What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

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Caromarlyse
Green Belt
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Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:31 pm
Languages: English (N), French (C1-ish), German (B2/C1-ish), Russian (B1-ish), Portuguese (B1-ish), Welsh (complete beginner), Spanish (in hibernation)
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby Caromarlyse » Tue Dec 29, 2020 4:52 pm

I also occasionally toy with the idea of picking up maths again (from long-forgotten A level) and taking it forward, but keep get putting off by the time (and money) commitment. I also have it in my head that learning languages as a hobby is acceptable, but committing to maths study would have to be for career purposes (and I have no career reason for it whatsoever). I'd be interested in knowing more about what you're studying and where, if you're prepared to share.
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gsbod
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Tue Dec 29, 2020 5:55 pm

I've long given up worrying about what other people think about my hobbies. That being said, studying maths doesn't exactly feel like a hobby, although when something finally clicks it is incredibly satisfying in a way that goes beyond mere fun. Anyway, we're all amateur epidemiologists these days, and maths is surely useful there.

I am doing a level 1 maths course with the Open University. In terms of content, it covers quite similar ground to A level maths, although the delivery and expectations are slightly different. The quality of the materials is excellent - if I'd had access to teaching materials of this quality back when I was at high school maybe I wouldn't have made quite such a poor show at A level. It's also relatively easy to get help when you do get stuck. But it is quite a significant time commitment and, although there are some online tutorials, it mostly is about sitting on your own at your desk hitting the books for several hours a week. In terms of costs, it depends on where you live and your financial situation. Because of where I live, the fees are ok for me and it feels like I'm getting value for money.

You could of course cobble something together for yourself making use of things like Khan Academy and A level textbooks, but I never would have got off the starting blocks if I'd tried to take that approach as I just needed more external support. Having paid the fees up front is also a good motivator to keep going when things get tough, and the fixed schedule of assessments means you have to maintain progress and not fall behind.

While there are a number of similarities between studying maths and studying languages, there are some key differences too. In languages you can get away with mistakes or patchy understanding and still have something useful. That just doesn't fly with maths, your foundation has to be solid and you don't get away with mistakes.
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Caromarlyse
Green Belt
Posts: 387
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:31 pm
Languages: English (N), French (C1-ish), German (B2/C1-ish), Russian (B1-ish), Portuguese (B1-ish), Welsh (complete beginner), Spanish (in hibernation)
(All levels estimates and given as a guide only)
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby Caromarlyse » Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:11 pm

gsbod wrote:I've long given up worrying about what other people think about my hobbies. That being said, studying maths doesn't exactly feel like a hobby, although when something finally clicks it is incredibly satisfying in a way that goes beyond mere fun. Anyway, we're all amateur epidemiologists these days, and maths is surely useful there.

I am doing a level 1 maths course with the Open University. In terms of content, it covers quite similar ground to A level maths, although the delivery and expectations are slightly different. The quality of the materials is excellent - if I'd had access to teaching materials of this quality back when I was at high school maybe I wouldn't have made quite such a poor show at A level. It's also relatively easy to get help when you do get stuck. But it is quite a significant time commitment and, although there are some online tutorials, it mostly is about sitting on your own at your desk hitting the books for several hours a week. In terms of costs, it depends on where you live and your financial situation. Because of where I live, the fees are ok for me and it feels like I'm getting value for money.

You could of course cobble something together for yourself making use of things like Khan Academy and A level textbooks, but I never would have got off the starting blocks if I'd tried to take that approach as I just needed more external support. Having paid the fees up front is also a good motivator to keep going when things get tough, and the fixed schedule of assessments means you have to maintain progress and not fall behind.

While there are a number of similarities between studying maths and studying languages, there are some key differences too. In languages you can get away with mistakes or patchy understanding and still have something useful. That just doesn't fly with maths, your foundation has to be solid and you don't get away with mistakes.


Ah yes, I've looked at that. Sadly it's three times more expensive if you live in England than elsewhere in the UK... I also didn't know what I felt about what might feel covering a lot of old ground, even if that old ground is slightly buried in my brain. I know what you mean about external support - this is why I have liked getting a tutor for starting Russian from scratch this year. I think that external motivation factor is even more pronounced at the moment, when we otherwise have so little external impetus for anything. I loved maths at school until I got a terrible teacher for half of my A level, but I was always told I had no natural talent and did well only through working hard so never pursued it. So there's definitely unfinished business there for me, but I need to be certain I have the desire and time before making such a big commitment. Or I just need to move so the fees are more affordable!
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gsbod
Blue Belt
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:47 pm

Despite the fact that I've barely had reason to leave the house this past three months, I've also had barely any time for languages, culture, or anything fun. I got behind on my maths course thanks to being incredibly busy at work after Christmas. Now work is back to normal, but any free time I would have had is now being spent mostly getting caught up with my course. Hopefully after another push through until Easter I'll have some semblance of balance back.

I did, however, succumb to my textbook envy and ordered myself the Quartet textbook from Japan Times. Good news is that my Japanese hasn't atrophied so much that I couldn't revive my Amazon Japan account and set up two factor authentication on it. To make it worth the delivery costs I also threw in the latest three volumes of よつばと!

First impressions of Quartet are mostly positive. The only major downside I can see so far is that it doesn't look like there is an answer book available, although I'll have to do some digging to confirm that. It might be a nice little project through the summer to revive my Japanese anyway. I doubt international travel will be on the cards at all this year, so if I'm going to do anything with languages, I may as well follow my intellectual interests rather than practical ones.
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gsbod
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:23 pm

Things are starting to open up again here and we are having some glorious April weather. This week I've had genuine reasons to leave the house, which has meant getting on my bike and cycling across to the other side of town twice, without the effort of trying to motivate myself to ride round in circles for the sake of exercise. I haven't been so active in weeks, and I'm feeling so much better for it. It's just great to be able to get out for a purpose. It's been a long winter.

I'm almost at the end of my maths course. I will have finished the studying new things element of it by the end of April, and then it's 6 weeks of revision for the exam. I am really glad I signed up for it, but I am also really glad it's nearly finished! Still, it's good to finally realise my potential in maths, and accept that any previous failings were not through a failure of intellect, just the result of some really bad teaching. Yes, it's a shame teenage me was let down, but that was a really long time ago and I'm hardly unique in that respect. The main thing is that I now have a confidence in my maths ability which was never there before, and that is priceless.

However, I have come to the realisation that, as amazing as the teaching materials and teaching quality have been on my course (a level of quality I'm unlikely to find in a bookshop, to be honest), I don't think I want to take any more formal courses, or prepare for any formal exams, in the near future, in any subject. I need to be able to use my leisure time for some actual leisure, rather than fitting around the timetable and syllabus requirements of someone else's curriculum (no matter how well planned).

I've fnally got enough spare time to start reading again for fun. Yay. I've started an Ellen Berg book. It's the kind of book that I wouldn't touch if it were in English, but it seems just right for my German - simple language, driven by plot and characters, ridiculous storyline, some questionable assumptions, but entertaining and quick and easy to read, which is all I want for the time being. And this afternoon it was warm enough to sit in the garden reading it.
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Lawyer&Mom
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:16 pm

Based on your recommendation I’ve been folding laundry listening to an Ellen Berg Audible book. I wouldn’t touch this in English, but it works in German. Any other light fiction authors you like, in German or French?
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Grammaire progressive du français -
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gsbod
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Sun Apr 18, 2021 9:44 pm

Nothing quite in the same genre, however the Krimis by Nele Neuhaus are similarly trashy and easy to read.
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Caromarlyse
Green Belt
Posts: 387
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2019 2:31 pm
Languages: English (N), French (C1-ish), German (B2/C1-ish), Russian (B1-ish), Portuguese (B1-ish), Welsh (complete beginner), Spanish (in hibernation)
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Apr 19, 2021 5:48 am

gsbod wrote:Nothing quite in the same genre, however the Krimis by Nele Neuhaus are similarly trashy and easy to read.


I second this recommendation! Her standalone novel Unter den Haien I found very addictive too, though it has (in my view) some serious plot flaws, and don't expect high brow literature!
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gsbod
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Sat May 01, 2021 7:14 pm

I've just submitted the last of my assignments for my maths course so all that is left is the small matter of an exam in a few weeks time. Although I've sat various exams at the end of language courses I've taken over the last few years, this time I am feeling a lot more pressure. With languages I feel as long as I put in enough effort throughout the course to maintain an appropriate level of ability in the language, I can generally turn up to the exam at the end with minimal revision, since I am already confident I can give the examiners what they are looking for.

However the pace of this maths course has meant that, despite the course being really well designed and featuring a lot of repetition of important concepts throughout, I've had to rush over a few sections and not everything has sunk in as much as I would like, at least not yet. My grand plans for regular review and practice of previously studied units throughout the year didn't work out, thanks to life getting in the way. So hello revision!

One thing I have done is reopen Anki for the first time in months, as I thought it might be useful to set up a deck to help memorise standard integrals (after a few days of this, I'm maybe not so sure). I realised that I still have my Spanish decks from my A1 Spanish studies last year, so thought I would have a go and see what my recall is like. In terms of understanding of Spanish words and phrases, it is still pretty good. I'm also pretty confident in terms of the basic pronunciation of things. Translating English words and phrases back to Spanish is much tougher. I find I often can't remember straight away, but when I look at the answer card it seems to trigger the memory and I get it right second time around. It's definitely not the same as learning these things from scratch. I think I would be reasonably confident starting again immediately with A2 materials, although I'd probably need a couple of weeks to really find my feet again.
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gsbod
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Re: Tatort und Español (DE|ES|FR)

Postby gsbod » Sun May 16, 2021 7:36 pm

Exam preparation is going a lot better than expected. A lot of things have fallen into place very quickly and I've surprised myself with what I am actually capable of. I wish I could just sit the exam tomorrow and get it over with, although it's probably better for my learning and long term retention if I have to make the effort to keep my skills sharp for the next month. Anyway, this is supposed to be a language learning log, not a maths learning log (although it would be nice if there was a similarly friendly forum for maths learners somewhere on the internet...).

I've started watching a Krimi series on All 4 called Nordic Murders which is quite entertaining. Because it's streaming on All 4, I don't think there's a way of switching off the English subtitles. However, you know you've made it with a language when the most annoying thing about not being able to switch off the subtitles is not that they are distracting you from your target language, but that you often find yourself disagreeing with some of the translator's choices.

Edit: I've just found out that Nordic Murders was originally shown on Das Erste with the title "Der Usedom-Krimi", but don't look it up on Wikipedia unless you want to see a massive spoiler at the beginning of the article...
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