be part of the languages that I will want to always claim fluency in (for example, I never maintained my German level), but I don’t want to slowly forget my French, Portuguese etc.
Reaching fluency isn’t the only important objective I want to share in this blog, maintaining it should be given equal importance. That is my side mission; it may not be directly relevant to Czech, but it’s extremely relevant to the whole idea of this blog ;)
And as you say, it’s my life and my experiment ;) I’ll continue doing what I feel I know best and adjust my learning methods appropriately. I’m not sabotaging anything, I’m specifically not sabotaging all the work of all the years travel and language study up to now :D
I may or may not reach fluency in 3 months in Czech, but I’ll analyse why and reach it the next time. This isn’t a once-off experiment for me; I always think long term.
Thanks for the birthday wishes!

]]> By: dzurisova http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-402 dzurisova Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:29:40 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-402 I meant "my Czech friends" in the last post not "my Czech people" and btw, Happy Birthday! I meant “my Czech friends” in the last post not “my Czech people” and btw, Happy Birthday!

]]> By: dzurisova http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-401 dzurisova Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:21:55 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-401 I’m quite disappointed with your side mission. It destroys the entire mission and makes everything null n void. You put out a hypothesis – One can be fluent in Czech in 3 months. Then you put forth an experiment for all of us to follow to prove your hypothesis. Now you claim that you aren’t following your own experiment guidelines! At the end of your experiment, you now have an excuse – “Oh, my hypothesis is still true, I just didn’t follow the methods properly, created too many variables, and failed to prove nor disprove my experiment.” Well if you are going to purposely sabotage your own experiment, what the point in getting all of us to follow it to see if you can prove your hypothesis? I’ll tell you the reason I’m so disappointed - because several of my Czech people are also awaiting the outcome. Oh, they aren’t reading the blog, but they are convinced that you are insane and it can’t be done. I’ve believed all along you can do it and have told them, “Just wait and see.” I’ve informed them how some Czechs from MCR have talked about meeting with you in 3 months to rate your progress. Now, if you fail and had followed your own experimental guidelines, I could simply say to my Czech friends, “Ok, you were right and I was wrong.” But now, if you fail what am I to say, “well it can still be done, he just purposely sabotaged his own experiment”. Yeah, right. Don’t get me wrong, it’s your life and your experiment and you are definitely free to sabotage it if you want and still claim the truth of the hypothesis when you are finished. I’m just letting you know how disappointing it is for those who were interested in the actual experiment and believed you could do it. :o( I’m quite disappointed with your side mission. It destroys the entire mission and makes everything null n void. You put out a hypothesis – One can be fluent in Czech in 3 months. Then you put forth an experiment for all of us to follow to prove your hypothesis. Now you claim that you aren’t following your own experiment guidelines! At the end of your experiment, you now have an excuse – “Oh, my hypothesis is still true, I just didn’t follow the methods properly, created too many variables, and failed to prove nor disprove my experiment.” Well if you are going to purposely sabotage your own experiment, what the point in getting all of us to follow it to see if you can prove your hypothesis?

I’ll tell you the reason I’m so disappointed – because several of my Czech people are also awaiting the outcome. Oh, they aren’t reading the blog, but they are convinced that you are insane and it can’t be done. I’ve believed all along you can do it and have told them, “Just wait and see.” I’ve informed them how some Czechs from MCR have talked about meeting with you in 3 months to rate your progress. Now, if you fail and had followed your own experimental guidelines, I could simply say to my Czech friends, “Ok, you were right and I was wrong.” But now, if you fail what am I to say, “well it can still be done, he just purposely sabotaged his own experiment”. Yeah, right.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s your life and your experiment and you are definitely free to sabotage it if you want and still claim the truth of the hypothesis when you are finished. I’m just letting you know how disappointing it is for those who were interested in the actual experiment and believed you could do it. :o (

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-314 benny Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:52:36 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-314 Thanks for the encouragement Jody :) You said in a previous comment that you have are upper-intermediate Itaian, but even so, I hope you'll enjoy my video about how to start learning Italian with the right attitude (posting it tomorrow). Looking forward to more of your comments!! Thanks for the encouragement Jody :)
You said in a previous comment that you have are upper-intermediate Itaian, but even so, I hope you’ll enjoy my video about how to start learning Italian with the right attitude (posting it tomorrow).
Looking forward to more of your comments!!

]]> By: jody http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-313 jody Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:38:28 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-313 Hi Benny thanks for a really wonderful site!!! Your attempts to keep learning languages are amazing and you inspire me with your tips for language learning. I'm learning Italian (I'm British so it's really hard to learn other languages and this is my first foreign language to learn...!). thanks for the tips and keep them coming! Hi Benny

thanks for a really wonderful site!!! Your attempts to keep learning languages are amazing and you inspire me with your tips for language learning. I’m learning Italian (I’m British so it’s really hard to learn other languages and this is my first foreign language to learn…!).

thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-304 benny Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:16:31 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-304 Obrigado Samanta!! :) Posso te ensinar o irlandês se quiser! Onde mora no Brasil? Vou ai em setembro!!! Tá aprendendo o italiano? Vai adorar o meu próximo post!! :P Obrigado Samanta!! :)
Posso te ensinar o irlandês se quiser! Onde mora no Brasil? Vou ai em setembro!!!
Tá aprendendo o italiano? Vai adorar o meu próximo post!! :P

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-303 benny Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:14:49 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-303 cestina, thanks for these comments :) I'll be getting on to my maintaining-other-languages techniques soon enough! I still have a few things to say relevant to my Czech progress ;) To not mix them up, it is always better to focus on just one language in early stages as you were doing :) When you have several in the more advances stages, then you get used to not mixing them up. I'll write an entire post about how not to mix up similar languages in a while! cestina, thanks for these comments :)
I’ll be getting on to my maintaining-other-languages techniques soon enough! I still have a few things to say relevant to my Czech progress ;)
To not mix them up, it is always better to focus on just one language in early stages as you were doing :) When you have several in the more advances stages, then you get used to not mixing them up. I’ll write an entire post about how not to mix up similar languages in a while!

]]> By: Samanta http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-297 Samanta Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:25:45 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-297 Hello Benny, Feliz aniversário, tudo de bom! I've been following you on twitter and reading your website, it's great! I'm improving my Italian and Spanish with some of your techniques. Hope next time you come to Brazil we can meet and I can learn some Irish. :) Um abraço! .-= Samanta´s last blog ..<a href="http://twitter.com/samyrod/statuses/2566538338" rel="nofollow">samyrod: Friday, oh sweet friday. Mr. All Tickles is not here. Yet.</a> =-. Hello Benny,
Feliz aniversário, tudo de bom!

I’ve been following you on twitter and reading your website, it’s great! I’m improving my Italian and Spanish with some of your techniques.
Hope next time you come to Brazil we can meet and I can learn some Irish. :)

Um abraço!
.-= Samanta´s last blog ..samyrod: Friday, oh sweet friday. Mr. All Tickles is not here. Yet. =-.

]]> By: cestina http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-296 cestina Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:21:14 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-296 Oh and by the way - vše nejlepši k narozeninám :-) Oh and by the way – vše nejlepši k narozeninám :-)

]]> By: benny http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-295 benny Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:34:38 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-295 Max, thanks for your comments and good luck wishes! I specifically chose Prague because of my "side mission", mentioned above. I know better than anyone that capital cities are the worst places to start learn languages. I don't think I'm falling into any "familiar pattern" - I've reached fluency several times before, trust me, I know what I'm doing ;) My conversations aren't responded in Czech though; I talked about this <a href="http://www.fluentin3months.com/how-to-convince-natives-to-speak-to-you-in-their-language/" rel="nofollow">in my previous post</a>. Natives usually don't correct you (unless you are paying them to), but I'll be talking about how I have greatly improved my French (and other mentioned languages) here in Prague by convincing natives to correct me :) When my Czech is ready for correction, I'll use the same techniques on locals here ;) Max, thanks for your comments and good luck wishes!
I specifically chose Prague because of my “side mission”, mentioned above. I know better than anyone that capital cities are the worst places to start learn languages. I don’t think I’m falling into any “familiar pattern” – I’ve reached fluency several times before, trust me, I know what I’m doing ;)
My conversations aren’t responded in Czech though; I talked about this in my previous post. Natives usually don’t correct you (unless you are paying them to), but I’ll be talking about how I have greatly improved my French (and other mentioned languages) here in Prague by convincing natives to correct me :) When my Czech is ready for correction, I’ll use the same techniques on locals here ;)

]]> By: Max Melrose http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-294 Max Melrose Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:25:09 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-294 You seem to be falling into the familiar pattern that dogs down anyone who moves to Prague, and seeks to learn Czech. A hurried impatient spoken Czech, replied in English when conversation proceeds, then little or no appreciation of the actual learning process for words pronounced quickly and effortlessly by the native. To meet your goals, any city other than Prague would be best. A small town and a Moravian one are said to work wonders for actually making headway in the impatient, and ignorant "hurry to wait, then humiliate" Praguer. There is almost a seemingly secret agreement among all those speaking Czech to foreigners that no intention of actually teaching the language should be made. They the Czech English/German/French speaker can communicate the idiosyncrasies of the Czech cultural linguistic grammatical rationale far faster than the outsider... Good Luck- Max You seem to be falling into the familiar pattern that dogs down anyone who moves to Prague, and seeks to learn Czech. A hurried impatient spoken Czech, replied in English when conversation proceeds, then little or no appreciation of the actual learning process for words pronounced quickly and effortlessly by the native.

To meet your goals, any city other than Prague would be best. A small town and a Moravian one are said to work wonders for actually making headway in the impatient, and ignorant “hurry to wait, then humiliate” Praguer. There is almost a seemingly secret agreement among all those speaking Czech to foreigners that no intention of actually teaching the language should be made. They the Czech English/German/French speaker can communicate the idiosyncrasies of the Czech cultural linguistic grammatical rationale far faster than the outsider…

Good Luck-

Max

]]> By: cestina http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-293 cestina Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:06:02 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-293 I'm interested in your continuing to practise your other languages whilst here and learning Czech. Although my German is fluent, possibly one could say I am bi-lingual in it, and although I read Dutch with no problems, I deliberately avoided reading books in either of those languages whilst I was in the early and intermediate stages of acquiring Czech since I thought it would be confusing and delay things. Although I am very clear that the more languages one speaks the easier it is to acquire the next one because of the cross-connections, I am not sure about mixing them up too much in the early stages of a new one. German I continued to speak regularly but as I say, I didn't do any reading in it other than when passing through Germany en route to here. I’m interested in your continuing to practise your other languages whilst here and learning Czech. Although my German is fluent, possibly one could say I am bi-lingual in it, and although I read Dutch with no problems, I deliberately avoided reading books in either of those languages whilst I was in the early and intermediate stages of acquiring Czech since I thought it would be confusing and delay things.

Although I am very clear that the more languages one speaks the easier it is to acquire the next one because of the cross-connections, I am not sure about mixing them up too much in the early stages of a new one. German I continued to speak regularly but as I say, I didn’t do any reading in it other than when passing through Germany en route to here.

]]> By: cestina http://www.fluentin3months.com/summary-of-first-month-of-mission-top-100-language-blog-nomination/comment-page-1/#comment-292 cestina Fri, 10 Jul 2009 09:01:26 +0000 http://www.fluentin3months.com/?p=217#comment-292 If you can unhesitatingly give the time in Czech, let alone understand it, I take my hat off to you. Or are you saying "Deset tričet" rather than the approved form? Which you will notice I am not even attempting..... I have to confess that I even get confused when the Brits now commonly say "half ten" and mean 10.30 since my first acquaintance with this format was in German where "halb zehn" means 9.30. It used only to be common usage in the north of England, now it's all over and I hate it. If you can unhesitatingly give the time in Czech, let alone understand it, I take my hat off to you. Or are you saying “Deset tričet” rather than the approved form? Which you will notice I am not even attempting…..

I have to confess that I even get confused when the Brits now commonly say “half ten” and mean 10.30 since my first acquaintance with this format was in German where “halb zehn” means 9.30. It used only to be common usage in the north of England, now it’s all over and I hate it.

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