Passion

image copyright Steve G Jones 2008

PASSION: What is your passion? No, I’m not talking about that. What would you pay to do? What would get you up at 5am even on a weekend? I ask because this has been a week of questioning motivation, confidence, satisfaction at work and a week where one person close to me was forced to question precisely what his passion is. Of course, we’ve all been there at one or another. Learning as many languages as possible in just 1 year sounds like a mad idea and it is. I knew the risks. I knew I might have so much information in my head that I might crack and lose my marbles. I knew I might fail. Not only that, I knew I might fail in dramatic, spectacular fashion: learning just one or two languages up to a conversational level and barely improving my French.

I knew the risks. I saw the drop from my position high on the cliff…but I still jumped. Even if you fall you were, for a brief, wonderful second, soaring like an eagle.

I’m a stubborn person. Most people are sensible when it comes to starting out as a freelance journalist: they get a staff job, work their way up, network and make contacts they can use to help their careers advance once they take the plunge into freelancing. What did I do? I just decided to set myself up as a freelance journalist. Published in national magazines, a former local newspaper columnist and a piece on BBC Online means I haven’t done too badly for myself so far but what was it that made me see all the risks but still jump in?  I saw the risks. I have my moments but I am a sensible, methodical, cautious person to the point of OCD: if I tell you the door is locked, it’s locked because I’ve checked it 17 times in half an hour. So why did I throw caution to the wind? Why did I “just do it anyway”?

Well, I’ll tell you: the risks were big but not as big as the rewards and the feeling I would get if I succeeded. The opportunities and rewards were worth rolling the dice. The way they drive around where I live, I could be run down the moment I step outside my front door. But I still go outside. I am not advocating senseless disregarding of risks and I urge people to take proper safety precautions and evaluate risks when they present themselves.

Back in 1997, my life fell apart. Everything went wrong and everything collapsed around me. I thought there was nothing left and I thought nothing good would come from my life. But that wasn’t the end of the story and, no matter how bad things get, the story will go on and there will be other chapters. There will be good times, there will be laughter, there will be new places, new people, new loves. Whether your run from a challenge or stand and fight, there will be another day and these difficulties which so dominate your life right now will become memories from the past and lose their power to harm you.

So, with that in my mind, why not learn a new language? Why not roll the dice? Failure and feedback are so close together that one can be mistaken for the other. Even if you don’t get the desired result, what you do get might be even better. Fortune favours the brave. Be prepared. Be prepared to jump (just to be clear, I’m talking metaphorically here) and be prepared to fall.

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary Had A Little Lamb: One of the best ways to learn a new language is through song. So, with that in mind, here’s Mary Had A Little Lamb in Japanese.

Girls Aloud

Girls Aloud: Here’s the French version of “I can’t speak French” by UK band, Girls Aloud. The French isn’t great and it is hard to make out some of the words and yes, they are contradicting themselves by saying they can’t speak French whilst speaking French but…let’s face it…Nadine’s in the video so I could personally forgive pretty much anything else in the video. And yes, I own a Girls Aloud album. Just the 1. It was a review copy sent to me. No, I am not 14 or a girl. I don’t like all of their songs and I’ve never been to a Girls Aloud gig. But some of their songs are good. You be the judge on this one.

Public Speaking

image copyright Fresno County Office of Education 2008

JOIN MARTIN IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS GROUP/ORGANISATION

Public Speaking: There was a time when I loved giving presentations and speaking in public. To be fair, that was during my university days. Somehow, I got the idea that volunteering for presentations would make me look strong and confident and impress the girls in my seminar groups. It probably just made me look like a teacher’s pet or a swot but, most of the time, the presentations went really well and, on the odd occasion, the girls in the seminar group were impressed but, last time I asked, the ability to give good presentations is not high on the list of any woman when it comes to seeking out future husbands. Oh well, it was worth a try.

As I’ve said before on this blog, the ability to be cool, calm and confident whilst speaking in public is very important. There is no point learning a new language if you don’t have to courage to speak it. Being confident is hard work. We’re all born confident and we cry out expecting to be fed…demanding to be fed and cared for. But somewhere along the way we begin to take onboard ideas about ourselves and, sometimes, those ideas are just plain nonsense. But we believe them anyway.

We cling to them, hold them tight and refuse to let go. We absorb those false perceptions and make them part of us and deconstruction of those negative beliefs, even by trained professionals or friends desperate to help, can be disorientating and we fight against anything which threatens our belief system. Stop for a moment and imagine that everything you know about yourself is false. You’ve been living a lie. You’re not who you thought you were. Frightening thought, isn’t it? Feels much better to stop thinking like that and carry on as normal. That’s why we find it so hard to make positive changes and to be confident in this world: we’d rather believe nonsense than have nothing to base our identity on.

I’m no expert on confidence or public speaking. I recently gave a good talk on journalism to a class of primary school children. I was very nervous and looked it and, as much as I enjoyed talking about my career and passion, I was glad when it was over. Despite the fact that some people think my “little black book” comes in volumes, I’ve never been amazing in social situations. I’m not a wallflower and, just occasionally, my dance routine of wiggling my arms about a bit and swaying from side to side no matter what song is playing and no matter what the rhythm is, makes an appearance. That said, I’ve improved a lot over the years and I think there is something to be said for being comfortable with your own company once in a while. But, if I am going to make a success of this languages challenge, I’m going to have to broaden my social circle and become more comfortable talking to people and speaking in public.

In the coming days, I’ll be talking about public speaking. Which, if you think about is, is an odd turn of phrase. I’ll basically be talking about talking. Hard to believe I once sang a solo in an amateur musical production and have acted on the professional stage, isn’t it? Also been on TV in the UK. If you want to achieve something, you can. Whether it’s learning a new language or gaining the confidence to be a great public speaker. Just go for it.

THE SPEECH IMP

HYPNOSIS FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING CONFIDENCE ON AN MP3 PLAYER

FIND OUT MORE HERE

image copyright hypnoimp 2008

Welsh Phrases

image copyright Cardiff University/Cardiff University School of Physics & Astronomy 2008.

WELSH PHRASES:

Partly because I enjoy learning Welsh and partly because it is difficult to say no to a gorgeous, intelligent blonde who looks a million dollars even when she “throws something on”, here are an abundance of Welsh phrases:

Where is the toilet?

Ble mae’r toiled / lle chwech (place six) / tŷ bach (small house)?

I love you:

Dw i’n dy garu di / Rwy’n dy garu di

What’s the Welsh for…?

Beth ydy’r Cymraeg am … ?

One language is never enough

annigonol ydy un iaith / dyw un iaith byth yn ddigon

Thank you

Diolch Diolch yn fawr Diolch yn fawr iawn / Diolch o galon

Would you like to dance with me?

Dach chi eisiau dawnsio (h)efo fi? (frm - North Wales)
Ti eisiau dawnsio (h)efo fi? (inf - North Wales)
Dych chi’n moyn dawnsio (gy)da fi? (frm - South Wales)
Ti’n moyn dawnsio (gy)da fi? (inf - South Wales)

Click here for The Learn Welsh Podcast

Click here for Cadw Swn Learn Welsh course

Click here to go to omniglot.com and hear the audio version of this phrase.

German on Doctor Who translated

SPOILER WARNING FROM PREVIOUS POST ALSO APPLIES TO THIS POST-DO NOT VIEW IF YOU ARE YET TO SEE THE LAST BUT ONE AND LAST EPISODE OF DOCTOR WHO SERIES 4

Daleks Speak German

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE AND THE FINALE OF DOCTOR WHO SERIES 4 THEN DO NOT PRESS PLAY ON THIS VIDEO AS IT CONTAINS A SCENE FROM ONE OF THOSE EPISODES.

Edinburgh here we come

image copyright stuckonscotland.co.uk 2008

Edinburgh here we come: Join Martin will be on the move next week as I have a bit of a holiday. For a few days, beady eyed people in Edinburgh may just catch a glimpse of a bloke wearing a JOIN MARTIN T Shirt. In other words, I’m off to Edinburgh. Hotel booked, tickets booked, train times checked (I could have gone on the plane or spent eight hours on a National Express coach but I like trains) and bags being packed as I write. Sun (well, maybe not) Sea (possibly), Sex (I should be so lucky)…I’m excited about the holiday and looking forward to finally visiting Scotland.

Review Coming Soon

image copyright Steve G Jones 2008

Read my interview with Steve G Jones here

Review Coming Soon: Having purchased Master A Foreign Language and having loaded it onto my MP3 player, I will be listening to it for the recommended period and reviewing it on the blog.

I will let you know how I get on.

I should really be in bed

image copyright SCOLA 2008.

I Should Really Be In Bed…. Well, I’m not sure if this is dedication or addiction but here I am. Here in the UK, it is just about twenty past midnight-the witching hour, as they used to say in old folklore- and I’m sat here posting on the JOIN MARTIN blog. I’d just like to say thanks to those who have posted comments on my blog in the past week. Your support and feedback makes it all worthwhile.

How many languages have I “got on the go” at the moment?  Well, I’ve been learning: Bulgarian, Swedish, Irish, Welsh, French, Scots Gaelic, German, Dutch, Italian, Urdu, Hindi and Greek recently. I am enjoying the Join Martin Challenge but sometimes, taking on the task of learning as many languages as possible in just 1 year appears daunting. It is only human to doubt. Can it really be done? If it can be done, am I the one to do it? Am I taking on too much?

Any task can be accomplished if you break it down into small enough chunks. If you’re learning a language, take things slowly. Start at the beginner level in your chosen language and then go from there. Learning is not a competitive art. What matters is that you have fun and develop as a person. Enjoy yourself and do not allow yourself to be held back by any thoughts that tell you you’ve taken on too much. If you feel like you want to give up, you’re doing something right as, if it was easy, it really wouldn’t be worth it.