🌼how To Restart Learning A Language🌼

🌼how to restart learning a language🌼

i’ve recently gone through a language break, taking 5 months out to reassess my future. i really want to get back to learning Japanese, so here are my tips for restarting that language you might have been neglecting!

reassess your goals. its likely that if you’ve taken an extended break, your life has changed a little and there may be some new priorities taking over. reassess what you want to get out of restarting your language journey so it’s easier to plan around your day

make small targets that can be reached easily. for a short while, you’ll have to work hard to get your head back into the swing of learning a language. making small goals can really up your productivity because you wont be discouraged by big expectations at first!

slowly immerse yourself. immersion is widely known as a good supplement to your language learning. while you’re in the early stages of relearning a language, it’s really fun to start rewatching that subbed anime you lost track of, or listen to that spanish band you loved so much. it will help your brain get back ‘into’ the language, and you’ll have fun along the way!

revisit your notebooks. if you’re anything like me, you have a ton of notebooks and stacks of random note paper lying around untouched since you dropped out of your language. do your best to collect them up, sort through the useful stuff and then, get a blank notebook and rewrite all of your notes. your brain wont have forgotten everything but starting a new notebook will give you incentive to learn, as well as solidifying the information you already learnt!

take it slow. your brain is a muscle that needs exercising. if you havent been using your language brain for a while, don’t try and run a marathon without training first! there’s no rush. your journey is yours, and yours alone. take it as slow as you need to to start learning your language again and get back into the studying swing of things

🌼good luck on revisiting your language journey!🌼

Know your way around Narnia

CS Lewis was born on this day in 1898. A poet, academic, critic and theologian, Lewis is best known for his novels, particularly the timelessly popular Chronicles of Narnia.

This delightful map of Narnia and its surrounding lands was drawn by Lewis himself and now resides in the Bodleian archives, preserving a privileged insight into Lewis’ world-making processes.

Lewis did not intend for his own illustration to be published in his books, intending instead that a professional artist would create a more polished interpretation. Pauline Baynes was introduced to Lewis by his fellow Inkling JRR Tolkien, and she redrafted the map for publication in Prince Caspian, the second book of the series.

In a letter with further instructions for Baynes, dated 8 January 1951, Lewis described the finished look he was hoping for.

My idea was that the map should be more like a medieval map than an Ordnance Survey – mountains and castles drawn – perhaps winds blowing at the corners – and a few heraldic-looking ships, whales and dolphins in the sea.

For those who do not know Narnia quite so well, here are some of the more interesting places on the map.

Aslan’s How: The mound covering what was once the Stone Table where Aslan was sacrificed.

Beruna: One of the four named towns in Narnia. Strategically built at the confluence of rivers, Beruna became the site of two great battles.

Cair Paravel: The capital of the Kingdom of Narnia, and the location of the Royal Castle where High King Peter, Queen Susan, Queen Lucy and King Edmund havetheir thrones.

Dancing Lawn: The ritual site for old Narnians, and the meeting place after Prince Caspian flees from Miraz’s castle.

Lantern Waste: The location of The Lantern of Ever Lighted Lamp, the lamppost where Lucy and Mr Tumnus first meet after she passes through the wardrobe. Lantern Waste is also where Digory, Polly, Jadis and their companions witnessed the creation of Narnia.

Miraz’s Castle: Where Prince Caspian is raised by Miraz, his uncle and un-rightful ruler of Narnia.

Trufflehunter’s Cave: The home of Trufflehunter the badger, first talking animal that Prince Caspian meets and later a Knight in the Order of the Lion.