counter to my nature

By -
Last week I wrote a bit about how I have figured out how to use my personality quirks to my advantage in language learning. This week, I realized that sometimes I actively have to work counter to my personality in order to make progress in independent language learning.

You see, as my classmates can certainly attest to by now, I am an extravert. A really-extreme-on-the-continuum kind of extravert. I wither without human contact, and I seek out company at all times. Being around people gives me energy, and I have designed much of my life in such a way that I can take advantage of this.

However, as with anything, there are drawbacks. Because I prize time spent with people so much, I will oftentimes choose to go along with whatever the group is doing rather than prioritize my own needs. A major example of this in my life is photography. I’ve long said I’d be a better photographer if I was less interested in spending time with whatever group of people I happen to be near. A photographer oftentimes has to stand outside of the group, has to be willing to sit in one place and wait for an image to show up, or to go to strange places to capture more interesting perspectives. This is hard for me. For example, if I’m on a hike, I’m loathe to put space between myself and the rest of the group to wait for a moment to capture.

This weekend, I was in Boulder, Colorado with a group of my closest friends. We have made a tradition of taking a trip together annually, coming from all over the country (and sometimes the world), to spend time together. These trips are quite relaxed and at various points, people usually need to do some work, study for an exam, or care for a baby. On Saturday, people were lounging around the house, and I noticed my friend Sam had found a cozy spot near the fireplace and was getting a bit of work done. I realized in that moment that some of my problems with Luganda study while traveling or hosting don't stem from being lazy, nor do they always come from a lack of time to study. I realized that the act of prioritizing my own needs, and of straying from the pack, goes counter to my people-obsessed personality.

The second I had that insight, I grabbed my computer and worked on some of the long-term learning exercises on Quizlet next to Sam and the fireplace. As I worked people streamed in, and at one point I was handed my 11-month old goddaughter. So, as I went through my flashcards, I would say the words in Luganda aloud to her, just for a bit of fun. (Maybe I'm giving her a head start on future Luganda learning!)

I'm so glad I had this little insight - that it is in my nature for me to prioritize being with a group rather than pursuing my own needs. To know this about myself in the context of learning will help me identify when it's happening, and allow me to change my behavior, even when it's counter to my nature.

One of the best things about the course this year is it has taught me to be more highly attuned to my emotions and my responses to situations. In turn, this attention has helped me become a better learner. 


Apart from keeping up with daily study while on the road this week, it has been a fairly normal week for me. My time spent with my mentor was much more productive than last week, and I did a bit of newspaper reading and listening to the radio, as usual. I have been really enjoying the Quizlet long-term learning process, which tests different words across time to determine how well you are mastering different vocabulary. It helps keep language drilling to bite-sized chunks, and tracks progress over time. It's working really well for me!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gymnast's Guide to Balance, Learning, Evaluation, and Practice

By -
Growing up, I was a (very unaccomplished) gymnast. I loved everything about gymnastics, but I particularly enjoyed the balance beam. I loved being up above the ground, I loved the opportunity to do fancy tricks while dismounting, and I loved the challenge of staying upright on just four inches of wood. Though I could do very few difficult moves in any of the events, on the beam I could do a 720 °  turn - in high school gymnastics, considered a high superior  move - consistently and with ease. The skill of maintaining balance was something I enjoyed and excelled at (I think this may have leaked into other parts of my life!). As I progress in my Luganda study, the metaphor of the balance beam has a strong resonance for me. While you are up on the beam, even the most basic movements, so easy on solid ground, become difficult. You must learn to move your body in a completely new way to suit the constraints of the beam. And, as you move across the beam you are checking in with yo...
Read more

(not) The End

By -
It's kind of crazy to me that I'm actually at this point: my last (class-related) blogpost, my last assessment, the end of three years of class-assisted independent language learning. But of course, as much as this is the end of something big, it's also the beginning of a new phase, of truly and completely independent language learning. After all this time, and all of this practice, I feel ready to do just that. When I first started this class, that thought intimidated the heck out of me. But now, it feels easy, exciting even, to think of continuing my language study outside of the 671 construct. I am excited about the next chapter in continuing my relationship with Luganda. I just got off of Skype with Simon, where we discussed my proficiency and went over elements of my final exam. Disappointingly, I seem to still be performing at an advanced-mid level. When Simon shared his analysis with me, I tried to not to sound too disappointed. I must have failed because Simon ...
Read more

nose to the grindstone

By -
This past week didn't feel exemplary to me, just another week of trying to keep focused on getting high-quality Luganda practice in. This task was made a bit harder because Simon was unavailable for our normal Monday meeting (he got stuck in the village post-Easter because of bad rain), and I had to cancel on Friday for the African Studies Conference. So, unfortunately, last week included no conversation practice. I spent time on a number of other activities to make up for it. I put particular emphasis on getting through lesson work, since I was a week behind according to my ISP. I also tried to work really hard on my vocabulary practice, since I have a ways to go to meet my goal for the semester in terms of the number of words that I "Know Well." My time is increasingly precious in these next couple weeks, between the African Studies event I'm organizing for 350ish high school students (ahhh!) and other important work I need to finish for classes, so it's goi...
Read more