language learning Archives - Author K. Williams

Free Class For the Win – Open Book Blog Hop #346

October 24, 2022 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #346
If you could take a free class at a university, what course would you take??

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. Even more so, we appreciate that you share our writings with friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

Free classes for the win! I recommend writers try to find topics of interest to them and take as many of these as they can. They will only benefit your craft. Did you know that MOOCs and YouTube are great resources for learning? Expand your mind, because learning is all you can take with you, and it’s all that matters for our field.

Open Book Blog Hop, class room with chalkboards and maps, free class

A writer’s skill improves around their knowledge base. The more you know the greater your confidence and ability to write. It may not seem directly connected, but let me assure you that lifelong learning is imperative to a strong writing career. If you’ve been around my blog a while, you’ll have read my advice on expanding what you know and studying outside the box of your topic. How does that help? You can find interconnected pieces, information that correlates or is on topic, via other subjects. For instance, you may be reading a history book and the author alludes to a deeper history of custom/tradition (culture), a place, a person, etc. That insight deepens your knowledge on your topic.

Not only does the deeper knowledge you gain give you more to write about, but it gives you authority and confidence which will show through your text. When you know your stuff, your reader can feel that and they trust you better. That will result in loyal readers and people who finish reading your work and seek out more.

There are so many topics on my list of studies to undertake. Firstly, I want to study languages. I’ve been working at German, but I want to branch out to Mandarin and Welsh. Welsh is less difficult than Mandarin via the route I am taking (DuoLingo). The alphabet is familiar, too. Mandarin, like Hebrew and Hindi will be tougher, as the characters are different. In Mandarin, the concepts behind the language are also different. It would take a lot a more than one free class for that. However, a free class on understanding the nature and concepts of the language would be extremely helpful!

ornate rooftops of china in red and gold.

If not that, I would love to take a Chinese literature/culture course. Film is also high on my list. Red Cliff (2009) remains one of my favorite series of all time. The visuals are captivating, stunning. It is well-made! The acting is fantastic, and the story strong. I couldn’t complain about anything, except that I still don’t know the language! I’d also like to know what is realistic history and what was license. If you can recommend a good book on the history of China, feel free to drop the title/author in the comments.

A free class on China would be so much fun. I just don’t want to have to do homework or write papers. I don’t think that benefits people in the initial stages of learning. First we should be absorbing the material and asking questions. So, lectures and readings would be perfect. This is why I tend to lean on YouTube and other documentary. However, there is the question of what is reliable. When it’s from a University, which is accredited, you can be far more confident in the materials used. There are standards to be met. Unfortunately, anyone can make a YouTube or a documentary and claim its truthful without that being the case at all. So, be mindful.

Click on the links below to see what the other authors want to study…

Old Writer New Tricks – Open Book Blog Hop #253

December 21, 2020 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #253
What is one thing that you would like to learn?

Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop! The authors included in this ongoing series wish to thank you for your reads. We appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Prepare to become a regular reader.

The one thing I have always wanted to learn was German fluency. Learning a language isn’t all that easy, especially with the lack of immersion. Back when I wanted to begin the journey, resources were much more limited. School wanted to decide for us between two language, of which I doubt the skills of the teachers hired to disseminate them to students.

Is an old writer able to learn new tricks?

Fluency in German is a lifelong goal of mine. Ask me to explain it, and I will flounder. I don’t have any German heritage of which to speak. Simply, I like the way it sounds. There are those who will hear the stereotype of the language in their head and wonder why. I suggest you YouTube German being spoken by native Germans. To me, it’s lovely–sexy even.

Being able to upgrade this old writer’s skills to fluent would be amazing, not just because I would be able to watch programming without subtitles or terrible voice-overs, I could move onto another language! That’s right. I want to learn still more languages.

So you want to learn German – So dass Sie wollen Deutsch lernen by K. Williams

So what’s on this old writer’s list, you ask? I’d like to brush up my French. I can still moderately read it. The education I had on it in high school was insufficient. But, I have faith in myself to eventually fix that. However, before I embark on brushing up La Française, Mandarin is going to happen. The reason I place it next is that it will be the most challenging. With Mandarin, I can’t rely on the alphabet I’ve known since ever. The characters in Chinese are going to be tough. I’ve already taken a short lesson and I’m quaking in my boots.

Once I either get a grip on Mandarin or give up, this old writer is going to learn Welsh. This is a matter of heritage. You can tell by my last name that there are ancestors tied to this. That’s why I’d like to learn it.

From stressing out over 3 hard languages, I’ll take it easy relearning French. If I find time enough, then I’d branch into similar languages (such as Italian and Portuguese). After that, I’m likely to go with another heritage language: Dutch. That’s if I have enough time to do so.

old writer, open book blog hop, School sign in German.

Learning a language takes time. I’ve been studying German for several years and it’s still hard going. Finding the time is the worst part. Before I had my daughter, I could take my lessons whenever. Negotiating time now is more tricky. You’ll notice, I used to have a segment of the blog dedicated to Learning German… After 19 installments, I abandoned the writing on this. There wasn’t much to contribute by this point or blog about. But! That did not mean I abandoned my lessons. I still try to read it daily (and it’s still frustrating). Taking my lessons isn’t every day, so I do need to get back to that!

Someday, this old writer will get there. Someday, I will be comfortable enough to speak it with others, as if I were speaking my native language. And, if German is the only language I get to in this life, then this old writer has accomplished a lifelong dream.

Let’s hop on over to see what the other authors want to learn. Click on their links below to continue…

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? – Open Book Blog Hop #131

July 16, 2018 By Captain Maiel

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

Topic #131

What language have you always wanted to learn? Do you think you will try?

Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Be prepared to become a regular reader.

This is an easy question. Yes. Absolutely. I’ve already begun that journey.

Lifelong learning is a passion of mine. There are groups dedicated to it in most universities—the goal being the study of learning throughout the lifetime, and coming up with ways to encourage and provide education for everyone. I believe in it. It’s more than independent study, although that can be a large part of it. I also believe in mentoring and the structure of a classroom. It works. We cannot learn to the greatest effect without a guide and someone to ask questions we aren’t thinking of.

Language learning is a great example of why we need someone else to help us obtain the knowledge we want. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t want to learn another language, and the opportunity to study was the only thing that kept me away from it. When I reached high school, the field of choices had been narrowed, and my top choice was closed down. They forced us all into Spanish class in junior high school, which would have been fine if we actually had been given an option, instead of a directive. It still formed the base for my French studies later. Still, there was only the choice between the two. Neither was on my list. Absolutely they’re useful here in the United States, but they were of no interest to me, regardless.

That held me back from doing my best. You have to really want to learn a language to spend the time and give the effort required to learn it at such a late stage (yes, even as a teenager). If I had been blessed to grow up in a bilingual family, it would have been second nature to gain fluency in two languages (like most of the rest of the world). The real language that I wanted to learn was German. I honestly have no idea where the desire came from, but I can’t tell you if there was ever a time that I wanted to learn any other language in my youth. in the past decade or so, I’ve longed to learn both Welsh (for reasons of heritage) and Mandarin (to continue learning about Chinese culture).

What propelled me forward on this goal was my term as Graduate Studies Secretary in the English Department of The University at Albany. Their requirements for a doctorate degree include fluency in two languages outside of English. This is for research purposes. It should also reflect your area of focus. German and Mandarin reflec my interest in film. The history of German cinema is the history of Film Noir, and Chinese film is fascinating. Have you ever seen the series Red Cliff (2008)? I recommend it. Yes, you will need to read subtitles. I would love to be able to watch the film without the use of subtitles, to know the language in which it was filmed, so that I can better enjoy it, and understand. Language is the key to unlocking a culture.

German also plays a large roll in my life because of my spy thrillers OP-DEC: Operation Deceit and OP-GHO: Operation Ghost. I had to rely a great deal on those who are native speakers and those who have already learned the language. My contacts were wonderful, but I couldn’t help but feel that I should have had a better grasp on my own. There was no reason, only excuses, for not having another language under my belt, especially one that I needed to complete a book. It’s a lot of work to have someone comb through your writing to make sure you’ve written things properly, even when it’s only a limited amount. But, authenticity was on the line. (OP-DEC also utilized my French lessons from High School.)

I was able to finally realize the first step of my dream to study languages via the relatively new app Duolingo. You can track my development through my german language learning blog series (19 entries and counting). Duolingo is a free learning app available to anyone, that teaches you with all the same learning theory as a classroom. You must learn to read, write, and speak. Yes. The app analyzes your speech. It’s just excellent!

Last month, I added Welsh and Mandarin to my lesson plan. I am not certain when I will begin those languages, but I don’t want to disrupt my German learning. Confusing myself at this stage could bring an end to my endeavor. I’ve been going since 2014 with only limited interruption. Let me tell you, Mandarin will be a whole new world. Unlike German, the characters that make the written language will be completely foreign to me. What a challenge it will be!

I’m looking forward to more journeys in language learning. Nothing is more rewarding than a friend sharing a meme in their native language and being able to read it without an interpreter. It’s been a lot of fun to watch German television and movies and catch a lot of the words. I still have a long way to go before I won’t need subtitles. The difference in a voice can/pronunciation can really hinder communication.

Let’s hop on over and see what the other authors have to say about language.

An InLinkz Link-up

So you want to learn German – So dass Sie wollen Deutsch lernen #19

April 2, 2018 By Captain Maiel

So you want to learn German? You’re going to need some perspective…

K. Williams with her daughter Katie and Sadie Sue Shagbottom.

It’s been 10 months since I last checked in on my progress with learning German. I can say that for a time, I was questioning whether or not I’d be able to continue my pursuit, or if there would be a hiatus without any determinable date to resume. That would be so heartbreaking, considering I have been trying so hard to keep up despite everything going on in my life:

I had a baby girl in July.
Recovery from a c-section and a newborn don’t make it easy to resume studies.
It sometimes feels like I have to set aside any of my extra past times, because the choice is sleep or study, or blog, or write.
My dog is getting pretty glum, now that she has to share me, and I’m trying to give her more time, which takes away time from other things.
I am more than happy to set things aside for my daughter and my dog. They are my dearests.

It might take several weeks, even months to learn what your new groove is and to run it as normal. I’m inching close to that culmination. I’m able to do my German practice while I’m using the lactation room at work, for instance. My score on the program has raised much higher than it ever was. I think I was ranging at 50% and am at 64% fluency in the program. It was a good thing that when I came back to it, I basically had to start all over again. Yes, that took weeks to get back to where I was, but it provided some much needed review. That was something I had been forgetting to take into account prior to last July.

Practice is great, but if you don’t go back and start over, what good is it? Constantly moving forward without refreshing the memory on the things already covered can make the memory stale. I guess this is one of the few instances where looking back is required and useful.

I have to say, however, I do not feel that I am grasping the grammar more clearly. I’m learning that phrases are said a certain way because. Finding a proper grammar resource is definitely on my list. I’m nearing the end of the lessons, and I feel I need the grammar answers to really make the language stick. Otherwise, I am afraid I will not be able to properly interpolate sentences and speak truly fluently.

This should make sense, because this is how we all learn our native language. We learn as children to reiterate things we hear, without asking why the phrases are constructed as they are. Certainly, some of what we say will come easily, as if we do have a greater grasp of grammar and vocabulary than we actually do. But, the reason we have grammar classes in school is to clarify proper sentence structure, in both speech and writing.

Until I find that resource, I’ll continue my lessons as is. Maybe the program will eventually add grammar lessons into the plan. Then again, it’s probably not meant to provide such an in-depth lesson plan.

Stay tuned for more tools, tips and discussions on Learning German.

If you like what you read, sign up for the newsletter to have my posts sent to you once a week in an email. It’s simple! Just enter your email address in the box on the top right of the page.

The Blue Honor Vlog, Episode #20

November 17, 2017 By Captain Maiel

Welcome back for another installment of The Blue Honor Vlog. Subscribe to my channel on YouTube. As a subscriber, you’ll get episodes of Shagbottom Theater and watch the process of making book trailers. And! You’ll be first in line to see it all. Once a video is ready, it’s uploaded, and you don’t have to wait for it to come out on the blog. Winning!

In this episode, K talks more details about her bucket list. You can see the Open Book Blog Hop entry that inspired this episode here.

Thanks for watching! Check out some other episodes below: