Burmese Challenge: Day 3

• 12:45-13:45: Review of old material using paper flashcards
• 14:15-15:00: Review of old material using paper flashcards
• 15:30-16:00: Review of old material using paper flashcards
• 16:00-17:00: Three new sections (11, 12, 13)

OK, so I changed my approach a bit today and decided to focus on using the paper flashcards to work on getting the English -> Burmese down better.

Each section (chapter?) of the L-Lingo software introduces six new words, first individually and then in sentences which combine words from previous chapters. The words at taught via a series of online tools and also through the offline flashcards, textbook and mp3 files.

There are no grammar notes (BUT they are planning to roll them out very soon), but through the sentences you can guess at how Burmese grammar works. There is an upside to this in that it forces us to look at the sentences and figure out what is happening, however I have a feeling that people with no previous Burmese experience might be confused. Not so confused that they would be unable to memorize the sentences, but sufficiently confused that they wouldn’t be able to mix and match words to create their own. This probably is not a problem with the Thai version as Thai grammar is MUCH simpler and more plug-and-play.

After today, I feel much more confident with the 60 words from chapters 1-10 and ok with the 18 new words. I have a feeling that this will get easier as I get more comfortable with Burmese phonetics and am better able to come up with memory tools, however at present it’s still sinking in. As I’ve said before, one major feature that this program is missing is a tool which drills English->Burmese, however they are working on adding it in soon and the paper flashcards are a great way to deal in the meantime. Ohh, I found a way to copy and paste text too, so I might start using my electronic flashcard system too … I still haven’t gotten around to learning to type Burmese (yes, I know I should learn the keyboard at the same time I learn to write the letters, but I’m being lazy on this one).

Report: Tuesday Aug 10th

• 12:30-13:30: Review of Ram textbooks
• 14:00-14:50: New material in L-Lingo
• 15:00-16:00: Review of old material in L-Lingo

OK, so it seems that i’m not hitting my goal of 4 hours per day … coming it at around 3 for the first two days. I feel like I hit a wall eventually and need to rest my brain. That being said, I have more free time these next few days so I should be able to crank it up a notch. I have worked my way through the first 10 lessons and recognize most of the words when I hear them in Burmese, but not so much the other way around. One of the things that I really dig about this software is that it uses vocabulary to slowly build sentences. So that by lesson four, when they introduce the word for “train station” they package it in a sentence like “the boy and the girl are at the train station”.

Each of the L-Lingo lessons has a short (5-7 min) mp3 file which can be downloaded and studied as a supplement to the lesson. Starting today, I have been downloading each of the lessons and sticking them on my iPod. Ideally you are supposed to listen and then repeat, however I’m only doing that when I am alone … people already think that I’m strange enough, I don’t want to start mumbling in Burmese when I’m on public transport and give them more reasons. The mp3 files are a really nice addition as it gives yet another way for me to absorb these new Burmese sounds, active learning is a big part but there is something to be said for passive learning too.

Report: Monday Aug 9th

• 13:20-14:10: Review of L-Lingo 1-5 (the material I covered when I was trying out the software)
• 14:20-15:20: L-Lingo 6, 7
• 17:10-18:10: Ram textbook review
• 19:00-19:30: L-Lingo 8

As you can see, I’m try to study for about an hour and then get up and take a break. Usually, I’ll stretch some, eat some, anything to rest my brain … I don’t want to write too much about L-Lingo just yet, as I am only 8 units into the application and am not sure how well I will retain the information. I will say that I am impressed with what I have seen so far, the content is well-organized, well-presented, easy-to-study, etc … I have this slight fear that I may end up really good at recognizing Burmese words when I hear them, but have trouble coming up with them otherwise … that could be a function of how I am using the software though.