It's been a while (some things never change!). With the end of the year coming near life is more hectic (but fun) than ever, and with the days getting shorter and shorter I am permanently exhausted (and a little gloomy inbetween all the fun). Counting down to Christmas!
Not much to say on language learning. I've dropped everything except the bare minimum in Russian. Classes are going fine although I regret not putting in more time. But yeah, not doing much besides classes. I'm going to see if I can pick up my Russian-Dutch language exchange again. My language partner was super busy too, but now we're both ready to get started again. The few exchanges we had before were really beneficial so I hope I can motivate myself enough to stick with it.
Travelling is still my main motivation. I went to Moldova and Transnistria for a week last month with a friend, and it was an interesting experience. We got to speak lots of (bad) Russian once again which was fun, and useful! We got around fairly easily, even with our limited Russian, so I'm quite proud of that. We especially spoke a lot of Russian in Transnistria, but it was also our go-to language in Moldova and thankfully nobody seemed to mind. Beforehand I had definitely underestimated how widely spread Russian was going to be - I was expecting to only be able to speak it in certain regions. Got some fun guesses from people as to where we're from - Sweden was the number one guess, and after that it was a mix of England, Germany and France (and someone in Moldova even guessed we were from Romania, which is puzzling to say the least).
(Bonus: this may have been the first trip ever where we didn't meet a single Dutch person c'est un miracle!)
In January I'll finally, finally be visiting Russia! Going to Saint Petersburg for a week, woohoo! That's a little added motivation to get my conversational skills up to par.
SC update:
Japanese (half challenge)
Reading: 7.7 books, 387 pages (total)
Watching: 54.5 films, 4,909 minutes (total)
09 Oct 2018 tokidoki s1e3 50 minutes
09 Oct 2018 カケラ 107 minutes
10 Oct 2018 サバイバルファミリー 118 minutes
17 Oct 2018 tokidoki s1e4 50 minutes
10 Nov 2018 万引き家族 121 minutes
14 Nov 2018 ゴールデンカムイ s1e13 江渡貝くん 24 minutes
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Russian (half challenge)
Reading: 2 books, 100 pages (total)
Watching: 53.5 films, 4,813 minutes (total)
17 Oct 2018 Сталкер 163 minutes
21 Oct 2018 Иди и смотри 142 minutes
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My Super Challenge is looking pathetic right now. I think I will be going for 100 films in both languages, but reading... yeah. I don't know. Would be nice to get to at least 50 books.
Иди и смотри is easily one of the most depressing things I've ever watched. You know how there are sad/depressing/dark pieces of media and you deal alright with them, feel a little down maybe but then shrug it off and move on? And then there are those that just... ruin your day, your week, your year and your life, basically. That's Иди и смотри for you.
(Only had the same life ruining experience once before and that was Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life An exercise in misery, as I like to call it).
日本語 + Русский + norsk (part 1, CLOSED)
- brilliantyears
- Green Belt
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- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Netherlands
- Languages: Dutch, English
Active: Japanese (JLPT N2~N1), Russian (B1)
Maintaining: German (?)
Low-key: Ainu, Mandarin (A2?)
Dropped: Arabic, Korean, French, Latin, classical Manchu, Norwegian, SLN - Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19020
- x 911
- brilliantyears
- Green Belt
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Netherlands
- Languages: Dutch, English
Active: Japanese (JLPT N2~N1), Russian (B1)
Maintaining: German (?)
Low-key: Ainu, Mandarin (A2?)
Dropped: Arabic, Korean, French, Latin, classical Manchu, Norwegian, SLN - Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19020
- x 911
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
Quick post to say: I passed my Russian A2.1 exam! One more class before the winter break, and then on to A2.2
11 x
- MamaPata
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Long lost: Arabic and Latin. - Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3004
- x 1807
- neofight78
- Blue Belt
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- Languages: English (N), Russian (B2+), Spanish (A0)
- Language Log: viewtopic.php?t=833
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- Teango
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- Contact:
- brilliantyears
- Green Belt
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Netherlands
- Languages: Dutch, English
Active: Japanese (JLPT N2~N1), Russian (B1)
Maintaining: German (?)
Low-key: Ainu, Mandarin (A2?)
Dropped: Arabic, Korean, French, Latin, classical Manchu, Norwegian, SLN - Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19020
- x 911
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
Short update:
Went to Saint Petersburg for a week in January (with our teacher and 12 students from 3 different levels) and it was great! We had Russian class in the morning and it was incredibly useful. We had a small group of 4 (classmates in NL) and a really wonderful teacher. We focused mostly on conversation, and we were forced to speak nothing but Russian. Great practice and I think it helped us get through that mental block that we all seemed to have about speaking. I can't wait to go back to Russia. I think next time I'm heading to St P I'll probably schedule some time to take classes at the same school.
Regular weekly Russian class starts again next week. Thankfully we had enough students to actually make it happen.
Nothing else much to say, for the simple reason that I have been in a pretty bad spot mentally these past few months and had to force myself to take time off everything (except work).
This weekend I'll be focusing on Japanese. A friend from Japan called in my help. His company will be visiting a Dutch supplier next week and he asked me to do some interpreting. My Japanese is a little dusty (not even rusty) but otherwise fine, so I'm just going to surround myself with it to make the Russian that has taken over my brain go away (and to finally finish Harry Potter!).
To be honest, this two day job is probably already more stress than I can handle right now, even if it's a lowkey unpaid help-out-a-friend kind of job (my friend's English is excellent and I'm sure the supplier also speaks English sufficiently).
SC update:
Japanese (half challenge)
Reading: 9.6 books, 478 pages (total)
11 Feb 2019 よつばと!5 41 pages
13 Feb 2019 ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石 50 pages
Watching: 56.7 films, 5,105 minutes (total)
09 Jan 2019 blame! 106 minutes
06 Feb 2019 るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 維新志士への鎮魂歌 90 minutes
--
Russian (half challenge)
Reading: 2.8 books, 140 pages (total)
27 Jan 2019 Книга для первого чтения 12 pages
11 Feb 2019 Книга для первого чтения 17 pages
Watching: 54.9 films, 4,943 minutes (total)
07 Dec 2018 how to be gay: a jailed freedom 25 minutes
08 Dec 2018 babylon berlin s1e1-4 30 minutes
27 Jan 2019 Бронено́сец «Потёмкин» 75 minutes
(I finished Книга для первого чтения)
Went to Saint Petersburg for a week in January (with our teacher and 12 students from 3 different levels) and it was great! We had Russian class in the morning and it was incredibly useful. We had a small group of 4 (classmates in NL) and a really wonderful teacher. We focused mostly on conversation, and we were forced to speak nothing but Russian. Great practice and I think it helped us get through that mental block that we all seemed to have about speaking. I can't wait to go back to Russia. I think next time I'm heading to St P I'll probably schedule some time to take classes at the same school.
Regular weekly Russian class starts again next week. Thankfully we had enough students to actually make it happen.
Nothing else much to say, for the simple reason that I have been in a pretty bad spot mentally these past few months and had to force myself to take time off everything (except work).
This weekend I'll be focusing on Japanese. A friend from Japan called in my help. His company will be visiting a Dutch supplier next week and he asked me to do some interpreting. My Japanese is a little dusty (not even rusty) but otherwise fine, so I'm just going to surround myself with it to make the Russian that has taken over my brain go away (and to finally finish Harry Potter!).
To be honest, this two day job is probably already more stress than I can handle right now, even if it's a lowkey unpaid help-out-a-friend kind of job (my friend's English is excellent and I'm sure the supplier also speaks English sufficiently).
SC update:
Japanese (half challenge)
Reading: 9.6 books, 478 pages (total)
11 Feb 2019 よつばと!5 41 pages
13 Feb 2019 ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石 50 pages
Watching: 56.7 films, 5,105 minutes (total)
09 Jan 2019 blame! 106 minutes
06 Feb 2019 るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 維新志士への鎮魂歌 90 minutes
--
Russian (half challenge)
Reading: 2.8 books, 140 pages (total)
27 Jan 2019 Книга для первого чтения 12 pages
11 Feb 2019 Книга для первого чтения 17 pages
Watching: 54.9 films, 4,943 minutes (total)
07 Dec 2018 how to be gay: a jailed freedom 25 minutes
08 Dec 2018 babylon berlin s1e1-4 30 minutes
27 Jan 2019 Бронено́сец «Потёмкин» 75 minutes
(I finished Книга для первого чтения)
4 x
- tarvos
- Black Belt - 2nd Dan
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- Location: The Lowlands
- Languages: Native: NL, EN
Professional: ES, RU
Speak well: DE, FR, RO, EO, SV
Speak reasonably: IT, ZH, PT, NO, EL, CZ
Need improvement: PO, IS, HE, JP, KO, HU, FI
Passive: AF, DK, LAT
Dabbled in: BRT, ZH (SH), BG, EUS, ZH (CAN), and a whole lot more. - Language Log: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/fo ... PN=1&TPN=1
- x 6094
- Contact:
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
Awwww. I'm really sorry to hear you're feeling bad. I have experience with it, but I hope you'll be feeling better soon!
0 x
I hope your world is kind.
Is a girl.
Is a girl.
- brilliantyears
- Green Belt
- Posts: 480
- Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Netherlands
- Languages: Dutch, English
Active: Japanese (JLPT N2~N1), Russian (B1)
Maintaining: German (?)
Low-key: Ainu, Mandarin (A2?)
Dropped: Arabic, Korean, French, Latin, classical Manchu, Norwegian, SLN - Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=19020
- x 911
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
I am not over the whole Memrise-Decks thing. To be honest, I am pissed off and I feel like an idiot for trusting a company, but all this time Memrise was my saving grace in language learning. I suck at learning vocabulary. Nothing has ever worked, no system, no app, until I got Memrise. I'm sour enough to genuinely wish Memrise will go bankrupt over this bullshit move.
I will be checking out Decks. I have decided I can deal with the lack of offline functionality. I am just hoping that the mobile site resembles the app and not the Memrise mobile site (but that's being too hopeful).
Still, I imported all the courses I wanted to keep to Anki. But the tags, the decks, everything is a huge mess. I don't even know where to begin to bring order to this chaos. I am too tired, and looking at this shitshow it just makes me want to cry and give up completely.
I will be checking out Decks. I have decided I can deal with the lack of offline functionality. I am just hoping that the mobile site resembles the app and not the Memrise mobile site (but that's being too hopeful).
Still, I imported all the courses I wanted to keep to Anki. But the tags, the decks, everything is a huge mess. I don't even know where to begin to bring order to this chaos. I am too tired, and looking at this shitshow it just makes me want to cry and give up completely.
4 x
- MamaPata
- Brown Belt
- Posts: 1019
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:25 am
- Location: London
- Languages: English (N), French (C1*), Russian (B1), Spanish (B1).
Long lost: Arabic and Latin. - Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3004
- x 1807
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
brilliantyears wrote:I am not over the whole Memrise-Decks thing. To be honest, I am pissed off and I feel like an idiot for trusting a company, but all this time Memrise was my saving grace in language learning. I suck at learning vocabulary. Nothing has ever worked, no system, no app, until I got Memrise. I'm sour enough to genuinely wish Memrise will go bankrupt over this bullshit move.
I will be checking out Decks. I have decided I can deal with the lack of offline functionality. I am just hoping that the mobile site resembles the app and not the Memrise mobile site (but that's being too hopeful).
Still, I imported all the courses I wanted to keep to Anki. But the tags, the decks, everything is a huge mess. I don't even know where to begin to bring order to this chaos. I am too tired, and looking at this shitshow it just makes me want to cry and give up completely.
All of this. I want to like Anki, but memrise worked so well for me. I have years of content built up, all organised the way I wanted it. Like you I've moved it to Anki and now have no idea what to do with it. A lot of it is associated with particular times of my life, so it feels like such an emotional wrench.
2 x
Corrections appreciated.
- Cèid Donn
- Blue Belt
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- Languages: en-us (n); français, gàidhlig, gaeilge, cymraeg, brezhoneg, español
- x 1877
Re: 日本語 + Русский focus
brilliantyears wrote:I am not over the whole Memrise-Decks thing. To be honest, I am pissed off and I feel like an idiot for trusting a company, but all this time Memrise was my saving grace in language learning.
I can relate. The whole reason I have a Pro membership is because Memrise offered me a "Please come back, here's a gift for you if you do" discount last year, and at the time I hadn't really been studying languages at all for a year and half. So I paid for a year of Pro at a bargain discount as a way to motivate me back into studying languages and it really helped me with that, especially being able to the use the app around my health issues that make using a PC difficult sometimes. I don't like Anki either, but my problem with moving my courses to Anki is bigger than that. Some of the courses I use I am able to import the words fine but not the audio and it's the audio I really need because I don't remember phonology and pronunciation very well unless I make myself listen and repeat words regularly. Some of my courses have used audio from Forvo (assuming I have the time and patience to go pick out audio for several thousands of words in different languages myself), but others, in particular my Indonesian courses, are using audio from a course I'd have to pay to access, and there is woefully little good-quality Indonesian audio for learners that's free online. I'm going to give Decks a try and see what happens--I'm mostly dreading the possibility of there being a bunch of compulsory ads (as someone who's Pro sub still has a few months left, that will really tick me off). But it does feel like a betrayal by Memrise to so many course creators and users who have made Memrise an important resource in their studies, because there are so few good options for what Memrise currently provides.
3 x
Note from an educator and former ESL/test skills tutor: Any learner, including self-learners, can use the CEFR for self-assessment. The CEFR is for helping learners progress and not for gatekeeping and bullying.
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