富士山

[富士山]

(Reserved to edit in the future)

[富士山]

(Reserved)

[富士山]

富士山−2021

I am a language hobbyist and I'd like to make notes on my language journey.

Language challenges

I joined both the "2021 365 Day Challenge" and "Polyglot Fitness Challenge 2021".

As of today (January 17th in my country), I have been very consistent in regard to my language and fitness activities.

My schedule in January:

Morning

7:00-7:20 - Breakfast and lunch preparation/Spanish
7:20-7:40 - Breakfast/French
7:40-8:00 - Indonesian

Commuting
8:30-8:48
Technically speaking, I have 18 minutes, but I lose 6 minutes in between transfers. I don't read anything while I am walking because people in Tokyo are very slow and they come from all directions. I always listen to songs while I am commuting to relax my mind and maintain my positive mood.

6 minutes - German
6 minutes - Russian

Lunch
45-60 minutes - Spanish/English

Commuting
6 minutes -
6 minutes -

I am considering including some easy activities such as Clozemaster or reading while simply listening to songs on my target languages.

Work

I work for a domestic company with an international team. At work I need to passively and actively use Japanese, Portuguese, English and Spanish every day. That's why I need to brush up my English and Spanish skills. I usually read on business and technical related stuff in my target languages.

I also manage to find out some "hidden moments" where I take some short breaks to study languages. I use this time to do something related to Chinese, Korean, Russian, German, French and Indonesian. I do work with native speakers of those languages, except for German, and I try to pick up what they are speaking about and read their reports as well.

[富士山]

Spanish

My goals are:
1. Improve my overall Spanish skills for my work;
2. Take and pass DELE exams.

I will take the DELE exams this year, but unfortunately the dates have not been confirmed yet. I am still unsure what my current level is, but I have been taking online lessons to assess my strengths and weaknesses and to help me improve with relevant and technical information for my field of work. I also have been in touch with the Spanish speaking native speakers in Tokyo because I love the Latin American culture, cuisine and people in general.

I told my boss that I am going to take A1, A2 and B1 exams, so that he won't pressure me about C2 level this year. Once I pass each of them, I will claim the registration fees to my company's RH.

I have clients from all Spanish speaking countries. The problem with Spanish is actually not my current level, but the variant spoken by people from different countries. In order to ensure that I can fully understand, communicate in both oral and written forms, I decided to focus on some variants.

First, the European Spanish. It is the easiest for me to recognize because I have been studying with DELE C2 materials, listening or watching to Spain's contents.

The Mexican variants.
I have Mexican friends who introduced me to many other Mexican people living in Tokyo. They also introduced me to other Spanish native speakers from other countries. Mexico is the country that produces TV series and movies at most among all Spanish speaking countries. There are some good opportunities for me to have input of Mexican Spanish variants.

The Colombian variants.
Before moving to Japan, I have spent some time in Colombia. So, I can quickly tell if someone is from Medellín, Bogotá, from the Amazon, the Coast etc region. I love and miss Colombia! I have been talking to a Colombian person on a weekly basis!

Peruvian variants.
Because I have to talk to Peruvian people, I thought it would be important to keep an eye on contents produced by Peruvians. I have been talking to a Peruvian on a weekly basis!

Argentinian variants.
Despite most people telling me that it was a big challenge to understand what Argentinians (most likely referring to Buenos Aires' people), I have been dealing with Argentinians and we have not had any problems at all. I have been talking to Argentinians every other week!

Guatemalan variants.
For personal reasons, I have chosen to get used to the Guatemalan variant as well. I have been talking to Guatemalans on a weekly basis.

Overall, I have been receiving very positive feedback from 99% of the Spanish speaking clients. They have told me that I have quite a good and neutral accent.

One of my Mexican friends is a former professional Spanish teacher. He has prepared students for DELE A1-C2 before, so I have received feedback from him as well. According to him, DELE B2 would be easy for me. He considers that my reading and listening comprehension are already at C2 level.

The other day there were a bunch of Spanish native speakers testing me for C2 related activities. They kept asking me what is this and that, and they asked me to quickly explain to me in Spanish some words they thought would be difficult for me. I also did some mock exams and they corrected my answers on writing, reading and listening sections.

Chinese, Korean, Russian, German


I will restart studying these 4 languages as a false beginner. I have studied all of them to some extent. I have stopped my studies due to life commitments and other priorities I had in my recent life.

Chinese


Long term goal: Reach C2 level, pass both the HSK6 (B2-ish?) and the TOCFL 6 (C2) exams.
Goal for 2021: Review HSK 1, 2, 3 and 4 textbooks.

Finished reviewing HSK 1 this week and I started HSK 2. I am still considering whether I should take my Chinese to a professional level (C1 or C2) or not. I see lots of opportunities to grow in my own company or within some other companies in both Japan and overseas, if I can work directly with Chinese business partners. I have two colleagues who are Korean Chinese and I noticed that I can understand a lot more than I thought when they are speaking either in Chinese or in Korean with our clients.

I am using native resources from both Taiwan and Mainland China to improve my overall skills.

Korean

Long term goal: Reach C2 level and pass the TOPIK 6 exam.
Goals for 2021: Nothing yet.

Due to the current situation, I am not going to the bookstores anymore. Unfortunately some of the big bookstores got really affected and closed down. The nearest big and decent bookstore is quite out of my commuting route. Due to the current emergency state warnings, I guess it is time for me to wait at home and study with the resources I have.

I took a look at TTMIK and they were too easy for me. I am not interested in grammar based resources as well. I am simply consuming native resources and that’s how I am going to keep improving my Korean skills.

I think the fastest way to improve my Korean is by using Japanese resources. I have some interesting books such as one for shadowing that could complement my studies.

Russian

Long term goal: Reach C2, take the TORFL-IV / C2 exam.
Goals for 2021: Reach A1 level
I am studying Russian actively and more seriously than last time. I really love this language.
I am studying with a Russian native speaker from Moscow and I am doing language exchange with a Russian native speaker from Kazakhstan. In return, I am teaching her Brazilian Portuguese.
I have been using Red Kalinka, Tochka Ru and some random stuff from the internet. Both native speakers have been giving me helpful feedback.

German

Long-term goal: reach C2 level, pass the Goethe’s C2 level exam.
I have studied German for 8 years. I started studying when I first entered university.
Goals for 2021: Finish the Assimil German textbook.

I am reading Assimil German while commuting and the dialogues are very easy. German Assimil is perhaps one of my favorite Assimil books I have ever got. It was a good investment and worth it. I am also using Deutsche Welle for reviewing and checking my level. Once I finish Assimil German

I finished the first 16 chapters. Apparently I can still remember and recognize every word.

French

Goals for 2021:
Finish the Assimil French textbook.

Indonesian/Malay

Goals for 2021:
Finish the TY Indonesian textbook. I’m not in a hurry, though. I finished the chapter 1 this week.

My girlfriend is a Chinese Malaysian. She was educated in English (her mother tongue) and Malay. She was educated in both Malaysia and the US. So, English is the language that we communicate with each other on our daily basis. However, she can understand both Mandarin and Cantonese to some extent due to her family background. As a matter of fact, I try to use both Chinese and Bahasa with her.

At first I thought about learning Malay (Bahasa Melayu), but due to the lack of resources, I decided to dive into Indonesian materials first. My colleague is Indonesian and I like to listen to her speaking Indonesian every day. I have been learning many expressions not taught in textbooks. Like any language, there are indeed many differences between the formal and informal variants. My girlfriend’s friend is also from Indonesia. So, I’d like to test myself and see how much I can understand their conversation next time. Would that be something like Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, BCS(Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian) or Portuguese, Galician and Spanish?

[富士山]

Language challenges

"2021 365 Day Challenge" and "Polyglot Fitness Challenge 2021" reports.

I have been disciplined during my whole life. I have played sports competitively, so I got used to have some regular sleeping patterns and healthy eating habits most of times. With languages it cannot be different.

My daily schedule is very clear:
7:00-7:20 - Spanish
7:20-7:40 - French
7:40-8:00 - Indonesian
Commuting: 6 minutes of German + 6 minutes of Russian
Lunch: Spanish or English

I do study 6 minutes of German and 6 minutes of Russian while commuting. I feel relieved by doing activities in 5 languages so far. I feel like my KPIs are done before starting my day at the office.

Today I did 30 minutes of activities in Spanish. At least 60 minutes were spent for the generic group (Chinese, Korean, Russian, German, French and Indonesian).

As for the Polyglot Fitness Challenge, I didn't go to the gym today. My gym is closed every third Monday of the month. With the current situation, I will try to work out 4 times a week.

8. հայերեն

I have just started studying Eastern Armenian. I finished chapters 1 and 2. There are 28 chapters and apparently the book covers A1 and A2 levels respectively in terms of grammar. If I am not wrong, it covers about 1500 words, though obviously I’m going to cover the gap with other resources, such as Youtube, online dictionaries, other textbooks, few grammars and get the help from native speakers.

I studied the Armenian alphabet and I guess it is going to take more effort than learning the Georgian alphabet.

9. ქართული

I also have just started learning Georgian. I have mainly memorized the alphabet and I was reading a little bit about some papers written by linguists. After all, I have read about Kartvelian languages when I was studying Linguistics. I am still struggling with the pronunciation of some consonants. One Georgian native speaker told me that I still cannot pronounce properly some of the consonants.

Another problem I faced is the lack of some beginner friendly materials. I didn’t like the Beginner’s Georgian textbook. The copy I have was published in 2009. I usually try not to stick to old resources like I did when I was first learning Russian, Lithuanian and Latvian…

There is a good website for those who can already read the alphabet and have a bit of knowledge above my level. I will think about how to learn this language. I need to Google more and see what is available on my plate. If I don't find anything more interesting than Beginner's Georgian by Dodona Kiziria, then, I guess I won't have any better options. Let's see where I will go...

[富士山]

365 Language Challenge & Fitness Challenge

Achievement list

January: Streak + 20 days for Spanish + Generic languages.

Biggest hurdles so far

△ None.

Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ I should change the name to just “Triumphs” as any small victories is a victory, and that what matters.

◎ I think the biggest triumph so far is the fact that I have been consistent with both language activities and working out. After I got severely injured, I feel like I am finally recovering for the first time in a few years. Consistency is the key for anything I have been doing in my life.

8. հայերեն

Achievement list

Chapter 3 and 4. Not a bad start.

Chapter 3 covered nouns in their singular and plural forms, and I had to put them into the locative, ablative and instrumental cases. It also covered WH questions.

Chapter 4 mainly covered mainly words related to the profession, verb to be in the past tense, demonstrative pronouns etc.

Biggest hurdles so far

△ None.

At first it feels like it is a total alien language. But then, you realize that it is just another Indo-European language with its own group.

The Armenian alphabet is indeed different from the Latin alphabet and I particularly find it very beautiful. Some people might feel overwhelmed because it could feel like a totally different system, but there has been nothing very new to me so far. Of course, the curve of difficulty might rise in the next few chapters, but that would be mostly because I cannot associate most of the words with any other language I have studied so far. However, it is always interesting to see words that probably came from Russian (or any other Slavic languages) or English. I might summarize some grammar points I found relevant to my studies.

I also like studying with the dialogues because it reminds me the Assimil series.

Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ None.

I am considering getting help and occasional language exchanges with Armenian native speakers. I talked to one girl who is a bilingual speaker of Armenian and Georgian. She is Armenian but she was raised in Georgia. Unfortunately her English is not that good, so our means of communication would be in Russian…

I am looking forward to talking to other Armenian people and see if they can help me by providing me audio messages. I noticed that the pronunciation of some words can vary quite a lot depending on the region they come from.

9. ქართული

Achievement list

Literally nothing so far.

Biggest hurdles so far
△ Finding reliable and modern Georgian resources. There is one website I have been looking for, but I end up having a look at Beginner's Georgian textbook. Honestly I have not liked this book at all. An acquaintance of mine said that he took lessons on Italki at 5 usd (at his time) for a couple of months, until he got used to the structures and could start studying on his own.

I thought about adopting his strategy because it could be a better investment long-term. Today I wasted my time checking the resources written here:

https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=6355

△ I am afraid I will lose patience and put Georgian on hold until I have more time to keep using Google. I might check on resources written by German linguists. Likewise, some of the best resources I found for learning Russian was written for German speakers.

If I put Georgian on hold, I might restart studying Mongolian because my textbooks are getting dust. Alternatively I am considering restarting studying Estonian, Finnish or Turkish. The former is one of my favorite languages and the later has been on my list for many years.

Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ None. Actually, I have memorized the Georgian alphabet. I can read most of the letters. I said most because my pronunciation of some letters are indeed not accurate. I still need some practice for some time.

[富士山]

365 Language Challenge & Fitness Challenge

Achievement list

January: Streak + 21 days for Spanish + Generic languages.

Biggest hurdles so far

△ None.

Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ I have noticed that my gym tend to be very full on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I am very impatient to keep waiting for others to finish using whatever machine or space I need to.

On the other hand, working out on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays have been very good so far. On weekdays I work out after my work and on Saturdays and Sundays I usually go early in the morning. After all, who likes training at 7 am on the weekends!? I prefer when there are less than 5 people around 7 am. It makes me feel free to use whatever I need for a decent training.

I work out at one of the most famous gyms in Japan. That said, despite paying so much, honestly this type of gym would be just an average quality in my city.

Another thing I noticed is the culture of working out here. Most people here tend to be very skinny. In my last mandatory check-up, the doctor stated that I am fat. I questioned her saying that I do work out and that I have a low percentage of fat in comparison to most Japanese men, and that my weight is relatively high, but because I have muscles.

Speaking of working out, it is not that common to share benches while you are resting, unless you are with your buddies. Gyms were places where I would socialize, laugh, make jokes, make friends, talk about healthy food, places to eat, to gather and find people with similar interests, hobbies etc. No wonder people here in Tokyo look very lonely every day…

I do understand that times like this, sharing your bench (for bench press) or free weight training area would not be ideal. However, it is very frustrating at times how gyms here are very different from what I got used to. I miss the time when I would just have a real and authentic acai after my training. People would socialize regardless of your gender, age, etc. We would talk about training styles, techniques and share information for whatever goal the person had. But here, things are very individualistic.

That is one of the reasons working out just became a secondary activity in my life. I know it is necessary, but I no longer have the same joy I once had.

With languages, it has been very different. I learn and maintain languages to read books, to read scientific articles, to communicate with people and for my work. Even to develop a software, I need to read something in English, but also explain in another language. I see many advantages from both personal and professional points of views.

Anyways, I will continue working out 4-5 times a week.


8. հայերեն

Achievement list

Chapter 5.

It covered many common verbs, adverbs of time, personal pronouns in genitive and the present tense. I have consciously found out some irregular verbs as well.

Armenian language has some types of negations. Hopefully in the near future I will have time to write something about the Armenian grammar here. I want to leave questions that I want to answer myself in the future.

The alphabet seems to be intimidating, but one can learn how to read in less than 30 minutes, I think.

Biggest hurdles so far

△ I think I am facing one difficulty that can be expected at this stage. The vocabulary is very different from everything I have seen so far. It will take some time until I get used to them, especially because Armenian is the least important language in my life right now.


Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ I have recorded my shadowing audios and I have sent to Armenian acquaintances. I have got some positive feedback, except for some specific syllables here and there. Also, the other parts that they have pointed me out, it is more about the differences between what is recommended by the grammar and the real usage in daily life. Some words are pronounced very differently and that is expected to happen in any language.


9. ქართული

Achievement list

Literally nothing so far.

Biggest hurdles so far
△ I am tempted to study Georgian and put some effort on it. However, half of me is saying that it is a waste of time to keep looking for materials on the internet. I have pretty much everything that other people have used to. The materials are not that updated, unfortunately.

I will send a message to Georgian acquaintances asking them for volunteering and recording some audio files for myself.

I remember that when I was a member of HTLAL, there was a member called Bakunin (I think he was here in 2016 and 2017) and I liked his ideas. I have messaged him previously and he gave me some ideas on how to develop my own program.

If my plan to get some audio recordings in Georgian fails for now, I am considering asking my Mongolian friend to help me with Mongolian.

Basically I thought about creating my own A1 and A2 courses until I get to a level to become more independent. My Mongolian friend is aware about the CEFR system and she is a language teacher. Her friend whom I met in real life here in Japan, she is a Mongolian teacher in Mongolia. I am considering asking her for some help as well.

I have plans to mix something similar to Assimil, but also something in Bakunin's style, the way he did with Thai and Khmer and probably Isaan languages.

Half of myself wants to give Georgian a try. Half of myself feels like taking Estonian, Finnish, Turkish or Mongolian because I have materials in all of these languages.

[富士山]

365 Language Challenge & Fitness Challenge

January: Streak + 24 days for Spanish + Generic languages.

Biggest hurdles so far

△ None.

Biggest triumphs so far:

◎ I have slightly changed my gym routine, so that I will make the best on both weekdays and on the weekends. My previous training was based on pull, push and leg days or simply 6 days (A, B, C, A, B, C).

For the first 3 months of 2021 I am planning to be more consistent on two types of trainings (A and B): Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (Training A) and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (Training B) and on Sundays I will simply focus on some specific muscles that I couldn’t train on weekdays because the gym was full or because the area was fully occupied.

Obviously this is just a plan. Knowing that most people tend to train specifically with free weights (my gym is famous for the professional bodybuilders of Japan and some other sports’ professional athletes), it will be more like a hit and a miss from Monday to Wednesday. Having that in my mind, I have some ideas on how to maintain my muscles and keep exercising effectively.

I got positive feedback from personal trainers, orthopedists, physiotherapists on my gym training schedule.

Some people might think that training 7 days a week is too much. I just created training routines for 7 days, but it doesn’t mean I will necessarily train every single day. I am taking into consideration that those days that I either do overtime or the train stops for a very long time due to “physical related incidents or accidents” (=suicide), I will not work out at all.

One of the positive outcomes that I expect is gaining more overall strength, resistance, building more muscles and reducing the percentage of my body fat. Every day I work out, I measure my weight, but there is no way to measure my fat at the gym.

I also expect to improve my leg press, leg extension, leg curls for lower body, and pull up as well. By the end of March I will review my methods, training results etc.

◎ As of January, I expect to keep hitting my daily streaks on both “Spanish” and “Generic” language challenges.

Since Spanish is the main language of the first quarter of the year, it has been a pleasure to work on oral and written output.

I do need to speak and write with Spanish native speakers on a daily basis and it has been very good to keep improving my Business Spanish, as well as my general vocabulary.

[富士山]

365 Language Challenge & Fitness Challenge

January: Streak + 27 days for Spanish + Generic languages.

1. Español

○ Achievement list

I managed to negotiate with Chileans, Bolivians, Paraguayans, Guatemalans, Argentinians, and Peruvians this week.

△ Biggest hurdles so far.

Clients naturally use words and expressions specific to the region where they were educated or live. That reduces my overall comprehension at times, but I can do nothing because I don’t have a chance to choose the client I am dealing with at my workplace. One day it could be someone from Mexico, but the next day could be anywhere from any Spanish-speaking country. That said, it has been very motivating to keep improving my Spanish skills.

◎ Biggest triumphs so far:

When the clients are happy with the services I provided, it will be very positive for me and consequently for the whole company. When the market is more challenging for everyone, we need to find ways to profit. I am a very professional worker during my actual daily 8 hours. I always give my best to finish everything within 8 hours to go to the gym and relax by studying languages.

It gives me the confidence to keep studying for DELE, though after C2, the road continues, and there is never an end. I still have a long way to learn the specialized vocabulary for my field.

[富士山]

365 Language Challenge & Fitness Challenge

January: Streak + 31 days for Spanish + Generic languages.

My working out routine started a bit late this year due to the New Year's holidays. My gym usually is open almost the whole year, except during the New Year's Holidays and the Golden Week.

That said, I have worked out for 20 days in January, which means about 5 times a week. It is below my weekly average for 2020, but I shouldn't compare with the past and be glad to still work out despite the current situation. In some other countries, many facilities are closed, and there exist real lockdown systems.

Today is Sunday, so I focused on my biceps training. I am not much fond of isolating the muscles and workout either biceps or triceps only. However, recently I have neglected some of the exercises because I have no patience to wait for more than 5 minutes to train in a specific area.

On Sundays, I usually read the Economist. I read The Economist, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian or the BBC in the past few years. As of 2021, I decided to stick with The Economist as my primary resource, and sometimes, I will read the Financial Times, The Guardian, and the BBC.


Tier 3: հայերեն, ქართული, Eesti keel, монгол хэл, Suomi

My idea is to study 10 minutes each on weekdays. On good days, I might study 12-15 minutes each, but I prefer not to have high expectations. All those languages are for passive skills (reading and listening comprehension) only. I don't see any real opportunities to use them actively while I live in Japan. On the weekends, I might study any of the tier 3 languages aforementioned accordingly to my short-term goals.

8. հայերեն

Achievement list
I studied the vocabulary of the first 4 chapters of my textbook.

Biggest hurdles so far:

None. It is normal to face difficulties related to vocabulary as most words are new to me.

Biggest triumphs so far:
I am studying roughly 10 minutes a day on weekdays. I am trying to get used to this routine, and hopefully, I will have some progress by the end of the year.

9. ქართული

Achievement list:

Biggest hurdles so far:
I have been facing difficulties related to the pronunciation of individual sounds of the Georgian language. I have checked the IPA system, but Georgian native speakers have told me that my accent is inaccurate for two specific consonants. Also, the vocabulary is challenging now because I have never studied any Kartvelian language before. I am not even sure how much the knowledge of other languages of the same group would be helpful.

Biggest triumphs so far:
I am studying roughly 10 minutes a day on weekdays. I am trying to get used to this routine, but I am not expecting much progress in 2021.

10. Eesti keel

○ Achievement list

Estonian is among the languages I like at most. It is one of the most pleasant languages to listen to, together with Finnish and Russian.

I will add Estonian to my list in 2021. Having studied the language many years ago, I am delighted to restart it.

I took Tuldava's textbook from my bookshelf. This textbook is intended foremost for English speakers. Its forty lessons are divided into six sections: grammar, readings, vocabulary, exercises, expressions, and answers to the exercises. For the most part, independent learners might enjoy the language resource. However, the textbook is a bit old. It was published in 1994; therefore, I will consider its grammar structure to help me.

I am also planning to review Estonian with my notes that I made back in Estonia's time. I miss Estonia! Hopefully, I will be able to go back to such a wonderful country!

My main interest is being able to work on my passive skills. Besides, I plan to contact some Estonians to understand more about Seto and Võro variants' current situation.

△ Biggest hurdles so far:
None.

◎ Biggest triumphs so far:
Adding Estonian to the schedule is already a big victory. I have not been able to study it seriously since 2014. I am planning to study 10 minutes on weekdays roughly.

11. монгол хэл

○ Achievement list

I'm fluent in Japanese and recently took a semester of Mongolian, and I'd say that from a learning standpoint, their only real similarity is the sentence structure, which was a little helpful. Honestly, I've studied a few languages so far, and Mongolian was like a whole new world for me when it comes to vocabulary. Knowing Russian or Chinese is more helpful since modern Mongolian has many loan words from those languages. Either way, it's a fantastic language that I've been enjoying learning.

△ Biggest hurdles so far:
None.

◎ Biggest triumphs so far:
I am studying 10 minutes a day on weekdays. One friend of mine is from Ulaanbaator, and she is currently living in Japan. She does speak Japanese very fluently, so whenever I have some questions that I cannot find answers to by checking the grammar or explanations online, I consult her with prompt questions. She has asked me if I want to be introduced to her Mongolian friend who studied languages in Mongolia and specializes in teaching Mongolian for both native speakers (L1) and as a foreign language (L2). This woman also speaks Japanese very fluently, and she could be helpful in the future. However, I want to offer some language in return; otherwise, I might be a nuisance for them.

12. Suomi

○ Achievement list
I decided to restart studying Finnish and Estonian at the same time. I have studied Finnish before, and I believe I have reached a level where learning both languages at the same time would not interfere with each other.

△ Biggest hurdles so far:
None.

◎ Biggest triumphs so far:
I am studying 10 minutes a day on weekdays. I have already checked my notes that I made in the past.