Kicking the textbook: how I've started to study online

Despite the fact that I've been creating content for online language learning schools for (good grief) nearly twelve years, I've been a complete stick in the mud about my own language learning. In the past I've preferred to learn through face-to-face classes and textbook study; I've pushed boundaries in my work that I wouldn't go near in my leisure time.

This year I decided to stop being a prat about language learning and to fully embrace the myriad new digital opportunities there are. My chosen language at the moment is Norwegian, partly because I'm planning to travel to Norway next year, but mostly because it gets me in touch with my ancestral roots (my mother's side of the family are all Norwegian).

So in August I signed up to Memrise, the flashcard tool which employs spaced learning to help you memorise vocabulary. Since then I've been slogging away at their 1,200 basic Norwegian words. I'm not a big fan of learning vocabulary in isolation. I think it sticks better when we encounter it in a meaningful context, but nevertheless I've found Memrise very useful for revising the vocabulary I already know (I had 5 or 6 Norwegian lessons a few years ago, as well as many years of exposure to the language when I was a child. Memrise has helped me to remember all the vocabulary I'd passively absorbed over the years.)

I also downloaded the Collins Norwegian/English dictionary, which I find I seldom use because Google Translate is so good now. I must use Google Translate more than any other app now I think. There is very little that it can't translate - just some idiomatic expressions.

Twitter has also been hugely helpful. I've made sure to follow lots of Norwegian (and Danish) people who work in my field, and, particularly when they tweet about educational technology, I am motivated to try and understand what they are saying and (sometimes) to respond. As usual though, most Scandinavians prefer to converse in their excellent English, which makes learning any Scandinavian language extra hard. Fortunately I have several Norwegian cousins as friends on Facebook, and so I can practise my reading and writing with them.

Other digital tools that I've experimented with include YouTube, where I watch snippets from Norwegian TV interviews and the comedy show I Kveld Med Ylvis (even that has English subtitles though, which I try to ignore). I also have a Norwegian radio app, but find that, unless the children's shows are on, the language level is too high for me to benefit from it. I have downloaded a couple of kids apps in Norwegian, which are fun, but too low level.

I also dug out my old textbook and audio CD and did a few more units in that. I find the textbook quite dull, and not being able to practise the language with real people was frustrating.

After a few months of trying these varying methods I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for italki.com, a service which helps you find language teachers and partners. I met a teacher on there who I now have a Skype lesson with once a week. These have been absolutely excellent, against my blinkered expectations. For a start we can negotiate a time that suits both of us (we are both very busy) and there is no travel involved, which keeps the costs low. There are seldom any technical problems with Skype, and she can type in Norwegian as we are speaking to show me new words or explain new grammar. Although she doesn't have a teaching qualification, she has been teaching online for several years, and I find her non-pedagogic approach to teaching quite refreshing. At the moment we are speaking in a mixture of Norwegian and English, whereas with my last teacher we spoke only in Norwegian. I find that I prefer the mixed approach, as it makes me less tired and allows me to ask questions. Nevertheless we speak most of the time in Norwegian, and I find that I've improved hugely in just four lessons.

My plan now is to continue with Skype lessons and with Memrise and Twitter/Facebook. I'll probably dip into my textbook, but only as back up. One thing I'm sure of though - I will never return to fully traditional methods of language learning, and I can't believe I stayed stuck in the mud for so long!