The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:52 am

I'll have to report that Scriptorium seems to be working very very well indeed for me, with regards to Spanish. Just listened to some B1, B2 and even C1 DELE listening comprehension clips on Youtube and I'm absolutely astounded by how much I could understand, especially considering the fact that I've deliberately been avoiding native material because I'm using Spanish as a experiment for Assimil. The most I've watched so far is one episode of the aforementioned 'Reina de Corazones'.

My slight adaptation of the method in doing previous lessons a la dictation, rather than new lessons where I read from the book, seems to have made a significant impact on my listening comprehension. This, coupled with the fact that I also simultaneously translate my transcribed sentences into English, makes it feel like I'm really assimilating the lessons.

Verdict: Feeling extremely positive and encouraged.
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Wed Mar 29, 2017 5:47 pm

Status: A nice blend of procrastination, boredom and wanderlust. The sweet frustration of understanding and yet not understanding Dutch. Just watching some Dutch Tv and trying to understand what the hell is going on and why the sounds are so guttural
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:12 pm

Just messing around with Esperanto and signed up at Lernu. Also gotten La Hobito and will read it once I'm through with my brief overview of the grammar rules. Excellently well designed language. Feels so familiar.

Just need an audiobook or audio material of some sorts.

Status: Wanderlust running amok
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Thu Mar 30, 2017 8:13 am

You know, it's an incredible feeling. To look at an unfamiliar language with fascination and know deep down that you're capable of learning that if you put in enough time and effort. Or even better, to come across some piece of native material that had previously been incomprehensible to you and now find that you can understand.

Where you once saw and heard gibberish, you can now extract meaning from. The text/video/recording didn't change. Your brain did.

Absolutely incredible.
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Thu Mar 30, 2017 4:41 pm

There's a Harry Potter in Ancient Greek.
My life is complete
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:12 am

On grammatical language as a tool of obfuscation:

I just came across some bilingual Latin texts in my library and I decided to refresh my knowledge of Latin grammar, having taken Latin formally for a semester in the University. I came across a great video that simply provided the verb tenses with a short explanation of how the conjugation worked.

A commenter, however, was not entirely satisfied with this explanation.
She asked 'hi could you explain what conjugation means? I know there are four but I don't understand what they mean'.

This was the answer from another well meaning commenter
'We group things together. When it comes to verbs in Latin, they are grouped in conjugations. When it comes to nouns in Latin, they are grouped in declensions. There are 4 conjugations because verbs have one of 4 possible infinitives. If the verb has an infinitive of where there is an a before the -re then it is in the 1st conjugation. If the verb has an infinitive where there is an long e before the -re then this verb is in the 2nd conjugation. If the verb has an infinitive where there is a short e before the -re, then this verb is in the 3rd conjugation. If the verb has an infinitive where there is a long i before the -re then this verb is in the 4th conjugation.

Hope this helps'

Forgive my presumption, but I can't possibly see how that could be helpful to someone who simply wants to understand the concept of conjugation and changing verbs. Could it possibly be better to just illustrate a conjugated verb with an English equivalent ie I love, you love, she loves etc and then add that conjugation is simply the changing of a verb in a sentence, based on certain factors, factors which can then be unpacked slowly after she understands what the concept of conjugation is?

What could be explained in minutes with simple language has now been overcomplicated to the point where the asker is possibly left even more confused than ever, wondering what an infinitive and what a declension could possibly mean. It appears to me that the grammarian is much more concerned with grouping languages into neat and tiny boxes than actually helping people understand the way the language works.

I know that there are some people who enjoy parsing grammatical jargon but they are most certainly the minority, considering the numbers of people who get turned off learning a language by the prospect of grammar. In summary, I think a 'Let's Cut the Bullshit: Grammar for the Clueless' series of grammar books would be something I'd spend my money on. This is because when starting language learning for the first time or even being experienced and learning a totally different language from your other languages, that is exactly what you are: Clueless and in desperate need of some comprehensible explanations.

Less jargon, more comprehension please.
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:23 am

Seems like a good dabble session is what I need to do whenever I get close to burning out on my routine. After doing the first lesson of Le Grec Ancien and polishing up on Latin grammar, I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle my French/German/Spanish routine with increased vigour.

This is the first time I've actually been exposed to the Greek alphabet, so I'm giving it a while to sink in. I am incredibly discouraged, however, by the fact that most of the other Ancient Greek resources I've seen are the hardcore grammar translation type manuals.
Seen a beat down copy of Teach Yourself Ancient Greek and I may use that instead before starting Assimil proper.
In all it's a nice feeling to be dabbling in an ancient language.
I've ordered the Ancient Greek translation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as well as the Latin translation but it may be a while before I get good enough to read the former. Can't wait for them to arrive.

The rest of my routine is still going forward but Life intervened yesterday and I missed a lesson of Business French and Perfectionnement Allemand. Rather disappointing but I had to remind myself that Business French is just 40 lessons in total and that Perfectionnement doesn't have to be sped through. The active waves plodding along and the self correction I do after each lesson is making me more confident in my French and German output.

I also looked at the price of the Goethe B2 exam and came to the conclusion that, as an impoverished student, I really can't afford 125-215 euros for an exam. Seems I'll just work hard on my German till December and then go start a new language, probably Dutch. Life is too short to await official certification, especially when I'm just about 20 and I have decades more time to use my German.

Verdict: sic parvis magna
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Ingaræð
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Ingaræð » Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:27 am

Atinkoriko wrote:I also looked at the price of the Goethe B2 exam and came to the conclusion that, as an impoverished student, I really can't afford 125-215 euros for an exam. Seems I'll just work hard on my German till December and then go start a new language, probably Dutch. Life is too short to await official certification, especially when I'm just about 20 and I have decades more time to use my German.

I think this is a wise decision. You'll already have exams for uni (which are arguably a one-shot deal), whereas language certification exams, should you need them, will still be there when you're an impoverished graduate. ;)

EDIT: I don't know what year you're in, but have you considered doing a year abroad at all? Half of my Erasmus friends were doing law.
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Atinkoriko
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Atinkoriko » Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:38 am

Ingaræð wrote:
Atinkoriko wrote:I also looked at the price of the Goethe B2 exam and came to the conclusion that, as an impoverished student, I really can't afford 125-215 euros for an exam. Seems I'll just work hard on my German till December and then go start a new language, probably Dutch. Life is too short to await official certification, especially when I'm just about 20 and I have decades more time to use my German.

I think this is a wise decision. You'll already have exams for uni (which are arguably a one-shot deal), whereas language certification exams, should you need them, will still be there when you're an impoverished graduate. ;)

EDIT: I don't know what year you're in, but have you considered doing a year abroad at all? Half of my Erasmus friends were doing law.


I applied but all my target countries had been gobbled up pretty quickly ie Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy etc

:(

Yeah.
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Cavesa
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Re: The Chronicles of An Overly Ambitious Soon To Be 20 year old.

Postby Cavesa » Sat Apr 01, 2017 11:53 am

Ingaræð wrote:
Atinkoriko wrote:I also looked at the price of the Goethe B2 exam and came to the conclusion that, as an impoverished student, I really can't afford 125-215 euros for an exam. Seems I'll just work hard on my German till December and then go start a new language, probably Dutch. Life is too short to await official certification, especially when I'm just about 20 and I have decades more time to use my German.

I think this is a wise decision. You'll already have exams for uni (which are arguably a one-shot deal), whereas language certification exams, should you need them, will still be there when you're an impoverished graduate. ;)

EDIT: I don't know what year you're in, but have you considered doing a year abroad at all? Half of my Erasmus friends were doing law.


I must respectfully disagree, despite seeing your point.

Yes, it is a lot of money. Plus the money for preparatory books, or perhaps you want a tutor, you may need to travel to the testing center, and so on. I had to consider the language exams from this point too. I am not exactly impoverished, but neither am I a millionaire, I need to spend money responsibly. And I am considering two more exams and money is one of the factors, of course. And I am likely to pay it, even if I have to cut some other parts of my budget. I have a supportive father, but I really don't think I should ask him for a Spanish exam, which I don't necessarily need. With long term planning, the amount or money is not that unrealistic. Of course, I realize many people are in worse situation, they basically need to take the money from their absolutely necessary needs, and I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat (I honestly apologize, if I do), I understand and wish all those people to get to a better situation soon, especially as such an investment can be absolutely crutial for the change.

Those 125-215 euros can be one of the best investments you ever make. Future opportunities requiring it may not leave you the time to wait for the next round (even though the Goethe exams are being organized more often then DELF oe DELE), sign up, wait, do the exam, wait for the results, wait for the paper. My DALF has already been bearing fruits and I am definitely not talking about the Erasmus only. The moment you see a job/internship offer of your dreams, requiring a good level of German, it will be too late to apply.

Sure, there are the uni exams. It was hard to prepare both for DALF C2 and my microbiology exam (+one smaller exam), that took place two weeks apart. I admit that. But microbiology was just one (difficult and annoying) exam out of dozens my medical degree requires, while the DALF was an immediate boost of my CV. You are likely to need a CV long before you finish your degree, and there won't be that many other things to adorn it with, you are still young.

Yes, you are 20. You are entering a job market (starting with part time jobs to do while studying and with unpaid but important internships), where lots of things have lost value lately. Many degrees do not impress people anymore. You are getting to a system where you need experience in order to be allowed to get experience. A certificate proving B2 level German can be a huge advantage. Despite some elitists views, B2 is already a solid and very useful level. Of course employers test people during the interviews (that is quite a popular argument against the "useless" language exams). But you need to get there through the initial selection. Lack of such a language line on a CV can easily be the first filter allowing a HR worker to throw a quarter of the uncomfortably huge pile of CVs to the dustbin. People no longer trust all those "intermediate", "fluent", "conversational", "passive", and other vague statements people put on CV.

You don't need to postpone Dutch because of the exam, if that is your main worry. It is about your planning. If you make a good plan, prepare over a longer period of time, the intensity may well allow you to take on another language. You will need to leave it for a month or two before the exam, true, but that is not so much, looking at the bigger picture.
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