BOLIO's Spanish log

[BOLIO]

Hey James!

I have the Granatica B book somewhere but cannot find it. We had a flooding incident and many items were lost. I hope it is not one of the items my wife had to throw out.

I have another called "Breaking the Spanish Barrier-Advanced" by John Conner and Cathy Folts.

I could use a good run through of a grammar book from front to back but this go around I would really like to concentrate on weaker points such as the different forms of the subjunctive. The past,preterite, future and conditional perfect tenses are not squared away in the least. Heck, I still mix up Por and Para too frequently.

Thanks James

BOLIO

[Xenops]

Thanks for the visit! And I must say that I'm excited to try VeinteMundos! I tried matching audiobooks to books, and they were not very close (the Narnia books in particular). I have discovered that you can match a Biblical translation and match its audio component online. Initially I was making an Anki card out of each verse, but I wondered if that was a good use of time: I might try rather the L/R method with the Bible instead (I also have an NIV/NVI Bible in the physical--it's sweet!)

[BOLIO]

Well, it has been a while since updating my log. I have been actively studying Spanish and have not fallen off the wagon. Mostly, I have been reading and listening to anything I can get my hands on. Internet news sites that Iguanamon has posted for years. Also, I went back and re-read and listened to both El Retrato de Dorian Grey and El Gran Gatsby. They were much easier this time around and since I enjoy both very much, it was not burdensome and I enjoyed it more than the first time.

I completed my month long grammar blitz but in reality, it was so long ago that I cannot remember any earth shattering advancement that was made from it. I do think it helped but I don't know how much stuck with me. I think there is something to trying to emulate well written books, news items, etc while learning. You may not completely understand the WHY something is being done but you sound as if you do.

I am watching or listening to shows on RTVE.ES. Their Spain accent used to drive me nuts when I first started learning and now I enjoy it very much. I even occasionally speak with their accent but strangely for only a few words and when I do my wife and our native speaking friends get a kick out of it.

My Spanish life is growing. I communicate at work with coworkers and clients. I still rely on English for business but speak to clients about other aspects of our lives in Spanish. That is the next hurdle.... Business Spanish. Someday.

All the best,

BOLIO

[BOLIO]

Hello to all. I hope your learning is going well.

I have been trying to decide on an adventure. I have been to Mexico many times and love it. I still want to travel to the Merida / Progreso area. I hear wonderful things about it. However, my family and I are feeling a little more adventurous and have chosen Spain.

We are looking at traveling to Barcelona, Madrid and Mallorca for sure. Toledo , Seville and Valencia could be on the list as well. How this pertains to my studies is this, I need to improve my listening skills. I have been writing this here and HTLAL for over two years now. But it still remains my weakest skill. However, I have grown greatly in the last year.

I have rtve to help me with tv series. I can watch most of them although some are blocked for the United States. I started watching Los misterios de Laura and I like it. There are many episodes and I will not run out of content very soon. Also, I am looking for some audiobooks with Spanish with Spain accents. Fiction is fine. I am looking for nothing too risqué as I will be listening in the vehicle sometimes with my family.

I just found librivox and really like all the older classical writings. My goal is 400 hours listening from now until the first of June when our trip is tentatively scheduled. This equates to three hours a day. Anyway, that is the plan.

Nothing earth shattering going on as far as breakthroughs or epiphanies but I have seen slow steady growth.

All the best,

BOLIO

[James29]

I still want to travel to the Merida / Progreso area. I hear wonderful things about it.
...
Valencia could be on the list as well.

Merida/Progreso is on my short list. I have scoped it out online many times. I actually have visited Progreso a LONG time ago (well before I cared about Spanish) when I was on a cruise that stopped there for the day. I did not do much other than get on a bus for an excursion and drive through the city. Progreso is very small. The beach town/area seem very nice and look like a wonderful place to spend a lazy beach vacation. I only know Merida from online, but it really looks like a perfect place to visit. It is so removed from other parts of Mexico and it seems to be a safe and welcoming city. Plus, it looks like it would be accessible from Cancun.

Valencia, Spain was the pinnacle of my Spanish journey. That trip was really a dream come true and marked a major transition in my Spanish world. The city holds a very special place in my heart and was simply incredible.

[arthaey]

Toledo , Seville and Valencia could be on the list as well.

I loved wandering the narrow hilly streets of Toledo. I also suggest looking into Segovia, north of Madrid.

I hope you have a great time!

[BOLIO]

I am nine days into my personal listening challeng and I am feeling good so far.

Rtve.es is a great resource. I have listened / watched 22hours of Los Misterios del Laura. I enjoy the show. It is a blend of Murder She Wrote and Columbo. I am splitting my time with and without the subtitles. I should ween myself and buy in completely.

Also, I have used livribox and listened to Don Quixote, about 5 hours worth, El Principito, and Lazarillo de Tormes. I really like this resource.

Also, I have watched several English movies dubbed in Spanish. In total I have 41 hrs in the first 9 days. Not bad.

Misterios de Laura only has 10 more episodes so I am going to find another series soon. How do I feel about my listening, it is interesting. I can be really tuned in for three sentences or so and then my mind has a hiccup. I wander. I think I do this in English but I am able to retain everything even when my mind drifts off. I cannot do this in Spanish. Also, anything can distract me. It could be road noise in my vehicle or any kind of outside noise. Very strange. I feel like I have gone through a workout by the time an hour has passed while doing these listening sessions.

Anyway, onward and upward. All the best.

BOLIO

[BOLIO]

Yesterday I finished Los Misterios de Laura. I enjoyed it. I Will now do a blitz of all 32 episodes without ANY subtitles.

In addition, I have watched the Juana Ines story on Netflix. It I was an account of a nun in Mexico and how she has had such an influence on Spanish literature. When I started watching, I did not know it was based on an actual person. It was about six hours in total. Very interesting to me.

I have also spent some time with my audio book of the Davinci Code while driving. It is getting easier to follow for longer periods of time without drifting off... I think after running thru it one more time I will finally start the second book Angels and Demons. The thing I appreciate is the recording matches the book perfectly.


I am looking for a new series to watch. El Caso. Crónica de Sucesos looks like a possibility. It only has one season but has 16 hours that I can knock out within a week.


23 more hours of listening for the week. 64 total. I am really convinced my listening will improve at the end of this mini listening challenge. I need to look into the different Challenges forum members do here. I see them mentioned but don't really know the details.

All the best in your studies,

BOLIO

[BOLIO]

Hello everyone!

It has been two weeks and I have put in 46 hours of listening. I have my routine down. I started waking up earlier and putting in an hour and a half prior to work. Then I am doing at least thirty minutes during lunch. In the evening, I will watch the news or a dubbed movie that I know well from it's original English. My understanding is really improving.

I still struggle GREATLY with people speaking in everyday conversation especially when there are multiple people involved in the conversation. However, that is improving too. If it is news, an audio book or someone speaking to me clearly and without too much emotion, I understand.

I went to a religious service last week and understood perfectly. In the 40 minute sermon, there may have been 5 or 6 words that I did not know but it did not impede my understanding.

This morning I cheated from my listening and started reading Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I am reading this one much easier than when I started the Davinci Code way back when. It is much easier. I tell myself that I am not going to look up a single word but if I word is bothering me...I look it up. I am averaging about one word a chapter. I read the first eight chapters this morning. I am going to take a different approach. I encounter sentences that I would like to use in every day life. I think I will underline them and after every ten chapters or so, I think I will either use Anki or just make sentence lists. Then, I can create fake conversations with myself and say them out loud. An exaggerated form of self talk. I could do worse than talking like the book's main character Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks in the movies).

I am really getting to the point where I am enjoying the language so much more. I have decided to start another language within six months. My thought process is that I can maintain three hours of study a day. If two are dedicated to listening and reading Spanish, I can use the other hour for coursework in the second language.

Portuguese has come out of NOWHERE and has my full attention due to developing very close friends with three families locally. One is from Mozambique, one is from Angola and the other is from Brazil.

Russian is a perceived LOVE from growing up as a child of the Cold War and have always found Russia mysterious and exciting. I have everything I need to get started. I have collected all the usual courses that have been recommended at HTLAL for years. Very little chance of interference with Spanish unlike my perception of Portuguese.

French makes sense. Mandarin and Korean would be useful for me at work and would be a huge differentiator from my colleagues. Arabic sounds beautiful to me but what to study MSA? Which dialect? Persian is the most beautiful sounding language my ears have ever heard.

We will see. All the best,

BOLIO

Edit: Total. 110 hours of listening

[BOLIO]

Well I did not sign up for a super challenge but it seems that I am in the middle of one. Since last week I have read 200 pages of Angels and Demons by Dan Brown then Friday I read some old post by James29 about the Jack Reacher series and the next thing I know the first book found its way Friday evening in my iBooks and in 2 days I knocked out 302 pages. I am hooked.

Listening this week has been less but I still managed 14 hours of either native movies/TV or dubbed movies in Spanish. Some moments feel like I am the King of Spain in my understanding and then other times I feel as if I am watching something in Portuguese. My wife and I watched a show out of Mexico called Buen Dia Ramon. It is nice although half the movie was in German. The part in Spanish was tough when ithe dialogue was between a few of the characters. They used a lot of slang and spoke in a matter that made it difficult for me. It was very much NOT like my audio books in speech type or quality. One day....

All the best,

BOLIO

Listening 124 hrs