Step by Step Method for Learning with Linq?

Hey all, I am new to Linq and am wondering what methods you use for learning with Linq. I don’t know if Steve provides a linear method, and was wondering if you all could suggest a method that works well for you. Here is my current one for a new lesson:

  1. Listen to audio (repeat about 50 times) trying to understand more and more from context
  2. Read text and Linq new words
  3. Listen to text again (as many times as necessary to understand everything, usually 20 times)
  4. Once I can understand the whole text with just audio, I move on to the next lesson.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

1 Like

Muchas gracias!!

I think you are asking for a method that, at least in the beginning, only uses lingQ. I can’t help you with that, because I use multiple tools.

However, I will make a comment. Listening to a text 70 times seems excessive to me. In the very early stages, I might listen 3 or 4 times; that’s about all I can tolerate. If it was taking me 70 tries to master a lesson, I’d probably trade mastering for doing more lessons.

2 Likes

I would probably get so bored listening to the same thing 70 times. I usually have a few lessons and switch between them depending on what I want to listen to at the moment. Also I create the LingQs after the first listen, so I actually know the meaning of the words.

But I suppose the point is to do whatever you enjoy doing, as long as you’re being exposed to the language, so If you enjoy listening to a lesson so many times: well done.

It seems too excessive to me as well!
It’s enough to listen 1-2 times without reading, then read and make lingqs with new words and after that to mlisten again 1-2 times.
If you didn’t give too difficult text to you, it’s quite enough.

But the method ‘Step by Step’ that I like and advocate just means not to be in hurry and learn a new language step by step, gradually making a good base for the real success.

3 Likes

I usually listen to a lesson approximately 7 times and read them out loud about 4. This seems to be sufficient for me. It usually takes about a week to a week and a half to get to a point where I don’t have to review a lesson. When you add LingQs you are also getting the phrase so you see the word in context. The goal is to try to listen to enough so you learn but not so much you will get bored. You need to find out what works best for you and a method that you really enjoy.

I read an article once (usually out loud for pronunciation practice), and listen to it multiple times (10+?) until I understand the main idea and most of the vocabulary.

There are too many interesting articles out there for me to read each article 3+ times.

1 Like

LingQ definitely isn’t as structured as other resources I’ve used. The power is in the learner, so it seems 100% independence is required. So I can see how difficult it is to gauge your progress or lack of without some sort of measure or guide like DuoLingo or of that nature, where you have a “path” or different “branches” to complete.

Agreeing with the other people, 50x is too much. You are trying to understand every little detail, which is a typical mistake, which will net you slow results, because the harder the content becomes and more exposure to the language, the difficulty and unknown words increases exponentially.

Shoot for ~70% of understanding, rather than the whole thing. I’ve learned that expanding my attention to a few lessons at once (just a few, not too many), it actually helps my understanding in other lessons, negating the need to understand everything before moving on.

1 Like

Import new article. Read it and create linqs. Record the audio and listen to it once. Save vocabulary to anki and review it once before the next session the next day.
Next day i re-read that article once and recategorize the lingqs. I also listen to it once more that day. Keep reviewing flashcards in anki as they show up.
On sundays I sometimes read and listen to the article a third time. That’s pretty much my routine.

1 Like

Well, the good thing about lingQ is that you can use basically the way you like. I wouldn’t repeat that many times the same lesson in the first days. What i would do is repeat 5 times, checking the words and creating lingqs, and then i would move to next one. The next day i would come back to first lesson, revise the flash cards and read and listen a couple more times, and move to the other lesson and so forth. Maybe i would get 50 repetetions as you do by the end, but less boring.

1 Like

Yo nesecito ayuda gracias¡

I have been studying Russian for 5 months and I have made good progress. I LingQ words from a text, flashcard the unknown words, using the multiple choice flashcards, which takes about 5 days, then I translate the text, then I listen to the audio. Meanwhile, I am Lingqing other texts on a revolving basis. If I have got the gist of the text, I move on to the next lesson. Trying to nail down every nuance would drive me crazy! Exposure is the name of the game and variety. I also listen to podcasts, lessons on my MP3 player and I have recently begun to write out phrases to cement them in my brain. I also attempt to speak a few phrases to my Russian wife and mother-in-law and to try to understand what they are saying. Not always easy, but we laugh and have fun with my struggles to remember and express myself. Go easy on yourself and mix it up, variety and interest, will take you a long way.

2 Likes

Muchas gracias¡

Muchas gracias¡

Muchas gracias¡

Muchas gracias¡

,!¡Muchas gracias¡

De nada.

Thanks for all the replies people! Yea I agree that 50 times is pretty excessive, and have reduced that down to where I can understand most of the sentences, and have an opportunity to guess at the meaning of the new words (through context) and then go ahead and read the text and Lingq before listening to it again a few times till I can hear and understand the new words I learned as well.

So after a week of Lingq, with some trial and error, here is my “refined” process:

  1. Listen to audio until I get the gist and have the opportunity to guess at the new words (1 to 10 times depending on difficulty and how I feel)
  2. Read text once or twice and Lingq new words
  3. Listen to audio again to understand new words and understand more of the overall information (1 to 5 times)
  4. Pick a new lesson and repeat

I thought TheTortoise’ idea about a revolving method is pretty interesting; where you go through a text over a longer period of time, but do multiple texts simultaneously in a periodizing fashion. What do other people think of this?

I think it is not a good idea to listen so often. The brain just turns off after a while. Keep things interesting and fresh for your brain.

Listen once and then read and LingQ. Listen and read at the same time. Review your LingQs. Read again. Now go away and listen a few times while doing other things. Of course you still miss the same parts. No worries. Move on to the next lesson and repeat. Then listen to the first two lessons etc.

This assumes you are a beginner or near beginner.

If you are more advanced you needn’t listen so often. Keep bringing new content into your head and don’t worry if you don’t understand it all. It is better to move on even if you only understand 50-70%. You can then go back later.

It takes time for things to settle into your brain. You can’t force it.

And try to keep things interesting. The brain learns better when it is stimulated.