Language Memory

Here is the reading system I devised and now adapting to the study of foreign languages:

Mod N Reading System

Long time ago I planned and attempted to study German language and bought a dozen of basic level books and a few of intermediate and advanced. Now I repeat this attempt because I have a goal: to be able to read volumes of “Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg”.

The reading system is supplemented by listening to VocabuLearn CDs when I cannot read while commuting.

More on this later.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -

In the past, 5 years ago, I was writing down any new word I encountered while reading technical books together with their IPA pronunciation. I remember that greatly reduced my pronunciation errors and improved my vocabulary so I almost never see unknown words now in technical and science books. The downside was slow reading. A few years ago I started reading non-technical books, for example, about history and philosophy, where I see some unknown words. Usually I skip them and most of the time I infer their meaning from the context. As I read these books while commuting to work on a train I started today to mark unknown words in them with a pen. This doesn’t decrease my reading speed because I process marked words later on this blog.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -  

It is well known that reading improves vocabulary and grammar. I would describe it as immersing into natural language patterns. I remember I was very poor at my native Russian language punctuation (which is more complext than in English) at high school. Before my entrance examinations to Moscow State University (I had to write an essay) I read a book summarizing Russian literature while paying attention to where commas were put in the text. This analytic approach to studying before exams helped me to write an essay well and get good marks. Another story proves by reductio ad absurdum that reading improves writing: when submitting my graduation thesis at ITSU (another Russuan state university) one professor noticed that it contained some awkward phrases and paragraphs in Russian and haughtily suggested me to read books being completely unaware that I almost haven’t read books in Russian since 2000 but only in English.

- Dmitry Vostokov @ LanguageMemory.com -