The importance of studying before studying abroad (cognitive resources)

Here are my notes:

Why you should learn as much as you can BEFORE studying abroad
*Currently working on research paper on effects of cognitive preparedness prior to studying abroad. (Segalowitz & Freed, 2004). (Sunderman & Kroll, 2009).

* Threshold effect indicates people who haven't achieved certain threshold before studying abroad make fewer language gains in short-term study abroad programs, in terms of lexical production.

* Think of cognitive processing in L2 as a limited resource. If all of your working memory dedicated to simply understanding meaning, you won't be able to properly process for "form" (grammar) or more subtle aspects of language.

* Controlled processing - expend cognitive resources as you attend to meaning, form, etc. Over time controlled processing is automatized.

Automatization - now thinking about language is cheaper than before.

* An example of the benefit of having higher proficiency before studying abroad. Study by Marqués-Pascual, only students of advanced level prior to leaving to study abroad in Mexico were able to produce more subject-verb inversions (Do you eat? Tú comes vs. comes tú?). Implies that students at a lower level may have been struggling with basic comprehension of the input and thus would not be able to notice more subtle aspects of the language such as Subject-Verb inversion. On the other hand, more proficient students were able to incorporate SV inversion into their own second-language production. Implication? Being more prepared allows you to focus on more subtle aspects of the language, such as regional accents, pragmatics, etc.

* So having adequate cognitive preparedness, which involves automatization of certain processes (such as basic communication, etc.) prepares you to be able to observe aspects of the language that you may otherwise not notice: for example, syntax, pragmatics, SV inversion, and of course ACCENTS~!

* So it's imperative to study hard before leaving. SA is not a magical formula. People think "Boy you sure learned a lot of Spanish by studying abroad 3 months in Mexico and 10 months in Spain". Truth is: yes, I only lived 3 months in Mexico and 10 months in Spain. But I also listen to at least 1 hour of podcast a day from different regions of Spain and try and chat every day with Spanish-speakers. So actual amount of time immersing myself in Spanish and Spanish-speaking culture much greater than sum total of my study abroad time.

* Bottom line, study harder before you leave.

* Listen to a lot of podcasts (Notes in Spanish Beginner Intermediate Advanced, Cabreados, Las Cosas Curiosas, RTVE Afectos, etc.). Study your books (Spanish Verbs & Tenses: Practice Makes Perfect, Spanish Prepositions & Pronouns: Practice Makes Perfect, Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish)

* My English sometimes sounds weird. I have some constructions which are more Spanish style (a forum in which.. un foro en el cual) than English (a forum where). Wtf? My native tongue.. disintegrating...

Hope this is useful :)

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[Figsx]

I'm currently listening to the Cosas Curiosas podcast, but 99% of what they say goes through one ear and out the other. I'm really struggling with understanding spoken language, although I do fairly well with written language. Do you have any tips?

[dychui]

@Figsx Hey Figsx :) Cosas Curiosas is a challenging podcast because they are from Málaga. The Andalusian dialect is one of the hardest to understand. Have you tried Notes in Spanish Beginner or Intermediate? :)

[dychui]

@Figsx Hey Figsx, I'm not too sure of Mexican or Latin American podcasts. I heard Comunicando Podcast was good back when it was out. Try the Itunes store? :) I love Texas! My gf lives in San Antonio

[SlushySushy]

Thank you so much for this video! I agree with you 100%. Had I not taken English seriously before attending high school in the States ( I'm from Mexico), I wouldn't have become as fluent as I am currently. Thanks for sharing your study habits in this video, will definitely put them to practice now that I'm learning German and plan to do my Master's over there. Thank you! =D

[dychui]

@SlushySushy Hey Slushy! I was happy to read about your personal experiences :) best of luck in Germany! Your English is great!! What part of Mexico are you from? I lived in Michoacán for a while :)

[Figsx]

@dychui Awesome, I live in the Dallas area myself. I've been to San Antonio a few times, it's a really cool city with lots of culture and history. Thanks for the help :)

[Figsx]

@dychui No, I'll try it though, thanks for the tip. I'm mainly interested in Mexican/Latin American Spanish (I live in Texas), which podcast do you think is best for beginner-intermediate Spanish learners?

[Mr420rush]

Such a great video and so true! I am deffinitely going to be studdied Japanese for a long while before I go there.

[theshark2005]

WOW well i dont think thats necessarily true, I went to Brazil to learn Portuguese and i did not know any Portuguese, besides the basic, like " hello" " my name is " and thats all. and then I came back not being fluent but speaking it very well, and as I kept contact with my mates i learn more and more and became fluent now. I am in Germany now Studying German and I had no Knowledge of the language true, but I am learning and I believe i will become fluent. I love Languages too!!!