Buondì.
Two things came out of Monday’s article ‘The Joy of Not Understanding!‘
The first was that a club member in Sweden volunteered to practice Swedish with me in exchange for Italian lessons (with a club teacher, that is, not with me personally- I don’t teach Italian as I have an awful English accent and dodgy grammar…)
We’re having our first Skype call this morning, right after I finish writing this.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
By they way, I’m open to similar arrangements with other members, if any are interested. The more practice the better, is my motto!
I’d also like to speak Turkish (though I already have a very nice teacher) and French, which I haven’t spoken since a holiday romance more than thirty years ago.
Get in touch in the usual way if you’d like to chat with me in Skype in one of those languages.
You don’t need to be an experienced teacher (I don’t much listen to teachers in any case…) as I just want to practice speaking. And listening of course!
The second thing that came out of Monday’s article was an interesting email from Rumi, in Japan.
Now we don’t have a lot of Asian members, though there are some. Most club members come from English-speaking countries, or from Europe.
So I do pay extra attention when I get an email from Japan, or China, or Thailand or wherever.
This is what Rumi wrote:
Ciao Daniel!
Today I have some questions to ask you.
1) What do you mean by “I am a contrary person”?
2) Yes, I agree and I like to believe that there’s Friday to look forward to”, however when it comes to language learning I would like to reach Friday as fast as possible. I know it’s not easy but I have already waited for years. I have just started listening to your EasyItalianNews, which is not very difficult but I still can’t understand what are said without reading the texts. There are lots and lots of words I don’t know…. How long do you think it takes me to reach the point where I can understand what they say even briefly, not 100%?
3) I have been reading some of your Easy Reader Books. Every few sentences I find words/phrases I don’t know. It’s very unnoying to check them with dictionary every time I encounter them. I really would like to enjoy reading the story but …. Is the way I am reading correct and effective? As you know I am a Japanese and my 1st second foreign language is English. I like to read books in English and now that I can understand them better than many years ago I rarely use dictionary. So I can really enjoy reading them. But my Italian level is much lower than English, so I need a dictionary…..
4) Today I bought a new book of “Indagine su un Cittadino al sopra di ogni sospetto” which I think is for students of upper intermediate level. Today I challenged the Test and found that I am intermediate level, not upper intermediate. Is this book appropriate for me?
5) When I paid for this book I was led to PayPal payment and I paid by PayPal. Is it possible for me to buy your books by Credit Card payment not PayPal, not for this time but for the future buying?
Daniel, I know that you are very busy studying, taking care of your school, writing OnlineItalianClub emails, etc., etc. I wonder how you manage doing all of them. So, I hesitate to add more work to you but could you be kind enough to spend your spare time to respond to my above questions?
Thank you very much,
Rumi
And here’s my reply (IN CAPS, which saves a lot of time):
Ciao Daniel!
Today I have some questions to ask you.
1) What do you mean by “I am a contrary person”? THAT SOMETIMES I THINK THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK (A DIFFICULT CONCEPT FOR JAPANESE PEOPLE…)
2) Yes, I agree and I like to believe that there’s Friday to look forward to”, however when it comes to language learning I would like to reach Friday as fast as possible. HOW FAST? DEFINE THE PROGRESS YOU WANT TO MAKE AND DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO ACHIEVE IT. IT’S A SIMPLE QUESTION OF HOW MANY HOURS YOU PUT IN… I know it’s not easy but I have already waited for years. AND OF WHAT YOU DO WITH THOSE HOURS. IT CAN TAKE YEARS TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. I BET YOU SPENT YEARS LEARNING ENGLISH, DIDN’T YOU? I have just started listening to your EasyItalianNews, which is not very difficult but I still can’t understand what are said without reading the texts THAT’S NORMAL IF YOU’VE JUST STARTED. There are lots and lots of words I don’t know…. How long do you think it takes me to reach the point where I can understand what they say even briefly, not 100%? IF YOU USE THE MATERIAL CORRECTLY YOU SHOULD FEEL PROGRESS IN A FEW WEEKS OR MONTHS.
3) I have been reading some of your Easy Reader Books. Every few sentences I find words/phrases I don’t know. It’s very unnoying to check them with dictionary every time I encounter them. DON’T DO THAT! IT’S A TERRIBLE IDEA! I really would like to enjoy reading the story but …. Is the way I am reading correct and effective? NO! YOU SHOULD BE READING TO DEVELOP YOUR READING SKILLS, WHICH MEANS NOT STOPPING. IT’S NOT A VOCABULARY EXERCISE. PART OF READING MEANS MENTALLY WORKING OUT WHAT IS BEING COMMUNICATED, FILLING IN THE GAPS. THIS IS ESSENTIAL. IF YOU USE A DICTIONARY, YOU WON’T BE DOING THIS. ALSO IT’S SLOW, AND BORING! THROW THE DICTIONARY IN THE BIN. IF YOU NEVER USE ONE AGAIN, YOU’LL LEARN FASTER. SEE THIS PAGE: https://easyitaliannews.com/how-to-use-easyitaliannews-com/ As you know I am a Japanese and my 1st second foreign language is English. I like to read books in English and now that I can understand them better than many years ago I rarely use dictionary. YES, BUT IN ITALIAN YOU WON’T UNDERSTAND SO WELL, OBVIOUSLY. ENJOY NOT UNDERSTANDING SO MUCH. IT’S FRUSTRATING AT FIRST, BUT YOU GET USED TO IT. AND THAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LEARN, REALLY! So I can really enjoy reading them. But my Italian level is much lower than English, so I need a dictionary….. NO YOU DON’T. YOU JUST NEED TO ACCEPT THAT UNDERSTANDING 100% IS NOT A REALISTIC GOAL. SET YOUR GOAL TO BE ‘FINISH THE PAGE’ OR ‘FINISH THE CHAPTER’, NOT ‘UNDERSTAND’.
4) Today I bought a new book of “Indagine su un Cittadino al sopra di ogni sospetto” which I think is for students of upper intermediate level. Today I challenged the Test and found that I am intermediate level, not upper intermediate. Is this book appropriate for me? IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY. IF YOU HAVE ZERO READINGS SKILLS, THEN MAYBE A1 BOOKS ARE THE BEST YOU COULD DO. FOR CONFIDENT READERS, THEN A LEVEL OR TWO HIGHER SHOULD BE FINE. WE HAVE FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS, LOOK AT THEM BEFORE YOU BUY. IF YOU CAN GET THE ‘GENERAL MEANING’ OF THE TEXT ON THE FIRST PAGE, IT SHOULD BE OK. IF IT’S IMPOSSIBLE, DON’T BUY IT.
5) When I paid for this book I was led to PayPal payment and I paid by PayPal. Is it possible for me to buy your books by Credit Card payment not PayPal, not for this time but for the future buying? THERE’S A SECTION IN OUR FAQ ABOUT THIS, I’LL COPY AND PASTE IT FOR YOUR BELOW
Daniel, I know that you are very busy studying, taking care of your school, writing OnlineItalianClub emails, etc., etc. I wonder how you manage doing all of them. ME TOO! So, I hesitate to add more work to you but could you be kind enough to spend your spare time to respond to my above questions? YOUR QUESTIONS WOULD BE OF INTEREST TO OTHER PEOPLE TOO, I’M SURE. WOULD YOU GIVE ME PERMISSION TO USE THEM, AND MY REPLIES, AS THE BASIS FOR AN ARTICLE AT ONLINEITALIANCLUB.COM??
Thank you very much, PREGO, BUONO STUDIO!
Friday, I’ll have a tip for you from Oliver, a turbo-charged student of Italian from Australia.
I’ve been saving it for a rainy day – and the weather, here in Bologna, is not the best this week.
A venerdì, allora!
P.S.
Wanna study??
OnlineItalianClub.com | EasyItalianNews.com | EasyReaders.Org