Introduce yourself here

General discussion about learning languages
Andrew125
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:47 am
Languages: English, Spanish
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Andrew125 » Mon Nov 07, 2022 9:48 am

Hello, I am andrew. Looking for your guidance in the future.
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fishsmarts
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2022 12:28 am
Languages: English (N), Italian (A2), French (B1)
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby fishsmarts » Tue Nov 08, 2022 1:31 am

Hi
I'm from Canada and learning French. I have learned Italian to a lower intermediate level in the past. I am currently at a lower intermediate level in French and struggling with the intermediate plateau but slowly pushing through. I recently changed my style to better emphasize material that I enjoy. I am really excited to join this forum. I have consumed a lot of content in the past and am hoping to be able to contribute. I have been tracking my study time since shortly after beginning my journey in French. I have recently been trying to go further and record study time as either 'active' or 'passive' as a way to encourage more passive study time. I hope that my semi-obsessive time tracking and my experiments in different study techniques can be useful to others. I look forward to joining the community. :ugeek:
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Paũlo
White Belt
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2022 12:55 pm
Location: Londono
Languages: English (N), Esperanto (Beginner)
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Paũlo » Tue Nov 08, 2022 1:09 pm

Saluton, mi estas Paŭlo kaj mi lernas Esperanton. Hello, I'm learning Esperanto. I found my way here following a post about a crazy C1 challenge on the (Duolingo and Other) Esperanto Learners group over on f***book :D
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Poeta_Regius
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:19 am
Languages: English (N), Polish (A1)
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Poeta_Regius » Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:39 am

Hello! I am a native English speaker from America, and I am currently learning Polish. There were a couple of other languages I was working on before but I really love how Polish sounds so I decided to focus completely on it. I've also made a couple of online friends from Poland so I hope I can visit them sometime in the future.
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Bulbtismus
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:52 pm
Languages: English, Francais, Deutsch
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Bulbtismus » Wed Nov 16, 2022 3:19 pm

Hi ;) my name is Laura and I’ve decided I need some help and interchange with other people in learning languages. I speak French and English, I mean, actually, I read it more or less well. My next goal is Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew for the most part. I love vegetarian food and classical music, I enjoy inline skating and Yoga. I’m a passionate reader and I have a little dog, called Pamina. Yes, after Pamina in the Magic Flute / Zauberflöte.

Have a nice day! ❤️ Oh, I also love emojis.
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Gaoling97
Yellow Belt
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 3:48 am
Location: 中國
Languages: English (N), German (Advanced), Chinese (Intermediate)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18675
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Gaoling97 » Thu Nov 17, 2022 6:40 am

Nice to meet everyone. I am from the USA but have been living in China for the past 3.5 years. I am an intermediate level in Chinese (I would estimate roughly the equivalent of a B2 level), but I am very burnt out and am kind of taking a break from actively studying it.

Apart from that, I started learning German in school over 13 years ago and reached a ~C1 level after around 5-6 years. I then studied abroad in Germany for one year but, until about two years ago, basically stopped learning the language because I had to focus on other things, and didn't really start seriously studying again until this year. I am now primarily focused on studying that and am strongly considering moving to Germany in the future (it is unfortunately nearly impossible as a person not of Chinese heritage to become a citizen of the PRC). I 100% believe I could pass a C2 level exam next year, but of course it might be premature to say that until I've actually done so.

Studying languages is the hobby that takes up the vast majority of my free time, and I am very happy to be here, seemingly amongst like-minded people. I have been on some other forums where people are much less serious about language learning.
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Bulbtismus
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:52 pm
Languages: English, Francais, Deutsch
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Bulbtismus » Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:31 am

If you need somebody to help you with some text correction, I am happy to help. I am a German native speaker. so it`s no problem at all.
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User avatar
Kullman
Orange Belt
Posts: 130
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:54 pm
Languages: Spanish (N) Galician (N) English (B2)
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Kullman » Fri Nov 18, 2022 5:51 pm

My name is Manuel, and I'm from Galicia, a region in the northwest corner of Spain.

I'm 45 years old and, beside spanish and galician, which are my native languages, the only language I know is a bit of english.

Even If I never took any learning course since high school, I think my skills for reading, listening and writing are ok, while my speaking abilities have been always my main weakness, as I don't usually have the opportunity to use it.

I'm trying to find a partner for english conversation, preferably someone who is learning spanish or galician (or both), and would benefit for the spanish and galician conversation I can offer.
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marcuspezzaioli
White Belt
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:11 pm
Languages: English (N), Italian (intermediate, studying for C2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18665
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Contact:

Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby marcuspezzaioli » Sun Nov 20, 2022 1:17 pm

Hello,

My name is Marcus and I am a native English speaker, planning on taking a C2 exam in Italian in around a year's time. (The CILs)

Any advice / links to advice on passing language exams - especially the CILS - would be much appreciated.
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User avatar
Monk
White Belt
Posts: 33
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2022 9:06 pm
Location: USA
Languages: English (N), Spanish (~A1), Hebrew (beginner).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18728
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Re: Introduce yourself here

Postby Monk » Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:37 pm

Greetings fellow language learners,

I recently joined the forum, after frequently browsing the site as a non-member over the years, because I have consistently found the content here to be high quality. There are so many interesting and insightful discussions, as well as recommendations and other helpful resources being shared.

A bit about my own language journey. I am a native speaker of English. I am currently studying Spanish as my principal area of focus for a second language. Like many, I took language courses (in my case, Spanish) back when I was in school. I didn't learn a lot through the public school language courses I took, but certain things did stick. For example, basic verb conjugations, pronunciation (of the vowels in particular), the names of the letters, some general sentence structure and basic grammar points. After I graduated high school (in 1989), I didn't do anything with Spanish for many years. About four years ago, I decided I wanted to revisit the language. I started with Duolingo, found it to be so-so (helpful in some ways, not so helpful in others), bought a course book, a dictionary, a grammar, and started to use other online resources as well. Additionally, to jump start my Spanish learning, I enrolled in a basic Spanish course at a local center and took two semesters of intro to Spanish. After completing those two semesters, I decided I wanted to continue as a self-learner. The formal classes were helpful to get me studying again, but when I thought about the cost vs. the information and guidance I was getting in return, I realized that with just a bit more discipline I could study on my own. There is a vast array of materials to work with, especially for such a common language as Spanish. However, I did not successfully keep up a daily routine, and eventually I stalled out sometime in 2019-20.

Just over three months ago I decided I was going to start up again. I have been dedicating a minimum of one hour a day to learning/practicing Spanish, and so far I have been able to do this daily without fail. Sometimes it is more. Two or three hours, but my goal is at least one hour every day. Because of this, I guess I am what is sometimes referred to as a "false beginner." I don't discount anything I learned in school, or years later in the two semesters of the language course at the center, yet because I was not consistent I essentially started from the beginning again three months ago.

I like to use a variety of methods. Currently, these include:

1) Rocket Spanish (a software course I purchased). I'm working through the lessons of Level 1.

2) A beginner's coursebook. I'm currently using Complete Latin American Spanish by Juan Kattán-Ibarra and published by Teach Yourself. I've just started this.

3) Duolingo (not relying on this too heavily, but it has its usefulness for things like constructing sentences, though the multiple choice aspect of that limits production in my opinion, as well as the computerized audio).

4) Reading practice with some dual-language books from Dover; Mexican Short Stories/Cuentos Mexicanos edited/translated by Stanley Appelbaum, and First Spanish Reader by Angel Flores. I started with children's stories, and have moved on to these. Eventually I want to work up to reading without an English translation to fall back on. I have a few Gabriel García Márquez books (Spanish editions) sitting on my shelf as an inspiration.

5) Listening practice. A variety of materials. For example, videos online from "Easy Spanish," but also native content that is not specifically geared towards learners, like Radio Ambulante, TV series on streaming services, movies, news, and podcasts that are in Spanish about topics I'm interested in.

6) Writing practice. Sometimes this is in conjunction with the coursebook or with a lesson from Rocket Spanish. Other times it involves me writing out scripts of conversations I create in my head where I first write would I want to say in English, and then try to translate that to Spanish. On occasion, I will attempt to transcribe segments of what I listen to during listening practice.

7) Speaking practice. This principally consists of 30 minute conversations on italki with native speakers. I'm currently doing this twice a month, but am about to change that to once a week. At this stage speaking is beyond my comfort zone, so I decided it was something I should dive into rather than put off for some undetermined future. I've only had four sessions so far, but I feel each one has be worthwhile. Trying to produce speech, unscripted, on-the-fly, as well as listening to/comprehending the instructor and then responding to what they say, definitely stretches me and challenges me in a good way. It also helps to point out additional things to study. For example, specific grammar and vocabulary that naturally arise through conversation. Also, phrases and expressions that might not be in a textbook but are common to the dialect of the speaker.

I have other materials as well. Dictionaries, two different grammars along with a grammar workbook, some novels in Spanish I hope to be able to read in the future, a few audio books, Assimil Spanish with Ease that I plan on working through after I complete this first coursebook. Other textbooks/manuals/courses. And so on. I'm sure many of you can relate to acquiring a plethora of language materials.

My biggest takeaway has been that doing *something* with the language every day is important. I have formed the habit, where previously I had not. I am determined to keep this momentum up. Still being at a beginner level, there is so much to learn. Any hour I put into study yields results. Something new, or working out something that was unclear to me before that now makes sense. I try to balance reading, writing, listening, and speaking. And I'm not afraid of formal study, like picking up a grammar. I actually enjoy learning the mechanics of the language.

I would like to learn other languages in addition to Spanish. There are a few on my wish list (e.g. French, Hindi, Greek, Tibetan). On the top of that list is Hebrew. I think it will be a challenge because 1) it has a different writing system, and 2) it is of a completely different family of languages, one that is not close to my native language nor my current target language. That said, my thought at present is to wait until I have acquired an intermediate level (loosely defined) of proficiency with Spanish before attempting to add a third language. Though I might start learning the writing system (print and script) even now, so that when I do eventually have room for working on a third language, I'll have that under my belt already.

I will most likely lurk here for a while to get the feel of the place, yet I wanted to say hello, introduce myself, and give a bit of a background of what I'm working on and what my interests are. I hope to join in the conversation when I feel that I might have something beneficial to contribute.

Thanks for having me!
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