The language learning methods of Big_Dog Information about polydog and language learning from Big_Dog Thu, 14 May 2026 00:35:14 +0000 Thu, 14 May 2026 00:35:14 +0000 Welcome to the Language Learning Forum at Polydog http://polydog.org/index.php?forums/the-language-learning-methods-of-big_dog.19/ Why do I improve after long study breaks? Bow wave! Wed, 21 Mar 2018 16:31:00 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/why-do-i-improve-after-long-study-breaks-bow-wave.53/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/why-do-i-improve-after-long-study-breaks-bow-wave.53/ Big_Dog Big_Dog View attachment 19
Description of the phenomenon. Here's something I mentioned in my post about reading. Have you ever noticed a significant improvement in your language level after a long break in your studies? I have. Why does this happen? Are there ways you can use this to your advantage? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I have some theories and suggestions, but first let me give you an...

Why do I improve after long study breaks? Bow wave!]]> 15 Synergy Part 6 - Pronunciation Fri, 24 Jul 2015 22:23:34 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-6-pronunciation.14/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-6-pronunciation.14/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy.

There is quite a lot of discussion on the internet about the importance of pronunciation. It’s not necessary to have native-like pronunciation, but your pronunciation should be good enough so...

Synergy Part 6 - Pronunciation]]> 13 Synergy Part 4 - Reading Mon, 20 Jul 2015 19:41:28 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-4-reading.12/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-4-reading.12/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy, this post is about the role that reading plays in the language learning plan.

When we talk about the four basic skills, we can say there are two input skills and two output skills. The two input skills, reading and listening, determine what we can output using speaking and writing. So the input skills are where we get all our content. Reading is extremely important because it’s an...

Synergy Part 4 - Reading]]> 1 Synergy Part 3 - Listening Mon, 22 Jun 2015 03:03:42 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-3-listening.7/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-3-listening.7/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy, this post is about the role that listening plays in the language learning plan.

Listening is perhaps the hardest or most time consuming of all the skills to develop. Therefore you should start listening in the beginning and do a lot of it. I didn’t used to believe this, but over the years I experimented a lot, and came up with some good rules to follow. Let me tell you...

Synergy Part 3 - Listening]]> 10 Synergy Part 1 - My method of learning languages Thu, 14 May 2015 03:09:58 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-1-my-method-of-learning-languages.4/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-1-my-method-of-learning-languages.4/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Introduction

I would like to answer a question that I get asked often – how do I learn my languages? Well, I’ve used different methods for all my languages, making improvements along the way. What I’m going to describe here is what I would recommend based on all my language learning experience, and not necessarily the exact way I learned any specific language. I’m keeping this general and simple here, so that it flows smoothly. I will give further explanations, exceptions and personal...

Synergy Part 1 - My method of learning languages]]> 17 How to Create a Language Plan Wed, 13 May 2015 11:30:57 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-create-a-language-plan.25/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-create-a-language-plan.25/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy. Synergy is a language plan, but it’s very general. I find it helpful to create a specific language plan for every language I learn, even if it’s merely a chronological list of resources to be used. In fact, I...

How to Create a Language Plan]]> 1 Maintaining Languages Thu, 26 Mar 2015 05:07:45 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/maintaining-languages.8/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/maintaining-languages.8/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Time required to maintain.

In a post titled “How to learn many languages to a high level” I state that the most efficient way is to learn a single language all the way to C1/C2, then move on to the next one. The reason for this is that maintaining C1/C2 languages takes little if any time. In...

Maintaining Languages]]> 18 Learning in Spurts Wed, 25 Mar 2015 14:47:27 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/learning-in-spurts.77/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/learning-in-spurts.77/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Definition. Learning in spurts in its purest form is learning intensely for a period of time, taking a break for a period of time, learning intensely, taking a break, etc. For example, studying 3 months for 3 hours a day, taking a 1 month break, studying 2 months for 5 hours a day, taking a 2 week break, etc. A less pure form of learning in spurts is just hard periods of study alternating with easy. It can be applied to a monthly, weekly or daily time scale.

My background with...

Learning in Spurts]]> 7 Why do learners translate when they converse? Mon, 16 Mar 2015 04:39:25 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/why-do-learners-translate-when-they-converse.408/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/why-do-learners-translate-when-they-converse.408/ Big_Dog Big_Dog
Why do learners translate when they converse?]]> 3 How to learn Mandarin Sat, 12 Jul 2014 00:59:21 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-learn-mandarin.234/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-learn-mandarin.234/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy, so after I direct people to Synergy, I still have to do additional explaining. That’s why I’ve decided to make a post devoted to the learning of Mandarin. To be clear, the following is how I would recommend someone learn...

How to learn Mandarin]]> 8 Synergy Part 8 - Grammar Wed, 09 Jul 2014 08:06:24 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-8-grammar.16/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-8-grammar.16/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy.


My personal grammar experiences. I admit that I have a love-hate relationship with grammar. It’s certainly the hardest of the skills and sub-skills for me. But all the language learning I’ve done over the years has made me a better grammar learner, so I have some recommendations for you. But first let me...

Synergy Part 8 - Grammar]]> 6 Synergy Part 2 - Speaking Wed, 02 Jul 2014 06:05:48 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-2-speaking.5/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-2-speaking.5/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy, I’d like to start threads expanding on the way I learn the 4 basic skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) and the sub-skills (grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation). This first expansion thread is about speaking.

I have seen one poll, and have heard it mentioned often in the forums that conversation is the most coveted goal of language...

Synergy Part 2 - Speaking]]> 9 Language Difficulty Mon, 30 Jun 2014 07:01:13 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/language-difficulty.24/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/language-difficulty.24/ Big_Dog Big_Dog The controversy. Language difficulty is a pretty controversial issue for some reason. The controversy is not just regarding which language is more difficult, but also whether it’s even appropriate to discuss language difficulty. People are always going to argue over which language is more difficult, so I want to elaborate on the other issue – why do some think it’s inappropriate to discuss difficulty? There are the three reasons that people most commonly give on the forums. Let me use...

Language Difficulty]]> 19 Synergy Part 7 - Vocabulary Tue, 03 Jun 2014 05:51:52 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-7-vocabulary.15/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-7-vocabulary.15/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy.


How much vocabulary do you need? Language consists of words and grammar, or at least that’s one way to think of it. While grammar can be challenging and take some time to learn, it takes much more time to learn vocabulary. That’s because there’s a lot of it. I find...

Synergy Part 7 - Vocabulary]]> 2 Synergy Part 5 - Writing Tue, 20 May 2014 02:32:19 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-5-writing.13/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/synergy-part-5-writing.13/ Big_Dog Big_Dog Synergy, this post is about the role that writing plays in the language learning plan.


I admit that I’m a newbie to writing. I have always done a reasonable amount of writing out single words and characters, but that’s not what I’m talking about here. The kind of writing I’m talking about is a fixed component of my learning plan, preferably extensive and fluid. The reason I waited so long...

Synergy Part 5 - Writing]]> 5 The CEFR scale and language level Sun, 27 Apr 2014 06:01:42 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/the-cefr-scale-and-language-level.26/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/the-cefr-scale-and-language-level.26/ Big_Dog Big_Dog The CEFR, and how it applies to this website. There are several scales for measuring one’s proficiency in languages, and the most popular is the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). If you follow the link, you will see that there are 6 levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 & C2. A1 is the lowest level, and C2 the highest. Another way they break the levels down is just to use 3...

The CEFR scale and language level]]> 4 How to maximize the number of languages one can learn to C1/C2 in a lifetime. Thu, 24 Apr 2014 23:18:41 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-maximize-the-number-of-languages-one-can-learn-to-c1-c2-in-a-lifetime.9/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/how-to-maximize-the-number-of-languages-one-can-learn-to-c1-c2-in-a-lifetime.9/ Big_Dog Big_Dog
Eventually I started to believe it was...

How to maximize the number of languages one can learn to C1/C2 in a lifetime.]]> 3 The importance of new material in language learning. Sat, 29 Mar 2014 05:56:16 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/the-importance-of-new-material-in-language-learning.21/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/the-importance-of-new-material-in-language-learning.21/ Big_Dog Big_Dog
The importance of new material in language learning.]]> Some time management questions about Synergy Thu, 27 Mar 2014 05:05:35 +0000 http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/some-time-management-questions-about-synergy.20/ http://polydog.org/index.php?threads/some-time-management-questions-about-synergy.20/ Big_Dog Big_Dog
I’ll get to those questions, but first let me talk about time in general.

How much time should you study? Ideally, as much as possible while...

Some time management questions about Synergy]]> 2