NoManches - Spanish: B2-->C1 Log

[NoManches]

An update from my last post:

This morning I woke up early and ran for 30 minutes while listening to: La lección de August

This book is intended for 8-12 year olds which made it perfect for my run because I was able to understand all of it with minimal effort. Last time I tried listening to "El Conde de Monte Cristo" and I found it hard to follow along with while I was running (maybe because this particular version was read like a play with some sound effects and multiple speakers).

The way I see it, not only did I get in some exercise today, but I was also able to squeeze in 30 minutes of extensive listening that would have otherwise not been a part of my day. If I run 3-4 times a week this equates to about 6-8 extra hours of listening each month that I normally wouldn't get to do

Something else I have found very useful is reading articles in Spanish posted on Facebook and THEN reading the comments left by people. These comments are usually not educational at all and sometimes very ignorant, but they allow me to practice my Spanish in a more natural way. Normally I find these comments harder to understand than the original article (since the comments usually contain spelling mistakes but more importantly, because they are written in a very informal way).

Good luck to everyone this week with your language learning goals!

[James29]

I run also. This summer I tried to listen to audio books, but it just did not work for me. I just started running on the treadmill for the winter (treadmill running is new to me) and am going to watch TV series or a telenovela. As you point out, it seems like a great way to get some extra Spanish time in. Are you running outside or on a treadmill?

[NoManches]

I run also. This summer I tried to listen to audio books, but it just did not work for me. I just started running on the treadmill for the winter (treadmill running is new to me) and am going to watch TV series or a telenovela. As you point out, it seems like a great way to get some extra Spanish time in. Are you running outside or on a treadmill?

I only run outside....although, if I had access to a treadmill with the ability to watch telenovelas I would definitely do that.

In the past I have tried to run to podcasts which was actually pretty effective....the downside was that I found myself zoning out from time to time or missing out on things because of distractions or outside noises.

This particular audiobook was very interesting to me and I found myself paying attention during the entire time I ran.

Why did audiobooks not work for you? I know some people can't listen to audiobooks while working out...is it that they are too boring or too slow (most runners are used to fast paced music, no?).

I think the telenovelas will be perfect for you while you run. Good luck!

[James29]

I found that I would space out for a bit every now and then when listening to an audio book. I run to relax and clear my mind... not to concentrate. So, I would miss a few minutes of the book and then be hopelessly lost. I've only been using the treadmill for a few days now and it seems to be much better. For some reason it is much easier to just watch TV and zone out. Maybe it is because there are so many scenes that it is easier to keep watching if I miss something. We'll see how it goes. I really hope to be able to run and watch a telenovela.

[NoManches]

I found that I would space out for a bit every now and then when listening to an audio book. I run to relax and clear my mind... not to concentrate. So, I would miss a few minutes of the book and then be hopelessly lost. I've only been using the treadmill for a few days now and it seems to be much better. For some reason it is much easier to just watch TV and zone out. Maybe it is because there are so many scenes that it is easier to keep watching if I miss something. We'll see how it goes. I really hope to be able to run and watch a telenovela.

"Spacing Out" is a problem I always have....sometimes in English. This one audio book actually held my attention, unlike podcasts and audio books that I have ran to in the past. Maybe the reason is because I understand it with very little difficulty? I have ran to audiobooks in the past that were a lot tougher, and I always start to zone the minute I miss out on a word, sentence, or entire paragraph. Then, 3 minutes later I start to listen again and say "what the heck?!?! I just zoned out for the last 3 minutes...what the heck happened?"

Here is something interesting: In English (which I do believe is your native language as well), if we "space out" we still tend to understand some of the things that were said (maybe key words, but not specific details). In Spanish though, where we are not native speakers, even the smallest amount of "spacing out" results in a complete loss of what was said.

The last few weeks I was listening to a lot of Spanish news in the morning on the way to work (by downloading the podcasts to my phone). If the topic was interesting, I would listen attentively. If the topic wasn't that interesting, I would almost IMMEDIATELY space out. What I decided is that I will stick with reading the news in Spanish, where I can pick which topic to read and at the same time can stop whenever I find myself spacing out. Instead of news, I just listen to other podcasts that I mainly find interesting so the amount of spacing out I do is minimal.

In English, since my comprehension is so good, I can listen to "boring news topics", space out a little bit, and still understand the main point or at least some of the key words being used. In Spanish, since my comprehension is only somewhat decent, I can't afford to do this.

Of course, there are different levels of "spacing out". Sometimes it is very brief, other times we start thinking about what we will eat for dinner 3 days from now. I guess the key is to stop ourselves from spacing out too much and bring ourselves back to reality when we do think of other things.

I guess this got a bit off topic from what you said, but it still relates.

Good luck with your novela watching while you run! EVEN if you do zone out for say, 50% of the run, think of the other 50% of the material that you are absorbing. I look forward to hearing about your experiences!

[NoManches]

I would consider the last week to be one of my better ones in terms of language learning. During Thanksgiving break I went about 5 days without using Spanish, and this week I have not logged in many conversation hours. But, I am pleased to say that the few times I have used my Spanish I have "felt very fluent" and even received compliments on my Spanish. A good ego boost is always a good thing.

I basically stopped listening to Spanish language news in the mornings, and replaced that time period with other podcasts that I find more enjoyable. When I get to work I usually have time to read a few news articles in Spanish, which I prefer over listening to the news. The problem I have though, is forcing myself to read the news in Spanish instead of wasting time on doing things in English.

Speaking of this....I really need to make an extra effort to not only read more in Spanish, but to avoid my native language of English altogether. I've said it before and I'll say it again: every minute I spend in English is a minute I could spend in Spanish. The fact that I'm writing this very post in English kind of bothers me....but I did decided a long time ago that I would maintain this log in English. Sometimes in the morning I will read an article in English (usually posted on Facebook), and the next thing you know I'm on my 5th article in English. This needs to be a habit I have in Spanish but as of now, it's something that doesn't regularly happen. To make this a habit I have subscribed to a bunch of Facebook pages that are almost like "click bait".... pages that post articles that are super fun and interesting to read but have very little educational value. However, I always remind myself that it doesn't matter what I do in Spanish, as long as it IS in Spanish. Even if the material brings my IQ down a few points....I'm cool with that as long as I like what I read/watch/listen and it gets me hooked enough that I become better with the Spanish language

One cool thing that I have noticed this week: Since I follow a lot of Mexican Facebook pages and have seen a few Mexican movies, I sometimes make references to things that my Mexican/American friends (born in the USA & are bilingual) don't understand. I consider this a GOOD thing! During the month of December I would like to spend more time watching Mexican movies. Maybe I can squeeze in 5 movies this month in addition to my telenovelas.

That is about all I have to report for now. I'm hoping this upcoming week is as productive as last week!

[whatiftheblog]

I just wanted to jump in and say that I play my French Youtube playlist on the elliptical on my phone - I just prop it up on the little stand where the controls are (it helps that my gym has a strong wifi signal and I can just stream whatever). I've found that it serves an additional purpose beyond language learning - making me space out away from the notion that I'm exercising. I've started focusing really attentively on the videos, and now I'm surprised when the machine says my programmed workout is done. This may not be the best method for people who really like to savor their workouts / clear their heads, though.

[NoManches]

I just wanted to jump in and say that I play my French Youtube playlist on the elliptical on my phone - I just prop it up on the little stand where the controls are (it helps that my gym has a strong wifi signal and I can just stream whatever). I've found that it serves an additional purpose beyond language learning - making me space out away from the notion that I'm exercising. I've started focusing really attentively on the videos, and now I'm surprised when the machine says my programmed workout is done. This may not be the best method for people who really like to savor their workouts / clear their heads, though.

This is a really good idea, although right now I'm limited to running outside.


Quick update:

I've mentioned in the past that things are going to start getting real busy for me come 2017. My time to use Spanish may be limited, and I think now might be a good time to start developing some better habits in terms of language learning.

Starting today, I will make sure that every day at an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM I will:

-Read one article on Vice News (México) or from another news source if it's interesting to me.
-Use anki to review words
-Listen to one podcast of at least 15 minutes in length (I have found shoes like El Tlacuache to be perfect for this since they are about 15-20 minutes (usually).

While I normally do these things, there are days where I miss listening practice or might not read at all. I'll try to make these items a priority before I start anything else for the day.

[NoManches]

12/8/16- I decided to add some more intensive listening to my study routine. It's been a while since I've done this but it seems like one of the only ways I can force myself to pay attention in Spanish while listening to a podcast. I printed out a transcript from Radio Ambulante (15 pages total). I listened to the audio for the first 3 pages, stopping and rewinding whenever I had trouble with comprehension. For the really hard to decipher sentences, I listened to them 4-5 times until I could basically understand what was being said. I underlined all unknown words and looked them up. For 3 pages there were only 15 words I didn't know. Of those, I could understand about 8 of them based on context, but underlined them anyway.

After 3 pages I had completed 8:49 seconds of audio. I read all 3 pages of transcripts and then listened to the 8 minutes and 49 seconds of audio one more time. I really like this activity and think I will do it daily or whenever I get time throughout the week (even easier now that Radio Ambulante is coming out with new material each week).


The BIGGEST problem I seem to he having right now is not hearing words, but making sense of them. For most sentences I'm fine, but occasionally I will get tripped up on something complicated. Take this for example:

En los 14 días de feria se registraron 520 mil visitantes, casi 70 mil personas más que el año anterior. Y el sábado 2 de mayo, el día que se robaron el libro, y sólo tres días antes de que se acabara la feria, entraron alrededor de 73 mil personas.

This is one of those parts of speech that trips me up. I think in this particular case it has to do with the numbers involved (even at my level I have problems hearing numbers). But, the second sentence from my example confused me too. This might be due to the use of the "imperfect subjunctive" ... maybe I need more exposure to it. Either way, I had to reread that portion a few times to wrap my head around it...but after I listened to the audio a final time everything made more sense.

I'm still striving to reach a level where this type of stuff gives me no problems at all. I'll only be satisfied when I can hear similar material and understand it without extra effort. In other words, I want to reach a level where my L2 comprehension is comparable to comprehension in my native language.

[whatiftheblog]

I'm still striving to reach a level where this type of stuff gives me no problems at all. I'll only be satisfied when I can hear similar material and understand it without extra effort. In other words, I want to reach a level where my L2 comprehension is comparable to comprehension in my native language.

Sounds like you're well on your way! The listening will come at its own pace, but I'm living proof that it does, indeed, eventually happen. Good luck!