After reading AJ's post on downloading podcasts on her iPod and listening to them way too late at night, I thought I'd share what I listen to on my iPod.
Now, when iPods came out I wondered, "Why would anyone want one of those? Why can't you just pop in a CD, or use iTunes on your computer? What's the point? And why can't people just have a little quiet time in their day instead of always needing noise?"
A couple years later...I saved up the money I got for my birthday last month and bought myself a cute little blue iPod 4GB Nano. It doesn't hold much, but it's enough for me.
I don't do anything quite as cool as what AJ does, which is download podcasts and listen to people talking about stuff that interests her while cleaning up after her kids. But, being the nerd that I am, I'm learning French. On my iPod. There's this program called "Before You Know It" and it has about every language you'd want to learn. You can get free downloads, and/or buy a software kit. Anyway, when I'm doing dishes, taking walks, feeding my baby, folding laundry, etc., I listen to lists of French words. It's pretty fun! I'm learning a lot, although the only sentences I'd be able to form if I went to France would be things like, "Quel est le tarriff?" (What is the rate?) But I know a lot of vocab so I'd pick it up pretty fast, probably...
So I think this is a good way to learn a language: pay $40 instead of however many $100s it would be to take a class!
The next one I want to learn is Spanish, and then German.
2 comments:
You are an admirable woman! Using your podcasts as a means to better your brain rather than drown out the constant chatter of a toddler. Not that that's the only reason I get plugged in. :)
I saw a lot of free podcasts regarding learning: French, Spanish, grammar, etc. But somehow I doubt that my sleep-deprived brain would take very much in at 3:30am. Or else it would, and then I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.
A prof of mine at university once said that a person can't consider him/herself educated until he/she can think in more than one language. It's only when we can separate our thoughts from the words that we are really thinking.
Hm. Obviously a language prof... but I thought his point was good. You can really see the power and limitations of language when you study ancient texts and bible translations.
So kudos for using the iPod for good (not for evil).
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