Dedalus66's Language Odyssey

[dedalus66]

I used Assimil Persian and liked it a lot however I started the book with some prior knowledge of Persian. I would recommend starting the book with a decent grasp of the alphabet. Something that I found helpful when learning the alphabet was to transliterate random words like my friends' names or store names. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help!

I tend to agree. I tried working through Assimil Persian a few years ago, but I found it a bit challenging, so will learn as much as I can of the alphabet and then try again, as you mentioned.

[dedalus66]

Had another Spanish lesson on italki tonight, my first day back after my holidays in the north of Queensland. Was simply spectactular! (my holidays that is). No, but in all seriousness, I am making slow progress with my Spanish - I have identified my clear weaknesses, and that would be my use of the preterite. I have a tendency to want to use the composed form at every opportunity (most likely due to influence from French and Italian), and in addition to this, I need to spend more time being exposed to this tense to memorise the different forms. I am finding that the language lessonss tend to give me quite a bit of motivation and structure whilst teaching myself. Even if just for that, they are worth it!

[Christi]

What podcasts do you listen to in Spanish?

I've never tried a podcast in Spanish before!

[dedalus66]

What podcasts do you listen to in Spanish?

I've never tried a podcast in Spanish before!

I listen to a few, but my preferred one would be: Intermediate Spanish Podcast - Español Intermedio - by Spanish Language Coach.

I listen to it on spotify while I am doing chores like washing the dishes and find it strikes the right balance between known vocab and new words, on interesting topics. I particularly liked one of his most recent podcasts which was: E57 ¿Por qué no te puedes comprar una casa?, which made me realise my difficulty in buying a house is not merely an Australian problem, but a worldwide one!

[dedalus66]

I had another lesson on Italki - probably my best lesson. I am still having troubles with the preterite - I think that is what I will focus on for the next few months.

I have also been using Kwizik to revise some vocab and grammar. I had not made use of it till I saw it being used by a member of this forum on their blog, but I do not remember who it was. I made quite good use of the free trial - I am not sure if it is worth it to sign up? Have any of you made use of it for a longer period and can recommend it?

[dedalus66]

Finally finished re-reading Don Quixote (en inglés) after 3 months! A great read, but I was thinking about how difficult it would be in Spanish - maybe in 10 years I'll read it again in Spanish...

[dedalus66]

Another week, another hour speaking Spanish. I am enjoying speaking Spanish, but am finding the wanderlust (namely, improving my Italian once again) a challenge. However, I will be consistent! However, I have barely touched Persian in the past few weeks... I have never been succesful with studying more than one language at a time. I'll see how I go in the future, but I may keep going with Spanish and re-assess in a few months!

[dedalus66]

Progress has been reasonable the past week or so - I even toyed with the idea of going with an all out porteño accent (for which reason, I cannot say).

Pero debo acostumbrarme a usar el pretérito, y por lo tanto, decidí que necesito dedicar mucho más tiempo al aprentizaje de eso.

Hasta la próxima.

[dedalus66]

The odyssey continues - here in Melbourne, we are currently stuck in a 2 week lockdown and you'd think I'd have more time for languages. And it is true! But I am finding my wanderlust is kicking in more and more. I have been down this path before and I know where it leads. Given that this language that I am lusting after is my old and fathful Italian, I feel I can do a little bit on the side without my Spanish getting jealous. And we would not want that!

[DaveAgain]

The odyssey continues - here in Melbourne, we are currently stuck in a 2 week lockdown and you'd think I'd have more time for languages. And it is true! But I am finding my wanderlust is kicking in more and more. I have been down this path before and I know where it leads. Given that this language that I am lusting after is my old and fathful Italian, I feel I can do a little bit on the side without my Spanish getting jealous. And we would not want that!

Australia is supposed to be an oasis of normal life, that we can dream of from our lockedown/masked/quaranteed asylum. Pull your socks up!