Wind Turbines and News? Language Learning Motivators?

Motivation is key to language learning. This has been known to language learners for a long time. But what do wind turbines have to do with it? (Video by weetjedatookweer on YouTube)

Some time ago I wrote a post: Not enough time? Really? Language Learning and Setting Priorities. It was inspired by a graph that showed difficulties that kept people back “when learning a new language”.

“Not enough time” (24%) was shown as #1; “to keep up the motivation” (16%) was shown as #2; and “no access to native speakers” as well as “bad teaching method” (both 15%) shared #3.

Recently, I was re-reading my post again and realized that while the listed difficulties may certainly be valid for many learners “Motivation” and “Interest” are currently the key drivers for me.

What Motivates Me?

As I explained in the post linked above and others, my personal motivation to learn Dutch is our annual trip to the Netherlands for a reunion with Ulrike's Dutch family.

I've been doing a daily Dutch Duolingo lesson for some time now. I had also subscribed to Babbel's Dutch lessons for a month, but had lost interest quickly. On our daily walks I try out my limited Dutch with Ulrike (who speaks Dutch fluently).

During the family reunion this year in September, I still felt frustrated. While I certainly understood more of the Dutch conversations than before, I was handicapped by my limited vocabulary and inability to participate in discussions.

Looking for a solution to my problem, I subscribed to Steve Kaufmann's LingQ and found that the program addresses the two weaknesses I see in both Duolingo and Babbel. LingQ offers material that both interests me and increases my vocabulary.

What Interests me?

LingQ's learning system is based on “comprehensive input”. That means: I learn with material that I "comprehend" (with the LinQ system) and which, in turn, leads to my listening and reading a lot in the target language. As a starter, I listened to and read LingQ's 50 or so little story/lessons

I can stop the audio when I hear or read a word I don't know, click on it, find the translation, put it into my vocabulary list, and then just continue with the story/lesson.

After the stories, I discovered “NOS Nieuws van de Week” a podcast of weekly Dutch News (from a couple of years ago), with much more challenging and new vocabulary. The News include topics I am familiar (e.g. war in Ukraine) or unfamiliar with (e.g. increasing bicycling accidents in the Netherlands caused by e-bikes, and the "Dutch way" to open car doors to prevent some of them).

On LingQ, there are other News podcasts, short stories, topics of economy, politics, as well as audios and YouTube videos, all with the same system of audio and reading. Many of those interest me and I continue to try them out.

The other day I happened to click on a YouTube video on LingQ about wind turbines in the Netherlands. I started to watch the video, but soon realized that there were a number of technical Dutch terms I didn't know.

So, I used the LingQ conversion system which produces a script of the audio with highlights of new words, as well as words I should know and had clicked on before for a translation. (screenshot of a LingQ page, copyright by The Linguist Institute, Inc)

By reading and listening to the audio – and clicking on unknown words for translation – I was able to understand everything.

I then watched the video (without the text) again and could now relate all the technical terms to the images, e.g. blades, gearboxes, drives, transformers, converters, etc.

And, apparently one of the most-asked questions by any visitors who observe turbines is: Why do some wind turbines in a long row of turbines start and stop at times ? I had that same question. And in the video I found the answer:

Assuming the wind is blowing - wind turbines can adjust to electrical network conditions by adjusting the blade angles and thereby stopping their rotation. Cool?!

Language Learning Lessons

For those just starting out, many language programs like Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, etc, may work quite well at the beginning and help in developing learning habits.

Our own Gamesforlanguage program uses easy Quick Games for beginners, and more challenging travel-story-based courses for Intermediate learners. These are also gamified and work for those interested in traveling and learning related vocabulary.

For me, reading, listening to, and viewing a variety of topics that interest me, is currently essential for keeping me motivated.

I really don't “need” to learn Dutch, but if I can increase my vocabulary by learning about things that interest me, I'll definitely keep on going.

Learning about the functioning and configuration of big wind turbines – which had intrigued me especially during our last visit to the Netherlands – is a good example of what motivates me to keep on reading, listening and therefore also learning new vocabulary.

And at the moment, I can find many topics which interest me on LingQ. (And once I have explored all of LingQ's offerings and functions, I'll likely do a full review of the app.)

Once my vocabulary has grown enough, I'll switch to listening to current Dutch Podcasts and start reading Dutch books. And I'll continue to try out my improved vocabulary in conversations with Ulrike on our daily walks. It's no secret that conversations are really the best way to eventually become fluent in any language.

Note: GamesforLanguage or I have no other business relationship with LingQ Languages LTD, except that I, personally, have purchased monthly subscriptions at $14.99/month.