nothing serious here

[Cavesa]

I've been thinking of a small transcription project. Everyone knows it is hard to find transcripts (=the precise version, not the subtitles. Even the subtitles in the original language for people with a hearing condition are often imprecise and sometimes even horrible). So I was thinking about doing such a longer "dictée" exercise. Why? I've found myself making too many notes while watching Incorporated in Spanish and wishing I was making notes during Lucifer in Italian. Anyone would like to join me and share transcripts of the episodes?

Are you thinking of doing the specific shows you mentioned, or other shows? Are you most interested in a Word Doc-type transcription file or do you have something else in mind?

Even though this sounds daunting, the masochist in me is very interested in attempting this for at least one episode of something in Italian. I could potentially convince my husband to check what I'm writing and correct anything that isn't accurate. I think this would be good (brutal) practice for me but there are some technological hinderances.

I mainly use Netflix for shows with Italian audio. With streaming from other sources, pausing and restarting a million times will probably be troublesome because that tends to screw things up with the file and it will probably freeze/crash. However, if there's a show you think would be particularly good, I will do a little sleuthing to see if I can find a solution.

I am thinking of those specific shows but I am open to other options too. Just something of good quality, there is a list of shows I definitely wouldn't consider or recommend (Blade, the DaVinci demons, and definitely lots of others, if only I tortured my memory for a while longer). The examples I've mentioned are shows that have recently made a very good impression on me both as a fan and as a language learner. But anything awesome works. I always welcome tips on new shows too

Yes, a simple .doc is what I've had on mind. A file easy to write and use, print, and so on.

I don't think I'll have a particular trouble with rewinding, I type fast (not fast enough to get everything at first try, sure, but definitely the second or the third at most), and I sometimes just listen to the tv series without looking anyways.

You're right, it might be brutal. Let's see how one episode goes and perhaps we'll continue, perhaps not.
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Every year, there is a huge sales weekend in September. This weekend. And every year, I realise more and more how foreign I am in my own country. How unsatisfactory is the offer of books (including language coursebooks) in the bookstores taking part in this, and how badly I look for nice clothes and anything in the czech stores. I do not belong here, I don't feel welcome. Even such a simple thing as choosing a sweater shows it.

I usually love bookshops. But this time, I realised how similar most of them are. Too similar. When it comes to language coursebooks, they all had the same stuff. There are perhaps two or three different ones in Prague, the rest is almost not worth another visit.

I should shop more on amazon. But it is just not the same.
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A new language teaching project: my small brother. I have already written a few times about the incompetence of the native teachers teaching my younger siblings. And he needs to improve for exams in April (exams allowing the more gifted 11 year olds to get to more demanding schools instead of rotting in the horrible basic ones). He'll need to know the grammar properly and all the stuff likely to appear in the exams. As a side effect, his overall skills should improve. Well, the natives have failed to teach him even the basic vocab (really, stuff like confusing "tired" and "thirsty" after six years of classes! Both in context and in translation. Those "teachers" should pay it all back + refounds for his lost time), reading aloud, speaking, anything productive. He understands extremely simple stuff quite well but that is still a poor result. Despite my advice, my parents have paid a lot for six years of "getting a good accent and listening to the natives" and he can't even pronounce "very" differently from "weary" and it is not his fault. The only classmates doing fine are those from bilingual families.

We've started with two grammar books. I have agreed to teach him, under a few conditions (my monolingual mother asked me to do this but immediately started sabotaging it with lots of bad and unsolicited advice and opinions. Staying out is the first condition for her ). He is definitely clever enough, it will be more about discipline. A promise of good results seems to motivate him a lot. Kids hate not seeing any results after years of trying, that's one of the main stupidities of the current ESL for kids business.

I'll let you know how it goes.

I am definitely profiting a lot from the logs of the homeschooling parents around here, especially Ani. Thanks for inspiration!

[Elenia]

People always tell me that I could teach English when I complain about not having a job or any money. The fact that I think I would hate teaching and absolutely do NOT want to be a teacher aside, I think I'd be terrible at it. I can't explain concepts when people don't get them, and I make mistakes myself, or there are things I don't understand. If anything, I think I'd do better as a conversation partner on the side of real lessons or structured self-study. But, of course, no one wants to pay for that!

[Cavesa]

Firstly, I am making more and more mistakes in my posts. I should start caring again and at least rereading stuff before posting I really look like a moron sometimes. There are two or three things I should review and soon. And something I have never learnt properly: using the punctuation right.

Elenia, I have no doubts you would do better than many of the teacher's I've met. But it is great to see a native with such knowledge of themselves. The most important part is not wanting to be a language teacher in your case. A lot of stuff can be learnt, but this cannot. I only wish most ESL native workers had the same ability to see their own skills, potential, and desires. Just wanting to escape one's previous life and get paid mostly for being an English native, that is not enough.

I was told repeatedly I had a gift for teaching. I am able to explain a lot of stuff well and not to make people feel stupid during the process (the second part helps people not to give up and turn the brain off). I just know a few good reasons to not pursuit such a path. I have a few teachers in my family and I know I couldn't resist a similar deformation in the long run It wouldn't be healthy for me.

Tomorrow, we'll have the second learning session. I am curious. I don't expect any miraculous progress, we have barely started. But I'll be excited of anything he remembers. And even more, should I see at least a part of his homework done.

I've been considering Memrise, making a course for him as we progress. But that might get too time consuming and I don't even know, whether he'd use it. I'll consider this option again, should he prove to mean it. And get into the habit of doing some homework. I don't expect him to complete everything and more, I want to see a bit of work (almost) every day and real attempts to improve.
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My own learning:

I finished season 2 of Lucifer in Italian yesterday. I loved it. It is hard to decide, whether to follow the show earlier in English, later in Italian, or perhaps in another language.

I feel bad about my French rotting a bit.

Since my hellish exam, I have read three books! I am back! Two were originally in Czech, one was a translation from Polish. I NEED to learn Polish one day!!!! I don't want to pay for the translations but I want to read all the stuff!
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Wampir z MO is the second part of a series about the vampires (and other such creatures) living in the communist Poland! It's hilarious! Original, awesome! It is partially historical fantasy and also satire about that historical period and society. It looks like the first part may have been translated to English: The Vampire from M-3, not sure.

One of the basic transformations of the communist countries was the loss of the spiritual values and traditions. The atheism and materialism became the norm (sometimes really violently. you know, the prisons, the uranium mines, etc.), as any other alternative could have made the people think too much about stuff like their moral values, the good and the evil, values extending beyond one lifetime, and so on. In Poland, the church was in a better position than in the Czechoslovakia for various reasons but it was still a target. And Pilipiuk plays with the idea of this trend extending to the supernatural beings like the vampires or zombies. He makes fun of the dysfunctional system, the poverty, the weird paradoxes of life in that era, the dialogues are so wonderful and educational! And he uses a vampire locksmith and his friends to show all this.

This is exactly the kind of reflection we need. In order to finally make the thick line behind this era of the European history, we need to be able to make fun of it in this way. It needs to become a normal setting for a historical fiction book. Both the satire and the reality from those times need to be connected to the younger generations too. We need to see that in various lights and we also need the reality to be introduced to people from other countries in a manner they can understand. Pilipiuk does all this, I hope he gets translated to many languages.

We have yet to find such an author, who would tackle this subject. The czech authors wrote rather realistically about those times earlier, including satiric works. But they haven't crossed certain barriers yet, in my opinion, and they haven't been trying so much lately. It is rather obvious why. And it is a problem. The popular culture is a huge part of one's general education. Not only directly but also by stimulating our curiosity and making us research stuff a bit. We need more Pilipiuks. I would love to read a Czech Pilipiuk.

I need more free time and to learn Polish.

[Elenia]

I need more free time and to learn Polish.

Way to give me yet another reason to learn Polish! When you find some time, let me know so I can share it with you. We can study Polish together and laugh at the Setswana speakers at the next gathering!

[StringerBell]

I need more free time and to learn Polish.

As both an accomplished language learner and a Czech native, I bet you would learn it in about 2 minutes.

BTW, I started watching Lucifer the other day after you mentioned it (I'd never heard of it before). It was pretty good! My husband and I watched in English. I'm not sure how to find a version with Italian audio since I am a bit backwards, technologically speaking, but I'll see what I can do. Sadly, it's not on Netflix in the US.

[Peluche]

many of the teacher's I've met.

Wrong.

[petr]

I need more free time and to learn Polish.

Way to give me yet another reason to learn Polish! When you find some time, let me know so I can share it with you. We can study Polish together and laugh at the Setswana speakers at the next gathering!

I can join your Polish guerrilla group. Let's show them!

I've been tempted to start learning Polish for some time. One of the reasons is this:

[Jaleel10]

I've been tempted to start learning Polish for some time. One of the reasons is this:

I want to learn it for the exact same reason.

[Cavesa]

Way to give me yet another reason to learn Polish! When you find some time, let me know so I can share it with you. We can study Polish together and laugh at the Setswana speakers at the next gathering!

Sounds like a plan! If only the gatherings weren't organised at the worst time of the year for a medicine student

As both an accomplished language learner and a Czech native, I bet you would learn it in about 2 minutes.

BTW, I started watching Lucifer the other day after you mentioned it (I'd never heard of it before). It was pretty good! My husband and I watched in English. I'm not sure how to find a version with Italian audio since I am a bit backwards, technologically speaking, but I'll see what I can do. Sadly, it's not on Netflix in the US.

Thanks, but I'm afraid the only thing I can get to in 2 minutes are the false friends.
I'm glad you like it. The Italian version is great!

many of the teacher's I've met.

Wrong.

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!! I am ashamed!

Perhaps I'll write even worse ones today, as I am lacking sleep again, despite note studying right now (but I should start). Please, don't judge me too harshly. More often than not, only one half of my brain is writing and the other one sleeps.

I can join your Polish guerrilla group. Let's show them!

I've been tempted to start learning Polish for some time. One of the reasons is this:

That sounds too suspiciously like the Finnish project I gave up on after a week. So much excitement and then I was unable to keep up.
Sapkowski is awesome. But he is just the tip of the iceberg!

The only real problem: buying resources and books. ebooks without the damn geoblocking, so that I could put those to readlang. And finding pirate copies is harder and harder, without the paid options getting any easier.

I want to learn it for the exact same reason.

Yes, that is the best reason of them all!
Ok, I can tolerate someone starting naming Lem first instead, if you insist.
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I've read the first part of the Vampire series by Pilipiuk. In translation for now (which made me desire the original once or twice). Btw getting the Polish books is not too easy, ebooks are impossible, but the paper books look rather cheap! But I'd need to learn the language first anyways.

Back to Pilipiuk: The first book is much closer to the original idea, in my opinion, which was a Twilight parody (the american vampire family from those books plays a part in these books.). The author himself wrote it was the first idea and that throwing it to the communist era was the second one. Together, they work great. The second book is more about the whole group of vampires and about life in those times in general. The first book is much more centered around the teen vampire.

I definitely recommend this.
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Too much tv series watching.

Westwood is awesome. And the Italian dubbing is superior to the Spanish one. But I needed to watch something in Spanish. Curiously, Italian is easier to understand for me perfectly nowadays, it is probably just about the habit and the sort of input.

[Elenia]

I want to learn it for the exact same reason.

Yes, that is the best reason of them all!
Ok, I can tolerate someone starting naming Lem first instead, if you insist.

Lem is first for me (as I've actually read one of his books!) but Sapkowski is a close second!