📙 Part 2: Describe a thing you did to learn another language

This episode's vocabulary

Encounter (noun) - a meeting, especially one that happens by chance.

Readily (adverb) - quickly, immediately, willingly, or without any problem.

Cloistered (adj.) - separated from and communicating little with the outside world.

Disparate (adj.) - different in every way.

Engaged (adj.) - involved in something.

Basis (noun) - the most important facts, ideas, etc. from which something is developed.

Obscure (adj.) - not known to many people.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, are you ready?

R: When I finish yawning. Now I am ready.

M: Off you go.

R: Well, I decided before I moved there about seven years ago now, that I was, well, that I wanted to learn Russian. And I had hired a teacher beforehand. But she was rather expensive when it came to having daily encounters with the language. So I decided on something a bit cheaper, that was more readily available. And I signed up for Duolingo, which is a website that focuses on providing language practice tasks in lots of different languages. It was free and quite flexible to use. And most importantly, it had a Russian option, which many websites don't, because Russian is very difficult. And it's sort of, I don't know, cloistered language in many ways. So that was helpful. It started off quite simple with vocabulary, and then moving to more advanced grammar practice and more disparate topics. It's not the best option, of course, but it does keep me well engaged with the language and practising on a daily basis. I suppose if I spent more time on it, or at least more time on the website, I could use it more effectively too, when it comes to speaking and writing practice. But for the moment, it gives me just enough that I don't forget absolutely everything. At first, it was quite difficult to get into. But after a while, I became quite addicted. And it's now a key part of my morning routine. And I complete at least one set of activities every day. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's always wanted to try out the language, especially one of the more obscure ones, but who never has the time to engage with it in a fun and interactive way. It will do wonders for your reading, listening. But if you put in the effort, it will also help with the speaking and writing skills. You'll still need a teacher though. And so it's important to point out that you shouldn't replace having a teacher with this website. It's just a little bit of help along the way.

M: And do you think you'll learn another foreign language soon?

R: Oh, God, I hope not, I haven't even finished Russian yet.

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