Too much STUFF!
I can only imagine what it would have been like to learn a foreign language a hundred or more years ago.
Resources would’ve been scarce. Any book that you found in the language you were learning would’ve most likely been treated as a treasure, and hours would’ve been spent memorizing, absorbing and appreciating every word and every sentence. Immersion would’ve been very difficult unless you lived reasonably near an area where the language was spoken and any native speaker you happened to come in contact with would’ve been like winning the lottery!
Today the situation is very different. There is an overwhelming amount of options for langage learners. Websites, blogs, twitter accounts, phrasebooks, grammar books, books in the language you’re learning, books about the language you’re learning, books about language learning in general, Skype, forums, Lang-8, LiveMocha, Pimsleur, Assimil, Hugo, Michel Thomas, Hueber, Langenscheidt… Ahh!!!
When I find myself sitting in the midst of Hugo this, Schaum’s Outline that, dictionaries and grammar books all over the place… I almost wish I only had that one old book that would’ve been a treasure to a language learner hundreds of years ago. I collect podcasts, phrase books, grammar books, vocabulary books, website bookmarks, self-study courses… and a big bulk of it goes unused.
I can’t really offer any advice on the topic, but I’d like to know how you guys as language learners handle information overload? Do you limit yourself to one podcast, or one self-study course, or one grammar book at a time? Or are you also finding yourself in a similar situation to mine where you’re getting caught in a whirlwind of information and ending up not using a lot of it?
That is exactly what I was saying this morning. I have a million books for 5 different languages and I have the Fluenz, Rocket, Rosetta Stone, Transparent programs, even BYKI. I have a million Anki flashcards, and belong to tons of learning websites. I have not focused on one language as of yet. I start with French, I pick up Hindi and then I wander to Spanish. I have too much information and its starting to get where I dont even bother to look at what I have but I start looking for more. Its become an obsession more for the materials then the knowledge that I require. Anyway I love your blogs, keep it up.
A Canadian living in India trying to learn French! lol
Linda
I keep telling myself I’m going to get all my language computer files organized and actually use the materials, but I still haven’t touched half of them. I have tons of books too that go unused, or that I’ve only looked at one chapter. It’s definitely an information overload, but I feel addicted to collecting it all! I am trying to only use a few resources for German, but then I get distracted and find something new…
Thanks for your comments guys, it’s nice to know I’m not alone!
(I picked up another book today…)
Yeah it makes me feel better too, to know that I’m not the only one with this problem!
I’ve been wondering about this exact thing for the past few days. I’m learning Spanish and the options are just endless, to the point of being overwhelming! I must have wasted so much time just checking out the various websites & samples from the various audio courses that I could be basically fluent by now if I’d just concentrated on a single set of resources…
I think I’ve whittled it down to a few good resources now though, so hopefully I can start making some real progress. Good to know I’m not the only one who’s finding this ‘information overload’ frustrating!
I’m another person who experiences this…(I wouldn’t call it a problem exactly…phenomenon?) issue. I compulsively horde all the materials I can find (to the extent of getting a 17th century original book about Cardinal Mezzofanti…never even opened up), though I experience it more as a desire to be able to provide for friends who might be interested in picking something up. For example, have one friend who is marrying into a Korean family, and offered him my Teach Yourself Korean book and all audio recordings I had on Korean. Even though I don’t have this resource anymore (I may buy another copy in the future), I feel satisfaction in acting as a language repository for anyone/everyone in need. Another example, recently ordered a book on chiShona…will I ever need it? Probably not. Will someone I know ever have even a casual need for it? Still a long shot, though slightly more probable. More to the point: I feel your pain. Sometimes it hurts so good!
PS – as a suggestion, you might consider labeling the four languages flag bubbles in the “currently studying” section (not sure if a roll-over function would work or what). Very much appreciated the labeling of both flags in the “Swedish and Italian on LINGQ” section.
best,
Adam
I completely agree! I never got round to trying lots of the resources as I think it’s best to stick to a few you like. I am currently learning Spanish for our upcoming South America trip and used Pimsleur plus ‘Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses’ for some extra grammar work. When I completed Level 2 I also added the Showtime Spanish podcast for some extra listening practice.
Maybe I’m just blind but I can’t seem to figure out how to reply to individual comments so I’m just going to post all of my replies here!
Gareth – You are definitely not alone with being overwhelmed by information overload. I’ve become more of a resource finder and book collector than a language learner! Good luck trying to whiddle down your resources, I think that is a great plan and you will progress a lot faster this way!
Adam – I don’t think there is anything wrong with collecting materials and books (especially not if you are able to help your friends learn languages by loaning the books out to them!) as long as you actually manage to use one or two of them to make some real process in one language.
I have been meaning to add labels (or maybe even individual language pages, I’ve got some ideas!) to the “currently studying” buttons. Thanks for the tip!
Erin – Great to hear from someone who has successfully managed to use just a few resources!
Starting with one resource and then adding a podcast after you reach a certain level sounds like a great plan.
Thanks so much for your comments everyone!