From Weeklong Learner to Lifelong Learner (2020-2021)

[Raconteur]

WEDNESDAY, 29 JULY 2020
Finished CD3 PN this morning, and added the first few sentences to SRS, including the ones below. Late in the evening, a quick audio review and the few Anki cards due. (Total for the day ≈60 min)

Perché non vuole mangiare qui questa sera?
Why doesn't she want to eat here this evening?

–Dov’è il campeggio?
–Il campeggio è lì.
–Posso campeggiare li?
–Sì, può campeggiare li.
–Where is the campsite?
–The campsite is over there.
–Can I camp there?
–Yes, you can camp there.

[Raconteur]

THURSDAY, 30 JULY 2020
Today, the first real challenge to maintaining consistency, since I started → after many years I am migrating to a new computer, which is very time consuming and tiring. Losing/corrupting decades of data while setting up a new system is always an anxiety-inducing experience for me. It’s something I put off for far too long, and of course, as with many things, the longer one waits the more difficult things tend to get. This time around, I waited until my 2012 computer literally died on me (RIP).

Anyway, motivated by this log, and my desire to keep going with Italian, I went ahead with some new lessons (PN CD4). I admit, there was some resistance to get started, but honestly, once I got going it was a welcome break from the digital nightmare I am currently dealing with. Language learning escapism. In the evening, audio review of few CD3 lessons. (Total for the day ≈35 min)

Dove posso trovare un taxi?
Where can I find a taxi?

[Raconteur]

FRIDAY, 31 JULY 2020
I have arrived at the glorious ONE WEEK mark in my language learning quest, officially making me a weeklong learner, as the log’s title implies. Now all I have to do is maintain it. For a lifetime. No pressure.

Today, I continued the migration to a new computer. My sister is also visiting for the weekend from Copenhagen. Consequently, not much time for Italiano, but I tried to squeeze in some learning first thing in the morning. I audio reviewed PN up to 4.2 → no scriptorium today, but I am on track with my humble SRS deck. No fresh lessons today. (Total ≈30 min)

[Raconteur]

SATURDAY, 1 AUGUST 2020
Another uneventful day, but a little Italian is still better than no Italian. Did a few more PN tracks, and audio reviewed the ones from yesterday. (Total ≈30 min)

–Altro?
–Sì, due caffè e il conto, per favore.
–Anything else?
–Yes, two coffees and the bill, please.

[Raconteur]

SUNDAY, 2 AUGUST 2020
Happy to report that today was more of a productive day (Total ≈2h). In the afternoon I first audio reviewed yesterday’s PN and then started exploring another resource, Colloquial Italian: The Complete Course for Beginners by Sylvia Lymbery. I would like to focus on one written beginner resource in the upcoming months, but I am not so sure about, which series/method would be the best fit. On the one hand, I am quite drawn to the old-school Cortina “in 20 Lessons” series. However, I also find it a bit intimidating. From the first pages: "Lo is a direct object pronoun [...] and is attached to the infinitive…” etc. I think I would need to refresh my English grammar terminology before attempting to learn Italian with Cortina. The second option, Colloquial, is far more dumbed down… which I both appreciate and detest (so simple and yet so boring). Clearly, I am a hard person to please. Aside from these two, I’m considering other alternatives as well → Assimil, Teach Yourself, old Linguaphone. In the end, I can use many of these beginner resources to strengthen my grasp of the basics later on. However, for now I would like to pick just one, and only one, to chew on over and over. Any and all recommendations welcome.

[Raconteur]

MONDAY, 3 AUGUST 2020
Monday was the first day I have broken my streak, which is both good and bad. Bad, because streaks are nice (and consistent study is nice). Good, because as a helpless perfectionist, such setbacks are an important challenge to overcome. I tend to give up on various pursuits the minute I “drop the ball” → when I’m no longer perfect, I’m no longer motivated. This, of course, is a nonsensical approach. Everyone slips up sooner or later. Thus, I am actually quite happy that a break in my streak came so early in the process, this way I can tell myself: “see, this project is no longer perfect, but you will keep going!”

Sidenote, I did watch an episode of L'Amica Geniale, but I don’t consider that study time, not at A0 anyway.

TUESDAY, 4 AUGUST 2020
Today was another busy day, hence not much time for Italian. I did get a chance to audio review some PN from CD4. That’s about it (Total for the day ≈40 min). Extra: another episode of L'Amica Geniale with English subs in the downtime… although I don’t understand much beyond arrivederci, ciao, and of course various forms of cazzo. Plan to make more time for active study and new material tomorrow.

[Raconteur]

WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST 2020
Finally finished Paul Noble (PN) CD4. Some of the new words seem trickier to remember, I don’t know why. Maybe I’m just having a bad day, and getting easily confused. Oh well. (Total for the day ≈45 min)

Aspettare
To wait

Comprare
To buy

Non puoi aspettarmi?
Can’t you wait for me?

Vogliamo comprarlo domani pomeriggio.
We want to buy it tomorrow afternoon.

[Raconteur]

THURSDAY, 6 AUGUST 2020
In the next few days/week, I want to focus on making more of an effort to study early in the day. Perhaps first thing in the morning. I always think there’s more time, and then all of a sudden it’s late evening again, and the best I can do is some reviews. Too tired for new stuff. (Total for the day ≈30 min)

FRIDAY, 7 AUGUST 2020
So, this morning I got to Italian with Colloquial (C). I went over some new ground, I would like to complete Unit 1 this week. I am still not convinced about using Colloquial, but I decided I’ll stick with it for minimum 3 units, before I think of replacing it. Also did some new PN lessons.

In the afternoon, I did my SRS reviews and then added some sentences on Lang-8, which I hope will be corrected by native speaker. Lang-8 is a great little website, but I am not sure the community is still as active as it used to be (I hope it is!) → Once these sentences get corrected, I will use them for SRS and scriptorium.

In the evenings reviewed C – listening to dialogues 1.1-1.3, then doing scriptorium, as well as some notes and exercises. (Total for the day ≈2h)

Scusi, dov’è l’ufficio turistico?
Excuse me, where is the tourist office?

L’ufficio turistico è di fronte alla cattedrale.
The tourist office is opposite (in front of) the cathedral.

Ha una mappa di Roma?
Do you have a map of Rome?

Scusi, dov’è la stazione?
Excuse me, where is the train station?

Può indicarmi sulla mappa.
You can show me on the map.

[Raconteur]

SATURDAY, 8 AUGUST 2020
First thing after breakfast, I reviewed PN CD5 1-3 and did due SRS cards. Then I reviewed C Dialogue 1.4. We’re going to spend the day swimming (29°C here), hence I wanted to get in some language learning before I’m out the door for the day.

Marco sta male. Ha un raffreddore.
Marco is ill. He has a cold.

Mi scusi, devo andare.
Excuse me, I have to go.

Auguri a Marco e saluti a Suo marito.
Best wishes to Marco, and greetings to your husband.

SUNDAY, 9 AUGUST 2020
11AM, SRS reviews followed by new PN lessons. A good start. Unfortunately, still not getting my stuff corrected over on Lang-8. Was I right? Is the Lang-8 community shrinking and now dying that slow Internet death? Or perhaps Italian is just not a popular language over there. Either way, this presents a problem, as I don’t like adding stuff to SRS that I am not 100% sure of. Memorizing mistakes is not a good way to go.

Dobbiamo parlare italiano questa sera
We have to (must) speak Italian this evening.

Deve parlare inglese? Voglio parlare italiano.
Must you speak English? I want to speak Italian.

Non vogliono capirmi…
They don’t want to understand me.

[Raconteur]

MONDAY, 10 AUGUST 2020
The plan for this week is to finish/review up to the end of CD6 of Paul Noble (PN) as well as Units 1 and 2 of Colloquial (C). Not too ambitious, but my main goal for now is just to stay consistent and keep going.

Today I started with some PN reviews, followed by few SRS cards due, and new C content (the remainder of Unit 1, I haven’t covered yet). Later on in the day I finished PN CD5. (Total >2h)



E’ bello sedersi lì e guardare la piazza famosa e la gente che passa.
It is nice to sit there and watch the famous square and the people passing by.

l’Harry’s Bar offre un aperitivo famoso, ‘il Bellini’ – vino bianco frizzante con succo di pesca.
Harry's Bar offers a famous aperitif, 'Bellini' – sparkling white wine with peach juice.

Harry’s è un bar ma è anche un ristorante molto buono.
Harry’s is a bar, but (it) is also a very good restaurant.

Bar famosi. In Piazza San Marco a Venezia c’è un bar antico e famoso: il Florian. Esiste dal 1720. All’interno, c’è un senso di intimità nelle sale di stile ’700. Fuori ci sono numerosi tavolini proprio in Piazza San Marco, con un’orchestrina che suona per i clienti. E’ bello sedersi lì e guardare la piazza famosa e la gente che passa.
Un altro bar famoso a Venezia è l’Harry’s Bar. E’ un bar molto elegante. Offre naturalmente caffè, vino, whisky e così via, ma anche un aperitivo famoso, ‘il Bellini’, vino bianco frizzante con succo di pesca. Harry’s è un bar ma è anche un ristorante molto buono. L’Harry’s Bar era il locale preferito di Hemingway e ancora oggi è frequentato da persone famose, attori, scrittori e così via. Il proprietario, Arrigo Cipriani, è anche lui un personaggio famoso a Venezia.

A che ora vuole mangiare?
At what time [hour] does she want to eat?

A che ora devono preparare il caffè?
At what time must they prepare the coffee? (Thank you for the correction)

Non vogliamo andare lì adesso. Vogliamo andare lì più tardi.
We don't want to go there now. We want to go there later.