Month: December 2015

I got a C1/C2 level, what’s next?

On By lencastrepessanhaLeave a comment

Hi!

You know this feeling… you hear some language, you become curious, you start to ask, you research something, soon you will start to study… You can use a lot of methods, you can do it with or without a teacher, the beginning is so great!

 

So the time goes by… You will notice, the first love is gone. you found the end of your course, now you can keep a conversation, you can understand a lot, you feel that feeling of… well, It’s done! What’s next?

mountain-victory.jpg

A lot of people fall in this part. They start the negligence, it is something like… have nothing left to learn.  It is a fatal mistake, it is a right way to freeze the language  you worked hard to learn. In a few months you will have a dormant language in your brain.

All you have now is that memory that once you spoke that language, but now you cannot do it anymore. I can guarantee that it is sad! I had an experience, some months ago…

I started to study Hebrew together with Arabic, but I gave more attention to Hebrew, so my Arabic was stopped, that’s why I didn’t do any videos until now. So what’s the point? I forgot to study Russian. One of my first foreign languages. When I feel that it was going away, it makes me almost cry, now I study my old languages each day, BEFORE the new ones. I prefer to have a slow progress than let my old ones behind.

Once you have a good level, what’s next? 

11.jpg

Well, now, you have only one way to stop the process of that language’s death. You know it, now it MUST be Part of your life. To stop the death here I give 3 steps that you can simply follow and see the results, instead of see you effort dies you can improve more and more.

  • 1 – Read in that language everyday:

You can read the news, trough the internet, you can read novels, articles, what else, but NEVER stop reading. At least 15 minutes for each language, could be the news, during your breakfast for example. I always read Der Spiegel, Pravda and Ambito each day before my day starts.

  • 2 – Listening:

It is simple, never stop to listen to your languages, you can use musics, podcasts, news, interviews, at least once each two days. Always ! For example, I watch at least 6 – 10 interviews each week, it keeps the language sounds inside your mind.

  • 3 – Talking is never too much!

Native speakers. It is my favorite. I ALWAYS say it. Make friends! It is natural to talk to your friends always. What if these friends speak the language you want to maintain? You will never see it as a boring study time, but as a good time to spend talking to your friends.

The hardest point is to avoid English. Try to speak in the language you want to practice. With these steps you will maintain and Improve and will never have a Dormant language.