Stephen Krashen: Optimal Input

 A quick overview of the optimal input that will help you acquire a language.

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3 year overview of my Russian acquisition journey

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For anyone interested here's an overview of my Russian acquisition journey over the past 3 years (I started in August 2020). Click on any of the charts to get a closer look. I think this data is 98% accurate. However as time goes on I'm starting to encounter more and more Russian in day to day life which I don't count. For example, reading memes, seeing what friends post on social media, writing messages, meeting Russian speakers in real life. In all my activities I try to focus on material that is of practical use. So I don't read fantasy books like Harry Potter or watch media like Anime. I very rarely watch series or shows but when I do it's usually contemporary drama. In the 5% of time that I'm not reading or listening to material from Speakly I will watch street interviews or dialogues aimed at beginners (Easy Russian, Russian With Max). Activity Overview Passive Immersion : Listening to audio in the background while I do other things (work, cleaning, walkin...
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How I Use Anki

Writing about my experience with Memrise and Duolingo compared with Anki made me think about the different ways I use them. As I mentioned before my recall of words learned with the first two apps is mostly confined to when I'm actually using the app. Because of this I keep changing my mind as to whether they are at all useful. But the words I'm learning with Anki are easier for me to recall in real life away from my phone or computer. Now my Anki deck is very simple, I have not added any images or mnemonics. But it's important to know that I'm using Anki in combination with the book of 625 words.  And I'm only adding them page by page as I work through the book. Currently I'm on page 8 covering 48 words. Every day I look at the images that I'm working on and recall the relevant words. And every couple of days I add a new image. As well as that I bring to mind real memories, feelings and thoughts when I'm reviewing and recalling. For example I think of t...
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Milestone: 3 and a half hours in a Russian conversation

I've been attending a Russian language group in my city over the past few weeks. It attracts a mixture of learners and speakers and it's a great environment to practice my listening and speaking skills. Usually there are 15 to 20 people attending and people naturally split into small group of 3 to 5 people. There's no set agenda, people just talk about what interests them. The most recent meeting lasted about 3 and a half hours and I was immersed in Russian 90% of the time. I'm listening a lot more than I'm speaking and I sometimes need to ask for a translation to English to make sure I'm still following the conversation. But I feel comfortable with ambiguity, and usually have a good understanding of what each person is saying. Examples of topics discussed include where to find particular types of restaurants in the city, politics and culture in various countries, work and hobbies. It's very motivating to be able to take part in a conversation, even with my ...
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