A Beginning

Welcome all!

We are going to try this blogging thing again, although this time with a more pointed focus. This time around I am going to make this blog about only two things: 1.) my language acquisition and 2.) my transition from baritone to tenor.

First, I feel that I should explain my process for this blog. I intend to write in whatever target language I am focusing on for the current month (June = French) about anything and everything having to do with either my learning of languages or events in my transition to singing tenor. As I am an opera singer all of the languages which I am currently learning (I will list them momentarily) are ones in which I intend to sing. This is a very exciting time for me vocally as I am discovering aspects of my voice that I did not know existed mere months ago.

Following will be the list of languages which I will be working on over the coming months/years. My goal that I set for myself is to be fluent in ten languages by the time I turn forty. I am only currently twenty-five and am quickly realizing that fifteen years is more than enough time to learn these languages. My system of approach for my task is to focus on one language per month on a rotating basis. During this time, I listen to talk radio in my target language as much as possible to familiarize myself with the sounds of the language. I also switch my iGoogle and Facebook accounts into my target language so that I am forced to read and build at least some vocabulary in said language. In addition to these things, I also try to buy at least one, if not two, basic introductory language audio programs ("Learn in your car" by Pelton, a Michel Thomas program, etc.) to build some very basic vocabulary. Beginning next month I am going to be playing around with a new method to me, Listening-Reading, which should be a fun experience. Additional steps include trying to find people who speak my target language(s), such as my friend Ernest, and speaking with them as much as possible in the language of the month. The newest aspect of my process is going to be this blog. After this post I will no longer post anything in English (sorry for those of you who only read English), save for some responses to comments (if there are any) from people who do not speak in one of my target languages.

I think that this should be a wonderful experiment and I hope that it proves to be beneficial to me and any readers who might come across it. I apologize in advance for the subject matter dealing with my singing journey if it is a bore to some of you, but I figure I should write about something that I am passionate about. Now, for a quick plug to the blog that gave me the idea to start this blog: www.fluentin3months.com This is a wonderful site with a lot of valuable information. Without further anticipation, here is the list of languages I will be covering in the order you will see them, beginning with June.

Francais
Espanol
Portugues
Russki
Deutsch
Cesky
Svenska
Italiano

See you all tomorrow. My intent after tomorrow's post is to post once a week, ideally every Friday!

Good Night!
James