Less could result in more.

So, here is my (slightly long-winded) New Year's post!
I hope the New Year has started off well for everyone! Personally, I love it. Not for the opportunity to get extremely drunk and forget the very beginning of the year (although, that can be very fun) but because I see it as a opportunity to start something new, or completely start afresh if things in life aren't where you want them to be. I always make resolutions too, with at least two of them relating to diet and exercise! The problem is, I rarely keep them up and don't reach my goals. This leaves me frustrated and feeling like a failure (I could write a whole other blog on this and how it affects my weight, but we're not here for that!), and over the years I've realised what's been going wrong.

These are the following elements that have contributed to me giving things up in the past.  I'm an all or nothing person, which is both a blessing and a curse. I also love to learn new things, travel and have new experiences, which has lead to the creation of a list of 46 things I want to accomplish in my life. And lastly, when I was younger I thought that when I reached 21 I should have learnt everything to an advanced level and if I hadn't then I was too old to learn anything new anyway. I'm sure you can see a problem? If not, I shall clarify.
The combination of all these together resulted in me believing that I had to put 1-2 hours in everyday with everything that I was learning or practising (at one time this was flute, piano, guitar, triathlon training and Italian) while studying or working full time. There is no way I could progress at the pace I wanted, because the days aren't long enough! And if I missed something one day, due to a busy schedule or tiredness or a football match, I would think that because I skipped a day of practice that I had failed and would then maybe not do anything for a week, vowing to start afresh next week, only to repeat the whole process again. Putting it simply, I was subject to irrational thinking. Extremely irrational!

I have been experimenting for years with ways to stop this destructive and irrational behaviour. And the best strategy I have worked out, isn't really a strategy at all, but common sense.  My dad worked with an Italian man, who I saw regularly when I worked in a stationery shop and one day he said to me 'Even if you practise something for just 20 minutes a day, you will improve'. As he told me this I remember thinking, 'yep, that makes perfect sense', but for some reason the part of me that saw how clear and obvious that advice was, remained hidden and another part of me kept thinking 'no, we have to do 2 hours of Italian, 2 hours on every instrument and exercise for 1-2 hours too or we will get nowhere in life'.  I took a while to see how negative this thinking was.

So, what has this got to do with languages? Well, wanting to do so many things as much as possible everyday (and being slightly impatient about it) doesn't work. Right now my goals are to reach C2 level in German, rapidly get my Italian to where it was in 2011 and then improve it to C1 level before moving on to Spanish. I want to achieve this by my birthday in July, as well as other non-language related things, and I've started the year out with this '20 minutes a day' approach.  Of course for what I want to achieve linguistically can't be done in 20 minutes a day and I have allocated a couple of hours to German and Italian everyday, but I've reduced or re-introduced my other hobbies to just 20 minutes a day, 5 times a week, knowing that with that I will keep my current level of ability and slowly improve.

The reason why I wrote this is because I know there are a lot of people who struggle with something similar or believe that because of they're age or the fact that they can't dedicate the whole day to studying a language means they will never learn one. Rubbish! The age thing is just crazy! I must of wasted at least three years of my life with that thinking, but now I see myself in my 60's and 70's still doing and learning new things.  Age really is only a number, and who doesn't find older people who sky-dive or travel the world cool? Those are the ones who inspire me! Finding the time is an obstacle that everyone has. Everyone needs to work, has kids, has a social life.  But with a little bit of practice everyday and patience you'll improve in anything you want to! It could be a language, a instrument, even a martial art and I think you will learn quicker than you think. Consistency is key.  Trust me, it is a lot better than going completely nuts with something for a week, to not doing anything for the next two. Less is more.

C1 Geschafft!

Although my language challenge became gradually saner as time went by (less Italian, more German) I can safely say it paid off! I completed my C1 course at my school and passed the end exam. It was nothing prestigious like a exam from Goethe Institute but the language level was still tested and achieved. Wooooooo!
So, what now? The answer is probably very obvious...hey mambo, mambo italiano! Yep, it's time to get back on my Italian steed and get back to galloping through the fields of la bella lingua. In the new year I will get back in touch with the Italian teacher, who I met through italki and between now and then I will read and review grammar. It's all still in there!!!
But that's not all.
When I finished my degree I wanted German, Italian and Spanish under my belt by my 27th Birthday, and as I write this, I only have 7 months and 11 days left. Also, as I'm staying in Germany with my host family until April 2013. I'm considering doing The Goethe-Zertifikat C2: Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom in March or April. The way I see it, I need to take advantage of my perfect learning environment. If I do, I won't be going to school to prepare but doing everything on my own, which I believe is often much more effective than a school, but only with the right attitude and focus, and these tending to be fleeting bursts of determination with most people - myself included! But I've feeling positive and confident and determined for awhile now, much longer than any time in my life. I think I've finally got some self-belief! But that is a topic for another day! Because I have more to explain about my plan.
So, in the beginning of next year I'll study Italian in every way, shape and form and perfect my German. Once the C2 exam is done, and providing my Italian is a solid B2 level I shall get cracking with Spanish! I'm aiming for B1 by my 27th birthday. Ooh, next year will be fun! It will also be interesting because I've not yet developed a learning strategy that is fool proof for me. I know what really helps me learn but I still need to iron out the kinks. That's what I'll be mainly writing about in the next 7 months and knowing how my brain works it will not be boring! This will also help me with my sporadic blogging problem. :)

When the brain hurts, you know you're learning!

After a couple of months of trying to revive my Italian, yesterday was the first time I spoke with a Italian! Despite my Italian being a lot fresher in my mind, I was still terrible! A lot of people would probably say that I'm being a bit harsh on myself, but if I am it's only because I have high standards of myself. The point is, I learnt Italian for 2 years before going to Italy for a couple of months and spoke it everyday. Now, after a year of inactivity, my Italian is right back down at A1 level (in terms of speaking, my knowledge of grammar and words is higher) and that drives me nuts!

I have a little history of this, working flat out on something and then burning out and letting my knowledge and ability fade away because the time and energy I thought I needed to put in everyday was unmanageable. I've done this mostly with instruments: flute, guitar and piano. I got to a good level in all of them but because I was working so hard on them, when a day or week came that I couldn't practise I thought I was a failure and slowly let everything slide. Total rubbish. still play, but not as consistently as I'd like. If only there were 36 hours in a day!

Anyway, my session yesterday! I found a Community Tutor on italki, which is a great site for finding people to talk to in your target language. I wanted a community tutor and a professional teacher for the following reasons;
- I'm unsure of my current level (reading, writing, speaking and listening are all at different stages) so I decided to only focus on conversation as that needs the most improvement
- I love learning grammar! So I don't need a teacher to give me exercises, I can do it myself and then practise with my tutor.
- Community tutors are usually cheaper. The teachers are also cheap, but for my needs I community tutor is enough.
- There is no exchange! Of course you can find people to talk to for free over Skype but normally they will want to practise your native language as well. I've nothing against this! But when time is short, I'd rather keep the focus on my progress (therefore, I pay, hehehe).

The session was only a trial and the majority of it was in Italian. Woo! But, I was terrible. The words I knew came easily and my grammar wasn't too bad but when I needed a word, that I knew I knew, I couldn't find it! It was a horrible feeling! Unsurprisingly, German slipped out quite a bit but I felt better when I was done because it dusted off the cobwebs on the Italian bookshelf in my head and I knew exactly which words I was missing, which are needed in everyday conversation.  Despite the exhausted feeling I felt, I knew I'd learnt or re-learnt something. With consistent practise, I know I will only get better!

What I also remembered, which I consider the most important thing, is that I love Italian! I love speaking it, how I feel when speaking it and how wonderful it sounds when it flows. Loving a language doesn't mean you'll learn it automatically. A language needs time and dedication to learn, but when you love the language you're learning, it doesn't seem like a chore.

Sometimes, you've got to do what best for you!

When I decided to take up such a challenge, I knew it would be far from easy. But I believed, and I still do, that it is attainable; especially with the good old saying 'Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars'.
So, I've started out well. Just over a month of refreshing basic Italian everyday, along with learning more German, I'm making progress. I've got to admit, the German hasn't gone great! I haven't extended my vocabulary as much as I'd like to have done so far, but I haven't gotten any worse! My Italian has been pretty regular and right now, the language feels more reachable in my mind. Baring in mind I've had a 2-week holiday back in Jolly-old England (where I did nothing but go to the Olympics and then watch the rest from my comfy home sofa!), I'm pretty pleased.
NOW was when the hard work was really meant to start...and it will...but on assessment of everything, I have to re-assess my goals.
'Here we go...the excuses are starting...she can't be bothered to really try.' No doubt some people will think this, but I know better than anyone what works for me. Even if, in the past I have been so afraid to fail that I haven't really tried (this mind set is probably the reason I only got a 2:1 degree and not a first).
The goals are now as follows:
By January 2013 achieve C1 German and B1 Italian.
I won't be doing an exam in Italian in December, so I have pushed that back to March next year (the C1 exam). But the German C1 exam is still ago, and might be in exactly 13 weeks time. During that time, I'll be going to school Monday to Friday, as well as fulfilling my Au pair duties (and I have to say, being an Au pair is not exactly a clock-in, clock-out job). However, to make it to the C1 course I have to pass a B2 test, which is in 8 weeks! Considering this, trying to build up my Italian as well still seems pretty nonsensical. But I'll still be doing it.
This first month was really to see if I would confuse these two languages, but as I studied Italian at home for two years and have spoken nothing but German for the last 7 months, it seems they've chiseled out their own little sections in my brain. That is something that really excites me, and makes me believe even more that what I want is reachable.
So then, here's to some funny posts about the journey ahead! No doubt that the next 13 weeks will be full of ups and downs and lingual errors!

Io seguo il gregge...perché sono il lupo.

As much as I love this phrase, "I follow the flock...because I am the wolf", I don't consider myself very wolf-like. No grey hair (thank goodness!), no long nose,  no sharp teeth and no real predatory instincts. However, I rarely follow the flock as one of the sheep! When something big comes out at the cinema, a new book craze (e.g. Harry Potter) on a new trend appears, I never watch/read/do it myself unless it is actually something that appeals to me. So, now we've established that this phrase doesn't relate to me at all. A pretty pointless entry to a blog then, eh? Well, no.

As I'm sure most people can see, il gregge can be anything and il lupo can be anyone. And right now this Lupo is ready to pounce, well I will be, on two language exams this winter (Dec/Jan). Based on the blog title, I'm sure that's come as no surprise. I'm intending to do a C1 Italian exam (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera) and a C1 German exam (Goethe-Insitut).

I've only 5 months until the next available Italian exam and 5 and half- 6 months for the German exam, depending where I go to take it. The could be impossible or really easy, as it all comes down to my level in these languages now! Sorry, I'm no beginner in these languages but I am also no where near C1 (Common European Framework) level in them either. Last year I achieve B1/B2 level in Italian, which is now extremely rusty!!! Even basic sentences are hard for me to think of, and this is down to me not practising it enough. Simple. But I love it and am determined to finished what I started. I'm also B1 level in German, the difference being that I'm living in Germany now and working as an Au Pair, big advantage! So I'm pretty confident about the German exam as I speak German all the time, but Italian will require a lot of effort and planning on my behalf. But I know, the elation I will feel when I manage both of the exams will make all the hard work worth it!

I'm not sure of my challenge is actually 'crazy', but for this Lupo it is crazy enough! I love languages and have a great passion for them, so half the battle is already won. Well then, I best get to it. Los gehts! Andiamo!