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Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 3:35 pm
by Xenops
French study time: 16.7

I discovered I'm (almost) on task with French in Action, and I should finish chapter 4 today or tomorrow.

Listening to 1 More Radio http://tunein.com/radio/1MORE-French-s268028/, I discovered a fun singer:


Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 1:47 am
by Xenops
French study time: 19.1 hours.

I finished chapter 4 of French in Action! Yes. 8-) I see that I'll have to put in probably an hour each day to complete a chapter a week...I want to still try that. I think I'm on unit 28 of Pimsleur; my exercise routine has temporarily changed due to having to shovel snow in the morning. Good times.

Despite my discontent with being uncomfortable with learning multiple languages at once, I'm happier overall with just sticking to French for now. And this might change once I'm done with school: perhaps then I can tack on another. But right now I can appreciate the focusing on one language, and making reasonable progress.

I was curious about the All Japanese All the Time method, and I'm not thinking it will prove useful to me. Here's the link anyway: http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/overview/ I might just make my own immersion environment.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 2:18 am
by Xenops
Just a quick update: my French study hours are: 23.0. I haven't tackled French in Action much lately, as school has finally picked up (I was studying French while waiting for the assignments). I finished Pimsleur 2:4 today, and this is the farthest I've ever gotten on a language on Pimsleur. :mrgreen:

I went to the mall on Saturday, and I overheard an older couple talking with a store assistant about foreign exchange programs. Later I asked the assistant if I heard an accent in her voice. She seemed a little embarrassed. "Yes," she said, and paused. While I waited, she finally confessed, "I'm from the Ukraine."

"Cool!" I said. I always have a heard time trying to think of things to say when I find out the person doesn't speak a language that I am practicing. Being careful about my wording, instead of saying "my friend wants to learn Russian", I said, "I have a friend that wants to learn Slavic languages".

"Oh", she said, "well, I am here if she wants to practice."

I thought that was nice. "Sadly she's in the other part of the state."

"Oh, there's a surprising number of Russian speakers here," she said. I thought it was interesting that she grouped herself with Russians. After that, I thanked her and departed.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:53 am
by DaveBee
Xenops wrote:"Oh, there's a surprising number of Russian speakers here," she said. I thought it was interesting that she grouped herself with Russians. After that, I thanked her and departed.
Wikipedia has a nice map of the Ukraine, showing the distribution of Russian and Ukrainian speakers.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2017 4:37 am
by Xenops
Hello! I'm still alive. School has picked up, and I need to figure out how to fit French in Action more regularly. My pace in chapter 5 is currently pitiful. I did finished Pimsleur 2:5 today.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 4:23 am
by Xenops
I'm getting back on track! My French study time is: 28.2 hours. Tonight I got to about half of chapter 5 in French in Action, and to 2:7 in Pimsleur. With Pimsleur I'm having a hard time knowing when to say "we have gone" or any variation and knowing when to use être or aller for the first part. It was more straight-forward in Spanish. I'm also finding the negation rather odd.

It was revealed to me that the local library has a book sale every once in a while...Little did I know it encompassed the entire library basement. :o They had many language materials, so I gathered these:

Image

I'm all set for French reading, German grammar, and Italian when I get a record player. ;)

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 3:20 am
by Xenops
Alright! For French hours I have: 33.45

Lately I've been listening to Pimsleur units more than once, since the material seems to build quickly. I felt bad about this at first, but after reading that other Pimsleur users often listen to them 2-3 times before moving on, I feel fine now. What I try to do is listen for the English prompting, and spit out the answer before the speaker does. if I get a reasonable number correct before the speaker gives the answer, then I move on. Currently I'm repeating 2:10.

For French in Action, I finished leçon 5 yesterday. :D Chapter 6 was the first video where I couldn't follow the entire dialogue. I saw that most of it was transcribed in the textbook, but not as complete as previous chapters. The instructions in French began, too. Poor me! I'm tempted to add Assimil back in the mix, because I know there are translations. ;)

An odd development has occurred: I feel that I'm supposed to learn Korean. As a Christian, sometimes you feel you're supposed to do something that doesn't make much sense. I was stressed out about this, because I'm busy as it is, and with previous attempts to learn a language alongside French (Dari, Turkish, or German), I felt worn out. I've started slowly in Korean, learning the script and looking for resources, and so far I have energy sufficient for both. I have referred to leosmith's use of Korean From Zero! and Talk To Me in Korean. I also started the K-drama "Boys Over Flowers". I wasn't sure after the first episode, but the second episode won my allegiance.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 8:48 pm
by Jar-Ptitsa
hi Xenops

You're not learning easy langauges then (Korean, Dari and Turkish)!!! but very interesting and nice ones. good luck :)

why as a Christian must you do things that doesn't make much sense sometimes? Like challenge yourself?

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2017 10:40 pm
by Xenops
vogeltje wrote:hi Xenops

You're not learning easy langauges then (Korean, Dari and Turkish)!!! but very interesting and nice ones. good luck :)

why as a Christian must you do things that doesn't make much sense sometimes? Like challenge yourself?


No, just working on French and Korean for now, but thanks for cheering me on. :)

It could be for me to have a challenge; I tend to think it's because He would have a use for me if I learned Korean, or as a test to see if I would truly do as He says.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 1:33 am
by Jar-Ptitsa
Xenops wrote:
No, just working on French and Korean for now, but thanks for cheering me on. :)

It could be for me to have a challenge; I tend to think it's because He would have a use for me if I learned Korean, or as a test to see if I would truly do as He says.


He changes His mind, so before he told you for example Dari and now Korean. Maybe He wants that you'll help the norht Korean refugees. It's very bad for them when they escape North Korea and live in China, because China takes them back if they find them and North Korea is truly terrible with the repression, spies, and hunger. I wonder why He told you to learn French.

God doesn't tell me what to do, but St Francis said that there are lots of birds in cages and dogs on the streets in Spain who need help, so of course I want to help them. Also the bears in the countries where they are cruel and for exmaple they must dance and live in a small cage. St Francis didn't say that I had to learn Spanish, but it would be useful, obvoulsy. I think that the bears are in China, but I can't learn Chinese, it's too difficult, so I will probably donate some money to the bear charities.