SalzSäule's Multilingual Mess

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german2k01
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby german2k01 » Mon Nov 08, 2021 2:26 pm

I think you will do well. Ganz ruhig.

Please do share your test experience with us later on. What resources did you use leading up to the exam?

All the best for your test preparation
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SalzSäule
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Sat Nov 27, 2021 11:06 am

Helllo, I am back :). I did the TestDaF on Wednesday so now I am back to having... a fair amount... of free time. All of my uni work is due in December and I have no January/February exams so I can relax.

The TestDaF:

I am pretty sure I will have to resit it. Every section was fine, except speaking. I got so incredibly nervous and overwhelmed and I'm sure 50% of what I was saying was incoherent. I just felt absolutely awful about it, and I'm sure I'll have to resit just so I can pass the speaking section :cry:

The books I used to prepare for reading/writing were: Endstation C2, Wortschatz & Grammatik C2, DaF-Begleiter C2, Ziel: GDS (Schreiben), and Fit für den digitalen TestDaF. I also used the 'Synonymwörterbuch' by Hans Schemann to improve synonym coverage. Of all of these, I found Wortschatz & Grammatik, and (obviously) Fit für den digitalen TestDaF most useful. Synonymwörterbuch is good for general language knowledge, but I have to check with a native whether he's heard of certain expressions.

The test was in London so I spent the next day enjoy London and distracting myself. I get my results back in ~4 weeks iirc.

French:

If I am to do the DALF end of February then I need to get back on French now, and I'm considerably in backlog at this point. But I will perserve. I'm also looking at a late January-early Feb holiday to either Vienna, Merano, or Prague (all corona case dependent), so if I decide on Prague I'll just have to brush up on Czech again.

Sundries:

What a fun word. If anyone lives near London (or is visiting) make sure you go to the big Foyle's bookshop in New Oxford Street(?) I think it's called. They have an entire floor for languages, and you can even find entire shelves for rarer languages like Latvian or Estonian. German had an entire row.

I have thus bought Faust, because I am determined to finish this book. Surprisingly I'm not finding it too hard. Out of 1,055 lines (4,600 in total) there have only been 8 words I couldn't figure out. I have also started reading Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften again.

---

So yeah, all in all. Not too bad, but my anxiety in the speaking section absolutely crippled me. It doesn't help you've got 6 other people around you speaking as well and you can hear how good their accents are :(
6 x
Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

german2k01
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Location: Germany
Languages: English, Urdu, and German
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby german2k01 » Sat Nov 27, 2021 4:36 pm

Good to know about reading your test experience. These examiners can judge your true level just by hearing a few sentences coming out of your mouth. However, they have to fulfill the exam requirements. I will not be surprised if you pull off a good grade as well in Speaking.
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SalzSäule
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Tue Dec 28, 2021 2:17 am

Well my dramatic ass is back with good news and bad news:

- Bad news: I have Coronavirus and feel absolutely awful. I'm triple vaccinated and take so many precautions, so I have no idea how un-vaccinated people are coping with this illness.

The good news:

- I passed the TestDaF with a TDN-5 (equiv. C1.2, it doesn't test up to C2) in every section!!!!!!

I got 19/20 on reading, 17/20 on listening, 17/20 on writing, and 18/20 on speaking: 71/80 overall. The section I thought I did the worst on ended up being my second best, I can't believe it. My writing should have been higher, but I really under-estimated how quickly time flies and literally had to write a conclusion in 50 seconds without being able to re-read the conclusion or wider text.

A description of the levels in EN in case that's more useful:

TestDaF level 5 (TDN* 5) He/She can understand the overall meaning and specific details of linguistically and structurally complex written & spoken texts relevant to common study-related situations and on general academic topics. He/She can also extract implicit information from them.

He/She can write well-structured and cohesive texts in a style appropriate to the context using a differentiated vocabulary in common study-related situations (e.g. a report for the grant awarding body) and in a general academic context (e.g. course notes, synopsis of a lecture).

He/She can communicate clearly in a style appropriate to the context using a differentiated vocabulary in common study-related situations (e.g. university registration, course enrolment) and in a general academic context (e.g. current affairs discussions).


As for what else is going on:

- The wonders of passive learning am I right? I basically abandoned French for months, but my phone, browser, 1/4 of my facebook video feed, some YouTube videos etc. were in French/with French subtitles so I actually feel like my passive French skills have somehow improved slightly?

- Czech is, as always, trying. I intended to go to Prague just after Xmas — good thing I didn't book it, considering my COVID result.
10 x
Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
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Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Fri Dec 31, 2021 2:32 am

I will try to be more regular about updating now :-)

Recent words learnt in German:

* Blümchenkaffee (''thin'', poor quality coffee [grounds]).
* Strohwitwe(r) (a ''temporary widow'' i.e. a couple who are apart temporarily due to accommodation changes etc.)
* am grünen Tisch entscheiden (a bureacratic decision with little relation to reality or practical use).
* Klüse ("hawsehole" in English...)
* Vlies (Fleece, hide - e.g. Goldenes Vlies)

Today I've been clearing the Anki backlog for German, and wow did I forget a lot of words from my active memory. I also listened to some YouTube videos on Schopenhauer, I tried to follow an audiobook on Nietzsche's Die Geburt der Tragödie (but I got bored). Will probably put on an Arte documentary soon -- just a q. of whether German or French :?

Oh and I got quite hooked on 'Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit' by Schopenhauer and ended up reading the first two chapters, completely unintentionally. What a lucid book.

For French I am clearing a hefty Lingvist backlog. Slow, but steady.

And I am trying to catch up to where I was with Czech on Duolingo :-). I have made it a goal to finish the damn tree by the end of the year, because I am so inconsistent with Czech and have basically been learning the same 500 words over and over again for years on-and-off.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

DaveAgain
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby DaveAgain » Fri Dec 31, 2021 7:55 am

SalzSäule wrote:* Strohwitwe(r) (a ''temporary widow'' i.e. a couple who are apart temporarily due to accommodation changes etc.)
I thought straw-widow might be a valid English term, but I was wrong. English does have grass-widow, possibly because grass and straw were in some dialects interchangeable words.

https://blog.oup.com/2009/02/grasswidows/
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SalzSäule
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Sat Jan 01, 2022 2:40 am

Interesting, didn't expect us to have an equivalent. I've never heard of Strohwitwe outside of a quiz question, and the same applies to grass widow :D

New words today:

- Pickelhaube: Kaiser Helmet
- Abtrünnige(r): Apostate

Still trying to clear an Anki backlog, it's down to 99 words I think.

I have now maxed out the first 12 Czech skills, and I'm 6 skills away from where I reached in May. The grammar, although fairly evident to me at the time, has stuck a lot more than when I did it before. I seem to be having a much easier time remembering the case endings, which is strange. Then again, I'm only on case 3 of 7, and before I definitely got to 4 or 5.

Today I was forced to use French to follow a lecture on Wagner, which bored me and was not of massive use. I definitely noticed my French improving slightly as time went on, but not enough for me to be engaged.

I've also watched maybe too many videos on Nietzsche (it's all for an essay) today.
3 x
Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:17 pm
Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Sun Jan 02, 2022 12:34 am

Just throwing this out there, but I wholeheartedly the Royal Institution (Xmas) Lectures for good viewing content. The three this year on viruses were the first I'd ever seen, and then last night I watched a couple on Quantum Mechanics. Genuinely great overviews for someone who is not that versed in science :-)

I digress.

German words (re-)learnt today:

- Reismelde = a more bot. name for Quinoa
- Hirse = millet
- Bilche: Schläfermaus (dormouse)
- Gouvernante = governess (genuinely didn't know the fem. equiv. in DE)
- ergattern (snatch), abwimmeln (get rid of sb.), Herzmuschel (cockle), Sepie (cuttlefish - i'm writing it here because I keep forgetting) and about 100 others, see below.
- ich tat es nur der Sache wegen (did it just for the sake of it)

Finally cleared the Anki backlog for German! Also read some more of Aphorismen zu Lebensweisheit by Schopenhauer; watched "Der Schuh des Manitu" (the most successful German film post-war) and it was quite funny, but v. German humour. Tried to watch someone talk about Hegel and Kunst but it was rather boring.

I mean if you're learning Ancient Greek, Latin, French, and German I can only but recommend Schopenhauer. He loves to litter his texts with quote from whichever language thinks has conveyed his point the best. It's... interesting... but, alas, I can only understand half of them.

---

French: Cleared some more of the Lingvist backlog, and watched two HugoFrench videos (one about luxe and another about marseille). I'd love to say I learnt something useful, but all I recall is degún meaning personne in the local dialect.

I am tempted to sit in bed in a bit and read some of a bilingual collection of FR books, but will I actually.

---

Czech: Running out of opportunities to just revise what I knew before and will have to actually learn new things soon. I'm three/four skills away from where I was before on Duolingo, and I know we get the genitive in two skills which I do not want to deal with.

I'd also like to retract my statement of yesterday, for I am now annoyed with the cases again. It's not even a big grievance, it's just having 1/3 of the possesive pronouns take one paradigm, 1/4 take another, 1/7 have its own special one, and 1/4 have none at all. Commit, or don't Czech.

I also started watching The Sound of Music, because I am trying to watch classics that I've not yet seen.
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Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:26 am
Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... &start=200
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby DaveAgain » Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:00 am

SalzSäule wrote:I also started watching The Sound of Music, because I am trying to watch classics that I've not yet seen.
I think if alchemists had concentrated on searching for the solution to all the world's problems, rather than gold, they would have found that combining Julie Andrews, tea, and some mysterious element X is the answer to any problem. :-)
1 x

SalzSäule
Orange Belt
Posts: 106
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Languages: English (N), German (C2), French (?), Czech (Beginner)
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Re: SalzSäule's German Log

Postby SalzSäule » Mon Jan 03, 2022 6:36 pm

DaveAgain wrote:and some mysterious element X is the answer to any problem. :-)

A bit of Azoth maybe?!

---

Fire alarm went off in my building yesterday for (at least) 3.5 hours, they couldn't fix it at the time so I spent the night in a lovely Premier Inn down the road in quiet :lol: hence the later update.

A few German words and expressions learnt recently:

* abschirmen = to shield off
* Ranke = twine, tendril (yeah I don't really know either)
* Aber dennoch hat sich Bolle ganz köstlich amüsiert! - an expression used when someone (or one) keeps a positive and happy attitude and carries on their way, in spite of misadventures that have happened before.
* der Abgrund von Landesverrat - exp. from Adenauer(?) during the Spiegel-Affäre. Lit. "The abyss of treason".

Been watching a few more philosophy videos, carried on with Aphorismen zu Lebensweisheit. Watched a few episodes of Der Quiz-Champion and had a merry time.

French is just lingvist still, but I am intending to read some of the bilingual book tonight :-)

---

As for Czech, we have finally dived back into the genitive again and it's not as awful as I remembered (the pronouns and adjectives and posssesives all fine, just the nouns :cry: ). I also found a really cool Open License website for learning Czech - https://realityczech.org (I only just got the pun) which I'm using alongside Duolingo.

Again, it just all seems to be sticking a lot easier than usual and I'm suspicious as to why.

---

On the English side of things, I have purchased "Fear and Trembling" by Kierkegaard today (it is a very short book and I plan on returning it tomorrow to get another book #lifehack) and "A Word A Day" by Joseph Piercy. I regularly try to increase my English vocabulary still, because I just enjoy new words.

I did not yet finish the Sound of Music.
4 x
Da seufzt der Tropf im Purpur unter der unabwälzbaren Last seiner armseligen Individualität; während der Hochbegabte die ödeste Umgebung mit seinen Gedanken bevölkert und belebt.


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