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todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 9:32 pm
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting in this community. Since I have more free time these days, I would like to dedicate myself to learning some languages. Right now, I want to focus on French and Italian.

I studied French on and off again during the last 8 months. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to give proper time to immerse myself. But due to some French music, I've got a new wave of motivation to learn. And I started Italian (still a beginner) but had trouble improving my knowledge. Now, I want to make my Italian fluent enough to enjoy some Italian movies and music.

The study plan looks long but it's stuff I used before. Sort of like a review to get back into the groove

French and Italian Plan:
  • anki - I've made decks for 501 verbs, vocab, and audio of assimil lessons.
  • assimil - Will start listening from the beginning to review.
  • read books - Read every night outloud for 30 mins.
  • news in slow - Listen to about 30 mins per day to train my ear.
  • yabla - Do 30 minutes of lessons every day.

Let me know if there is anything that helped you improve your skills or gave you motivation.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 2:14 pm
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

I made my plan yesterday and started a language log. Today was the first day with the plan. I think it went well. I remembered more than I thought AND also made some simple mistakes. But it feels good to be studying again.



Reading:
Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)
A novel about some German soldiers that occupy the house of a French man and his niece.
Read 23 pages. Had some really difficult words (which I wrote down for anki) that made reading a bit hard. But I like the story.

For Italian, I'm still looking for an easy book to read. Will choose one tomorrow. Let me know if anyone has any good suggestions for a beginner.

French:
    [✓] Anki
    [✓] Assimil
    [✓] News in Slow

Italian:
    [✓] Anki
    [✓] Assimil
    [✓] News in Slow

French Vocab
rire = to laugh
  • Ta lettre nous a beaucoup fait rire.
    Your letter made us all laugh a lot

se coucher = to set, go to bed, lie down
  • Le soleil se couche tôt en hiver.
    The sun sets early in winter


Italian Vocab
baciare = to kiss
  • La luce lunare baciava il suo viso.
    The moonlight caressed his face

coprire = to cover, put a cover on
  • La neve ha coperto i tetti.
    The snow covered the roofs


P.S. Could someone point me towards a guide for making a graph at the bottom of my posts that shows my progress in certain tasks or challenges. I feel a bit lost. Thanks.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 5:07 pm
by jeff_lindqvist
todoslinguas wrote:P.S. Could someone point me towards a guide for making a graph at the bottom of my posts that shows my progress in certain tasks or challenges. I feel a bit lost. Thanks.


BBCode request: progress bars

Go to User Control Panel|Profile|Edit Signature and add your code.

Example:

Code: Select all

Cookies eaten [progress= ]16/25[/progress]


...will look like this:
Cookies eaten : 16 / 25 (if you've eaten 16 out of the 25 in the box ;) )

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Thu May 14, 2020 12:41 am
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

Day Two. I actually couldn't wait to write this up. I feel that documenting my study sessions keeps me motivated. And the rush of learning a new word is better than an All-you-can-eat Buffett.

I'm currently on lesson two for both Assimil French and Italian. I would like to do a lesson a day (maybe take the weekend off?). I also want to try to do 365 days of Anki. I think the consistency and habit of doing so will contribute to my fluency in both languages.

I read a few other language logs and boy was I impressed. I have an urge to learn all of my dream languages (MUST CONTROL SELF).

I want to thank jeff_lindqvist for the quick guide on the progress bars. Keeping track with bullet points and check marks was going to give me carpal tunnel. Now I can keep progress in a compact signature.


Reading:
Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)
I am on page 38 and it seems like a good book. Reading the book out loud takes a bit longer but I feel slowing down allows me to enjoy it. I love waiting to hear the German officer saying Je vous souhaite une bonne nuit (I wish you a good night) to his quiet guests without fail.

French Vocab
cuire = to cook
  • J'ai trop fait cuire les légumes.
    I've overcooked the vegetables

finir = to finish, end, complete
  • Il a fini de parler.
    He stopped talking.


Italian Vocab
alzarsi = to stand up, get up, rise
  • È ora di alzarsi!
    It’s time to get up!

bollire = to boil
  • Le patate stanno bollendo.
    The potatoes are boiling

---Small edit on french sentence for finir. Made the wrong word bold.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Fri May 15, 2020 12:44 am
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

Day Three. I think I'm sprouting wings 'cuz I'm flying through my lessons (in a responsible manner).

On Lesson three of Assimil French and Italian. If anyone is undecided on using this resource, I say go for it. It is short, memorable, and really funny (especially for the French). The weird and funny conversations make it easier to recall the sentences.
Anki is also on day three. I'm glad I made my cards before I started because I feel I would have been overwhelmed editing and studying it at the same time.

Reading:
Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)
I am on page 50 now and I've understood almost all that I read. Except the very detailed or poetic passages. Had to look up some strange and rare words (tergiversation = dithering, procrastinating). It will come in handly when I feel lazy and unmotivated. :)



French Vocab
aller = to go
  • Il a peur d'aller dans l'eau.
    He's afraid to go into the water

dessiner = to draw, sketch
  • Il dessine bien.
    He's good at drawing.


Italian Vocab
ardere = to burn; dry up
  • La legna arde nella stufa.
    The wood is burning in the stove.

leggere = to read
  • Papà, mi leggi una storia?
    Dad, can you read me a story?

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Tue May 19, 2020 11:03 pm
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

Day Eight. I didn't have time to sit down and log my languages but I continued my study over the weekend. Over the weekend, I took a break from the News in Slow French and Italian. But I had time to learn with Anki and Assimil for both French and Italian.

So, I started the weekend with watching the movie Mulan (Disney movie) in French with French subitles. I think it went well. Since I know all the lines of dialogue (and song) by heart I could keep up with the language. Then on Sunday I rewatched it without the French subtitles. It was very encouraging and I hope to watch more movies of the same type.



Reading:
Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)
I am on page 72 and have finished the main story. Now, I'm on the second short story (Le Songe). This is a short book but I like the slowness of the book. Plus having a book in my hand versus on a tablet has kept distractions down.

French Vocab
tomber = to fall
  • Ne monte pas à l'échelle, tu vas tomber.
    Don't go up the ladder, you'll fall off

valoir = to be worth, be equal to, deserve
  • Je sais ce que je vaux.
    I know my worth.


Italian Vocab
funzionare = to function, work; act
  • L’ascensore non funziona.
    The elevator is out of order.

impaurire = to frighten, scare
  • mi hai impaurito.
    you frightened me


P.S. I'm still new to this community. So let me know If my posts are boring, I can change it up. Or I can translate small passages with equivalent English text.

Thank you for reading.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Tue May 19, 2020 11:10 pm
by tastyonions
todoslinguas wrote:French Vocab
tomber = to fall
  • Ne monte pas à l'échelle, tu vas tomber.
    Don't go up the ladder, you'll fall off

Some nice and commonly used idioms for you with "tomber":

tomber à pic: to arrive just at the right time
laisser tomber: to "drop" a subject, activity, etc.
tomber sur quelque chose: (metaphorical sense) to come across, find something by chance
tomber dans les pommes: to faint (lit. "to fall in the apples")
tomber en panne: to break down [car, machine]
tomber amoureux de (quelqu'un): to fall in love with (somebody)

You probably know some or all of them if you are B1 already. :-)

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Tue May 19, 2020 11:19 pm
by todoslinguas
tastyonions wrote:You probably know some or all of them if you are B1 already. :-)

Oh, thank you so much for these. Actually I didn't know most of these. I think I'm at B1, but it must be a soft B1. I think the ones you added will be very useful.

laisser tomber: to "drop" a subject, activity, etc.
tomber amoureux de (quelqu'un): to fall in love with (somebody)

The ones above I've come across while reading articles or books or the random French radio program.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Mon May 25, 2020 12:14 am
by todoslinguas
Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of logging during the past few days. I was away at a relative's house, but thankfully I managed to log my time with both French and Italian. I happened to finish Le Silence de la Mer and will start tomorrow on a new book. My new book is Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese Author). When I get started I'll post small summaries and selections of the writing I like.

My journey with Anki is still going well. I didn't happen to take my laptop but I have Anki on my phone to practice with. I've also started reading small sections of the Le Figaro. I tried reading Le Monde but it's a bit difficult since they are more wordy. I'd like to work my way up to it though. Now, I have heard from some websites that the material on Le Figaro is more conservative and right-wing. But I'm okay with it since my main goal is learning the language. And it will be more fun to have a diverse set of views. :)

And I'm also excited to start an Italian novel called L'amica geniale (My Brilliant Friend). It's a book by Elena Ferrante. With this book, I'd like to train my ear to the sounds of Italian. I will listen to the audiobook while following the Italian text. Hopefully, it will expose me to the natural way of speaking and reading. Let me know if anyone disagrees. I'm open to advice.

In Italian, subject pronouns are not commonly used because the speaker or subject can be inferred from the conjugation of the verb. So the example sentence for the Italian verb, giurare, is conjugated with the first person form. In case it's not clear, better people have explained it in a more clear and concise way. Check it out at the following link: https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-subject-pronouns-4062604



Reading:
[✓] Le Silence de la Mer (The Silence of the Sea)
[ ] Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
[ ] My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante


French Vocab
écrire = to write
  • Mon crayon écrit mal.
    My pen doesn't write properly (My pencil writes badly)

vivre = to live
  • Je vis dans une grande ville.
    I live in a big city.


Italian Vocab
giurare = to swear, vow, promise
  • Giuro che non lo faccio più.
    I swear I’ll never do it again.

partire = to leave, go away, set out
  • Il treno sta partendo.
    The train is leaving.

Re: todoslinguas log (french, italian)

Posted: Thu May 28, 2020 9:27 pm
by tastyonions
The verb "vivre" in your post above made me think of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2cT95S3dC8

I discovered it at the end of the film "Holy Motors" (French despite the English title): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2076220/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

It's directed by Leos Carax so it is rather "weird" but that's often the kind of movie I like.

The past participle of "vivre" is "vécu" and can also be used as a (masculine) noun meaning "life experience, personal history."