Stelle's Log (Spanish and Russian)

[Stelle]

I worked through the full B level book and did it exactly as you are doing it (except I recall it taking me more like 25-30 minutes for each lesson). I have the C level book and it looks identical (except obviously at a higher level). I've had the C level book on my bookshelf for years and hope to get to it this summer. Let us know if you like it. And, in particular, if you find it "hard" or "easy." I found the B level book much easier than I was expecting it to be.

Thanks for sharing your experience! So far, I find it pretty easy, but I’m only six lessons in. I’ll let you know how it is when I’m a bit deeper into the book!

http://www.veintemundos.com ... hummm, seems to be a dead link? Do you have the URL

That’s the one! It blew away in the wind...

[Stelle]

My goals for this week may have been a little bit ambitious! I'm happy with how my week went, despite not meeting all of them.

Russian goals:
- daily: Memrise, Duolingo, Anki - yes!
- Living Language Essential Russian: lesson 2 - yes!
- Pimsleur: lessons 5-9 - nope! I only did lessons 5-7.
- try a Skype language exchange - yes! I spoke with Natasha twice via Skype.

Spanish goals:
- Gramática de uso del español: lessons 6-10 - nope! I did lessons 6-9, so pretty close.
- La casa de los espíritus: up to page 125 - nope! I read up to page 105.
- find a TV show to watch - yes! I rewatched the first four episodes of Casa de Papel.
- set up a Skype session with a language partner - nope! I contacted a few people, but have yet to find someone whose schedule meshes with mine.

Russian

It turns out that language exchanges are actually better for me right now than tutoring! I was surprised, because I assumed that I would be more comfortable talking to a paid tutor, since my Russian level is so low that I can't carry much of a conversation. Instead, the paid sessions from last week seemed much more awkward than my language exchange.

I spoke with Natasha last Sunday and again this morning. We spoke in English for about 15 minutes, then Russian for 30 minutes, and then back to English for 15 minutes. Being able to sandwich my very limited Russian between two short flowing conversations in English made rapport-building much easier, especially because Natasha has a very high level of English. We were able to get to know each other and talk about some semi-serious topics in English, and then we laughed and joked our way through a very simple Russian conversation about families and pets. The most riveting part of our exchange went as follows:

I have a dog. My dog is sleeping now. I have a husband. My husband is sleeping now. My husband and my dog are sleeping now.

I will definitely carry on with weekly Skype language exchanges!

I only made it through three Pimsleur lessons this week. While five lessons may be too ambitious, three definitely seems like too little. I'm going to aim for four per week. My Living Language course moves pretty slowly, so I think that I should aim for two lessons per week.

Russian goals for next week:
- daily: Memrise, Duolingo, Anki
- Living Language Essential Russian: lessons 3 and 4
- Pimsleur: lessons 8-11
- Skype language exchange on Sunday

Spanish

I'm enjoying Gramática de uso del español C1-C2. I find it relaxing and simple to follow its step-by-step format. It's just enough of a challenge to feel that I'm learning something, while being easy enough that I'm not frustrated. It's also helping me to notice specific constructions when reading and watching TV. For example, in my TV show yesterday, one of the characters described someone as "el hombre este" - the exact construction that I had practiced that day in GdU lesson 8.

I haven't yet watched season three of Casa de papel on Netflix, so I decided to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 first. I'd forgotten how good that show was! Let's hope that season three isn't a total letdown. Anyway, Casa de papel will take care of my Spanish watching/listening for the next few months.

Spanish goals:
- Gramática de uso del español: lessons 10-14
- La casa de los espíritus: read up to page 155
- watch at least three episodes of Casa de papel