Pause = Rückgang

Nothing like a two week, high pressure conference to break already tenuous study habits and momentum. How quickly hard fought progress and ease in sentence construction dissipates. I wonder if resumed intensive study will rocket me to where I left off before the interruption, or is it all lost, and I will need to plod over the same ground again. Probably something in between.

Ich, ich, ish, ich, ish, ick

So how does someone who cannot follow the German her workmates rattle off get the needed hour plus amount of practice per day? We fall short of the target but fly from the bow with the tandem. I have two tandem partners, but we always seem to speak more English, hmm.

First great lesson was the pronounciation of "ch". as in ich, nicht, mich. I was told I was sounding it too hard. The breakthrough was realizing that the "ch" in "ich" was different from the "ch" in "noch". The "ch" accompanying open mouthed vowels (as in macht and noch) sound as harsh as the stereotype, but in "ich", it is a hissing whisper, softly aspirated, with hints of "sh".

The Challenge

Is it possible to learn a new language, in your late thirties, without structured lessons? There are definitely more efficient ways of reaching this goal, but what's the fun of scaling steep mountains of scree on horseback? Stumbling, sliding back, and wandering in looping circles is really more my style.

Well truthfully, if I had half a year to kill and a thousand euro to burn, I would gladly take an intensive course. I've already determined occasional lessons coupled with saying "Danke" and "Tschüß" at the cash register conversational German does not make. I injected myself into an ongoing intensive course for two weeks, which taught me that this was the way to go, but, I have a job, and no one seems to offer evening intensive courses.

And so, cheers to self reliance and self motivation, my two soft and squishy spots. May they harden from all the poking.