Linguistic dreams!

[Dancz94]

Hi! My name is Daniel and I'm from the UK. I have followed this site off and on for many years now (going way back to the HTLAL days!) but have never really gotten involved myself. The linguistic achievements of so many people on this forum have long been a real source of inspiration and motivation, and it is great to have this space to interact with and learn from fellow language fans!

I have finally decided to take the plunge and set up an account on the site, and in turn create this log! I hope it can keep me committed to my language goals and also create a sense of accountability too.

A little bit about me - I studied languages for my undergraduate degree, specializing in Russian and Czech (along with a minor in Dutch). Sadly, I have let these languages slide quite a bit since graduating and my active knowledge has gotten quite rusty. I have also dabbled in several other languages, including Norwegian, Japanese, Greek, Hungarian, Spanish and Latin.

I have come to the conclusion that enough is enough and that I need to make a sustained, committed effort to resurrect and improve my knowledge, and a log will hopefully give me a sense of focus and community that helps me to succeed. I have come up with a study schedule as well as resource roadmaps for each language (some more focused than others), so hopefully over the coming months we shall be able to see a sense of real progression!

I'll outline my hopes and plans for each language below:

Russian

One of my stronger languages, but after much neglect I would say I am currently only around a B1 level with Russian. I would like to try and reach B2 by the end of 2024 and from there push on to a C1 level that would allow me to use the language in my professional life.

I plan to use the following resource roadmap, in order:

Russian: From Novice High to Intermediate
V Puti - Russian Grammar in Context
Russian: From Intermediate to Advanced

Whilst working from these textbooks at any one time, I shall simultaneously be working on vocabulary and grammar exercises, using:

Using Russian Vocabulary
A Comprehensive Russian Grammar + workbook

Czech

My other major language, I would say I am currently at B1 here as well. I used to live in Prague and would love to similarly reach a strong B2 by the end of 2024 and then push on to C1 from there.

Resource roadmap:

Čeština expres books 1 - 4
Czech Step by Step 1 + 2
Colloquial Czech
Complete Czech
Čeština pro cizince
Do you want to speak Czech textbook 1 + 2

Supported by:

Czech - a Comprehensive Grammar + Czech Frequency Dictionary

Hungarian

I studied Hungarian for a year as part of my Master's degree but it was very linguistics based and actual learning of the language from a practical perspective was rather limited. I have worked on Hungarian on and off but never really made much headway with it, which is a shame as I think it is a truly fascinating language. I am a very basic A1 user at the moment, and would like to push for a B1 level by the end of the year, although would be happy with a solid A2

Resource roadmap:

MagyarOK textbook series 1 - 4
Halló, itt Magyarország! Books 1 + 2
Complete Hungarian
Colloquial Hungarian

Supported by:

A Practical Hungarian Grammar + Egy szó mint száz - Hungarian-English Vocabulary Book

Dutch

I studied Dutch for two years at university, but have forgotten a huge amount to the point where I now struggle to put a coherent sentence together. Currently I would say I have an A2 active knowledge, but am not very confident. B2 by the end of the year?

Resource Roadmap:

Nederlands in Gang
Nederlands in Actie
Complete Dutch
Colloquial Dutch
Nederlands op niveau
Nederlands naar perfectie

Norwegian

When living in Prague I befriended a lovely Norwegian guy who I was supposed to visit a few months later but was unable to because the pandemic hit. I am hoping to finally visit him in Oslo (5 years on!) in November this year, and would love to be able to have basic conversations in Norwegian and get myself about the city without having to resort to too much English. A solid A2 by November would be great!

Resource roadmap:
På vei
Complete Norwegian
The Mystery of Nils
Norsk, Nordmenn og Norge
Colloquial Norwegian

Greek

I am visiting Cyprus in August, and would love to learn some elementary Greek for the trip. A1 by then, perhaps A2 by the end of 2024.

Resource roadmap:

Communicative in Greek book series
'Greek by Radio' course

Spanish

Similarly to Norwegian, I am hoping to visit a Spanish friend in November too. I have little experience with Spanish but from a brief amount of dabbling it seems quite an accessible language, and I studied French at school for several years. A solid A2 by the end of the year would be nice!

Resource roadmap:

I actually might be getting some actual lessons for this, so we shall see what resources they use! In addition, I shall be using Complete Spanish, supported by a vocabulary book.

Japanese

I have long been fascinated with Japan, and late last year I made my first forays into the language. This has been a very slow work in progress, and I would be grateful to even hit a solid A1 by the end of 2024 with Japanese.

Resource roadmap:

Nihingo Fun and Easy 1 + 2
Genki 1 + 2

Latin

I am very interested in Ancient Rome and history in general - Latin is all around us and is a fascinating relic that continues to influence language today. I have long had wild fantasies about being able to read mysterious looking Latin inscriptions on walls and subsequently looking very cool to anybody watching! A solid A1 by the end of the year would be a nice achievement to aim for.

Resource roadmap:

Latin to GCSE
Cambridge Latin Course

I shall likely prioritize some languages more than others, but am hopeful that I can make some degree of progress in all of them by the end of 2024. We shall see! I hope to try and keep this log nice and active when I can, although there will likely be days when I am too busy with my job, but I will do my best to put a solid effort in! In terms of content, I'll post updates about daily study and hopefully be able to eventually write some stuff in languages - any feedback or comments will be greatly appreciated!

Wow this has been a lengthy first post - here's hoping I can push on from here! Looking forward to hopefully getting to know some of you along the journey!

[Iversen]

Welcome to the forum - and kudos for your extremely long and informative first contribution.