Answers
Dec 05, 2013 - 12:56 AM
I think that it's important to keep in mind that everyone learns a little differently, and we all tend to progress at our own rates too. That said I felt the same way when I was round about the same spot you are now only I'm studying French. I remember Sonia saying many times, "make up your own sentences" but that all seemed to be well outside my grasp. I can't say that I actually made a conscious effort of this at first, but as my vocabulary expanded, I just started thinking of things in French whenever I could. For example, I would thinking I need a cup of coffee, then realize I know how to say that in French, so I would say it in French in my mind. Then I would do things like just repeating different words that I had learned, which tended to automatically become a sentence with that word. Often it would be a repeat of something in a lesson but after awhile these became my own original sentences. Really just stay at it, and it will all start coming to you.
I'm not sure I understand your last comment, that sounds to me like a description of the "write what you see" workout, which is part of every Fluenz lesson I've ever taken. So I am assuming you mean something else?
I'm not sure I understand your last comment, that sounds to me like a description of the "write what you see" workout, which is part of every Fluenz lesson I've ever taken. So I am assuming you mean something else?
Dec 07, 2013 - 04:02 PM
I think Mike's advice is spot on, and I went about it the exact same way: I'd hear a sentence on TV, for example, and I'd try to translate it. I'm pretty sure everyone who learns a new language is going through the same thing you are, so have patience and just realize that you're taking your first baby steps into something that's entirely new for you. I went through Spanish 2 before a recent trip to Spain, and I was surprised by how much I understood and was able to say.