Midyear Language Log (Spanish) - DelightfulTelegram

[DelightfulTelegram]

I have been lurking on this forum for months. After reading several inspirational language learning logs, I have decided to embark on my own language learning journey and I have chosen the Spanish language.

I was born in England and only speak English fluently. I can speak Urdu, as a heritage speaker, at an A2 level (due to lack of practice), but my listening is at B2. My rationale behind learning the Spanish language is due to the fact that I visited Spain several years ago and mostly relied on English. I felt like my travel experience was hindered by my lack of Spanish. Therefore, I have opted for European Spanish rather than Latin American Spanish.

My plan at the moment consists of using Pimsleur Spanish every day. I will then transition to Assimil Spanish.

Any suggestions would be welcome!

[IronMike]

Welcome. If you want something to consider, read Iguanamon's Multi-track approach.

[DelightfulTelegram]

Today is Day 2 of the Spanish adventure!

Welcome. If you want something to consider, read Iguanamon's Multi-track approach.

Firstly, I would like to take a moment to thank you to Iron Mike for the recommendation to read the multi-track approach. It has allowed me to refine my language learning plan.

According to my research, an individual Pimsleur Lesson is 30 minutes. Assimil Spanish is a bit longer, with the official website recommending 40 minutes per lesson. Therefore, I believe I can have a simple preliminary goal of one Assimil and Pimsleur lesson daily.

I have also decided to use Quizlet to store the vocabulary lists. I used Quizlet in school and it was a very useful flashcard tool!

DelightfulTelegram

[DelightfulTelegram]

Today is Day 3 of the Spanish adventure!

I have begun using the Pimsleur Castilian Spanish audio program! I like the audiolingual method it uses. One of the things I found quite useful is the flashcards tool, in Pimsleur, it was a nice way to visualise the words that I had learned in the lesson.

For my goals for tomorrow, I plan to start Assimil and aim for a lesson a day.

DelightfulTelegram

Daily Checklist:

- Pimsleur: Lesson 1

[DelightfulTelegram]

Today is Day 4 of the Spanish adventure!

Finally, my Assimil book has arrived! The 1987 Spanish with Ease version. I didn't waste any time and got started using the first lesson. It was my first time using Assimil, so my first lesson took me 90 minutes to do.

I found some information by two users, Bretagne and Seneca, on this forum, that gave me a guide on how to use Assimil effectively. The method I'm using for Assimil is like below:

1. Listen to the audio (4x)
2. Listen and read along with the Spanish (4x)
3. Repeat each line, out loud (4x).
4. Read English translation
5. Listen to the Spanish audio, as you read the English translation (3x)
6. Listen to the Spanish audio, as you read the Spanish (3x)
7. Read out the Spanish (3x)
8. Play Spanish audio and translate in real time (imagine you are in a conversation with two Spanish speakers)
9. Copy the exercises on paper and translate.
10. Do the rest of the exercises (the fill in the blanks).
11. Check answers
12. Add words to Quizlet

Pimsleur Castillian Spanish is also progressing well, I did the second lesson today! When I began Pimsleur, the accompanying guide told me to not worry about getting 100% and if I got 80% I could move on. I've decided to use a similar system with Assimil. Therefore, if I get less than 80% of the exercises correct, I have to review the entire lesson the next day, before I start the next lesson.

DelightfulTelegram

Daily Checklist:
- Pimsleur: Lesson 2
- Assimil: Lesson 1

[DelightfulTelegram]

Today is Day 5 of the Spanish adventure!

I've had a fairly unproductive day today, having only completed a single Pimsleur Lesson. Thankfully, I had expected this, because I had a packed day full of meetings.

Therefore, the goals for tomorrow will be to complete both an Assimil Lesson and a Pimsleur Lesson.

DelightfulTelegram

Daily Checklist:
- Pimsleur: Lesson 3

[dedalus66]

Good luck! Keep going. Consistency is key - building positive habits and using Spanish when you are not motivated to do so is the most difficult thing.