Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian/Welsh)

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Caromarlyse
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:15 pm

French: I actually did something in French (watched 28 minutes on Arte)! I want the language to be there for when things open up properly and I might have to use it again. I'm therefore going to try to watch this programme regularly for the rest of this year - it really shouldn't be difficult, given it doesn't require much effort and I'm interested in following current affairs content from a French perspective. I just need to try not to get annoyed when they talk over each other, and to try to not feel too uneducated when they discuss culture...

German: I finished my Krimi (Karwoche) and started the next one (Schwarze Piste). I'm whizzing through these - I'm enjoying them more than the one I read a couple of weeks ago. Some new words are appearing a lot, which is helpful ;-). Gehege, Nesthaekchen, unablaessig, Kitze, Flinte... I also listened to podcasts, though I didn't quite keep to the hour-a-day target: it was autumn break for one podcast, and the politics one I usually listen to had so much stuff very internal to German (who's going to be the new chair of the SPD, for example) that I don't find particularly interesting and so I turned off. It's a shame, as this podcast (Der Tag) often covers international stuff that doesn't make it into UK news, but I suppose the party political dramas are of interest for many. I'll try again this week.

Portuguese: all the regular stuff. I realise I don't talk about this language much here, but I really am mainly doing as I'm told and then supplementing with listening. It's quite freeing not having to think for myself too much, though of course I retain responsibility and know I need to put the effort in. I feel I really just need to keep going in order to keep my vocabulary building and to keep getting the corrections for usage of estar vs ser, imperfeito vs perfeito, etc to iron out the mistakes I still make here.

Russian: I watched my first film: Кубанские казаки :-). I also sent off some writing for correction (I'm impatient to see the results!). And with that I finished the chapter in my textbook on the town and countryside. Despite having spent a month on the topic, I still don't feel as though everything is completely solid in my head, but it's got to be doing some good. I think I'm going to go back to the first chapter in the textbook next - I had started this with a teacher before she decided not to continue with teaching, so I'll have a bit of a headstart. This will be welcome, as the chapter also covers verbs that take the genitive, which again I had already started, but there are a load of exercises on this topic in Let's Improve our Russian, which I want to go through. I also watched some videos (including one that was conveniently very much on topic) and listened to some podcasts.
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Nov 08, 2021 2:51 pm

French: a tiny bit of listening. I think all this German listening I've done this year has been of some use, as listening to French feels harder now, and my French was always a bit better than my German...

German: I finished Schwarze Piste, which I really enjoyed. The next two books in the series I have already read - I was able to borrow them from an online library - so next up is Tote Hand. I also kept up my hour a day of listening, albeit mainly because I got drawn into a MrWissen2Go rabbit hole over the weekend...

Portuguese: same old really.

Russian: I worked through verbs taking the genitive, which is one of the main grammar points in the chapter of Russian: From Intermediate to Advanced I've chosen to go through this month. I also started learning the vocab from this chapter in Quizlet. I still don't think my memory is what it once was...

I got through corrections from the texts I'd written in response to exercises in the last chapter of the textbook. There was nothing too serious; there were a lot of punctuation errors (which should be very easy to fix), some stupid mistakes which, having been advised of them, I should be able to avoid in the future, some mistakes with verbs of motion that I have no expectation of being able to correct any time soon, and then some errors in word order/phraseology that I couldn't have avoided but, if I can take the corrections on board, I should sound better in the future.

I also listened to some podcasts and watched some videos.

Most importantly, I found some Russian books to go on my Christmas list ;-). I have opted for a couple of graded readers of Russian classics aimed at the B1 level, as well as what looks like an encyclopedia-style book on Russia (geography, important historical figures, etc). I intend to keep going with the textbook as I have been doing recently, and then supplement with this wider reading. Eventually I might even summon up the courage to speak to someone in Russian again!
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Sun Nov 14, 2021 8:57 pm

French: I listened to a few episodes of Parler comme jamais, a couple about translation and a couple about the influence of machines on language. I was interested to listen to some thoughts on how, when we write nowadays, the machine is almost a co-creator thanks to the tools that are made available to us. I found it reassuring to have this reality validated, as I tend to feel when writing in a non-native language that I am cheating when, for example, I have my spelling mistakes auto-corrected, can look things up all the time, etc. I learnt that this podcast came to an end in July (I am not at all up-to-date with it!), and that they have collated all the information from past episodes into a book. I fancy reading it, but really should sort out some more shelving before I buy any more books!

German listening took over a bit this week, because I heard of a podcast series on Spotify about the Wirecard scandal (Wirecard: 1,9 Milliarden Lügen). It was by far the best series of podcasts I have ever listened to. There were eight episodes, each focusing on a different aspect to the scandal. Wirecard is Germany’s Enron, in case people are unaware of the story, an online payment services provider that filed for bankruptcy last year, with the whereabouts (or even existence) of a massive sum of money unknown. Nobody comes out of this saga very well, be it the CEO or the COO (the latter of whom is on the run), the supervisory board of the company, the auditors, the German financial supervisory authority, etc. I feel very sorry for individual investors, who have likely lost everything. The podcasts give a very comprehensive overview of the story, provide lots of speculation about bits of the story that are unknown, and I found the discussion of psychological elements to the story fascinating too. I’d highly recommend it!

Amongst those episodes, I came across the expression hätte hätte Fahrradkette, which led me to a song by SDP with the same name, one of whose albums was already a guilty pleasure after I’d heard a song of theirs on the radio when I was last in Germany. So now I have new songs to get into :-)

I also read a bit of my next Krimi, albeit not a huge amount; I’m about a quarter of the way through.

I also started reading something in Portuguese! Well, to be precise, it’s the second book I’ve tried to read in Portuguese, but I abandoned the first one halfway through because it really was a bit depressing and I couldn’t handle the main character wallowing as much as he was doing. So, thanks to @iguanamon for the suggestion in lingua’s log, because it helped me find what seems to be a very promising chick lit novel ;-) It’s not usually my thing, but it seems to be at about the right level: obviously I have to look up a lot and I’m not as fast as I am with German, but neither of these things is so much of a problem as to make me lose patience.

Other than that, classes continued as usual.

I forgot to mention last week that I did get back to work on my Russian pronunciation then. I’ve since abandoned it again as I just get so annoyed with myself for being rubbish!

I’ve also continued to work through my textbook. One video I found really difficult to understand, and could answer the questions only because of text and graphics that appeared on the screen! I followed this up with a Russian with Max podcast, which I found equally incomprehensible. And then the same Russian Progress video on bicycles that @radioclare mentioned having watched and struggled a bit with. So much for progress… I have since watched a couple of videos in Russian on Deutsche Welle, which I was able to follow a bit better, and I think I'll add this source to my rotation. I also went back to something I’d written in June (with heavy use of a dictionary, from memory) and found it pretty easy to understand, so those things cheered me up somewhat.

I also did a lot of the online exercises, including all the speed reading exercises for this chapter. I’m just left with writing tasks now. As I couldn’t stomach those today, I went back to rules on the use of numerals, doing exercises from Let’s Improve our Russian. Not the easiest of topics...
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:01 am

German: I finished reading Tote Hand, and am halfway through the next book, which is the last in this series of Wallner and Kreuthner Krimis. I've then got the most recent Nele Neuhaus Krimi to read, before I intend to move onto the Sneijder und Nemez series by Andreas Gruber. I realised this week that I could follow quite easily a passage from Kafka that I remember struggling to understand at some point earlier this year. It was nice to detect some improvement from all the reading I'm doing.

I also listened to quite a lot: I have so much I want to listen to in German, and I can follow along without any problem, that this now falls into the entertainment realm rather than feeling like work. I hope that this means that next year I will have the headspace to do listening "work" with another language, but keep on listening to the same amount of German, as a downtime activity.

Portuguese: I continued with the reading, although I'm slow and I have to be at my desk to do it, so it's not as easy to fit in. I also did class work and homework as usual.

Russian: I continued working on numerals, and some of them came up in a podcast I listened to, which was useful. I have almost finished the next chapter of my course book, bar some outstanding writing tasks - again, I've left them to the end! I tried to start writing something, but didn't get very far - I need to summon up the strength to do this, but last week seemed to be full of personal admin, and phone calls haggling over prices drained my energy. I also started some listening work with a transcript - I think this might be useful, as although I can now follow the gist of podcasts aimed at the low intermediate learner, and don't have many unknown words when reading the transcript, I definitely don't pick up everything after just having listened through once, and I don't think I retain much by way of new words whose meaning is clear by, or explained in, the podcast.

This ties into the thinking I've been doing over my plans for the new year. I'm thinking that for Russian I should make the following the backbone of my study: (1) listening - extensively once through, followed by intensive transcript work, followed by listening again; and (2) reading - chiefly using graded readers, at B1 level initially, hopefully moving up as the year progresses. I then still have a course book to work through, with grammar references alongside, but I think I will benefit from reading and listening more widely alongside progressing through the course. It also has the benefit of being a plan without expectations - I will be successful as long as I put the work in, which removes any stress of expecting to reach a certain point by a certain time. Of course, the listening intensively should be helpful for the nemesis of mine that is pronunciation, too...
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jeff_lindqvist
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Re: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby jeff_lindqvist » Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:38 pm

Caromarlyse wrote:Russian: [...]
This ties into the thinking I've been doing over my plans for the new year. I'm thinking that for Russian I should make the following the backbone of my study: (1) listening - extensively once through, followed by intensive transcript work, followed by listening again; and (2) reading - chiefly using graded readers, at B1 level initially, hopefully moving up as the year progresses.


Are you familiar with Ilya Frank's reading method? I used the material Russian Through Real Stories back in 2018 (log here) when I wanted to work on my Russian with something else than a textbook.
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:42 pm

jeff_lindqvist wrote:
Caromarlyse wrote:Russian: [...]
This ties into the thinking I've been doing over my plans for the new year. I'm thinking that for Russian I should make the following the backbone of my study: (1) listening - extensively once through, followed by intensive transcript work, followed by listening again; and (2) reading - chiefly using graded readers, at B1 level initially, hopefully moving up as the year progresses.


Are you familiar with Ilya Frank's reading method? I used the material Russian Through Real Stories back in 2018 (log here) when I wanted to work on my Russian with something else than a textbook.


I'm not, no. Thanks for alerting me to it. I've had a quick look, but rather than overwhelm myself with too many resources, I think I'll stick to my original plan. If it doesn't work, I can rethink. At the very least I should read the books I've asked for as Christmas presents! I appreciate the tip, though - Russian is definitely proving a hard nut to crack and suggestions are always welcome!
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MorkTheFiddle
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Re: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Nov 22, 2021 5:57 pm

jeff_lindqvist wrote:
Caromarlyse wrote:Russian: [...]
This ties into the thinking I've been doing over my plans for the new year. I'm thinking that for Russian I should make the following the backbone of my study: (1) listening - extensively once through, followed by intensive transcript work, followed by listening again; and (2) reading - chiefly using graded readers, at B1 level initially, hopefully moving up as the year progresses.


Are you familiar with Ilya Frank's reading method? I used the material Russian Through Real Stories back in 2018 (log here) when I wanted to work on my Russian with something else than a textbook.

I'm glad you brought this up. The name is familiar to me, but the method was not, until I read it, just now. This quote stood out to me:
Language, by nature, is a means, not a goal. That’s why it is best learned not when somebody sets a specific purpose of mastering it, but when it is being naturally used either in conversation or when a person becomes engrossed in reading something interesting. Then it is learned by itself, latently.

I also like the other points he makes.
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Caromarlyse
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:07 am

French: I bought a few magazines, so I've done quite a bit of reading. I am trying to decide which magazine I'd like to subscribe to longer term, so I got a selection to try. I'm tending towards Courrier International: although it carries translated articles from publications around the world, I think I'm more likely to read it cover to cover than a magazine that's geared solely at the Franco-French market. I've been enjoying articles on the future of work (eight hours a week being the right dose for our wellbeing :shock:) and geopolitical trends/the current world order. I like doing different things in different languages (that is, it's not a deliberate choice, I just find different languages lend themselves to different things), and French seems to me to do big ideas well.

German: I finished the last Krimi in the Wallner and Kreuthner series. I've decided to leave the latest Nele Neuhaus Krimi for a while, as it's just come out so has a premium on the price, and move straight on to Andreas Gruber's Sneijder and Nemez series. I haven't yet got beyond a few pages, however. I did listen to quite a lot as well: the latest episode of the Lage der Nation podcast was over 2.5 hours long! I'm now at 160% of a Super Challenge in reading, and not far off the arbitrary total study hours goal I set myself for the year. I don't think I'll reach a double challenge, nor my hours goal, by the end of the year, but the main point was to do lots of German, and I think I'll have achieved that!

Portuguese: all the normal stuff. I did listen to a few Portuguese with Leo videos too, which I tend to dip in and out of. I'm really still in the process of searching for content I like.

Russian: This week I have mainly worked with podcasts and transcripts. This also involved doing a bit of shadowing. I still hate it - I can hear how terrible I am, and I can't keep up very well. I shall persevere. I think the repeated listening is helpful, however. The content has been interesting too: I now want to read Tolstoy's Hadji Murat, though, having read a couple of sample pages of an English translation, it would have to be in English as, even then, it seems pretty heavy going!
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Caromarlyse
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Wed Dec 01, 2021 8:14 am

As we're now into the last month of the year, I thought I should do some reflection.

I've had a pretty productive month, language wise. I got back into French, I did more German than any previous month of the year, I continued tackling head-on my Russian pronunciation issues, and my Portuguese speaking was pretty solid (and apparently better than I give myself credit for). For this last month, my plan is as follows:

French: Read one book. I got a whole load of recommendations through this week, and I started one of the suggested books last night: Les oubliés du dimanche. It is quite heavy emotionally, though. I can cope with Krimis just fine because the content is so far removed from my reality, but talk of old age is too close to home and I'm not sure I can handle such a topic right now. It is very readable though, so I'm not sure. Perhaps I need to give it more of a chance. I don't like abandoning books that much, and I have done it a few times already this year.

German: Read two books. After putting my French book to one side last night, I went on to the first in the Andreas Gruber Krimi series to be cheered up ;-). I've got into the story already. So the plan is to read the first two in this series by the end of the year. I also want to keep up with my hour a day of listening - I can't abandon this goal whilst the finish line is in sight! French doesn't get to take this time slot till next year!

Portuguese: I've still got classes booked, so I'll do those and all the normal work for them. I also want to continue listening to various podcasts, reading articles, and pushing through reading a chapter of my book here and there - and then in all cases pulling out interesting collocations, new words etc. This has been a really useful exercise and I find it interesting.

Russian: I want to do the writing exercises for chapter 1 of Russian: From Intermediate to Advanced, because I'm procrastinating and it's just going to get harder the longer I leave it. I also want to review the work I've done in that chapter and chapter 5 (I jumped around the natural order). Then I'll have a clean slate and be able to make a start on the rest of the book in the new year. I also want to continue listening to the Russian with Max podcasts and do all the work with the transcripts, shadowing, etc.
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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: Caromarlyse’s log (French/German/Portuguese/Russian)

Postby Caromarlyse » Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:40 am

I haven't been feeling great, so haven't done much demanding stuff. I did spend six hours over the weekend reading my new German book though... I think I'm going to enjoy this new Krimi series. I listened to a few French podcasts, did intensive Russian listening practice, and did the usual Portuguese stuff (my speaking again went well :-)). I don't have too high hopes about feeling up to brain intensive work this week, but slotting in listening and reading is definitely doable.
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