Esperanto Speed Write #1

So after three days of playing with Duolingo and Cerego's Esperanto decks, I decided to write something.  I often have my students see how much they can write within 6 minutes. This is to see how fluently their minds can think in English.  It's also good for seeing what grammar forms have yet to be acquired.  I haven't had a chance to do this in a language other than Chinese, so this was a good opportunity to see what my students experience.

Here is my unedited speed write. Ĝi bela ne estas. (I'm not sure if the verb at the end of the sentence is correct, but I've subconsciously carried it over from  Japanese and Latin)

Speed Write #1

Isa havas domo. Isa de domo estas blua. Isa ne shdat flavan domon. Shi ne shadat verda domon. Mi havas verdan domon. Mi ne sxadat blua domon. Mi shadat ludas. Mi kaj Isa ludas multe. Isa sxadat kanti. Isa kantas bela. Isa bela estas. Mi ne estas bela multe, sed mi estas intruisto angla. Mi sxadat intruas anglon. Anglon ne estas tre bela, sed anglo estas lingvo. Mi ne sxadat studi progami. Programo ne estas bela.  Programo estas lingva alieno (sic). Mi ne shadat alien. Alien ne estas tre bela. Alien ne estas bona, sed malbona. Mi tre ne sxadat alien. Isa ne shadas Alien. Ni ne shadas alien.  Mi shadat sribas esperanton.

If I have time later today, I'll try to post an edited edition.

Theory and Practice

A few weeks ago, I first heard that Esperanto is one of the easiest languages to learn and that knowing it makes learning any other language easier. Upon hearing this, I was instantly inthralled. I wanted to know more about this language. I read wikipedia articles, watched Youtube videos, read academic research, and even read a book about the history of Esperanto.  Something about this seemed magical.

That said, I kept having this weird feeling in my gut.  I was bothered by the amount of time I sent reading about this language.  I was bothered by how my thoughts during meditation all came back to esperanto, it’s history, it’s placing in the world, and on the history and development of western languages. I couldn’t mentally justify the amount of attention I was giving to this niche field of study. Furthermore, I had a strange feeling that there was something alien and not right about a made up language, like it defied some sacred, time-honored standard for communication.

Then, yesterday, I set my thoughts and pre-occupations aside and gave myself a schedule.  Everyday now, I learn Esperanto on Cerego for 15 minutes, and then use Duolingo for 15 minutes.  After that 30 minute allotment of time, I stop.

I’m on day three now, according to Duolingo, and so far so good.  A lot of the obsessive thoughts have died down.  I am starting to genuinely enjoy using this language.  I like thinking in Esperanto as an exercise. I like noticing roots from familiar smatterings of Latin, French, or Spanish.  Also, this weird feeling that the language is something alien and meant to be avoided has gone away.

By limiting the time I spend learning and cutting back on theoretical readings, I’ve given myself a space to genuinely enjoy this language.

This experience has also helped with my understanding of teaching English.  As a teacher, I often find myself wanting to share knowledge with students, and explain a lot of things. But, as I’ve found with Esperanto, the real improvement and understanding happens through doing - using the language rather than looking at theories.  I need to think of ways to make my students engage in meaningful activities, without lengthy explanations or speeches.  Walking the walk is the only way to actually learn a language and have fun doing it.

(On that note, I still need to find some communicative activities to add into my study routine. Maybe I’ll do a speed write for tomorrow.) 

Esperanto Day 1

Saluton,

For some reason I’ve recently become interested in Esperanto, the international language devised by L.L. Zamenhof in the late 1800s.  It’s really quite fascinating. I’m finding the vocabulary very manageable and enjoy the regularity of the grammar.  It’s a fun language because a new learner can easily make up new sentences without much effort.  For an example of the grammar, “Homo” means “human.”  It comes from the root for human “hom” and the particle for nouns -o.  If I wanted to make human an adjective, I just add an -a instead of an -o, making it "homa." Any Esperanto user would understand the grammar, though I need more exposure to understand common usage.

Beyond the regularity, I’m finding the teaching materials I’m using helpful.  While I’ve resisted trying Duolinguo for dogmatic reasons, my first 20 minutes with the software was very pleasurable.  It didn’t take too much work to figure out, and I was making sentences in Esperanto in no time.  I also like how the software forces the user out of his or her comfort zone by testing words that are not known already, but can be figured out through a bit of logic.  This helped reinforce their meaning early on.  I’m looking forward to using the software in the weeks ahead.  I do need to be careful though, it feels very addictive.  I can see how one could become a smart phone zombie using this program.

Cerego’s Esperanto decks are pretty fun as well.  Though not as addictive, I’m finding Cerego to be a great learning tool.  The spaced repetition software is great, and I can see how it will help me get the basics nailed down effectively. I’m hoping to spend 15 min on Cerego and 15 min on Duolinguo a few days each week.  I’d like to see how far that takes me.

The only thing I’m really now is output.  I want to write in the language to practice.  I also want a native speaker to practice with.  I know at least I can practice with speed writes. With a little bit of effort, I know I can produce quite a bit with the smatterings I already have.

I also hope to continue journaling to serve as a record for this language journey.

Dankon,

Daniel