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Why did they make an official Icelandic Course?

Most of Memrise’s official language courses are for learning more widely spoken languages, like Mandarin, Arabic, English, French and so on, but Icelandic is spoken by less than 400,000 people in the world! Learning the language is not essential for most people, unless they live and/or work in places where the language is used.  However, the Polyglot Conference is being held in Reykjavík this year and according to Memrise’s announcement, they designed the 100 item course specifically for this event.  Memrise is a platinum sponsor of the event, so it is cool that they are rolling out this official Icelandic course to help people learn some words and phrases.

Jumping for joy over the announcement!

What does the official Icelandic course include?

Because the course was specifically designed for the 2017 Polyglot Conference in Reykjavík, it will include phrases that will allow you to  “ask which languages somebody speaks, to order some ram’s testicles, and to tell somebody that they have a lovely accent”, according to Memrise’s blog post.  It already sounds like a fun course!  Oh, and did I mention that it is free?! The Memrise Pro membership isn’t necessary for you to access any of their courses, but there are some benefits to using it.

The Course’s Limitations

Even though, I am jumping for joy over this announcement,  you will only have 100 items to learn. Therefore,  you can’t rely on it for learning everything about the language.  I hope that Memrise will create a fully developed Icelandic language course  like the others I mentioned above,  but there is no guarantee that they will.  However, there are loads of member created Icelandic language courses on the Memrise platform that will provide you with hours of Icelandic learning fun. 

I plan to check this course out when it is available on October 6th, 2017 and I hope you will too! Áfram Ísland (Go Iceland)!!!!

Icelandic flag in the Westfjords

Þakka þér kærlega fyrir að lesa og sjáumst fljótlega (Thank you kindly for reading and see you soon)!

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The Incident

On the fateful evening, my partner and I ventured out on icy roads to attend an intimate performance in, Akranes, a town outside of Reykjavík. There were approximately 15 people in attendance and it was evident from the conversations taking place that almost everyone, if not the whole group, spoke Icelandic fluently. On previous trips, I felt uncomfortable knowing that I was the only one in the room that didn’t know the language, but this time was different. I had learned 1300 Icelandic words before the trip and instead of feeling left out, I looked at this event as an opportunity to figure out more of what was being said. This was my way of making learning Icelandic seem somewhat fun.  struggled to comprehend everything, but hearing a familiar word or phrase kept me captivated.

At one point during the performance, a comment was directed toward me. The person that made the comment had been speaking in Icelandic for all of the event. However, they switched over to English to let me know that my partner would translate everything being said into English for me. This comment would not have bothered me on previous visits because I had been less knowledgeable about Icelandic. My ignorance about the language in the past had shielded me from feeling any shame when I encountered situations where I was the odd one out. On this trip, I knew a lot more than ever before, but still not enough to communicate well. Yes, translation would have been helpful but I didn’t want it pointed out to a room full of strangers that I didn’t fully understand.

Learning Icelandic Words for Months Wasn’t Nearly Enough

In the moment the announcement was made, I felt mortified and embarrassed that everyone in the room knew that I didn’t know the language. I could feel a room full of people looking in my direction. What might have been only five seconds felt like an eternity of turmoil. My body temperature started rising and my skin was tingling. If I were a lighter complexion, I am sure that my face would have been visibly beet red. Like waves crashing up against the shore, my internal struggle was turbulent, intense and unwavering. I wanted to run out of the room and find a space where I could release my emotions safely and alone, but that wasn’t an option. Even though, I was able to squeeze out a half smile, half grimace when the comment was said, I found myself clenching my jaw in an effort to hold back tears from filling up in my eyes.

I believe that this comment was meant to reassure me that I wouldn’t be left out from understanding what was being said. Unfortunately, instead of feeling included, I felt isolated and alone. I knew that learning Icelandic would be a challenge but I didn’t anticipate this feeling. To my surprise, this comment became a defining moment on my trip and a very memorable experience as I continue on my journey toward fluency.

Reflection

I reflected on this incident for the remainder of my trip. My insecurity about not knowing enough Icelandic stayed with me like a heavy rain cloud hovering over my head. Whenever I heard Icelandic, which was quite often, I questioned whether I would ever fully understand the language or speak fluently. Maybe I have bitten off more than I can chew! Maybe learning Icelandic was just too hard.

As similar thoughts filled my mind, I struggled to keep a positive outlook. I had underestimated how difficult this journey would be and I now understand how emotionally attached I am to succeeding. It was also hard to admit that I thought I was much further along than I am. It can be jarring when you come to the realization that you have only taken a few steps on your journey out of the many thousands necessary to reach your destination.

Looking on the Bright Side

After talking out my feelings with several people and allowing myself to take a break from studying, I feel happy in knowing that I definitely want to continue learning Icelandic. I have decided to look at this incident as a hard lesson learned on my pursuit to fluency. I am grateful that it happened because it is forcing me to re-evaluate my mindset and study habits. At the time, I thought I knew more than I did and I was hoping that others wouldn’t find out that I was mostly faking it until I made it. This exaggerated reality set me up for unrealistic expectations that came crashing down with just one sentence. I felt down but definitely not out!

In upcoming posts, I will expand upon the methods I am using to better manage my expectations around how long it will take me to learn Icelandic and share some techniques that I have picked up since my trip that are getting me closer to reaching fluency.

Þakka þér fyrir að lesa og sjáumst fljótlega (Thank you for reading and see you soon)!

The post Learning Icelandic: A Hard Lesson on my Path to Fluency appeared first on All Things Iceland.

1. It’s a Virtual Garden for Memory Retention

By using Memrise you are cultivating a virtual garden that helps your brain to retain words in your long-term memory.  The site’s creators use the analogy of “planting a seed” when you learn a new word or phrase and “watering” when you review it.  As a proud owner of exactly one real plant, I think this is a very clever and powerful analogy!

Every time I use the program, I feel like I am giving my brain a workout.  The founders of Memrise, Ed Cooke – a Grand Master of Memory and Greg Detre – a neuroscientist at Princeton that specializes in the science of memory and forgetting, combined the use of flashcards, memes, and a scientific algorithm that determines the next time you need to water your planted seed in order for you to retain it in your long-term memory.  I have found this to be a very effective method of learning, and in the last five months I have stored over 1,300 Icelandic words in my memory vault.  I knew that the brain was capable of some amazing things, but it still astonishes me that I am able to retain so many new words and gradually increase the number of words that I can plant in one sitting.

2. Crowdsourcing For The Win (FTW)

As a big advocate of crowdsourcing, I think that by enlisting help from its community members to build their database of courses, Memrise has created a unique space where people from around the world can contribute to the learning of others.  I believe this is an ingenious way of getting people engaged and it has contributed to the vast amount of courses that are available. As the community grows so do the course offerings.

With that said, it is important to mention that not all courses are created equal.  I have found that some courses do not have audio, occasionally a word is misspelled or the meaning is incorrect, and memes do not always match up with the word or phrase you are learning.  In regard to misspellings of a word or an incorrect meaning, this can easily be remedied if you post your issue in the forum of the course where you noticed the mistake.  Overall, these are minor inconsistencies that haven’t deterred me from using the program and reaping the memory benefits.

3. Basic Membership is Free

Memrise recently started offering a premium paid service on their website, and they claim the features will give you deeper insight on how you can learn faster. Due to my success with the free version, I have opted to not pay for the upgrade.  The free version allows you to have access to any of the courses on the site, create memes to aid in remembering new flashcards, keep track of the number of words you have learned, and it lets you know when it is time to water your seeds.  The free features have been more than enough for my learning needs and the price can’t be beat!

4. There’s Healthy Competition

One fun feature that makes learning even more enjoyable on this site is that the creators have embedded a ranking system that fosters healthy competition. There is a leaderboard for each course, which allows you to view how many points a person has earned. You can see the rankings for the current week, month and the all time point leader. You can also follow individuals and see the overall score from all of the courses they are taking.  Accumulating a certain number of points changes your rank and each rank has a unique name.  I am currently a Membrain because I have over 1 million points.  You can check out the full list of rankings here.

I normally don’t play video games or compete with my friends and often I act as the mediator of my friends if they find themselves at odds during a competition.  However, the points and ranking system on Memrise has completely sucked me in! All of my repressed competitiveness rears its ugly head when I am learning a course.  In the very beginning, I could only plant 10 words a day before my brain started to hurt.  But after several months of dedicating my time to using the site, I have been able to plant as many as 90 words in one sitting! This increase may be mostly due to my commitment to learning, but I also believe that seeing members that have up to 100,000 points in one day has sparked my interest to accumulate more points.  I feel that their leaderboard has been a healthy motivator for me and encourages me to keep up with my courses.

5. Not Just for Learning Languages

I mainly use Memrise for studying languages but occasionally I get curious about the other course offerings and browse through the list of categories.  Some of the categories on the list include Arts & Literature, Trivia, Standardized Tests, The Natural World and so on.  It’s cool to know that on my home page I can jump from learning about the constellations to Pokémon and back to Icelandic in just a few clicks.  Including other course topics is an added bonus that allows any member the option to expand their knowledge base in an area of interest.

These 5 reasons have been the biggest factors that have kept me using Memrise on a consistent basis as I continue on my quest to becoming a polyglot.  However, please know that Memrise should not be the only program that you use to become familiar with a language.  Like anything else, it has its limitations, but combining it with other resources can create a dynamic arsenal of learning tools for any person studying a new language.

I hope this review was helpful. I’d love to know if any of you enjoy using Memrise or plan to check it out. Feel free to comment below.

Þakka þér fyrir að lesa og sjáumst fljótlega! (Thank you for reading and see you soon!)

Please note: This is not a sponsored review and I did not receive any compensation for sharing my opinion.  All of the views expressed in this post are solely my own and are not on behalf of Memrise or any other party.

Image courtesy of nongpimmy at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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