A complete guide to self-studying a language

Check it out here!

Self-studying a language is an amazing way to learn, if you’re careful to avoid the pitfalls! Here are the steps I go through when making a study plan:

Step 01: Decide what you want to do and what you can offer (what language(s), how much time/money/energy/etc)

Step 02: Gather resources (decide what type you like best and then research and test)

Step 03: Make S.M.A.R.T goals (follow the guidelines and make good goals that will encourage you)

Step 04: Create your plan (using the 3 steps above and some prompting questions on the guide, form a schedule. Be organized, but stay loose and adaptable)

Step 05: Add some back-up or pressure (find an accountability or tandem partner, add the pressure of a scheduled exam, etc)

Check out the link for more Info on each step + tons of tips and links to resources and other guides!!

Good luck!!! Self-studying a language is not easy, but it’s so rewarding and fun!!!

Master Post of SpanishResources

From sites with full courses, to sites to watch Telenovelas, to worksheets, to apps, to TONS of podcasts, and so much more!

I collected every single resource I could find that was made just for Spanish

I really hope this helps you!!And if you have any more to add, please let me know!

(PS - if you are learning German, check out THIS master list. If you are learning Korean, check out THISone!)

Master Post of Spanish Resources (Sites, Apps, Podcasts, Etc) ⋆

The Sims in Japanese! (And other videogames and manga without furigana)

Want to play The Sims in Japanese but don’t know enough kanjito play it? I recently discovered a way to do it! And it probably works in lots of other videogamesANDmangathat do not have furigana!

It’s not perfect, I admit. But it really helps. And it’s free, by the way.

ThesoftwareI began using is called Capture2Text.

You can know more about it here: http://capture2text.sourceforge.net/

And you can downloadit here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/capture2text/

You just have to press two keys of your keyboard and then select what you want to translate.

And here is how I use it:

I don’t know if there’s a way for the software to separate the words and to give me their pronunciation. But that’s easy to solve. I basically just copy the word/text from the software and paste it into Jisho (https://jisho.org/).

I do not know much about its settings either, but here are the main ones that I somehow changed:

Why did I start using this?

Because I would need to know thousands of kanji to play it in Japanese, so I could easily look up the words in the dictionary using their pronunciation. But I just know 400 kanji right now. I could wait until I know most of them, but I’m into language immersion (seriously, guys. It works.) and I really love The Sims 2, 3 & 4. So why wait? I will keep learning kanji, of course (it’s more important than I ever imagined when I began learning this language, because I thought learning vocab would be enough). But through this method, I can even improve my kanji knowledge. Reading immersion can improve our vocabulary, grammar AND kanji.

So… if you’re like me, try it out!