PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

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Ogrim
Brown Belt
Posts: 1009
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:29 am
Location: Alsace, France
Languages: Norwegian (N) English (C2), French (C2), Spanish (C2), German (B2), Romansh (B2), Italian (B2), Catalan (B2), Russian (B1), Latin (B2), Dutch (B1), Croatian (A2), Arabic (on hold), Ancient Greek (learning), Romanian (on hold)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=873
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Re: PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

Postby Ogrim » Wed Sep 30, 2020 4:03 pm

Just dropping by to say hello PM. I have been absent from the forum for a while and it was a pleasant surprise to see that you are back to studying Norwegian. I will have to read up on your log entries from the last four months or so.

Stay safe!
1 x
Ich grolle nicht

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PeterMollenburg
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3229
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:54 am
Location: Australia
Languages: English (N), French (B2-certified), Dutch (High A2?), Spanish (~A1), German (long-forgotten 99%), Norwegian (false starts in 2020 & 2021)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18080
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Re: PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

Postby PeterMollenburg » Wed Sep 30, 2020 11:11 pm

Ogrim wrote:Just dropping by to say hello PM. I have been absent from the forum for a while and it was a pleasant surprise to see that you are back to studying Norwegian. I will have to read up on your log entries from the last four months or so.

Stay safe!


Hey Ogrim,

Thanks for stopping by. I read your recent posts in your log and was glad to see you back on the forum too. I always seem to be in a battle against the time lords lately, so I hadn't yet said anything. I pondered the idea that you might be taking on too much language-wise, but I could be accused of the same. I also hoped you could make some good progress with arabic, as I know it's a little more involved than your other languages (ie it's a totally different kettle of fish).

Most of us on on this forum suffer from the same language lust affliction because we adore languages. Some of us manage it well, others not so much. Some of us are aware of our limitations, others not so much. It seems we both have the experience to know what we've signed up for and that we could fall short, but we (all of us) love it, right?
4 x

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PeterMollenburg
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3229
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:54 am
Location: Australia
Languages: English (N), French (B2-certified), Dutch (High A2?), Spanish (~A1), German (long-forgotten 99%), Norwegian (false starts in 2020 & 2021)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18080
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Re: PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:54 pm

I write this with my eyes hanging out of my head. As per usual I'm up to my old tricks. Not enough sleep. This is a little declaration to get back on track - health wise (routine, sleep, diet etc) so that I can be in a better head space for learning and get more learning done.

I've covered with contact a bunch of my soft-cover new (or 2nd hand 'new') Norwegian resources, and I'm ready to get stuck into it properly and even advance a bit quicker with more focus on Norwegian. Btw, why even sell soft-cover dictionaries or grammar reference books? These are meant to be used frequently! Anyway, although I want to declare something along the lines of 'i'll get up every day at 5 am and do 3 hours of languages at my desk for the rest of the year', well I won't. Realistically that's unrealistic, given we're selling our house and looking at moving soon which comes with a whole host of busy activities... so, I'll simply declare "I'm going to do all I can to maximise my language learning for the rest of the year while looking after my health and staying in balance". There, done! Here we come, Norwegian! (and some NL and FR, of course). ;)
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PeterMollenburg
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3229
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:54 am
Location: Australia
Languages: English (N), French (B2-certified), Dutch (High A2?), Spanish (~A1), German (long-forgotten 99%), Norwegian (false starts in 2020 & 2021)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18080
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Re: PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sat Oct 31, 2020 11:44 am

Summary - October 2020

TOTAL STUDY HOURS FOR THE MONTH
Norwegian: 40 hrs, 30 min
French: 28 hrs, 39 min
Dutch: 23 hrs, 44 min
TOTAL: 92 hours, 53 minutes.

A random stat - Reading to the kids in October
French: 12 hours, 26 min
Dutch: 9 hours, 3 min

PLANS
My life is not slowing down. Being in health care, I've continued working as usual and another house move is on the horizon in the coming weeks. We're moving over one hour away and doing so around work and 3 kids, so it will be quite busy. So, I've entered the 6 Week Challenge for Norwegian but I'll have busy times ahead, so I'm not sure how I'll go, but I'm determined to use all the moments possible within reason. I will draw back further on my French and Dutch language use and learning and go into a minimal maintenance mode while I push to advance my Norwegian for the next six weeks.
7 x

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PeterMollenburg
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3229
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:54 am
Location: Australia
Languages: English (N), French (B2-certified), Dutch (High A2?), Spanish (~A1), German (long-forgotten 99%), Norwegian (false starts in 2020 & 2021)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18080
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Re: PM's Target Europe - FR, NL and on again off again NO

Postby PeterMollenburg » Mon Nov 02, 2020 6:50 am

A copy of my post in the new Norwegian 6 Week Challenge group Nytt på Norsk (have I got that right, Nordmenn?) that tangleweeds created:

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Thanks tangleweeds for creating this group.

I'm also in the 6WC this time around with Norwegian.

Here are my resources:
*All of these resources have audio, which I will be utilising

Learn Norwegian by Sverre Klouman
Quite an old-school style textbook. Perhaps the most hefty of all the resources I have here.
Positives: Phonetics displayed for the learner for a good portion of the book, including tonal markings. Drills that can be appreciated by some learners.
Negatives: No feminine forms noted at all (only common gender), some slightly outdated language, dry old-fashioned textbook approach, dry drills? (depends what you like).

Beginner's Norwegian by Laura Ziukaite-Hansen
A modern book perhaps like similar to Teach Yourself, Hugo or Colloquial but also different.
Positives: Feminine forms noted, audio for vocabulary lists included (as well as the conversations), audio to the conversations comes in two speeds (one for repetition).
Negatives: Tones not marked although stress is, a minor negative but grammar and vocabulary introduced immediately after conversations, usually I prefer the other way around (I find I'm approaching each lesson somewhat backwards).

Norwegian in Three Months
A bit old school. Although my least favourite in the beginning, I suspect this one might grow on me.
Positives: Audio has two speeds in conversations. Vocab lists are recorded with audio.
Negatives: Vocab lists don't clearly mark indefinite forms. Tones not marked.

The Mystery of Nils
Follows an intriguing storyline which sets it apart from the other textbooks in this list
Positives: Good for monolingual learners who might be somewhat daunted by the task of learning a foreign language, as it uses a 'gentle' learning approach. Nice cultural information and presented attractively.
Negatives: Tones not marked, vocab introduced without audio at times contradicting the gentle approach.

Assimil - le norvégien (sans peine)
Positives: For me, I really like that it's from a French base. Tones marked in the texts throughout all the conversations!
Negatives: Not a negative for me, but course only available in from a French base. Assimil known to be light on grammar by design, although this can be a positive too. Not certain yet, but i suspect that the feminine forms might not be noted except for some more common words in which fem. form is common.

Pimsleur - Norwegian
Audio only based learning.
Positives: Excellent for developing one's ear for the language and pronunciation. Feminine forms included.
Negatives: Audio only, however that is what it's meant to be. Only 2 levels available (but used to be only one, but still two is better than none!).
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And now it's time for a new mainly Norwegian log!

My new log:
PM's Norwegian Plandemic
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