Trying to take it easy

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
User avatar
sgiandubh
White Belt
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2016 11:48 pm
Languages: Studies (sometimes)
It, Eng, Esp, Fin, Fr, Cat, Gàidhlig,
Someone said Cookies for Finnish?
x 41

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby sgiandubh » Sun Dec 11, 2022 9:32 pm

BeaP wrote:... continued from previous post


Il Balboni A1

This is the case when the 100 years of experience is obvious from the first page. I've found one such book so far: Vite et bien. It's a very useful course if you want to move to Italy, because it contains a lot of practical information: bureaucracy, taxes, calling an ambulance, signing a job contract. All in great dialogues with audio. It also helps you learn vocabulary, because everything is repeated regularly with new items added. I don't know how the writer managed to do this, but it works wonders. He knows that teaching is his job and he has to make sure that you retain as much information as possible. A rare attitude.

It's a very well-structured book with short lessons (2-4 pages). I do one lesson every day and some revision with the audio.

The printed book is just the core, there are extra exercises (workbook-style) and videos online, but I only use the book.

[highlight=]The biggest disadvantage is that it doesn't have an answer key, but the method is so effective (for me) that I decided to put up with it.[/highlight]


It may (or may not) be interesting to you to know that the answer keys to il balboni exercise can be found in the Guida all'uso del manuale in the loescher- impara sul web site. you have to register, but then can access the extra matierials for each volume that you unlocked. In the guida there is a separate pdf for each unita from the book -- and includes the answer key.
3 x
: 7 / 100 Doing things!


:ugeek: 8-)

BeaP
Green Belt
Posts: 405
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:18 am
Languages: Hungarian (N), English, German, Spanish, French, Italian
x 1990

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby BeaP » Mon Dec 12, 2022 9:36 am

sgiandubh wrote:It may (or may not) be interesting to you to know that the answer keys to il balboni exercise can be found in the Guida all'uso del manuale in the loescher- impara sul web site. you have to register, but then can access the extra matierials for each volume that you unlocked. In the guida there is a separate pdf for each unita from the book -- and includes the answer key.


Thanks for your helpful comment. I have an account and I've downloaded the pdfs, but they only contain the answers to some of the exercises. (It's better than nothing, of course.) Although this course is clearly intended for classroom use, writers should also think about those who miss a class for some reason and need to catch up with the others. Especially nowadays I don't understand why self-study is not supported. Anyway, there were more materials for the A2 than for the A1 (the key for the supplementary exercises was a nice surprise), and I hope in the future they'll upload some more stuff to help those who learn alone.

I'm not progressing with Italian because I'm spending all my free time with Christmas preparations. I haven't asked for new textbooks, but I hope I'll get the illustrated Márquez novels. https://www.luisarivera.cl/making-of-cien-anos-de-soledad/

My children and my husband are getting boardgames:
Creature Comforts: Seems to be a 'kind and cozy' game with nice visuals. We're animal families in a forest, and we collect things for the winter to make our lives more comfortable. The playing time is too long but we'll play in pairs (one adult-one kid). I usually hate set collection but the theme of this game looks so inviting that I couldn't resist buying it. Even if I don't enjoy the game mechanism, collecting those nice cards (like 'warm socks' and 'hot soup') while impersonating a racoon will be a joy. (Age: 8+)
The Initiative: A co-operative deduction game with puzzles and a comic book. Each page starts a 30-60 minute mission. (Age: 8+)
Nemesis: Ameri (thematic) game based on the Alien films. I'll probably play it with my husband in a semi co-op mode, but I'd love to play it with a bigger group that could include the hidden traitor character. (Scary as hell, especially with the right group. Only for adults.)
Tainted Grail - The Fall of Avalon: Another thematic game based on Arthurian legends and Celtic mythology. (Very gloomy, potentially depressing. Only for adults.)

I'm sure some solid favourites will also hit the table:
Ticket to Ride - Europe: The best family strategy game in my opinion. Similar to old-school German family games that everyone can enjoy.
Riff Raff: Dexterity. Stack-building. A ship is standing on an unstable pole and we need to put different objects on the masts.
Dixit: An association game based on cards with strange pictures. (Child-friendly)

We've been playing Pandemic Legacy Season 0 recently. I'm always surprised how few base mechanism boardgames operate with. I'm a little underwhelmed so far, because the game seems to be Forbidden Island with a few extras. But we've only done two campaings, so it might get better. These thematic/legacy games can be good for language learning even in solo mode. And deduction games might be even better, especially those that have an application with a lot of texts. I'm often bored by these whodunnit games in my native language, but I'd gladly try Chronicles of crime for example in Italian or French.

Reading: I'm halfway through 2 books.
David Foster Wallace: Infinite Jest. Brilliant, though-provoking.
Javier Marías: Corazón tan blanco. Slow, uneven, annoying.
10 x

User avatar
MorkTheFiddle
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2113
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:59 pm
Location: North Texas USA
Languages: English (N). Read (only) French and Spanish. Studying Ancient Greek. Studying a bit of Latin. Once studied Old Norse. Dabbled in Catalan, Provençal and Italian.
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 11#p133911
x 4823

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Dec 12, 2022 6:26 pm

BeaP wrote:Javier Marías: Corazón tan blanco. Slow, uneven, annoying.
Good luck! I couldn't get past about page 10.
1 x
Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

BeaP
Green Belt
Posts: 405
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:18 am
Languages: Hungarian (N), English, German, Spanish, French, Italian
x 1990

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby BeaP » Wed Jan 04, 2023 11:21 pm

I can't really report anything new. I'm making progress in the 2 Italian textbooks I've written about. My main goal for 2023 is to continue my Italian studies in a disciplined way and reach a very good level in all 4 skills. My husband and our kids have also started to learn Italian and I'm planning to start a new enterprise that can improve our financial stability and freedom. I don't know how I'll juggle all these, we'll see.

Minor 'goals' (rather wishes):

English: read some very difficult and/or thought-provoking books
finish Infinite Jest, Darconville's Cat, A Glastonbury Romance

German: watch some TV series that I haven't watched because I was concentrating on other languages
Babylon Berlin s04, Deutschland 89, Der Pass s02
read: anything by Thomas Bernhard, Albert Vigoleis Thelen: Die Insel des Zweiten Gesichts

Spanish: maintain my level, concentrate on writing (write one essay every week)

French: nothing
8 x

BeaP
Green Belt
Posts: 405
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:18 am
Languages: Hungarian (N), English, German, Spanish, French, Italian
x 1990

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby BeaP » Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:43 pm

When I was learning Spanish (at around A2-B1), I read a lot of crime stories and popular fiction in general. With Italian I concluded that I just can't do it again. I don't enjoy reading these genres at all, and even a textbook gives me more pleasure then a typical giallo. What's even worse, watching those 10000 hours of Spanish TV made me extremely bored of series. Following a flash of inspiration now I'm experimenting with graphic novels. I have some Dylan Dog and Corto Maltese books in digital version and I've ordered some other printed books online. I'm halfway through the first Dylan Dog, and I really like it. Because it's mostly dialogues, I find the vocabulary very useful.

I've noticed that some graphic novels are available in a version for learners: https://www.edilingua.it/it-it/Prodotti.aspx?ElementID=e93596e6-e34a-4958-a88c-e2d8190b2a89&Action=First

There's also a radio play version on youtube for the one I'm reading at the moment: L'alba dei morti viventi. There's a link to an mp3 on the edilingua product page (see above).
7 x

User avatar
stell
Orange Belt
Posts: 178
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2022 11:25 pm
Location: Canada
Languages: English (N1), French (N2), Spanish (advanced), Tagalog (perpetual toddler), Russian (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17696
x 996

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby stell » Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:38 pm

I’m not sure what your level is in Italian, but if you’re open to children’s books…I love the series Geronimo Stilton, and it was originally written in Italian! It’s great for learners, because certain words are written in graphic form that matches their meaning. For example, I remember the word for “ant” had letters made up of little black ants marching across the page. Very cute, fun, cozy books.
2 x

BeaP
Green Belt
Posts: 405
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:18 am
Languages: Hungarian (N), English, German, Spanish, French, Italian
x 1990

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby BeaP » Wed Feb 22, 2023 3:44 pm

I'm experimenting with new genres and I started to read translated books as well. I believe that the combination of a good textbook + some authentic materials is the most effective way for me to learn a language. I still find my Italian textbooks outstandingly good and I try to use them every day. Regarding authentic materials I've found and used the following:

Hubert and Kerascoët: La vergine del bordello (graphic novel)
This is a translation from French (Miss Pas Touche). A young girl's sister is killed and she has to infiltrate a brothel to find the murderer. It's not a real murder mystery, it's rather a tableau of the society. Something in the vein of Balzac or Zola, cruel and pessimistic. There's no real positive character, everyone is greedy, selfish and mean. The main character is hot-headed, stupid and aggressive. I wouldn't say that it was a joy to read, but it was interesting and well-made. From the language point of view the Dylan dog comic was much better, that one contained a lot more useful vocabulary.

Riccardo Falcinelli: Figure
Non-fiction. Subtitle: How images work/function from the Renaissance to Instagram. It deals with the effect of certain images, what they evoke in us and why. It contains around 25 chapters and a lot of examples or references from both classical art and modern stuff like movies or advertisements. I find it really interesting and although it's a little above my level (meaning it's very tiring to read because I have to focus), a chapter at a time is OK.

Marino-Gotti-Cuello: Serie TV Cult Omnibus
This is basically an encyclopaedia of TV series. Each series gets around 10 pages, which is again something manageable at my level. It gives an overview of the plot, the characters and the main twists. It also gives a kind of analysis, tries to answer the question why these series were so important or popular and discusses how they're connected to other series.

Modesto García: La scena del crimine
Translated from the Spanish Crímenes ilustrados. It contains 8 murder mysteries with pictures, texts and audio materials (you need to scan the QR codes and you can listen to them on your phone). You have to figure out what happened, reconstruct the events and name the killer. I find it really good for language learning but it would work much better in a group. Although the reading and listening part is OK, the bulk of the 'game' is the reconstruction, which should be a discussion.

Iacopo Cellini: Il gioco di Andromeda
An Italian version of Cain's Jawbone by Edward Powys Mathers. In this literary game you have to find the right order of 95 short chapters that sometimes contain extra riddles. Solving this probably requires very intensive work with the text and a deep understanding, so I thought it would be a good choice for language learning. I have already read some chapters, but it seems to be really difficult (as a riddle).

La legge di Lidia Poët (Netflix)
A mediocre TV series with great aesthetics and atmosphere. I enjoyed it immensely.
12 x

MaggieMae
Orange Belt
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu May 12, 2022 11:13 am
Location: Switzerland
Languages: English (N), German (C2), Swiss German (depends on the day), Swedish (A1), Mandarin (Beginner)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?t=18071
x 610

Re: Trying to take it easy

Postby MaggieMae » Thu Feb 23, 2023 3:54 pm

I absolutely love Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, and Forbidden Island. Pandemic and Forbidden Island, as you mentioned are extremely similar, to the point that my friends call Forbidden Island "Pandemic Light".

Playing games in another language is my favorite way to learn, or to teach kids. :D
5 x
Languages: English (N), German (C2), Swiss German (depends on the day), Swedish (A1), Mandarin (beginner)
: 22 / 100 SC Books 22.3/100
: 31 / 100 SC Films 30.7/100


Return to “Language logs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: galaxyrocker, guyome and 2 guests