On and Off - RU, FA, (A)EL, etc... etc...
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2021 5:35 am
Hey everybody! A few-day-long lurker here- really think there is a great community that I can connect to, so I would like to get my foot in the door by starting with a log.
I am currently working at a summer camp, so I have don't have a ton of time to study, but I honestly try and spend as much time as I have off (I work around 12-13 hours a day, since my priority is maintaining the safety of children), studying or immersing!
For my first post, I figure I will just record what I try and do every day, or aim to do every day.
French
It was spur of the moment, but I simply decided (3 years or so after a trip to Paris) I should learn French. It is simply beautiful, and the culture and cities of France draw me into learning it. Knowing I could take it in school, I transferred into a French class for next semester, and decided to switch my energy from Japanese into French.
I started learning french maybe 5 weeks ago- my Duolingo (I know, gross, but still) streak says 37 maybe, but I am on day 1 of Pimsleur level 2 (while having missed yesterday). I am on lesson 9 of Assimil as of today, will write about how I use it. Overall, I'd say I am about a month into learning French.
-Pimsleur: I just follow the directions as listed in the first lesson. One lesson a day, usually do not repeat them. Plan on completely level 2, and stopping after that.
-Duolingo: I simply do it daily for fun, do a unit a day or so, sometimes less. Try not to spend more than 20 minutes on it a day.
-Assimil: I listen to each conversation multiple times, always starting without the words or translation; then I move on to listening with the TL text once or twice; next comes reading the translation with the conversation playing; then reading the TL aloud without the audio; re-listen; read notes, do exercises; listen with reading TL, then whisper-shadow and pause after each line to repeat; close book, listen a last time and hopefully comprehend the conversation. I then add each sentence (other than basic ones that are simply not worth the effort) and unknown vocabulary into an Anki deck with the audio included on the USB. I also add some of the translation or fill in the blank lines, if I think they will be useful to know.
The Anki deck brings me next to Anki; but first, a few more words on Assimil:
I really like it! It is making me excited to study, as, even though the content isn't as engaging as some TV shows, I find it very rewarding to be confused by a dialogue, and then in 30 minutes I know I will understand it. I think by putting it into Anki I can really drill the sentence structure into my mind, and remember the vocabulary in the long term. Once the active phase starts, I will go from FR-EN to EN-FR, having two Anki decks going simultaneously for Assimil.
-Anki: I have been using Anki for nearly a month (with French), and I am about 272 cards (as of writing this) deep into the "5000 most frequently used French words [v. 6.0]" deck, and I am excited to keep using it. I don't really worry too much about Anki: I make sure to do it every day, but I don't torture myself over it.
-Immersion: Usually, I just try and watch youtube videos in French, so far Cyprien, French Morning's with Elsa, and InnerFrench. If you have any to recommend, I would really love to hear them!
I like listening to podcasts or radio when I am not doing anything, but I also try and re-listen to Assimil conversations randomly throughout the day to keep them in circulation in my brain.
Furthermore...
Soon I will return back to school and I will actually be taking French in school! Yay!!! Uni language courses can be really difficult, but honestly, I think if I study hard enough, I will be able to survive the class (which according to my brother, who took the same class at the same Uni, was the toughest class he had taken).
Japanese
My language learning journey started with Japanese a few months ago- while I am ashamed I gave up on it, I do not want to let my changing ambitions sink because of some semblance of guilt and "wasted time." I shall enjoy my youth and intellectual curiosity as much as I can, till' the skies unfurl in jasmine!
Spanish
Studied it in high school, practiced with my Puerto Rican uncle, and actually was decent at producing the language. Hilariously, my best skill was speaking, which frustrated mi Professora, but was alright with me. One day I might pick it back up again. So far, combined with my fluency in English (and knowledge of English mechanics/linguistic history in general) with my knowledge of Spanish grammar / vocabulary (especially with verbs), it has allowed me to learn a great deal faster in French than had I not studied Spanish prior.
Overall a beautiful lanugage, yet not one that draws me like French does.
Arabic (MSA, Egyptian)
My high school had a teacher who was from Morocco, and he taught classes for French and MSA. I don't remember much of anything from it, and now I would really like to learn Egyptian Arabic anyways. I plan to delay learning Arabic at least until Winter 2021 or even Spring 2022, in order to allow myself to reach a strong level in French.
As the days get closer to when I can start to learn this language, I slowly begin to gather my resources: so far I'm planning on Anki, LanguageTransfer, Sentence mining (eventually), Pimsleur, iTalki, and drilling the DLI similar to how I do Assimil with Anki.
To Conclude:
I am excited to start recording what I do on the daily. Expect nothing more than French for now. Not sure if this will be weekly or daily. We shall see, may you all have a good evening!
I am currently working at a summer camp, so I have don't have a ton of time to study, but I honestly try and spend as much time as I have off (I work around 12-13 hours a day, since my priority is maintaining the safety of children), studying or immersing!
For my first post, I figure I will just record what I try and do every day, or aim to do every day.
French
It was spur of the moment, but I simply decided (3 years or so after a trip to Paris) I should learn French. It is simply beautiful, and the culture and cities of France draw me into learning it. Knowing I could take it in school, I transferred into a French class for next semester, and decided to switch my energy from Japanese into French.
I started learning french maybe 5 weeks ago- my Duolingo (I know, gross, but still) streak says 37 maybe, but I am on day 1 of Pimsleur level 2 (while having missed yesterday). I am on lesson 9 of Assimil as of today, will write about how I use it. Overall, I'd say I am about a month into learning French.
-Pimsleur: I just follow the directions as listed in the first lesson. One lesson a day, usually do not repeat them. Plan on completely level 2, and stopping after that.
-Duolingo: I simply do it daily for fun, do a unit a day or so, sometimes less. Try not to spend more than 20 minutes on it a day.
-Assimil: I listen to each conversation multiple times, always starting without the words or translation; then I move on to listening with the TL text once or twice; next comes reading the translation with the conversation playing; then reading the TL aloud without the audio; re-listen; read notes, do exercises; listen with reading TL, then whisper-shadow and pause after each line to repeat; close book, listen a last time and hopefully comprehend the conversation. I then add each sentence (other than basic ones that are simply not worth the effort) and unknown vocabulary into an Anki deck with the audio included on the USB. I also add some of the translation or fill in the blank lines, if I think they will be useful to know.
The Anki deck brings me next to Anki; but first, a few more words on Assimil:
I really like it! It is making me excited to study, as, even though the content isn't as engaging as some TV shows, I find it very rewarding to be confused by a dialogue, and then in 30 minutes I know I will understand it. I think by putting it into Anki I can really drill the sentence structure into my mind, and remember the vocabulary in the long term. Once the active phase starts, I will go from FR-EN to EN-FR, having two Anki decks going simultaneously for Assimil.
-Anki: I have been using Anki for nearly a month (with French), and I am about 272 cards (as of writing this) deep into the "5000 most frequently used French words [v. 6.0]" deck, and I am excited to keep using it. I don't really worry too much about Anki: I make sure to do it every day, but I don't torture myself over it.
-Immersion: Usually, I just try and watch youtube videos in French, so far Cyprien, French Morning's with Elsa, and InnerFrench. If you have any to recommend, I would really love to hear them!
I like listening to podcasts or radio when I am not doing anything, but I also try and re-listen to Assimil conversations randomly throughout the day to keep them in circulation in my brain.
Furthermore...
Soon I will return back to school and I will actually be taking French in school! Yay!!! Uni language courses can be really difficult, but honestly, I think if I study hard enough, I will be able to survive the class (which according to my brother, who took the same class at the same Uni, was the toughest class he had taken).
Japanese
My language learning journey started with Japanese a few months ago- while I am ashamed I gave up on it, I do not want to let my changing ambitions sink because of some semblance of guilt and "wasted time." I shall enjoy my youth and intellectual curiosity as much as I can, till' the skies unfurl in jasmine!
Spanish
Studied it in high school, practiced with my Puerto Rican uncle, and actually was decent at producing the language. Hilariously, my best skill was speaking, which frustrated mi Professora, but was alright with me. One day I might pick it back up again. So far, combined with my fluency in English (and knowledge of English mechanics/linguistic history in general) with my knowledge of Spanish grammar / vocabulary (especially with verbs), it has allowed me to learn a great deal faster in French than had I not studied Spanish prior.
Overall a beautiful lanugage, yet not one that draws me like French does.
Arabic (MSA, Egyptian)
My high school had a teacher who was from Morocco, and he taught classes for French and MSA. I don't remember much of anything from it, and now I would really like to learn Egyptian Arabic anyways. I plan to delay learning Arabic at least until Winter 2021 or even Spring 2022, in order to allow myself to reach a strong level in French.
As the days get closer to when I can start to learn this language, I slowly begin to gather my resources: so far I'm planning on Anki, LanguageTransfer, Sentence mining (eventually), Pimsleur, iTalki, and drilling the DLI similar to how I do Assimil with Anki.
To Conclude:
I am excited to start recording what I do on the daily. Expect nothing more than French for now. Not sure if this will be weekly or daily. We shall see, may you all have a good evening!