Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

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Magnoliophyta
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Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:53 pm

Hello! I still feel very new to this forum -- and very very new to actually posting anything -- but after all this time reading along (and making a post here or there every once in a while), I'm finally starting a log of my own. Now that we've made it through the first quarter of the year, it feels like a nice time to reflect.

Right now, I'm most actively working on learning German, a language that I began seriously studying about 2 years ago. These days, I'm at a level where I can consume media in German and enjoy it without too many difficulties or comprehension problems -- at the same time, I do still have much to gain from actively paying attention to new vocabulary words and expressions that come up and taking down notes when I can. I like watching TV series, listening to podcasts, and reading novels in German, and I can generally find at least a little time every day to watch, listen to, and/or read something in German. I've also been finding it helpful at this stage to review vocabulary that I've recently learned (using Anki) and to work through grammar exercises (currently using the Grammatik Aktiv B2/C1-level book) that both solidify and expand on knowledge that I already have. Informal tutoring (via italki) to practice speaking has also been very helpful for me -- again, both to strengthen my confidence and fluency with what I already know, and to work on addressing vocabulary gaps or other linguistic difficulties that reveal themselves when I speak to someone at length.

I've been learning French for much longer, and it also happens to be the case that I often need to read articles in French as part of my work. At this point, I am maintaining my French skills without worrying about them too much, and mostly through regularly reading (news and novels in my spare time, along with what I read for work), and occasionally watching TV programs or listening to podcasts when I feel like it. Even if this all seems rather informal and disorganized, maintaining a consistent connection to the French language has been important to me over the years that have passed since the time when I was more actively working on it, and I'm happy with the level of skill that I've been able to maintain.

I'll look forward to adding to this log when I have thoughts or updates that I feel like sharing. (Maybe in another 3 months, maybe sooner, maybe later -- who knows? :lol: )
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:15 pm

Hello again with some updates:

German
I signed up for a 365-day challenge for German and, while I've already missed a couple days (February was busy!), I've also had a few days this month when the challenge motivated me to study a little more to get to my 30 minutes when I otherwise wouldn't have, so, I'm grateful for that extra bit of inspiration to keep working consistently. I just finished the exercises in chapter 57 (bzw., Kapitel 57) in my Grammatik aktiv book. I've been working through the chapters in order, slowly but surely, since the middle of last summer -- there are 88 chapters in total, so, 57 down and 31 to go! This book might not look too long at first glance, if you've seen it, but it covers quite a lot of ground. I find it to be efficient in how it conveys information, and in its exercises, which pretty quickly get right to some of the trickier aspects of things.

I also still do my Anki card reviews every day, but at this point, my rate of adding new cards has slowed down, so I tend to need only around 5 minutes a day to get through that day's scheduled reviews. I've only ever worked with cards that I make myself, using them to review words and expressions that I have already learned or encountered someplace else.

Taking in input has also been an important part of what I do with German these days. Recently, I've been enjoying listening to the Methodisch inkorrekt podcast, in which two scientists talk about current events and about recent scientific discoveries that are of interest to the general public. I also like finding German TV series to watch via the ZDF-Mediathek -- recently I've been watching episodes of "Bettys Diagnose" (set in a hospital in Aachen, kind of soap-opera-ish) and "Ella Schön" (set in small-town Fischland, dramedy). These two shows are both admittedly rather lighthearted and silly some of the time -- but I do enough thinking and deal with enough seriousness during my workday that I enjoy relaxing with something lighter in my spare time. :lol: And, as far as language learning is concerned, I've found both shows to be quite useful! I've learned new words, and it helps me a lot to see and hear how characters interact with one another, including characters with different kinds of accents and speaking habits, and situations with different levels of formality (which impacts the language usage).

French
I'm finally reading Camus' novel La peste, and I get an email newsletter every morning from Le Monde that encourages me to read news articles (or at least headlines) in French on a daily basis.
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Sat Apr 30, 2022 12:23 pm

Hello again:

The most interesting language-related update that I have, for now, is that I ended up meeting some native German speakers by chance a couple of days ago at a social event, and so I got a chance to use the language with some new people. As soon as they heard that I'm learning German, they insisted on speaking German with me. We were able to chat for a while, and it seemed to be fun for all involved (and certainly for me!). It was exciting and encouraging for me to understand and be understood as well as I could, especially since I'm not in the habit of socially speaking German, other than specifically language-learning-oriented activities and situations. (I still live and work in the US and in my native language, US-American English).

I was also surprised by how much the physical feeling of speaking loudly in German felt unfamiliar for me -- being in the rather crowded, outdoor setting where we were required louder volume, compared to being in a smaller room indoors or talking online via video-chat, where most of my German-speaking experience has taken place so far. Projecting my voice to speak more loudly than usual, while still pronouncing vowels as precisely as I like to, wasn't always easy! So, this was good practice for me, and a good challenge. But it was ultimately a very positive and motivating experience, and I've continued in my other German-learning activities with renewed energy and enthusiasm since then!

Other than this, I'm still working through my grammar book, doing daily Anki card reviews, and making time to read/watch/listen to German-language media and materials when I can.

I still read every day in French. I'm trying to be more deliberate about listening to French regularly these days, also -- I do think that I get a lot out of hearing the language, and that my pronunciation (both with French and with German) tends to be better during times when I'm in the habit of hearing the language (and worse when I'm not). Over the past few days, I've watched a couple of French YouTube videos with book reviews and comments about French literature in general, which is a nice way to supplement my reading habit with something relevant that engages listening as well. It could be interesting to keep looking for podcasts/radio programs/videos that comment on French books that I've already read.
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Wed May 11, 2022 3:14 pm

French
I'm still reading my way through La peste (currently about 150 pages in) and regularly reading French news stories online. It's still the case, also, that reading in French is often useful in my work, so, the language definitely feels like a regular presence in my life.

Also relevant: I've also been re-reading Alice Kaplan's memoir entitled French Lessons, a book that she wrote (in English) as a kind of linguistic and academic autobiography, in which she narrates some episodes from her life and experiences with learning the French language and then eventually becoming a professor of French literature.

German
I've been moving through my Grammatik aktiv B2/C1 book more quickly these days and am now up to Chapter 71. Some chapters and sets of exercises take longer than others; the chapters that I've gone through recently have generally been either more brief, or more aligned with material that is mostly review for me, overall. (In chapters with more information that is new for me, or with longer exercise sets, I need to spend more time). I also still do my Anki card reviews daily, as usual, though I add new cards so infrequently these days that this still doesn't take more than five to ten minutes each day.

Also, I recently learned of an online resource from the Deutsche Welle German-learning activities called Alltagsdeutsch: each Alltagsdeutsch activity has an audio "episode" reporting on a topic, followed by exercises with comprehension questions and then a vocabulary list at the end. It seems like new "episodes" come out regularly online. These are aimed at C-levels and feel more difficult for me than the German podcasts and TV series that I usually spend time with -- but it's good to be challenged a little more, and the vocabulary included in the audio and activities seems designed to bring us into contact with more specific terms that are useful for me as I work towards more advanced-level proficiency. Plus, this is a nice balance between learning words and expressions in an "authentic" context, and also having some support (in the form of the exercises/word list) for actively reviewing and studying.
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Thu May 19, 2022 1:20 am

I'm thinking today of the thread from a little while ago in the "Practical Questions and Advice" section of this forum that asked users which day begins their week for logging purposes... in my mind, the week begins on Monday -- but here I am now writing in this log for the second Wednesday in a row! Anyhow, some quick updates on my language-learning activities since last time:

French
-Still reading La peste (slowly, but surely...) and daily Le monde headlines/short articles

German
-Daily Anki card reviews, as always

-I'm now up to chapter 76 in the Grammatik aktiv B2/C1 book. I also just got another C1-level vocabulary and grammar exercise book (the Hueber Deutsch üben: Wortschatz & Grammatik C1-level book) that I'm waiting to start until I've finished Grammatik aktiv. I think that some vocabulary-building activities will be helpful for me, as well as any further review/reinforcement of grammar concepts that Grammatik aktiv also covered (or potentially additional details/topics that add to what I've already worked on in the other book).

-I still listen to the Methodisch inkorrekt podcast, though I'm no longer up-to-date with it these days and am still in the middle of the episode from April 19th.

-I also found another German soap opera to watch online: the official YouTube channel of the show Verbotene Liebe has lots of old episodes uploaded and available for viewing. Yes, I am aware that this is silly TV, and not the kind of thing that I would watch in my native English... but as a language-learning activity, it seems useful! Since the videos are on YouTube (where the only subtitles available are auto-generated captions that have too many errors to be worth using), I keep the captions turned off and this forces me to practice listening comprehension without falling back on subtitles. Also, the YouTube description box for each episode includes summaries of the three main plot threads going on in the episode -- so, before watching, I can read this synopsis (and look up any unknown vocabulary words there), which helps me feel more mentally/linguistically prepared to understand and follow what goes on in the episode. After just a few episodes of Verbotene Liebe, I've already encountered some interesting new vocabulary, like "gewöhnungsbedürftig" (an adjective that basically means "requiring some getting used to"), "seine Gefühle nicht leugnen können" ("to not be able to deny one's feelings"), and "die Verachtung" (like "scorn" or "contempt" felt for someone).
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Tue May 31, 2022 11:19 pm

It's been a busy time in my life since I last wrote here -- in the 365-day challenge, I'll definitely fall short of being able to count all 31 days for May -- but it's also been a good couple of weeks for language learning, and I have still done something for language learning every day, even if I didn't make it to 30 minutes of study on each of those days.

In German, I've been working more actively on practicing writing, which I've found to be very helpful. There are differences between spoken and written styles and registers in German, and trying to express my thoughts in writing forces me to be precise (or to look up the vocabulary that I need in order to do so) and to practice using the kinds of words that logically connect ideas and sentences to tell a coherent story or make a clear argument. I'm also thinking about taking a C1 exam in the fall, so, that external source of motivation has also helped inspire me to make sure I am working on reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, and not neglecting writing.

I also still do my daily Anki reviews (I now have a 431-day streak), watch TV series/listen to podcasts when I feel like it (but with regularity!), and continue to work through the B2/C1-level Grammatik aktiv book. I'm now on Chapter 78 of Grammatik aktiv, focused on "Funktionsverbgefüge" (basically constructions involving specific nouns and verbs used together as a "verb construction" with a particular meaning, like "eine Entscheidung treffen," for example, which would be "to make a decision" in English -- there are several situations in German in which the verb ends up becoming a kind of two-part phenomenon, so, in my mind, it helps to relate these noun-verb combinations to that general idea). Though some of the noun-verb constructions here are already familiar to me, some are new things that I just have to memorize, which makes this feel like a "grammar topic" that is really more of a "vocabulary topic" and, therefore, more time-consuming than some other grammar chapters in my book -- but regular review (with help from Anki!) will help me with these, I think. (Any grammar experts reading this will have to please excuse me if I am using incorrect linguistic/grammatical terminology here: the German term Funktionsverbgefüge isn't easy to translate into English!)

In French, meanwhile, I continue to read at least a little bit every day, but I am realizing these days how much I really haven't been in the habit of actively communicating or speaking in French for quite a long time. (Receptive comprehension is no problem, though!) I took an italki lesson for French, which meant I was speaking French at length for the first time in at least a year, which was fun, but also difficult, as I was clearly out of practice, and dealing with interference from German!

In my earlier stages of learning German, it felt like having had the experience of learning French to an advanced level previously was helpful to fall back on -- and I often found myself tending towards French thought-patterns of verbalizing what I wanted to say, which I needed to resist and redirect towards German ways. But now, I have been working so actively on German for so long that things are somehow the other way around -- the German words and structures are fresher in my mind, and recalling my French habits takes a little more time, which feels weird for me because, in my mind, my French should be stronger, since I've had it longer, so it surprises me that speaking German feels more comfortable for me at this particular moment. (How cool, though, that our brains can learn and change like this!)

Working independently on learning German has taught me how to work effectively, in an active, daily way, so I think I'd like to now apply some of those habits back onto French as I begin more actively reviewing and reviving it. I have some French grammar exercise books, I know how I like to work with Anki now, I'm no longer afraid of talking with native speakers online (or talking out loud to myself and recording it!) for practice, and I think I should be able to find at least a little time to actively work on French in some way each day (or at least the majority of days each week). I'll admit that I had to take a moment to emotionally get over the fact that I've lost some of the speaking skills that I used to have in French, but now I'm looking forward to beginning to actively work on them again. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Wed Jun 01, 2022 12:47 am

Alice Kaplan’s memoir was lovely, a nice reminder that we have *relationships* with our languages, and that these relationships are connected to our larger lives. (And I felt very sophisticated relating to a French professor!)

Verbotene Liebe was a big part of my life for a year or two and I have fond memories. Great for conversational skills, all they ever do is talk to each other!
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Wed Jun 01, 2022 3:22 pm

Lawyer&Mom wrote:Alice Kaplan’s memoir was lovely, a nice reminder that we have *relationships* with our languages, and that these relationships are connected to our larger lives. (And I felt very sophisticated relating to a French professor!)

Verbotene Liebe was a big part of my life for a year or two and I have fond memories. Great for conversational skills, all they ever do is talk to each other!


Thanks for this message. I'm glad to hear about how these aspects of Kaplan's memoir have resonated with you, too -- and that you've also found Verbotene Liebe to be helpful while learning German!
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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Wed Jun 01, 2022 5:56 pm

Magnoliophyta wrote:French
Also relevant: I've also been re-reading Alice Kaplan's memoir entitled French Lessons, a book that she wrote (in English) as a kind of linguistic and academic autobiography, in which she narrates some episodes from her life and experiences with learning the French language and then eventually becoming a professor of French literature.

Our city library offers this as an e-book.
It also holds Kaplan's Dreaming in French : the Paris years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis
and
Looking for The Stranger : Albert Camus and the life of a literary classic.
Both interesting looking titles. So, like any self-respecting forum member, I reserved them. :)
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Many things which are false are transmitted from book to book, and gain credit in the world. -- attributed to Samuel Johnson

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Re: Magnoliophyta's log (FR/DE)

Postby Magnoliophyta » Thu Jun 02, 2022 12:48 pm

MorkTheFiddle wrote:Our city library offers this as an e-book.
It also holds Kaplan's Dreaming in French : the Paris years of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Susan Sontag, and Angela Davis
and
Looking for The Stranger : Albert Camus and the life of a literary classic.
Both interesting looking titles. So, like any self-respecting forum member, I reserved them. :)


Great! You'll have to let us know how you like them. :)

On the subject of language-learning autobiographies again, I can also share the title of one that I read in French quite a while ago: Akira Mizubayashi's Une langue venue d'ailleurs. From what I remember of that book, Mizubayashi recounts experiences learning French (with impressive dedication!), discusses academic and cultural areas of interest to him, and reflects on how learning a foreign language changed his relationship to his native language, Japanese.
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