How can I efficiently learn three languages?

[Apologies for the essay in advance...]

Hi,

My exam timetable has come through for the end of the Spring semester, and I've literally got just over a month til they start, and just under 2 months until they end. I'm studying Spanish, Italian and Catalan, and all three are pretty much coming at me in the worst order possible: Spanish in a month, Italian one week after that, and Catalan two weeks after that.

Anyway, it's come across as a very, very, very sobering thought (along with the fact that I feel I don't know enough). Obviously, I've got to start knuckling down and revising like a pro, but, that's just my problem! I don't know where to start! I'm at three different levels in these languages. And I'm expected to be at three different levels for the exams:

I've studied Spanish for 7 years now, but I'm still nowhere nearer to fluency than I was when I started. I feel like I'm jogging up a hill that keeps on growing. In the exam, I'm not exactly expected to be grammatically perfect, but I'm expected to at least be coherent in my writing and able to grasp the language (the better the fluency, the better the end mark obviously).

I've only been doing Italian for two years, but it's been an intensive course, with 4 hours every week taught in pure Italiano. The instructor insists on saying "Ma, scusate, non capisco l'inglese!" whenever we say anything to him in English. I feel I'm at a pretty good level - at least the Italians I've spoken with reckon I'm not too bad at it - but the exam is apparently "difficilismo!" so it's probably a few notches higher than I am.

As for Catalan, I've only been doing it since September for three hours a week. I wouldn't say I'm good at it, but, I try. I mostly listen to Catalan music, so my pronunciation is pretty much spot on, but everything else is a bit rusty. I've looked at the exam, and it seems like it could go either way - we still have a lot to learn in the next 3 weeks, but, it's a tricky one to say whether I'll ace it or not.

Anyhow, the important piece of this post is that I can't figure out a way to revise. I mean, I've never revised languages. Ever. I've maybe scribbled down a few verbs here and there, but nothing official. I tend to listen to more music in these languages than in English; I prefer watching foreign films, and I even watch Barça matches with Spanish commentary. But, I feel like I'm getting nowhere.

I know everyone revises different and has their own revision strengths, but, what can you suggest to me as ways to use my time wisely, study and revise, and possibly see a marked improvement in these languages?

Thanks a lot to anyone who answers (and I'll probably hand out +rep too, since this is a dire situation).

Reply 1

LGF92

14

I was gonna say "Pick three that are entirely dissimilar", but then I read your post. :biggrin:

Reply 2

cactussed

15

You're probably worrying too much about it....you've been studying Spanish for seven years so you must be at least a bit more fluent than when you started. I remember absolutely bricking it before my A level exams, but once I got in and saw what I actually had to do, it was (sort of) fine. Just make sure you go over the main grammar points you've studied, and get all that clear in your head, then go over the vocab. There's no real way to pick up a language really quickly apart from using it all the time.

You can do what I do with my friend and just have random conversations in your other languages, it's strange at first but it really helps with getting confident about using structures and the general "flow" of what you're saying.

And really, if you don't feel up to it, why choose to do a THREE-language degree in the first place?

Reply 3

adam_ajs

if you know any films you like and know word for word watch them in the language your learning, try stagevu.com and then as you already know what's being said you'll notice similarities, i've used this method several times and believe it to be the best apart from moving to the country in question

Reply 4

The Socialite

14

Focus on the one you're not exactly up to scratch on...seeing as you've done Spanish for 7 years, go over everything briefly but don't dwell - you probably know more than you think. I would focus on Catalan as it's your weakest one.

I think if you know the basics of grammar in all three, you'll probably be set. In the meantime, try to immerse yourself in Italian and Catalan. Watching films and listening to music is all helpful - try seeing if you can get Italian and Catalan radio online. I sometimes listen to RadioUno (here's a list anyway) http://www.listenlive.eu/italy.html.

And finding a penpal might be a good idea: http://www.interpals.net/, means if you're speaking back and forth you can correct each others' grammar and vocab, learn certain turns of phrase and expressions that you can use in your orals which will set you apart from the rest.

All in all, don't worry. You're obviously a natural at languages so whatever happens in these exams you can usually get around it by either guesswork (for listening + reading), ad libbing and taking a few risks (in orals), and using different ways of saying the same thing to make your point (in writing).

After each exam don't plunge straight into learning the next one, get an evening's rest, have a bath and then the next day start going over everything for that language. I find learning vocab before bed helps me remember it very well in the morning for some reason too.

How can I efficiently learn three languages?

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you