Learning Indonesian, Part 2

Update on learning Indonesian.

I realized after a while that looking at random Indonesian Wikipedia pages wasn't rewarding. Mainly because, while it was true that I was learning some words as I tried reading them, I needed a more efficient way to build my vocabulary.

(My theory is that young children mostly build up a grab bag of vocabulary words and then later on figure out how to use them, and use them correctly within their culture. So I will try a similar method.)

A method that I am trying is to make lists of 25 words each (derived from Indonesian Wikipedia pages), and then run through them with a quiz program (quiz from bsd-games). Sometimes I type the English words in response to the Indonesian, and sometimes the opposite. Some words have multiple meanings. Sometimes one meaning will sort of cover all of them. But otherwise I just learn one of the meanings, figuring that I will have to figure out the nuances later. For now, I want to keep my momentum going and learn lots of words, even if imperfectly. My goal is to get to the point where I can mostly read random Indonesian Wikipedia articles, maybe have to learn a few words as I go, or maybe even figure out words I don't know from context.

If I had to give advice to my younger self, or generic younger selves (high school or college students studying Spanish), I would say to learn vocabulary on the side, like I'm doing now with Indonesian. School teaches you how to learn, and theory / grammar, and helps you avoid pitfalls, but to actually master subject material, you need to study on your own. A language that you are half-fluent in is less than 50% as useful as one you are fully fluent in, and school language classes (at least, from my experience with seven years of Spanish) will not make you fluent. But it is relatively painless, and maybe even enjoyable, to acquire lots of vocab words.

I remember some philosophy grad students I knew, who looked at their fellow students, and noticed which ones studied philosophy on their own time, and which only studied the philosophy that they had to for school. A sign that you are really into philosophy is that you study it on your own, in addition to what you have to for school.