I’ve written briefly in the past about ways to learn a new language, but with my new Hindi Project pushing language learning to the forefront of my free time, I realize that I need to spell out exactly what my language learning goals are, and the timetable I’m setting to achieve them. A large part of the Hindi Project is accountability – and that requires specific details!

My Hindi Goals

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.

- Bo Jackson

I think it’s important that you learn your partner’s native language, if it’s one that you don’t know. In my case, that means learning both Hindi & Bengali, as those are the two languages (along with English) that Aditya grew up speaking – at the moment I’m focusing on Hindi. Ideally, I think one should strive for a near-native level of fluency, but I strongly suspect that most people (including me!) cannot get to that level without spending a significant amount of time in the country where the language is spoken. Since Aditya and I have no current plans to move to India, my long-term language goal is a little less lofty.

Long-Term Language Learning Goals

In five years or less, I would like to:

• Read at a Stage 3 level. This includes being able to understand a typical news article on the BBC Hindi site without a dictionary on hand (although I may not understand every word) and being able to comfortably read a pop fiction novel in Hindi.
• Write at a Stage 2 level. I suspect I will have little need to communicate in writing with anyone in Hindi, so being able to write extensively is not a high priority for me. I’m not looking to write any books here – I’d just like to be able to communicate at a practical level in writing.
• Listen at a Stage 3 level. This includes being able to easily understand all Hindi conversation I’m likely to hear on the street in India or with my in-laws, being able to easily watch Bollywood films without subtitles, and being able to follow a news report on television if I concentrate.
• Speak at a low Stage 3/high Stage 2 level. Extemporaneous speech has always been a difficulty of mine (even in English some days!), so I’m keeping expectations a little low here, even though getting to a low Stage 3 level will be my largest challenge in learning Hindi. Functionally, I’d like to be able to have basic conversations with people I meet, communicate effectively in things like bartering or ordering meals, and speak to my in-laws and Aditya about my day.

Written out in detail, these long-term goal seems more than a little intimidating to me! However, I have achieved these levels of fluency in German in only a few years, so I think I’ll be able to do so with Hindi (or so I kept reminding myself when I was tempted to downgrade these goals while writing out the list).

When making long-term goals, it’s important to visualize what sort of life and experiences you’d like to be having in the future compared to what you’re experiencing in the present.

Currently, I understand next to nothing of Hindi, and am not able to communicate with Aditya in one of his native languages (which he dislikes). Five years from now, I’d like to be able to hold a regular basic conversation with him (and any future kids) as easily in Hindi as in English. Right now, my inability to speak Hindi makes communication with some in-laws difficult, and makes trips to India a challenge. Five years from now, I’d like to be able to communicate confidently and comfortably with my in-laws, and be able to move to India for good if Aditya’s and my careers and interests lean that way. There’s obviously a lot to be done if I want to move from where I am today to where I’d like to be in five years!

Short-Term Language Learning Goals

Aditya and I leave for India in mid-February 2010, so I’m setting that trip as my short-term goals date. That gives me roughly 13 weeks of serious studying time. (While we aren’t traveling for the holidays, I’m sure they’ll suck up some free time.)

When we leave for India, I would like to be at a Stage 1 level in reading, speaking, and listening. Furthermore, I’d like to be able to:

• Read menus, maps, and basic informational signs without trouble.
• Communicate and understand Hindi well enough to give basic directions to staff (at a hotel, in a restaurant, driver, etc) and barter at shops
• Answer that my in-laws will undoubtedly pepper me with once they learn I’ve been studying Hindi, and ask a few of my own.

If the first list of long-term goals intimidated me, this one has me near petrified. I’m treading on completely new ground here, having never attempted to learn a language this quickly – I sort of eased into German with a typical slow-moving American high school language class. So I’m not completely certain I’ll be able to achieve this – but I can certainly try! (If anyone wants to chime in with their own experiences on learning languages quickly, I’d love to get some feedback.)

My Hindi Learning Plan

To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.

- Leonard Bernstein

Right now, I’m going to focus on detailing a specific learning plan for the three months I have to study until our India trip. After the short-term Hindi Project is finished, I’ll reassess where I am in learning Hindi, where I’d like to go, and how I’ll get there. After all, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy – you gotta stay flexible!

While thinking about this over the weekend, I reread my copy of Barry Farber’s How To Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and on Your Own (recommended!). The book is a bit dated – no mentions of the internet or computer software here – but it remains an excellent guide to learning languages. The most important chapter in the book outlines Farber’s “Multiple Track Attack” method of using all of the tools available to you to learn.In my own experience, I learn languages the best when I’m following some version of the “multiple track attack”. I picked up German the quickest when I was living in the country itself, taking a German language class at the local Volkshochschule AND working on vocabulary lists with another person AND reading German children’s book to the six-year-old I was a nanny for AND attempting to communicate to people in German in daily life AND pouring over my old German textbooks every night.

Obviously, I can’t live and breathe Hindi everyday like I did with German when I was in Germany. But I plan to follow a similar multi-pronged approach, and would strongly recommend it to everyone else as well.

Hindi Language Tools

In order to figure out a plan of action, it’s important to figure out what tools you have (or can get) to help you in learning your target language, right? Here’s a list of mine – they aren’t, perhaps, the best possible tools I could get, but they’re good enough for getting started now.

• Teach Yourself Beginner’s Hindi Script by Rupert Snell
  • There are 8 units in Beginner’s Hindi Script, starting with a background on the Hindi script, then covering the constants, the vowels, conjunct constants, and other writing conventions. So far, I’ve worked my way through all of the constants, and am starting on the vowels (Unit 4). This is one of the must-have tools for anyone learning Hindi, in my opinion.
• Teach Yourself Hindi Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) by Rupert Snell
  • This book, by Snell, is another one of the must-haves, covering a full college course or two of material in a straightforward manner over 18 chapters (of which I’ve completed one). I plan on using this book as my primary grammar tool and main textbook.
• Teach Yourself Hindi: And Subjectwise Dictionary by Mohini Rao
  • This is another grammar + vocabulary book – one which I don’t recommend, as the typesetting is not good, and the lessons are a little more “old school”. However, since I have it, I might as well use it as a secondary reference.
• LiveMocha
  • I recently rediscovered this website, and am quite impressed with the improvements made since I last visited it. There are four Hindi courses – 101, 102, 201, 202 – spanning 160 hours of work. I’ll be using LiveMocha as my primary “computer program” tool.
• Rosetta Stone: Hindi Level 1
  • Rosetta Stone, I feel, is at about the same level of quality as LiveMocha. However, LiveMocha is accessible from anywhere, so Rosetta Stone is going to become my secondary software tool.
• Phrasebook
  • Currently, I don’t have a hard-copy phrasebook. I’ll be using the WikiTravel Hindi Phrase page for now. If anyone has any suggestions for good Hindi phrasebooks (perhaps Say It in Hindi (Dover Say It Series) ?), I’d appreciate suggestions.
• Flash Cards
  • Flash cards are KEY for learning vocabulary and phrases. I’m in the “make them yourself” school of thought, so that’s what I’ll be doing.
• Aditya
  • A fluent speaker is also key for learning a language, in my opinion. Aditya’s main roles in helping me learn Hindi will be to correct my pronunciation, check over (and correct) my exercises, and be a conversational partner.

Now, you may be looking at that list of tools, and think I’m insane. While I don’t necessarily deny the charge, I won’t be using all of these tools at the same time.

Hindi Learning Schedule

As I discussed in the Hindi Project post, my first goal is to learn Hindi script. With that in mind, my main focus for the next ten days or so will be completing the Beginner’s Hindi Script book. While I work on that, I will use flashcards to memorize the vocabulary the script book uses, and I’ll also start in on the first Hindi course on LiveMocha.

Once I finish the Hindi Script book, I’ll shift to Snell’s other book, Teach Yourself Hindi, while continuing to use LiveMocha and flashcards. By then it’ll be mid-Novemeber, and I should be ready to start juggling a fourth ball, namely travel-friendly phrases (which will be learnt via flashcards and stilted “conversations” with Aditya). When I start in on the second LiveMocha course in early Decemeber, I’ll throw in a fifth ball – Rosetta Stone. If and when I finish the first Rosetta Stone, I’ll start using the Rao Teach Yourself Hindi book to supplement Snell’s.

Perhaps this would be clearer with a chart, hmmm?

Let it never be said that I’m not ambitious enough, right?

So far, I’ve really enjoyed my evenings studying Hindi, so I’m upping the amount per week to about seven or eight hours. I don’t expect to use every “scheduled” tool every evening, but like a juggler, I’ll won’t ignore any one “ball” for any length of time. So one night may be LiveMocha and creating flashcards to study when I have spare moments, and the next night might be focused on picking up a particularly hard piece of grammar, and then practicing it with Aditya. Hopefully, the Hindi Project will be a success. I’ll keep you all updated!

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As always, if anyone else is interested in doing their own “_____ Language Project”, I’d love to see your exact plans as well – either on your blog (leave a link here), in the language and communication forums section here on Gori Girl (feel free to start your own personal thread), or in the comments on this post. Don’t feel that you need to make it as detailed as I did, altho the more details the better for keeping on track! If you’re wondering where to get started, I recommend reading this short guideline on Managing Your Language Learning Program.

“The intercultural learner moves amongst cultures, in a process of continual negotiation, learning to cope with the inevitable changes, in a manner that is ultimately empowering and enriching. The home culture is never denied nor demeaned,  yet the intercultural learner will find his or her attitudes and beliefs challenged by contact with others and the process of interaction will lead to the kind of personal growth characterized by ‘progressive’ curricula.” (J. Corbett 2003)

Corbett writes this within the context of explaining good intercultural education, which he describes as neohumanist, for it “places respect for individuals and their many cultures at the heart of its enterprise”.

Thoughts?