BOLIO's Spanish log

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BOLIO
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby BOLIO » Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:35 pm

Hola!

Sometimes learning a language just clicks. I am really feeling a jump in listening comprehension. I don't track it anymore. I thought i needed 500 hours and I do but really if I listen EVERYDAY then I get where I am going. So, I gave up tracking and focus on doing.

I made a funny mistake this week while at a Mexican market here locally. I tried to thank an employee for their advice and ended up thanking her for her " rabbit" instead. Hey, I just missed by one letter. It was hilarious and all the employees and me got a huge kick out of it. Mistakes do not bother me anymore. In fact I look forward to them.

I listen to everything I can. Radio/ music is the least helpful to me because of the manipulation of sounds to match the music but I do some of it. Audiobooks, movies, tv shows from Spain and news sites account for three hours of my day now.

I do some grammar work but it is targeted. I still get confused sometimes with the different past related tenses and para and por are always questions for me as I use them. My vocabulary increases mostly through reading and listening-reading. I am happy with the process right now and feel more and more involved and part of the language. I have very little doubt about being able to learn it to a very high level. It feels good.

All the best,

BOLIO
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Tomás
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby Tomás » Sun Jun 12, 2016 8:06 pm

That's a cute mistake. And you'll never make it again.

This free course has some good videos on the por/para problem, at several different levels of sophistication:

https://miriadax.net/web/instruccion-gramatical-y-virtual-ele
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reineke
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby reineke » Wed Jun 15, 2016 3:08 am

Thanks for visiting and good luck in your studies. Don't worry about any methods. However you choose to call them, listening and reading are a great way to practice your Spanish. Para/por - my gut instinct is that you need to practice it and be aware of the difference long enough so that incorrect combinations don't get ingrained in your memory. You'll cover more ground through reading if your aim is to erase language doubts. It doesn't hurt to read up on it but por/para need to get properly automatized.
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BOLIO
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby BOLIO » Mon Jun 20, 2016 12:51 pm

This weeks update:

Iguanamon has talked to me about momentum in the past. I really feel like I am gaining it.

I listen two hours EVERYDAY to some form of news, magazines, books or movies. As far as a log, it makes it pretty boring for the reader but I am really feeling more comfortable.

Also, I am doing 30 minutes to one hour of extensive reading. I know time wise it is not very "extensive" but I do not stop to look up words. I am enjoying the story (Davinci code). The dialogue between characters is pretty easy but the descriptive paragraphs can lose me a little bit.

However, two days a week, I am taking short articles with transcripts and doing some intensive work. Nothing too heavy. I read a couple articles and when I get to 15-20 unknown words that I am putting in my Iversen word list, then I stop. It only takes a few minutes and since I am not doing a whole book and just very brief articles, it is quite relaxing. There is a defined end and it does not feel burdensome.

I poked my head into FSI unit 48. I need to review 47 again. I may be 60 before I finish this course.

I took my wife to go see the "conejo" lady at the Mexican market where I had made the mistake. We had lunch there and I really enjoy that there are 15 employees there at any given time to talk with. I still get a chance to talk everyday.

New to me phrase of the week, "Para te". My wife told me this as I was laying on the bed reading. She was telling me to get up. How in the world that should mean get up, I have yet to figure out. But the lesson is that I should not always try to figure it out but understand that it will still mean the same thing whether I figure it out or not. Accept it.

All the best,

BOLIO
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James29
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby James29 » Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:14 pm

BOLIO wrote:
Also, I am doing 30 minutes to one hour of extensive reading. I know time wise it is not very "extensive" but I do not stop to look up words. I am enjoying the story (Davinci code). The dialogue between characters is pretty easy but the descriptive paragraphs can lose me a little bit.



30-60 minutes a day is plenty to keep things moving along quite well. That's about what I did for years. And, by the way, the audio book to the Da Vinci Code is the absolute best done audio book in Spanish... period. It really is truly a treasure to listen to Raul Amundaray tell that story. I'm going to do Angels and Demons next simply to hear his voice.
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Bebetter
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby Bebetter » Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:41 pm

James29 wrote: And, by the way, the audio book to the Da Vinci Code is the absolute best done audio book in Spanish... period. .


Interesting! I have been listening and following along with Harry Potter ( both audio and text in Spanish) for the past few weeks but this makes me want to switch it up to the Da Vinci Code because I have the illustrated English version of the book with all of the maps, paintings, and sculptures to help give meaning to what he is describing. I absolutely loved reading this book in English and I am sure I could pick up a copy in Spanish at my local library.
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BOLIO
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby BOLIO » Mon Jun 20, 2016 6:04 pm

James29 wrote:
BOLIO wrote:
Also, I am doing 30 minutes to one hour of extensive reading. I know time wise it is not very "extensive" but I do not stop to look up words. I am enjoying the story (Davinci code). The dialogue between characters is pretty easy but the descriptive paragraphs can lose me a little bit.



30-60 minutes a day is plenty to keep things moving along quite well. That's about what I did for years. And, by the way, the audio book to the Da Vinci Code is the absolute best done audio book in Spanish... period. It really is truly a treasure to listen to Raul Amundaray tell that story. I'm going to do Angels and Demons next simply to hear his voice.



Thanks James. But where to get the audio? I tried audible.com and iTunes but it says that it is no longer available. I would love to find it. It was my intention to listen / read the book but currently the audio is hiding from me.


I feel like I am doing enough to move forward. I hope so.

BOLIO
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Reminder to myself: Perfection is useless and harmful. Just keep moving forward.

Tomás
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby Tomás » Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:38 pm

BOLIO wrote:
James29 wrote:
BOLIO wrote:
Also, I am doing 30 minutes to one hour of extensive reading. I know time wise it is not very "extensive" but I do not stop to look up words. I am enjoying the story (Davinci code). The dialogue between characters is pretty easy but the descriptive paragraphs can lose me a little bit.



30-60 minutes a day is plenty to keep things moving along quite well. That's about what I did for years. And, by the way, the audio book to the Da Vinci Code is the absolute best done audio book in Spanish... period. It really is truly a treasure to listen to Raul Amundaray tell that story. I'm going to do Angels and Demons next simply to hear his voice.



Thanks James. But where to get the audio? I tried audible.com and iTunes but it says that it is no longer available. I would love to find it. It was my intention to listen / read the book but currently the audio is hiding from me.


I feel like I am doing enough to move forward. I hope so.

BOLIO


amazon has it
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BOLIO
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby BOLIO » Mon Jun 20, 2016 7:48 pm

Thank you Tomás.
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James29
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Re: BOLIO's Spanish log

Postby James29 » Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm

I got the audio book from my local library on inter-library loan. There are tons of copies out there and it should not be hard to get. Angels & Demons (and several other Dan Brown books) is on ivoox.com so I'd assume the da vinci code is too. One thing to be aware of is that there are two Spanish translations of the da vinci code in Spanish. The one with the red cover matches the audio book.
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