Jimjams German Journey

[Jimjam]

I think Brun Ugle has mentioned the polyglot fitness facebook group before. I haven't gone anywhere near it, so I can't be sure, but something like that might be a great place to get some healthy motivation and encouragement. Otherwise, I'm rooting (quietly) for you

Thank you for the encouragement! I'll have to look into it as I can use all the motivation I can get, and it's a bonus that it's language related!

[Jimjam]

I've been a little nervous recently since I have to not only get to a comfortable A2 level by next year so I can get into the classes i'm applying for, but also get to a level in which I will be comfortable speaking german in everyday life. I wanted to test my german and see where I would place now so I took the placement test on the deutsch welle site and this is what it said:
80% - 100%
Excellent! You have not only achieved the CEFR A2 competence level. You are already well on the way to the next level B1. If you would like to continue improving your German, you should enroll for a course that is already working towards B1.

My score was 85%. I admit I did use a dictionary for a few words (mainly phrases I haven't come across yet). Regardless of that, I disagree with this so strongly. I doubt I could even pass A2.1 let alone enrol in a B1 course!I just thought this was interesting so wanted to post it here.


With my studies, I have been a little lazy with assimil recently but that is mainly because by the time i've finished with assignments and such, it's already around 2am so I haven't had time to relax and study german. Despite this, I have noticed that my understanding and (still at a much lower level)my production have improved which I am attributing to assimil. While I can't seem to recall lessons by heart like I could with the early ones, I am finding myself being able to produce somewhat correct sentences on the fly. My biggest problem would be prepositions and cases, which I could iron out a little if I focused on them for an hour or 2 but I just can't seem to bring myself to when there is still new stuff to be learnt haha

Poor japanese. I have a grammar test on tuesday so it will probably receive the brunt of my frustration.

[Jimjam]

I'm finally back after a much longer break than I realised. I took my Japanese exam 2 days ago which means the end of the semester and this school year so i'm finally free until next year! It has been a wild semester, with it definitely being probably the most stress I've ever experienced so i'm glad it's all over. All I have to do now is wait for my results to make sure everything is all good for my exchange. As much as I love Japanese, I don't think i'll be doing much of it for a while. I'm going to focus all of my language effort on German to get it to where I need it by February. I haven't had much time at all to study it over the last months but I have kept it up with little things like using the busuu app (which i recommend for a decent supplement app). Despite the lack of study and use of german, I still feel like i've improved with the language, which i'd probably chalk up to a growing familiarisation with it.
It's a strange but liberating feeling to suddenly have no stress of upcoming tests, exams, assignments, or essays hanging over my head. The only thing i have to do now is just study german and that is very ok with me.

[Jimjam]

The last few weeks, I have gotten just about everything sorted for my exchange. I've now moved back home to work until I leave for Frankfurt on the 26th January so I can hopefully save up a decent amount, I somehow passed all of my classes which means that there shouldn't be any problems with the exchange process, I got a room reserved in a student residence not too far from the uni which i'm very happy with (though it's unfurnished so I have to buy furniture when I arrive which will be a little bit of a problem but should be easy enough), and I took the language placement test and passed with flying colours! I'm looking to enroll in B1 level classes so I took the A2 test and got 97% so should hopefully be able to get into the classes that I want. I don't trust the results too much though as I know I am definitely not approaching a B1 level yet, more of a low a2 with a weak vocabulary and extremely limited production abilities, but I am determined to get to where I need to be (and where they seem to think I already am). I have just under 2 months to do it which I am rather confident with. My passive knowledge is larger than I expected so I should be able to activate a lot of it, and solidify the required grammar and then I should be ok. I've started using a german textbook I bought when I was going to enroll in a german course at another university but didn't end up doing so as I applied for exchange instead. I am really enjoying the structure of a textbook after having floundered around with several other books, trying to incorporate them into one study plan. I also occasionally try my hand at reading, usually charlie und die schokoladenfabrik. I still only have between 60-70% comprehension without using a dictionary but I am able to figure out many of the words from context and from having seen both of the movies.
I haven't really touched Japanese since my exam but I do see myself going back to it soon enough especially now that I won't have the pressure of uni to go with it. My desire to go back to Japan is also almost completely back though I think i've decided that I would prefer to live somewhere else in the country than the main cities like Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. Thanks to a video I watched last night by Sharla (a great youtuber living in Japan), I've got my sights set more on northern Honshu, specifically in the Tohoku region. My current idea for after I graduate (at the moment without having experienced living abroad in Germany and how i'll feel afterwards) will be to spend a year or so in Japan on the JET program, which will hopefully get it out of my system, then go from there.

I may be tempted to go back to french a little bit despite our rocky past as my friend has decided that she wants to have a serious go at learning it. I just lent her some books (french demystified, assimil NFWE and a first 500 words book for kids), and as she is someone who is very good at sticking to a plan, I see her going very well with assimil and such. She also has plans to come visit me next year in germany so she will get a chance to use her french, and depending on her success with french and language learning in general, I may be able to tempt her to pick up another language (or more)

And I have managed to stay away from all new wunderlust temptations thanks to my persevering love for German and also the knowledge that i'll need it next year. Mandarin seriously tempted me but I managed to turn down its advances.

[Jimjam]

I haven't done anything substantial study wise, though have still been plugging away. I've been going here and there using different textbooks and reading different things but nothing too serious. I recently decided to give memrise a proper try so have been doing the 5000 common German words by frequency deck (are they called decks? course?) and have been surprisingly enjoying it. I have been doing 30 words a day in hopes that if i were to actually stick with it, I would finish sometime around next may. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my vocab, despite not having done it for too long just yet, and I am nowhere near as bored as I get when using anki. I have also looked around for good decks for japanese but can't find any worthwhile, and am far too lazy to make my own.

On that note, my love for Japanese has returned! I assume it's due to not having to study it for uni until I get back from my exchange in 2018. This lack of pressure makes it so much more enjoyable which is both amazing and a little concerning; I don't want to get too sidetracked from German since it is much more important in my current situation. Despite that, I have already been organising which books I want to take with me next year and have finally narrowed it down to just 2. In the perfect world, I would take all of them but that just isn't remotely feasible.
Despite a lack of serious Japanese study, I have noticed a slight improvement in it too. After the semester ended, as I was so overwhelmed with everything I sort of blocked japanese from my mind so this improvement is probably just that wall coming down and also this somewhat foreign feeling of enjoying it again after so long.

Mannheim Uni finally approved my german test results so I can apply for the B1 classes when the registration opens in late january, and I also booked my accommodation for the week before I can move in so I have somewhere to stay. I arrive Thursday 27th January and will spend 2 nights in Frankfurt then off to Mannheim until the 1st when I can move in. I am a little stressed about that as the apartment is almost completely unfurnished so I have to buy basically everything. Thankfully, my Austrian friend calmed my nerves a little by introducing me to IKEA. We have IKEA here in Australia, but it is much cheaper and more available in Europe. I'm still not looking forward to all the money it will cost but at least I have an idea of how much it will all be and can start looking ahead of time.

One thing I am rather excited for in Germany is netflix. I found a website which lists everything on netflix in a specific country and there are so many good shows dubbed into German that I am very excited to watch. I can see myself getting much more listening practice than I had anticipated. It'll be nice to be able to watch things I actually want to watch, instead of watching something because it's one of the few german shows/movies available on Australia's shitty netflix.

[Jimjam]

Just a small update today. I haven't done too much as it is the busiest time of year at work so my free time is extremely limited, but I have managed to keep up with my daily german memrise. I'm still doing 30 new words a day, and have a good retention rate so far (though I am noticing it is slightly worsening with time). I have already noticed an increase in my passive abilities, especially reading which is a big confidence boost. This is the first time i've learnt a language at a faster rate so it's great to see so much more progress in less time. (it's also nice to not have to deal with kanji but that's just my personal issues with Japanese ) I've been pretty happy with the words that it has given me so far; there have been a few that I won't really need for a while, and i have seen a few that I have my doubts should be in the top 5000 most frequent (i'm looking at you, "unsalted") but overall I am pleased with it. Assuming I can keep on track during my move and all the travelling, I can see myself sticking with it until the end.
I do need to seriously start focusing on my active skills since I have to start using them very soon. As I primarily learnt from grammar textbooks, I never learnt how to use it in daily life such as talking about daily activities and such. I can follow along with an easy novel but can't talk about my day so I need to sort this out. I should definitely look in to doing italki lessons or something, but due to several factors (money, time constraints, and anxiety issues), this seems like it won't happen. It took me a very long time, and repeated conversations to get as comfortable as I am in speaking Japanese. It will be much easier due to the necessity of it actually being in the country, but it won't be a smooth ride. This paragraph just turned into 2 different topics but I'm trying to write this at work and keep on getting sidetracked for extended periods and lose my train of thought so I'm just going to leave it here.

[Jimjam]

So I should probably update this log after the wild few months I've had.
I ended up moving to Germany back in January, and absolutely loved the country, and Mannheim is so amazing and beautiful especially the university. I kept up with my memrise as my main form of german study while also going to the b1.1 classes. I did find myself a little lost to begin with, but I was able to understand almost everything that was said in class, and once I got used to the classes it wasn't too difficult. I definitely noticed how much weaker my german was than the others, and I understood why when we all had to say how long we had been learning it for and everyone was saying from 2 years up to about 6 or 8 years, while I hadn't been at it for even 1 year haha. The classes were enjoyable regardless of my level.
As you could probably tell by the past tense, I am no longer in the classes, or in Germany at all. I unfortunately had to return to Australia a few weeks ago due to my mental health rapidly and drastically declining while over there. I loved Germany and can't wait to go back, but I realised that coming home was my best option in regards to my own health and safety. Being home has had an incredible effect on me and I instantly felt much better so it was definitely the best decision I could have made. Unfortunately this all effected my German studies as I have now not studied it for the past month or so. I gladly haven't tainted my opinion of it in my mind with my negative experiences, but I've just felt to worn out to even try. Fortunately, Japanese has felt the opposite and, while I haven't been actively studying it much, it has been making me feel happy like it used to. Now that I'm back and am taking time off from university, I'm feeling much more comfortable to just study my languages at my own pace without an deadlines or necessary goals looming over my head which has also helped my mental health a fair bit.

I had wanted to update this log more often but wasn't in the right mindset to do so. I am rather happy with myself for still progressing with german and making a personally noticeable difference in my german abilities despite how I was mentally. Seeing as I was only there for not even 2 months, I didn't make too much progress, but I was still able to start activating my language which had been almost completely passive up until then, and increased my vocabulary a fair bit while also strengthening my grammar knowledge. I hope to be comfortable to dive right back into the language soon alongside japanese.

And also, to anyone who is reading this that might be struggling with their mental health, you are not alone. You may not know me, and I may be horrible at giving advice and such, but I am a great listener so if you need someone to talk to, please send me a message. You may feel alone but you don't have to be.

[Ingaræð]

I was in a similar situation when I was doing my year abroad for uni. Going home and taking time out can seem like a defeat, but it takes strength and courage to do that when things are at their most difficult, so give yourself a pat on the back!

It's great that Japanese is a positive thing for you right now. Don't make yourself return to German before you're ready - it will wait for you patiently till then.

[Jimjam]

I was in a similar situation when I was doing my year abroad for uni. Going home and taking time out can seem like a defeat, but it takes strength and courage to do that when things are at their most difficult, so give yourself a pat on the back!

It's great that Japanese is a positive thing for you right now. Don't make yourself return to German before you're ready - it will wait for you patiently till then.

Thank you for the lovely reply!
It was definitely a tough decision to make, but once I started getting past the ingrained social stigma that surrounds mental health, and I realised that it should be taken just as seriously as ones physical health, I realised that it was the best option. I am very sad about leaving and do have my regrets, but I can live with that knowing I made the best decision I could have and that this just gives me more incentive to go back for whatever reason my future self decides on.

[Elenia]

Moving continents is always extremely hard. Well done for doing so well while you were in Germany. I'm glad that you enjoyed Germany, and I hope you are able to stay longer the next time. It's great that your mental health deteriorating hasn't negatively affected your view on German and Germany, and I'm glad that you are taking the time that you need. Good luck going forward.