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

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gsbod
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Re: Alors, ab jetzt Französisch? (German, French, SC, other things...)

Postby gsbod » Sun Oct 30, 2022 9:49 pm

I am really enjoying the Spanish class, the teacher is brilliant. I love how the focus is very much on speaking and listening, and how the teacher has a way of prompting us to use all the (limited) Spanish we should already know in different ways, not so dissimilar to Michel Thomas, but without the accent or the grumpiness!

However, in general I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. After two years of not much going on, I've filled my diary with lots of different things and now it feels like I'm trying to do too much. In my spare time, I don't know which of my many projects to focus on, and end up just spending too much time playing board games online instead. I've also been struggling to sleep well recently, which doesn't help, although I'm hoping the switch back to GMT will improve things there.

Speaking of board games online, I can now add this to the list of things I never thought I'd need German for: dealing with sore losers who get abusive.
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gsbod
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Re: Alors, ab jetzt Französisch? (German, French, SC, other things...)

Postby gsbod » Mon Nov 14, 2022 6:12 pm

Since my last post I've had some more pleasant experiences with chatting with German boardgamers online, who were both good sports and happy to chat in German with me, so that was a nice win!

I'm also feeling less overwhelmed, probably as I've managed to mostly reset my sleep cycle. Fatigue is the enemy.

I have come to the conclusion that if I want to keep making a decent amount of progress in Spanish I'm going to have to put in a bit more effort, however. The class is good, but we don't get enough homework, so I'm going to have to start making my own homework if I want to be a good student (I did this throughout the time I took German classes, which is why I made such good progress, so this shouldn't be a big deal really...) Each week I end up with some really nice vocabulary notes after class - not an overwhelming amount, but the stuff the tutor highlights because they think it is useful turns out to generally be gold. So I've made up some Anki cards to keep reviewing these. There were quite a few from the first few weeks altogether, but moving forward I expect it to be no more than 30-40 new cards a week, which is very sustainable in terms of time commitment.

I also need to do a bit more grammar work, to back up the grammar points we've been practicing in class. I've got a couple of grammar books with exercises that will do the job for this. Just need to pull my finger out and get on with it!
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gsbod
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Re: Alors, ab jetzt Französisch? (German, French, SC, other things...)

Postby gsbod » Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:21 pm

ONS have published their latest release on the 2021 census results for England and Wales, for which the focus appears to be mainly language and religion, so I've been geeking out looking at how things have changed for languages in my local area since 2011. Bad news is that the number of German speakers has fallen by around 40%, which, thinking about the number of German speakers I know personally who have moved away, is maybe not such a surprise. There are now more than twice as many Czech speakers as German speakers here!

More positive, in terms of languages I am currently learning, is the fact that the number of Spanish speakers has more than doubled and is significantly higher than the number of German speakers was even 10 years ago. Again not a huge surprise, I hear a lot more Spanish spoken around here than I used to, with the biggest change (as far as I could perceive it, I don't have data to back it up) happening post finance crisis but pre Brexit.

Edit: Also I've just discovered Spanish is actually the fifth most spoken language here (not including English or Welsh).
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Wed Dec 07, 2022 7:13 pm

I realised that my log title has started to bear little resemblance to what I'm actually doing these days, so I've changed it!

Not much to report on Spanish. I'm still enjoying the classes and have completed the first assignments (yay). I'm behind on my Anki reviews and also noticing that, relatively speaking, active recall of vocabulary seems to be the area holding me up the most. Maybe the two are connected? ;)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I ended up overcommitting myself this autumn by signing up to too many things. After two and a bit years of not getting out much, I don't think there was any way of easing myself in gently, so I suppose this could have been predicted. Some things are finishing just before Christmas, but Spanish is continuing until next summer (and out of everything, I am enjoying Spanish the most).
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Thu Dec 15, 2022 9:29 pm

Spanish class has now finished until the new year and, after this week, I should have some more free time. Also I've got a decent amount of leave from work coming up over Christmas, and no plans to travel (thank you, rail strikes). So I'm coming up with a plan to work on my Spanish before class starts up again next year.

The main thing I want to do is revise a load of grammar (I've mentioned this before...) using Gramática de uso del español and the Anaya Gramática book, both of which are A1-A2. The topics I definitely want to revise are:

Present tense
Verbs that take indirect object (gustar etc)
Usage of ser/estar
Ir a + infinitive

And then if I have enough time:
Reflexive verbs
Pretérito indefinido

I also need to work on comprehension, especially listening. I've got a couple of options for this. I could work through shadowing some of the listening exercises we've already done in class. Or I could start looking at Nos Vemos again. Not made my mind up yet.

I'm tempted to do a bit of vocabulary work. I've noticed that I can get a digital copy of Using Spanish Vocabulary from the library but wonder if this would be too chunky a project. The problem with these exhaustive vocabulary books is they end up becoming massive lists which turn into massive Anki decks before fizzling out.
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:41 pm

I'm not going for a big end of year post this year, I'll stick to this little one. 2022 has had its ups and downs, but all things considered, things are much better now than they were this time last year, which is something I feel grateful for.

I'm also feeling quite contented right now, which probably has something to do with the fact I've been studiously avoiding reading/watching/listening to the news since finishing work for Christmas...

As far as languages go, the focus for now remains learning Spanish. I'm still struggling to gain traction with this language and get over the A1 hump, but I'm also very much aware that my progress to date is in line with the amount of effort I'm making, so I know what I need to do. Just doing Anki reps every 3-4 days is not going to cut it! :lol: I started with my review of grammar as planned before the Christmas holidays began, but since Christmas Day I've been having some much needed down time, mostly relaxing and playing board games! I'm ready to get back to it in January though.
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Thu Jan 05, 2023 10:55 pm

I'm finding my groove again with Spanish. I definitely need to do something, if not everyday, then at least most days, if I want to progress. I thought about starting a kind of accountability diary here to keep track of whether I am actually doing that (or just fooling myself), but then I realised that I don't need to tell the whole internet every detail of my Spanish studies, so I've started keeping an old school log in one of those nice moleskine notebooks which I found in my stationery drawer (probably a leftover from some good intentions I had at the start of another year gone by!) Another benefit of keeping an old school study diary is that I don't need to distract myself getting online to log what I've done every day.

In addition to noting down any study I've done, I'm also trying to write a couple of sentences about my day, however I've realised that my lack of knowledge of past tense(s) is something of a barrier here. When I studied the A1 Nos Vemos book in 2020, it covered the perfect tense (which I can recognise but can't remember when it's appropriate to use) and the final chapter introduced the indefinido, but only briefly (the A2 book covers the past tenses in more detail). All I really remember is that I probably need the indefinido if I'm writing a sentence or two about what I did today, but I'm really not comfortable with how it's formed yet. So for now I've just looked up first person for ir (fui), which means at least I can say I went somewhere, at least on days I go somewhere worth writing about! I've looked ahead at the syllabus for the class I'm doing, and we will cover past tenses, but not for another couple of months...

Every day so far since 1st January I've managed to get in some grammar study. I've finished all the units on present tense regular and irregular verbs in GdUdE, and I've got one and a half units in the Anaya book to go. It seems I can do a unit in GdUdE comfortably in a day, but the Anaya units are a bit longer and have more exercises. I got half way through one on irregular verbs today before having to admit I'd reached my study limit for the day.

For listening practice, I've started listening to the Spanish with Vicente podcasts. He's a Spanish teacher, so speaks relatively slowly and clearly, although the content of the podcasts is a bit above my level in terms of vocabulary and grammar. But it's a good place to start just to see how much I can pick out. If you pay, apparently you can get transcripts for the podcasts, but for my purposes for the time being this isn't really necessary. I don't need to squeeze every last drop of the language out of them, it's just useful for now to help get used to listening to Spanish.

Oh, and my pronunciation is really, really bad, and the more I study, the more aware I become of how bad it is. I think I went through something similar with German, but it settled down in the end into something I was comfortable with. No need to worry yet. But I still hate the sound of any "Spanish" coming out of my mouth right now!
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Thu Jan 12, 2023 6:23 pm

It's amazing what a week back at work can do to dash all manner of good intentions, and how quickly bad habits creep back in when you're dealing with established routines. I had a migraine earlier in the week, which didn't help matters either, but at least that much is not actually my fault. But I've not left the house since Monday (bad weather not helping), I've spent too much time sat at my desk (and not just for work), and not enough time sleeping. So now I'm tired, grumpy, and my back is hurting, and I've really only got myself to blame. I've at least managed to mostly keep up with avoiding the news, but even then it's weird how I catch myself sometimes opening a news site on autopilot (although I've shut them down pretty promptly afterwards).

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and it will soon be the weekend.

For Spanish, I managed to keep up doing something every day until I had that migraine. I've finished my review of the present tense in both GdUdE and Anaya. There were several chapters in each dedicated to this, which makes sense. Next up is verbs which take the indirect object (e.g. gustar).

I'm thinking that once I've finished reviewing the grammar topics from class, I'll continue taking a similar approach to review those topics from Nos Vemos A1 that I'm less confident with. So far my list includes direct object pronouns, reflexive verbs, the perfect tense, and also potentially a bit on the indefinido (although this gets picked up again at the start of Nos Vemos A2). That will then put me into a better position to start Nos Vemos A2!
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Thu Jan 19, 2023 7:26 pm

I'm still tinkering with my learning plan for Spanish. Since classes have started up again, I'm starting to think my plan to get back to using Nos Vemos is maybe overkill, since the class tutor uses plenty of A2 graded materials from courses. Also I'm reminded of the fact that whilst I now have quite a good record for finishing courses (as in classes) I've not got a great record in finishing textbooks on my own!

I think my grammar plan so far is good and is working well, although I'm making slower progress than I'd like. There's no reason why I couldn't carry on and cover the other units in my grammar books once I've finished revision of the topics I've already studied. That will get my A2 grammar foundation probably a lot more effectively than doing all the other non-grammar exercises in a multipurpose CEFR textbook (especially given as I'm getting enough of that kind of thing through class anyway). I do wish there was a multipurpose CEFR textbook for Spanish with a heavier grammar focus, like the Begegnungen/Erkundungen series for German. But I haven't found anything like it, sadly.

My (almost) daily language diary is also working well - helping me keep track of what I'm doing (so I'm not fooling myself) but also a prompt to practice a little writing in Spanish every day.

If I'm not going to be working through another CEFR textbook on my own, I think I do need to look at learner oriented materials for listening and reading. The Spanish with Vicente podcasts I mentioned before are ok, but I think would probably be more useful post A2 (but pre being able to watch Netflix shows in Spanish!) I've started watching Destinos again, picking up from the last episode of Unit 2, which summarises all the action in Seville, the episodes for which I've already seen more than once so don't need repeating! I can already understand a lot more of the dialogue than I could back in 2020, particularly picking up past tense verbs and more vocabulary, so that's progress. I think it fills the same kind of gap that Deutsche Welle's Warum Nicht? did for German. I'll aim to do around one episode a week, so that hopefully my grammar study keeps pace with the Destinos course programme, since units 6 & 7 (episode 26 onwards) cover B1 topics like the subjunctive.

As for reading, I still have a Lernkrimi short story at A1 level with audio CD to work through. I did one back in 2020 (and have since donated it, since you don't need to read them twice...) but it will be good to get in another, especially since I own it already. After that I'm not sure. I've got my eye on a Lernkrimi Sammelband which combines some of their publications at A2 and B1 level. No audio CD, but since I'm more confident about how Spanish is supposed to be pronounced now that's not an issue.

I'm still undecided about how (whether) to deal with vocabulary specifically. In any case, I'm well behind on making Anki flashcards from my class vocabulary notes, although I'm up to date with reviews.

My biggest issue is patience. I'm well into that horrible dull phase between the excitement of being a complete beginner, and the excitement of actually being able to undertand real life language use and have real conversations. A2 doldrums I guess.
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gsbod
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Re: What next? (learning Spanish, maintaining German, random dabbling...)

Postby gsbod » Thu Jan 26, 2023 5:06 pm

It feels like this week has not been a good week. I've been a bit under the weather. Nothing serious, but enough to have to miss my class this week. I've only really missed a couple of days doing Spanish, but it feels like more. I need to keep things in perspective!

I've found a new podcast to listen to. I went on the hunt for new material after Spanish with Vicente ramped up with a lesson on the imperfect subjunctive, which is way beyond what I need right now. I've now started on a short series called Spanish for False Beginners by Spanish Language Coach. I listened to the first one earlier in the week, and it feels much more level appropriate. I've also got the next episode of Destinos lined up, probably for later tonight.

I've started to catch up with adding Anki cards for new vocabulary from my classes, I've only got a couple more lessons and I should be up to date. I'm still in two minds as to how useful it is, but for now I think it's useful enough without being too time consuming, so I'll continue.

I've finished the exercises in GdUdE on the construction "ir a + infinitivo" which is all pretty intuitive for a native English speaker who also knows some French. I still need to do the Anaya chapter on the same topic. In any case, thanks to German and Japanese I have a tendency to use present tense plus adverb of time to talk about the future, and I don't know if this will be a problem in Spanish.

I read through the whole of my A1 Lernkrimi listening to the audio CD at the same time. It was much easier to understand than the one I did back in 2020 so, again, progress! Now I've read it extensively, I need to go back and read it intensively and do the exercises. I'm putting it off a bit though because I don't know quite how intensively I should be studying the vocabulary from it...

Also I've been reading sfuqua's log and distracting myself with thoughts of Japanese. For now, I'm happy with concentrating on Spanish, but it's still nice to think about!
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