An attempt at making a universal roadmap for learning another language.
This is not published yet: that only happens when we add this file to 2021-03-29T01:40:19+0900: Oops? This is actually already published. Best revise this later, I guess.index.ptree.
Learning a language = memorize enough of the vocabulary + be familiar enough with grammatical rules (+ understanding pronunciation, though I consider this to be part of vocabulary)
Motivation: is there anything you want to read in the target language? If not, Wikipedia is a good starting point.
Learn the native script of the target language. This is actually kind of part of vocabulary; doubly true for a language that uses Han characters.
Vocabulary: use spaced repetition. Do daily reviews, add words manually so that you’re not overwhelmed by words that haven’t been learned.
Grammar: read introductions, starting from Wikipedia.
Try to read something in the target language. Figure out the function words.
Applying this to Japanese:
First learn to read:
- Learn Kana; skip Kanji for now
- Find a thing you want to read
- Decipher it, learn basic grammatical words so you can parse the structure
- Find words you don’t understand and remember them (with spaced repetition)
Applying this to German, which we’re learning right now in a university course:
- Learn the German alphabet
Simultaneously:
- Memorize some words
- Find things that I want to read
- Read the textbook
- Learn basic grammatical words and word order