A language learners’ forum

Try, Try Again
by William Edward Hickson

It's a lesson you should heed,
Try, try again.

If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try again.

Then your courage should appear,
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear,
Try, try again.

Once or twice, though you should fail,
Try, try again.

If you would at last prevail,
Try, try again.

If we strive, 'tis no disgrace,
Though we do not win the race;
What should you do in that case?
Try, try again.

If you find your task is hard,
Try, try again.

Time will bring you your reward,
Try, try again.

All that other folk can do,
Why, with patience, should not you?
Only keep this rule in view,
Try, try again.

Coronavirus upended my life and I had to reevaluate my educational plans. I have decided to study Spanish.

I have a semester of college Spanish completed and have studied the language on and off for a couple years. I always got sidetracked by life, other studies, and Haitian Creole.

I have more resources than I need to get the job done. There is one more resource that I would like to resubscribe to, but I have alternatives that are good enough.

The riots distracted me the past couple days. I needed to take time to check in with people in my old building in a coronavirus hotspot city. The neighborhood is pretty much trashed. A SWAT team with dogs has built a mobile station (or whatever it is called) about 100 feet from their back door. I am so glad I am not still there.

My male relative and his roommate are more committed than ever to keep me as long as it takes to get me housed and connected here. I am safe, here with them. Things are moving slowly in getting me settled here, but I still have time to study, and desire to study. There is so much that I cannot control or predict. One thing I can do is study a language to B2, and that is what I am determined to do. Or at least determined to TRY.

This riot stuff is really distracting! I feel as off kilter as when my college suddenly closed down with so little warning.

I am dropping all my other non-Spanish studies for the rest of this week; I will reevalaute on Monday. Trying to accomplish too much is the quickest way to accomplish nothing. Not only am I spending less time studying, but I cannot multitask, right now.

I need SOMETHING to work on, but it needs to be realistic, and it needs to matter to me. Cutting down to one thing gives me a little more time and focus for Spanish, instead of less. I hope by Monday that I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I made brownies and started some pizza dough while I took a study break. Now i hope to get to get some more done, while the dough rises.

I'm tired but have spent hours on Spanish.

I listened and chanted several tracks from level 1 of Earworms Rapid Spanish while i walked to the store early this morning.

I have been hopping from curriculum to curriculum working on harder stuff when I am most alert, and using easy and passive and long-winded things in between.

I'm willing to work, but ... tired.

I have learned in the past, that spending hours a day on a language turns something on in my brain that tells my brain to treat all this as important. Despite my fatigue, I can feel my brain adapting. I am trying to use all my senses and just kinda drown in the language. In between phonecalls to people in crisis and other stuff that would make anyone tired and shut down.

These are weird times.

I took a long walk last night and chanted along to Earworms.

I did some Spanish with Paul and then watched some Spanish Dude while I ate supper.

I did my daily Drops vocabulary app.

This morning I played around with some Muzzy. It is foolish, but I don't care. It is free through my new library and it works.

I did a few other things reviewing numbers and time.

Yesterday, the student textbook arrived that matches a college instructor textbook that I already had. It is typical textbook stuff that isn't anything great, but is a good checklist to measure myself for college placement. I still have a couple months left of online activities that almost match this book, for another book by the same publisher. I played around with that last night.

I stripped and restored my laptop. I copied all my essential files onto a thumbdrive but accidently forgot all my Michel Thomas mp3s and need to get them off the CDs again. No biggy, but I didn't get around to using any MT yesterday.

I'm just wallowing in Spanish without a clear plan at least until Monday.

I recopied the Michel Thomas mp3s onto my laptop, but have not given them the time that I should.

I have so many things, and am still wallowing in it all for hours a day. The good thing is that some days I am studying 12 hours a day; the bad thing is that I am disorganized. I am progressing. Maybe it does not matter if I am or am not being efficient. The world is a freaking mess. I am a mess. Everyone is a mess. What around me is efficient?

As I talk on the phone to people still back in the corona hotspot, I tell them the only thing they NEED to do right now is survive and that is enough. Sometimes I take my own advice and ease up on myself. Some days I study Spanish only because I don't know what to do and diving into the piles of Spanish resources is the path of least resistance.

My brain cannot handle being quizzed sometimes. It feels broken. At those times, I watch kids videos through my library subscriptions. And sometimes long-winded explanations are grammar topics and culture.

When I can handle being quizzed, I try and use that time wisely. Multiple short lessons, hopping from curriculum to curriculum is less taxing. They all want to record streaks. I have a lot of broken streaks. LOL. I keep getting lost of where I am in what, and even what I own and have access to. I could make a list or schedule. Or I could not. LOL.

My new library has free Gale courses through ed2go. Unfortunately Speed Spanish is not offered, but the Medical Spanish 1 and 2 are offered. I am not interested in the medical words much, but I think some deadlines might be a good idea. That starts tomorrow. The author has a growing website that is interesting. She shares it with the Speed Spanish guy, but I cannot afford any of their classes, annd can only take what my library pays for.
https://www.prontospanish.com/

Covid is rocket fuel for online education. Where will we be in a year, with access to online learning for languages?

I'm pounding away at this, using everything I can get my hands on.

I really like these kids bilingual storybooks being read on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGA_bgG ... YM8tbpQXuz

I am taking advantage of the 7 day trial of Visual Link Spanish and using this for hours a day while I can.
http://www.spanishprograms.com/trials/
And downloaded the supplementary mini manual and mp3s. I am assuming the mini manual and mp3s will still open after the software stops working.
http://www.spanishprograms.com/support/ ... ndows.html

I am trying to maintain my streaks in other software. The Drops app is the only 10 minute thing that I think actually makes a difference.