Adultolescence Stage || Learning Hmong in 30 days series
Updated: 1 day ago
Well, it's probably obvious that I didn't follow through with learning Hmong in 30 days. That was quite hard. Nonetheless, here is what week 4 should have been - the "Adultolescence" stage - this is when things should be clicking and you’re able to formulate things by yourself, but you still have much to learn! It’s estimated that you'll be in this stage for about 2 to 5 months. Continue to listen a lot to whatever medium you can, but also start speaking the language.
Get a Language partner and take every opportunity to speak it
By this time, you should be creating sentences as much as possible, speaking it as much as possible, and getting crucial feedback about what you're saying wrong/right as much as possible.
You want to practice the language in a way where it replicates conversation, so getting a language partner is very helpful. You're like a baby when you are learning a language, and you need a language partner (aka parent). Try to use the language everyday even if it's only 5-10 minutes, so you’ll want to find somebody you can talk to frequently or find a few people to talk to frequently.
Language Parent Rules:
Works to understand what the learner is saying
Correct mistakes in a way that'll help the learner understand it more
Uses words the learner knows
Is patient to talk to the learner despite them being a beginner
Support the learner in learning the language
Find a Stickler who will encourage you to get to where you want in the language (e.g., tutor, friend, skype, etc.).
Similarly, it’s also helpful to find a "Language Buddy". The buddy formula is where you find a conversation buddy whose incentives are aligned to use the target language. The target language should be the BEST language in common between you and your buddy. OR the best "Secret" Language in common, meaning when you’re in a place where only you two know the language. Immersion is the best way to learn language. Surround yourself with those who don't speak your mother tongue. Go out of your comfort zone and overcome obstacles!
Try to only speak the target language with all of those who already know how to speak the language. Don't be scared - and don't revert back to your natural language. If you feel more comfortable, you can also speak with children that know the target language. Which I do definitely feel more comfortable around kids, so i’ll probably definitely do this.
There are many tools that could help you if you don’t have people who know the language around you. The cool thing about this is that you can connect with people around the world. Since I know a lot of people who speak Hmong, and Hmong is not that common so it may not be on the tools anyways, I won’t use the tools personally to learn this language. The following apps are some tools that were mentioned in multiple videos I watched - where you can connect with native speakers (Listed in order of the most common/highly reviewed):
italki - Lessons on this app cost money, and it's probably better to use once you're more advanced in a language (able to understand and talk conversationally)
HelloTalk - You can connect with native speakers and they can correct your messages
Tandem / Interpals
After I learn Hmong, I plan to learn other languages, which I’ll definitely look into using these tools that way if I ever visit the country then maybe I’ll have some buddies from overseas to hang out with if I click with people on those applications. That would be so amazing.
Practice by yourself
Have conversations with yourself in the shower or on your commute. Practice speaking the language as much you can. Ask and tell yourself how your day went in the target language, or reflect on your day or events in the target language aloud. Doing this allows you to find where you have a gap in your knowledge - asking and receiving and giving directions. It lets you be all sides of the conversation.
Make mistakes
The golden rule of language learning is to make mistakes and get things wrong. It is very okay to make mistakes. This means that you're pushing yourself to explore the realm of a new language. Don't be afraid of looking dumb when you make mistakes, and let others correct you. Make as many mistakes as you want - we learn by making mistakes it's the only ways we can make things right.
The saying that kids learn language better than adults is a myth. It just depends on how much effort and time we put into it and not being afraid to make mistakes. Force yourself to listen and to learn and to make mistakes. Just start speaking - The more you speak the better you'll get at it and people will overlook your mistakes and see that it’s just great that you’re learning the language.
The After - Sunset Stage
We’ve finally come to the sunset stage, where you may come back here some days because everyday is a new day and you never know how you’ll feel. These are some post tips for staying on track with learning the language.
Stay on track
Being dissuaded by others - Don't let others tell you not to learn the language or put you down. It might be best to not tell others until you've done it, unless you know that they will support you 100% or they want to learn the language with you.
Don't compare yourself to others who might be progressing faster - Another person's success is not your failure. Only compare yourself to your past self.
Create a connection - Don't let yourself get stuck when you hit a wall. Do things that excite you about learning the language. Start consuming the culture and find stuff that will make you want to know more about the language and the people that speak it.
Keep it fun - Similar to the previous point, whatever you can do in English you can do with another language, so do the things that you love to do in the target language (read/write/talk!) The more motivated you are, the more you can get your creative juices flowing.
Learning a language has to be personal - It has to be modified to suit your type of learning. There is not one right way for everyone. If you want to learn a language efficiently, you need to give that language life. Every word should attach with imagery, audios, feelings. It has to be something that can help you tell your story - this allows the words and grammar to stick in your mind.
Measure your progress
Make sure you're continuing to measure your progress to see where you're at with learning the language. For learning Hmong, I decided to test my understanding of this YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRu7N_2mBBw The good thing about this video is that it has the translation on it, so I’ll be able to see if I do understand it at the end. For now, I’ve cut out the subtitles so that I can’t cheat.
^ The Now note: In my one month of trying it in February - I don't think I really made any
progress in understanding more of the video. I'm going to continue learning Hmong at my own pace - hopefully within the next 6 months I'll be able to understand more of that video. Who knows, maybe with all of this COVID-19 craziness, I'll be able to learn within a 3-4 months. Wish me luck!
For a quick version of week 4 in a "worksheet" style Excel spreadsheet, see this Google Sheets that you can feel free to copy over to your own account: Learning a Language in 30 days.
