Three Keys of Effective Language Learning

Having read Steve Kaufmann's blog, I concur that the three keys of effective language learning are:

1. Attitude -> includes motivation and initiative, the most important factor. If you don't care, are not motivated, and/or lazy, you won't learn, period.
2. Time -> time spent getting exposure to the language, practising the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
3. Attention to detail -> active listening, getting used to the sound system, absorbing the sentence structure.

I'd like to add that while speaking "fluency" can be faked i.e. made to appear fluent by intensive practise and memorization, listening comprehension i.e. understanding the spoken language cannot be faked. It's either you know it or you don't when people say something to you.

Another thing: lots and lots of hard work. Even if you have a good memory you still need to work hard. Consistency is the key.

So-called religious person can be plain nasty and treacherous

(Written on July 15, 2013)

No matter what religion a person says he follows, if he's a nasty/treacherous/bad person, he's still a nasty/treacherous/bad person. Doesn't mean that a so-called religious nasty/treacherous/bad person is better than a plain nasty/treacherous/bad person. 無論佢講佢信乜教，奸人始終都係奸人。 Mou leun keui gong keui seun mat gaau, gaan yan chi jung dou hai gaan yan.

Tamil for Better Language Understanding

(Written on June 26, 2013)

Tamil helps me to understand other languages better, because Tamil has the past, present, and future tenses of English, the flexibility of borrowing foreign language words like how Bahasa does, the nasal vowels of Portuguese, the sentence structure of Japanese with verbs at the end, the case endings of Russian, the respect language of Japanese, and a big difference between the formal written and colloquial spoken form like Cantonese. Tamil also trains phonetics because it has two R sounds and three L sounds, however it doesn't have F and Z sounds while J and H are marginal, and the writing doesn't distinguish between K and G or B and P. Vaalga Tamil Moli!

The day I stop caring, it means...

(Written on June 26, 2013)

The day I stop caring, it means...

講得啱，人哋係大人唔係細佬哥，佢做乜嘢都係自己擔當，我做得最多都係到此為止。 Well said, SbM.

You don't understand because you didn't listen (Tak faham kerana tak dengar)

(Written on June 20, 2013)

A lot of people don't bother to listen. That's why they can't learn. Dahlah sendiri tak faham, lagi mau lagak pandai. Masa I jelaskan, dia tak peduli. Entah apa dia buat waktu kelas. Patutlah tak tau. Tetiba pulak tuduh I tak ajar, padahal sendiri tak buat ulangkaji apa yang telah diajar. Ataupun dia sendiri tak hadir masa I ajar. Sila lihat cermin sebelum menuding jari.

Memorizing versus Understanding

(Written on June 20, 2013)

Some are good at memorizing sentences. Unfortunately they memorized blindly without understanding. So when I ask a question, they answer using a well-rehearsed sentence, not knowing that they are not answering my question at all. Knowing words isn't enough. You need to know how to make your own sentences according to the situation.

Yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran

(Written on June 5, 2013)

Malay proverb: "Yang dikejar tak dapat, yang dikendong berciciran." It means you can't get what you are pursuing, meanwhile you lose what you have. Sad to see this happen due to one's rashness.

When You Say Nothing At All (Ronan Keating version) for learning English pronunciation

(Written on May 31, 2013)

A very soothing song, good for those learning English. Clear and proper pronunciation, meaningful lyrics, simple sentences, modal verbs, and predominant use of the present tense.

"When You Say Nothing At All"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuJrEBtmM1Q

If you want to improve your language speaking skills, you must speak!

(Written on May 25, 2013)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you want to improve your command of the language, you must speak it! Otherwise what's the point of learning? You can study as much as you want, but unless you use the language with others, what you learn will be "here today, gone tomorrow".

So you really want to improve? Start speaking now! Don't give yourself excuses such as "I'm not good enough," "I'm not sure about the sentence structure," "I don't know many words," "I need to study more first," etc.

I say, "Don't wait till you're fluent! Don't wait till you've memorized all the grammar rules you worry about! Just use whatever little you know. Otherwise you'll never start speaking. You can't escape making mistakes but they won't kill you!" Mistakes are inevitable. There's no shortcut.

If you don't speak, you'll never improve your speaking skills. Fine if you just want to read only, but why limit yourself?

And for those who are taking oral exams, please don't give one or two-word answers. Try to elaborate when you answer. How can the examiner give you high marks if you don't say much?

Do I need to translate all of the above into whatever language?

Healing Takes Time

(Written on March 30, 2013)

Healing takes time. It could be days, weeks, months or years. Most important is that it's complete. There will be setbacks, there will be flashbacks. In the darkest moments emerges the temptation to end it all. The key to survive this stage is to seek help from a reliable source. 好返需要時間。要幾耐就唔定嘅：唔知幾多日，禮拜，月，年。最緊要係好返曬。行呢條路一定有阻礙，有閃回。喺最慘嗰陣時會覺得好想離開呢個世界。要克服呢個困難，搵到信得過嘅人好重要。