Isn't it Romantic? SCMT learns Spanish and French

[Deinonysus]

I'm not sure which OS you use but on Windows you could use the US International Keyboard Layout, which is the same as the standard QWERTY layout but lets you type diacritics using the right alt key. If you are able to use that, you won't need to switch between two layouts.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... in-windows

The US International keyboard layout is a variation of the standard US keyboard layout that lets you type
all common characters used in Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian,
Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

https://www.csbsju.edu/Documents/MCL/re ... yboard.pdf

[SCMT]

I'm not sure which OS you use but on Windows you could use the US International Keyboard Layout, which is the same as the standard QWERTY layout but lets you type diacritics using the right alt key. If you are able to use that, you won't need to switch between two layouts.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... in-windows

The US International keyboard layout is a variation of the standard US keyboard layout that lets you type
all common characters used in Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian,
Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish.

https://www.csbsju.edu/Documents/MCL/re ... yboard.pdf

Muchisimas gracias! This looks like exactly what I need; I will try it when back on my home computer.

I am running Windows 7, by the way. Does that make me old fashioned?

[eido]

It might make you more prone to viruses and bugs — and Windows might stop supporting it sooner rather than later, but I suppose not.

[SCMT]

It might make you more prone to viruses and bugs — and Windows might stop supporting it sooner rather than later, but I suppose not.

Danger is my middle name.

[rdearman]

It might make you more prone to viruses and bugs — and Windows might stop supporting it sooner rather than later, but I suppose not.

Danger is my middle name.

After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7.

https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

[coldrainwater]

It might make you more prone to viruses and bugs — and Windows might stop supporting it sooner rather than later, but I suppose not.

Danger is my middle name.

After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7.

https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php

How have you found the localization and general international language support under mint (or other distros for that matter)? Do you like particular international communities or specific implementations/projects that are linux-related? Under Windows 7, I found the installation packs to be somewhat inconvenient (optional update and restart in best case scenario, manual download and pray in average case) and the application integration to be buggy at best. Under Windows 10 I have been pleasantly surprised. It is handled under the config, very good language selection and user logoff/logon lets me switch very quickly, which can be a lot of fun and gives a nice little form of technical immersion starting off in a new language. The language portal offers multilingual and comprehensive terminology search and dictionary downloads. I found it useful to put the OS and major apps (Microsoft Office Suite for example) in ES early on. I like how they took the time in Excel to map the very functions themselves to the international languages, giving an extra learning opportunity and halfway decent selection of vocabulary.

For keyboard, I definitely like Deinonysus's recommendation for international English. It is agnostic at least across Windows and Chromebook and likely others as well. Right alt is all you need and when I jumped from Spanish to German, there was still almost no transition at all and I haven't needed to learn a new layout. Windows has great keyboard mapping options (via autohotkey for example), but I have to admit that after all my shenanigans with it, objectively the basic international English had the better implementation and I ended up not fiddling with it at all. Linux I think would be an awesome choice and I can't wait to make enough time to dig into one of the distros again. I like the option to do some OS tinkering with my language learning, but have been doing too much of the latter lately to make time for the former.

[SCMT]

Traveling this week, including now, so I will use a short form update:

3 Skype lessons. Review of whatever tense is estoy aprendiendo --present continuous? It's easy, and I should use it more. Discussed casa de Flores 7, with emphasis on comparatives. 3 lessons w 2 tutors is probably enough.

Read 3 articls in elpais.

Started Como Agau para Chocolate. The cooking vocab is a bit tough, but I'm hopeful it will be a better choice than El Viejo.

I have reviewed all of the linguaphone lessons up through 5 but haven't gone farther. I'm on Assimil 82/32.

[SCMT]

I skipped a week in my log, which is just as well, as I've probably done one week of work on Spanish over the last two.

I have had 3 hrs of italki over the past two weeks. The highlights were a review of present progressive (estar + gerund,) and an extensive dive into imperfect. The imperfect conjugation is simple, and the rules of when to use it are fairly straightforward, but I need more practice to make the tense flow more naturally in conversation. It's funny how when I have to think about the verb tense a little, other mistakes (like misusing ser and estar in imperfect,) show up. I also spent some time reviewing uses and phrases of verbs like pasar, salir, and dejar in colloquial speech. Oh, and thanks to one of my tutors, Tengo la Camisa Negra is now stuck in my head.

I did the imperfect exercises in Madrigal's Magic Key.

I have tried to do listening practice in my car, mainly of Spanishpod 101 free intermediate level material.

I have done some minor work with my gold list vocab and a few articles in El Pais.

I have done little or no work with Assimil, Linguaphone, or on starting a novel.

[SCMT]

I have gotten back into my Spanish studies over the past week; it's nice to have a bit of progress to report.

I've had 3 skype lessons. The 2 structured lessons concentrated on the imperfect, or more specifically, using the imperfect and the preterite correctly when relating past events. For instance, I am having trouble with constructions like Dormia quando el telephono sono/ I was sleeping when the phone rang. I understand it but make a mess of it when speaking or doing exercises on finding the correct tense. In my conversation practice, we discussed Casa de Flores 9, with special attention on the myriad of ways spanish speakers use the tiny word "ya." Esto ya salio? Ya sabes? No se que hacer ya. De verdad, ya, tengo limites. Ya viste? Ya, ya, ya... It's something that isn't really in textbooks, but in this episode, I think there were 14 phrases that contained or centered on "ya," many with different meanings or connotations. It's a pretty little word that seems to mean already and now and stop and yes and no and nothing.

I read a few articles in ElPais this week, and I also have been going through the fairy tales in https://www.thefablecottage.com/ specifically for practice on imperfect/preterite constructions like the one above (Cuando Jack estaba a mitad del camino, se encontró a un viejo.) It's a pretty cool resource.

I am on Assimil 87/37. I have decided to finish Assimil (finish meaning doing all 100 lessons passively and the first 50 actively,) before returning to Linguaphone 2nd stage.

I have added a few GL vocab pages and distilled a few others. I now have 42 headlists of words (1050 ), 33 1st distillations, 21 2nd distillations, and 11 3rd distillations.*

i have done minimal reading in Con Agua para Chocolate, but the little I did was already becoming easier thanks to a more familiar voice and repeated vocabulary.

*EDIT: added Gold List Numbers to track progress.

[MorkTheFiddle]

In my conversation practice, we discussed Casa de Flores 9, with special attention on the myriad of ways spanish speakers use the tiny word "ya." Esto ya salio? Ya sabes? No se que hacer ya. De verdad, ya, tengo limites. Ya viste? Ya, ya, ya... It's something that isn't really in textbooks, but in this episode, I think there were 14 phrases that contained or centered on "ya," many with different meanings or connotations. It's a pretty little word that seems to mean already and now and stop and yes and no and nothing.

Once two acquaintances of mine, both native Spanish speakers, were shaking hands and going through the complicated hand-jive routine folks were wont to do once upon a time and maybe still do until one of them laughed, pulled back his hand and said "¡Ya!" Like it meant "¡Basta!"

i have done minimal reading in Con Agua para Chocolate, but the little I did was already becoming easier thanks to a more familiar voice and repeated vocabulary.

This book entertained me so much, the movie, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.