Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Ongoing language-learning challenges, and team challenge logs (but not individual logs)
User avatar
Ani
Brown Belt
Posts: 1433
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2016 8:58 am
Location: Alaska
Languages: English (N), speaks French, Russian & Icelandic (beginner)
x 3840
Contact:

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Ani » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:16 pm

Welcome aboard everyone!

Soffía wrote:A question about the challenge... would it make sense to ask people to choose a goal date for completion? Otherwise it seems like it will be really easy (for me at least) to think "I'll finish these... someday." I was thinking about choosing an achievable end-of-year goal, for example.


You can set a goal that seems reasonable to you. No one here will dictate how you pace yourself or what time frame you should work with but obviously good goal setting correlates with success. Personally I am working to complete the list of courses I have chosen by the end of next year but I also have smaller monthly goals to try and keep on track.
4 x
But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Cavesa
Black Belt - 4th Dan
Posts: 4960
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:46 am
Languages: Czech (N), French (C2) English (C1), Italian (C1), Spanish, German (C1)
x 17566

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Cavesa » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:25 pm

Thanks, Ani! Great idea!

One comment first: I think that in order to succeed, I need to define at most two courses to complete per language. And to give myself a deadline, which in this case will be the end of July. (Is that against the rules, Ani?) It is not unrealistic as all those courses have already been started, some are even quite close to completion, I just hadn't been able to do the last unit or two :-D.

Good luck everyone!

Language: German
Course material:
Němčina nejen pro samouky
Themen Aktuell 1
Comments: In the second book, I've got two units (out of ten) left.

Language: Italian
Course material: Italština
Comments: "Just" one course, but a dense one, and I have completed very small part so far.

Language: Spanish
Course material:
Gramática B1 COMPLETE
Fiesta 1 (a Czech based book, lever from 0 to A2) COMPLETE
Comments: One third of the first (smaller) one done. In the latter, one last chapter, even though long and on subjuntivo, left.

Language: French
Course material:
Grammaire Progressive Avancé
Grammaire Progressive Perfectionnement
Comments: A huge and long planned review of the books avancé-perfectionnement, out of which I didn't complete majority of the exercises the last time.

edit: I forgot to add the log http://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1870&p=19563#p19563
btw this list is still not realistic. But I am working on it, trying to win at least over some of these beasts
edit 2:removing Swedish. I have realized my plans for the other half of the year may not leave me enough time for it. And especially as I am not unlikely to start Finnish with the other authors of my log. I've been working on the German and Spanish goals the most so far.
edit 3:update, completion of one of the Spanish goals, 27.7.
edit4:update, competion of Fiesta 1 on 18.8.
Last edited by Cavesa on Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:14 pm, edited 4 times in total.
4 x

User avatar
aokoye
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:14 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Languages: English (N), German (~C1), French (Intermediate), Japanese (N4), Swedish (beginner), Dutch (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19262
x 3309
Contact:

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby aokoye » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:37 pm

Cavesa wrote:Language: Swedish
Course material: Švédština nejen pro samouky, first half.
Comments: I need to finally get trully working on this. However, since I want to complete things during July, I'll keep just the first half in the challenge (with the second left of August, if everything goes well), unless that is against the rules. Ani?


You and a few people who I know off line are going to be tempting me with Swedish and seemingly everyone is going to be tempting me with French. I have New French With Ease sitting on my bedside table (it's been living there for a few months) and a lovely Swedish textbook (Rivstart) in my bookshelf....cue large sigh.
4 x
Prefered gender pronouns: Masculine

Soffía
Green Belt
Posts: 261
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2015 3:20 pm
Location: England
Languages: English (N), Icelandic (B2 reading, B1 listening), Hebrew (basic)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1139
x 481

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Soffía » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:01 pm

Ani wrote:You can set a goal that seems reasonable to you. No one here will dictate how you pace yourself or what time frame you should work with but obviously good goal setting correlates with success.

Oh, no, I didn't mean to ask someone else to set a goal for me.

I was suggesting that people signing up to the challenge should be asked to specify, along with language and course material, when they intend to finish the course.

Apologies for being unclear.
4 x

Komma
Orange Belt
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 8:00 pm
Location: Germany
Languages: German (N); learning actively: Japanese (beginner); learning passively: English (probably C1/2), French (false beginner); on halt: Spanish (beginner)
Language Log: http://how-to-learn-any-language.org/vi ... =15&t=1067
x 155

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Komma » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:16 pm

Normally I'm horrible at challenges, because I tend to lose interest in doing so much at once and towards a deadline here and there, so basically I like this one being more open (though my first thought was as well to probably have a deadline, but I won't :mrgreen: )
The aim is to finish courses, which is a goal in itself. Probably my only deadline will be 'in my life'.

My log: http://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1067


Language: French (challenge I)
Course Material: Assimil Französisch ohne Mühe, Grammaire Progressive - niveau intermediaire, Vocabulaire progressif - niveau debutant, Französisch für Büffelmuffel, French in Action Videos
Comments: There are probably more courses I encounter, but if I start everything, I'll probably never finish.. The first three courses are those I own. The last I borrowed from the library. It's actually more of a reader, with grammar explanations and excercises. It's for refreshing French, which basically is what I try to do.
I guess this collection is a good mix of dialogues, reading, grammar and vocabulary. When I'm done, I'm doing another challenge (I suppose this is like a neverending challenge, since there is no real end-date?)
Start: le 10 juillet 2016
Complete:

Language: Spanish (challenge I)
Course Material: Assimil L'Espagnol, Gramatica Basica del estudiante de espagnol, Language Transfer, Destinos videos
Comments: Basically I might not do every single thing of every single excercise in the grammar book (this also applies to french above). Some concepts are just clear after a while and still appear in every grammar. It's not really useful for me to do the excercise for that. This means, that my defenition of 'completion' is not 'total' completion, but going through the material, doing what suits me and leave the rest behind. (And maybe doing a grammar practice book is not that much of a 'course' but since most people here do this, I though I could add it)
Start: el 10 de julio de 2016
Complete:


Like I said before, I'd add a challenge II or additional challenges in the future, since I assume this to be like an 'forever' ongoing challenge. Good luck everyone!


EDIT1 (10.7.2016): Added FIA and destinos, since I just forgot that they were there and that I want to do them in these challenges as well..
EDIT (23.3.2017): I abandoned studying French and Spanish at least with courses..
Last edited by Komma on Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
4 x
: 38 / 113 Assimil French - passive
: 5 / 40 Language Transfer
: 20 / 81 Le petit Prince
: 0 / 52 Grammaire progressive - intermédiaire
: 0 / 28 Vocabulaire progressf - débutant

User avatar
snowflake
Orange Belt
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 11:21 pm
Location: Midwest USA
Languages: English (N), Mandarin (intermediate)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1292
x 237

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby snowflake » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:49 pm

Language: Mandarin

Course Material: Dave and Helen in China

Comments: I’d like to work through some textbooks due to concerns regarding standard body of knowledge. Finishing Dave and Helen in China by the end of 2016 should be reasonable. For a number of reasons, I tend to lean toward Yale publication materials. Afterward, I will probably pick up the textbook “Taiwan Today” and hopefully finish that by fall 2017. I’m thinking of taking the ACTFL OPI at the end of 2017. I am heading to Taiwan in about 1 ½ weeks so will not post a link to my log at this time.... don’t expect to post again on the forum until probably Sept.
4 x

User avatar
aokoye
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1818
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:14 pm
Location: Portland, OR
Languages: English (N), German (~C1), French (Intermediate), Japanese (N4), Swedish (beginner), Dutch (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19262
x 3309
Contact:

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby aokoye » Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:20 am

So I think I'm also going to try to do finish French with Ease by November 1st. That would be a lesson a day which I think I can maybe swing. I'll also be using Anki because I'm already in the habit and it appears to be working for me in terms of my ability to effectively learn with it (finally).

I've had the book for at least a year and got the audio from the copy that my local library has years ago. I also have the first book of the Grammaire Progressive series which, I've had for longer than New French with Ease. I may add that to my course list in August or early September.
4 x
Prefered gender pronouns: Masculine

User avatar
kanewai
Blue Belt
Posts: 753
Joined: Fri May 22, 2015 9:10 pm
Location: Honolulu
Languages: Native: English
Active: Italian
Maintenance: Spanish, French
Priors: Chuukese (Micronesian), Indonesian, Latin, Greek (epic and modern), Turkish, Arabic
x 3219
Contact:

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby kanewai » Tue Jul 12, 2016 12:24 am

There's something really rewarding about finishing an actual course. For French my weak skills are writing and oral comprehension. I've read everyone's logs on what they've done. I know how to work on oral comprehension using native materials and the internet. And yet I don't do it.

It's time for me to do some more formal French study again, and as soon as I figure out which course I'll be back to post! It will be one or more of the CLE series, I know that much at least.

addendum:

I just spent half the afternoon researching French courses. It's time to make a commitment!

I like PeterMollenburg's idea of a Big Five, though my five are slightly different than his. Actually, I don't even have a Big Five yet in Spanish.

French
    Finished: Pimsleur I-V
    Finished: FSI Basic
    Finished: Assimil French with East; Using French (le français en pratique)
    Current: LingVist (has anyone actualy 'finished' LingVist?)
    Current: CLE Vocabulaire progressive du français - niveau avancé (I just ordered it)
    Future: Grammaire progressive du français

Spanish
    Finished: Pimsleur I-IV
    Finished FSI Book 1 and 2
    Finished: Assimil Spanish with Ease
    Current: Pimsleur V
    Current: Assimil Español perfeccionamiento
    Future: FSI Books 3 (as soon as ilmari releases his digitized version!) and 4

My time frame is shorter than others; I want to go up a level in each before a conference I have in September. I'll be working hard this summer.
5 x
Super Challenge - 50 books
Italian: 11 / 50
Spanish: 50 / 50
French: 16 / 50

User avatar
MCK74
Green Belt
Posts: 251
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2016 7:41 pm
Location: Ohio, USA
Languages: English (N), Studying: Spanish (intermediate) German (beginner) Latin (beginner)
x 314

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby MCK74 » Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:12 pm

Language - Spanish

Course - Advanced Spanish Step by Step

Comment - My goal is to write out the grammar exercises from a few books to improve my Spanish. When I get the chance I'll write essays in Spanish and have someone who is C1 in Spanish correct my writing. I'm also going to a weekly Spanish meetup to practice my spoken Spanish.



Language - Mandarin

Course - Pimsleur Chinese levels I, II and III

Comment - My beginning point for spoken Mandarin. I also started going to a Mandarin meetup that just started and seems to be meeting every other week.
2 x

User avatar
Olekander
Orange Belt
Posts: 205
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2016 4:00 pm
Location: Moscow
Languages: Speaks: English (Native), French, Russian.
Studied: Latin, Catalan, Spanish, Mandarin, Czech, Ukrainian

Studying: Turkish
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2995
x 194
Contact:

Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Olekander » Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:15 am

Hey Guys, I've recently started Catalan (yesterday actually yay) so this is the perfect log for me. Thanks for setting it up OP!

All progress will be logged in my personal log.

My Russian and French are not at a follow a course level anymore so it makes sense to only do it with a new language. So here goes.

Language Catalan

Materials Parla.Cat
1 ) Basic Course - before 19/08/2016
2) Elemental before 19/09/2016
3) Intermediate course before 19/10/2016
4) Advanced course before 31/12/2016

*a note on each course. Each course contains multiple units - up to 7. And each unit contains 3 sub sections. Each Sub sections contain about 10-20 activities. So this is gonna be super time consuming. I might skip some of the repetitiveness if deemed non optimal use of my time.

I want to have learnt to communicate in Catalan conversationally fluently before the end of the year. I think it's doable with consistency and with a background in Romance Languages.

8-)
2 x
Да нет. :roll:

: 1000 / 1000 1,000 Russian words: started 15/06/2016 :)
: 15 / 365 365 scriptorium transcriptions: started 19/06/2016
: 2 / 1010 Russian books: 4/06/2016
: 3 / 2121 units of Parla.cat


Return to “Language Challenges”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests