Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby iguanamon » Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:00 pm

Wow, Stelle, when you get back into language, you don't fool around! Two months after Hurricane Maria and I still don't have internet at my house, except what limited access I have through my phone- i.e. no video, so I can only dream of such luxury now!

It's funny how we start out with just one language and sort of "back in" to several along the way. That's what happened with me. The main problem is time. It's like the old plate spinner acts where they would try to keep multiple plates spinning on sticks without losing one. It's tricky to do and keep them all spinning. Eventually you will get to a point to where Spanish and Italian will take care of themselves and Tagalog will too with your husband's family. Your Spanish is already taking care of itself quite well.

How much would you say your Spanish and French help you with Italian? It seems you've jumped into reading a real novel in Italian much quicker than you did with Spanish.
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:07 pm

iguanamon wrote:Wow, Stelle, when you get back into language, you don't fool around! Two months after Hurricane Maria and I still don't have internet at my house, except what limited access I have through my phone- i.e. no video, so I can only dream of such luxury now!
My thoughts are with you! I really take all of my luxuries for granted. I try my best to be a thoughtful and grateful person, but just yesterday I was complaining that my wifi was too slow because it took more than a nanosecond for a site to load. So thanks for the reality check. I hope everything gets back to normal for you soon!
iguanamon wrote:It's funny how we start out with just one language and sort of "back in" to several along the way. That's what happened with me. The main problem is time. It's like the old plate spinner acts where they would try to keep multiple plates spinning on sticks without losing one. It's tricky to do and keep them all spinning. Eventually you will get to a point to where Spanish and Italian will take care of themselves and Tagalog will too with your husband's family. Your Spanish is already taking care of itself quite well.
I never really meant to become a Language Learner. I started Spanish as a bit of an afterthought, and got completely hooked. Honestly, though, I think that this might just be it for me. Get these three languages to a solid level, and then just let it be. We'll see! I used to swear up and down that I didn't suffer from language wanderlust, but that was before I started learning Italian for absolutely no reason.
iguanamon wrote:How much would you say your Spanish and French help you with Italian? It seems you've jumped into reading a real novel in Italian much quicker than you did with Spanish.
Spanish and French help enormously - especially Spanish. I think that I did start reading a "real" novel in Italian more quickly than I did in Spanish, mainly because I went from children's books to a relatively easy adult novel. I skipped over the loooooong interlude that I did in Spanish with translated young adult fiction. But before reading Io Non Ho Paura, I did read at least 6 children's novels, so I'm not sure that it was really so much quicker...

Honestly, it would probably be best for me to quit either Italian or Tagalog for now, and focus on only one until I bring it to a higher level. But I'm not always very good at being practical.
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Sun Nov 26, 2017 2:18 pm

So I didn't meet most of my goals for last week. It's honestly not much of a surprise, because I had parent-teacher interviews last week. Teaching all day, and then meeting with individual parents in 15-minute blocks until 8:00 at night two days in a row left me exhausted. I didn't touch any of my languages on either of those days, and then I took the whole day off yesterday as well, just to reset.

Goals for last week:
- Log at least 540 minutes for the week - No, not quite. I logged 515 minutes last week.
- Do a half-hour tutoring session in Tagalog - Yes
- Study Tagalog for at least 30 minutes, at least five days out of seven - No. I studied Tagalog four days out of seven.
- Study/practice Italian for at least 30 minutes, at least five days out of seven - No. I studied/practised Italian four days out of seven.
- Do a one-hour tutoring session in Spanish - Yes
- Read in either Italian or Spanish every single day - No. Sadly, I only read three days out of seven last week.
- Watch at least one more episode of Star Trek in Italian - No

In Italian, I spent 99 of 168 minutes listening to America 24 and Italiano Automatico. I can't remember who mentioned Italiano Automatico in their log, but a huge thanks to you, whoever you are - it's exactly what I didn't know that I was looking for! I finished reading Io Non Ho Paura. The ending was...underwhelming. Although I really enjoyed the book while reading it, after finishing it I can't quite say that I loved it. That said, I've reserved a few more books by the same author from the library. Other than that, I only touched Duolingo and Memrise three times this week. I'm not sure how much benefit I'm getting from those apps at this point, but they're the closest that I'm coming to active recall of the language, so I'll keep using them for now. (weekly total for Italian: 168 minutes)

In Tagalog, I had a great half-hour tutoring session. I've also been talking a lot more to my in-laws (very simple stuff, but better than nothing!) and making more of an effort to listen actively when they're having a conversation with one another. (weekly total for Tagalog: 142 minutes of focused studying/tutoring)

In Spanish, I touched on a good variety of skills this week. I had an excellent hour-long talk with my italki teacher about some of my favourite things (bookstores, libraries, coffee and tea, of course), I listened to an episode of Fallo de Sistema (about mushrooms, of all things, which - as it turns out - are fascinating), I watched one episode of Mar de Plástico, and I read Divergente a few times. All of these activities were relaxing and rewarding. I can definitely see myself continuing in this way, relaxing into the language and improving ever-so-gradually, for the rest of my life. Spanish is definitely my forever language. (weekly total for Spanish: 205 minutes)

on listening

My commute doubled from 10 minutes (which seemed too short to even bother listen to anything in the car) to 20 minutes. 20 minutes is definitely long enough to load up a podcast, so I've started using my drive to listen to Italiano Automatico and America 24. I'm actually happy that I'm spending a few extra minutes in the car on the way to and from work, because it's created a built-in time for listening. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to dedicate this time to Italian, or if I'll throw in some Spanish from time to time.

I've cut out listening during my morning and evening walks. I figured that it was the perfect time to get some extra language time in, but I found myself growing more tired and irritable on days when I listened while walking. I've realized that letting my mind wander while walking is integral to my mental health and general sense of well-being. So I now think of walking as my form of meditation, and leave the earbuds at home.

on reading

I need to read every day. I've always defined myself as a reader, but the older that I get, the less that I read. I fall prey to mindless internet surfing and don't seem to have the same attention span that I once had for reading. Once I sit down and start, I can focus for hours, but it just seems hard to start. I wonder how much language learning has affected my reading habits. I used to read dozens of novels in English every year, but over the past five years, most of that time has been shifted to language learning - and a lot of my language-learning activities are done in 15 or 20 minute chunks, much of it on the computer. I wonder if that's had a negative effect on my attention span.

My goals for next week are very simple:
-Read for an hour every single day, in any language (even English is allowed! I need to rebuild the habit.)
-Touch on each of my languages at least five out of seven days

And that's it!

Happy Sunday, everyone!
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Sun Nov 26, 2017 6:33 pm

Stelle wrote:on reading

I need to read every day. I've always defined myself as a reader, but the older that I get, the less that I read. I fall prey to mindless internet surfing and don't seem to have the same attention span that I once had for reading. Once I sit down and start, I can focus for hours, but it just seems hard to start. I wonder how much language learning has affected my reading habits. I used to read dozens of novels in English every year, but over the past five years, most of that time has been shifted to language learning - and a lot of my language-learning activities are done in 15 or 20 minute chunks, much of it on the computer. I wonder if that's had a negative effect on my attention span.
In a nutshell, this describes me, too. I find myself jumping from one thing to another, and I find myself too often in a hurry! Have to read x number of pages, learn x number of words, hear x minutes of audio. Can't slow down to enjoy what I'm reading or listening to. I pulled out some poetry just this morning. I have some audio for some of them. I want to force myself to listen, absorb, enjoy, slow down. Thanks for the unintended nudge. :)
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Brun Ugle » Mon Nov 27, 2017 10:27 am

Me too! Both the walking thing and the reading thing. I walk a lot. I usually take at least two walks a day, plus I walk anytime I actually have to go anyway. I feel like I waste so much time that I could spend on language learning, but whenever I try to cram in some podcasts or audiobooks in that time, I start getting stressed and anxious. It works alright for a few days or a week, but it soon starts making me crazy.

I also find myself reading much less than I used to, and I feel like I don't have the attention-span I used, but I don't think it's language-learning that ruined me. I think it is because I go to check Facebook or Twitter for a couple minutes and somehow I end up getting lost in there. I need an app or something that turns them off automatically after ten minutes.
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Thu Nov 30, 2017 9:54 pm

MorkTheFiddle wrote:In a nutshell, this describes me, too. I find myself jumping from one thing to another, and I find myself too often in a hurry! Have to read x number of pages, learn x number of words, hear x minutes of audio. Can't slow down to enjoy what I'm reading or listening to. I pulled out some poetry just this morning. I have some audio for some of them. I want to force myself to listen, absorb, enjoy, slow down. Thanks for the unintended nudge. :)
Yes, it's so easy to get caught up in the do do do mindset of checking things off a list. I just don't know how to keep up with all of my languages if I don't make lists and work my way through them. It's a conundrum!

Brun Ugle wrote:Me too! Both the walking thing and the reading thing. I walk a lot. I usually take at least two walks a day, plus I walk anytime I actually have to go anyway. I feel like I waste so much time that I could spend on language learning, but whenever I try to cram in some podcasts or audiobooks in that time, I start getting stressed and anxious. It works alright for a few days or a week, but it soon starts making me crazy.

I also find myself reading much less than I used to, and I feel like I don't have the attention-span I used, but I don't think it's language-learning that ruined me. I think it is because I go to check Facebook or Twitter for a couple minutes and somehow I end up getting lost in there. I need an app or something that turns them off automatically after ten minutes.
When I was in Nova Scotia, I did most of the FSI Spanish audio while walking. For some reason, it worked for me then. Now...not so much. I guess I just feel like I have less time overall, and I feel resentful when my thinking time gets taken away from me. Luckily, I've never spent much time on social media, so that helps. But I do spend far too much time browsing on reddit. It's the dog videos...they get me every time.
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby rdearman » Thu Nov 30, 2017 10:20 pm

Brun Ugle wrote:Me too! Both the walking thing and the reading thing. I walk a lot. I usually take at least two walks a day, plus I walk anytime I actually have to go anyway. I feel like I waste so much time that I could spend on language learning, but whenever I try to cram in some podcasts or audiobooks in that time, I start getting stressed and anxious. It works alright for a few days or a week, but it soon starts making me crazy.

I also find myself reading much less than I used to, and I feel like I don't have the attention-span I used, but I don't think it's language-learning that ruined me. I think it is because I go to check Facebook or Twitter for a couple minutes and somehow I end up getting lost in there. I need an app or something that turns them off automatically after ten minutes.

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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Sat Dec 02, 2017 2:56 pm

My goals for last week were:
-Read for an hour every single day, in any language - yes! All reading was in English, and I didn't track minutes.
-Touch on each of my languages at least five out of seven days - noooooo. Not even a little bit, aside from Italian.

Italian - 180 minutes (5 out of 7 days)

I've been listening a lot during my commute. Most mornings I listen to America24, and then I switch over to Italiano Automatico. I can understand most of what I hear, which is nice! Of 180 minutes this week, 140 minutes were dedicated to listening, and 40 minutes were spent on Duolingo and Memrise.

Spanish - 60 minutes (1 out of 7 days)

One hour conversation over Skype...and nothing else for the whole week. I didn't touch any books or watch any episodes of Mar de Plástico this week.

Tagalog - 15 minutes (1 out of 7 days)

Cringe. I have nothing more to say.

Reading

I read! Every single day! Finally, a win to report! All reading was in English, and it wasn't very intellectually demanding, but I read actual books every single day. I'm reading some young adult fiction, because it's almost Christmas, and I'm the Aunt Who Gives Books For All Special Occasions. Now that two of my three nieces are well into their teens, I like to pre-read any books that I give them - both because I don't want to give them something crappy, and because if it's good but dark, I want to make sure that I'm ready to talk it through with them.

I also found my ancient copy of The Edge of Tomorrow by Isaac Asimov. The stories are dated and sexist, but still some of my favourites! I particularly love The Last Question - especially the description of an advanced super-computer that's the size of a small planet. Ha!

Goals for next week:
- Read a book every single day in any language (let's make this habit sticky!)
- Study Tagalog five out of seven days
- keep listening during my commute, alternating between Italian and Spanish

A general plan:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday - listen to Italian during my commute, read in Spanish in the evening
Tuesday/Thursday - listen to Spanish during my commute, read in Italian in the evening
M-F - at least 15 minutes of Tagalog
weekend - whatever I feel like doing
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Sun Dec 10, 2017 3:01 pm

Goals for last week:
- Read a book every single day in any language - yes
- Study Tagalog five out of seven days - yes
- keep listening during my commute, alternating between Italian and Spanish - yes
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON LANGUAGES: 483 minutes

I like this approach of setting really easy goals and then getting to report on my success! I think that I'll keep the same weekly goals for the rest of 2017.

Spanish - 133 minutes
Not much to report on. I had a one-hour Skype conversation on Sunday morning, and listened to Futuro Abierto twice in the car. I thought that I would dislike having a commute, since I went from 10 minutes (which barely counts as anything) to 20 minutes (which is just barely enough to start being annoying). However, instead of disliking my commute, I find myself really enjoying the opportunity to listen more! 40 minutes is long enough to listen to several short Italian podcasts, or the bulk of a longer Spanish radio show. It helps that there's only traffic for the first 5 minutes, and then the rest of the drive is on quiet side-roads.

Italian - 215 minutes
Without really setting out to ignore any kind of studying, this week I focused only on reading and listening. I did Memrise once at the very start of the week, but just couldn't be bothered to open it again at any point.

I listened three times during my commute, to a mix of America 24 and Italiano Automatico. Even though I enjoy Italiano Automatico, I'm very close to quitting, because I'm going through the archives, and I've just listened to two or three 15-minute monologues about a language course that the maker is selling. I get it, I know that he needs to make a living, and he's putting out high-quality stuff so I hope that he's doing well, but listening to old advertising isn't really engaging.

Other than that, I've started a new book in Italian: L'uomo in fuga (the Italian translation of Stephen King's The Running Man). It is grim, but gripping. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed King's earlier novels. I read this book decades ago, and don't remember much of it at all, so it feels like I'm reading the story for the first time. Yesterday, I was reading a chapter, and I felt my eyes widen and my heart start pounding during a particularly stressful part. It's hard to believe that my Italian is strong enough that the written word can now provoke a physical reaction!

My comprehension (both reading and listening) are improving noticeably. I'm going to spend the rest of 2017 letting go of any formal Italian study, and just focus on input. At some point I'm going to have to do some study, because even though I understand everything, I kind of let my eyes slide over the verb conjugations at times. Also, my current book is written in that-past-verb-tense-whose-name-I-don't-know, the one that only exists in novels. It's very easy to understand in writing, but I sometimes feel my brain glitch when I'm listening to Italian, because the past tense is different. French-learners - I truly feel your pain for the very first time!

All that said, I think that lots of input is exactly what I need right now, both as a learner and as a human being who is just a bit busy and frazzled right now.

Tagalog - 135 minutes
Poco a poco, poco a poco. I'm still working my way through The-Software-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. Study is pleasant and low-key. I haven't been very inspired to open up anki or Elementary Tagalog, but I'm ok with that. I've been using a lot more oral Tagalog with my husband and his family.

Huge win of the week: now it's common enough that I say something in Tagalog that no one in the family feels the need to laugh and say "You're good at Tagalog!". If anyone's studied Tagalog before, then you'll know that saying anything more than two words makes you extremely entertaining in native speakers' eyes. It's both amazing and hilarious every time you open your mouth. You're also introduced to everyone as "This is Stelle, she knows Tagalog!", which leads to more hilarity and amazement. Honestly, I love how encouraging everyone is, but the bar is just set so low that I can't help but feel that people's encouragement is patronizing. Someday I'd love to meet a Tagalog-speaker who would frown a bit and purse her lips when I mispronounce a word. Ha!

What next?

So as we turn the corner towards 2018, I've been kind of mulling things over in my mind. I'm very happy with how my Spanish is progressing. I might like to do a formal test at some point, but it's hard to justify, because I really don't need it.

I'm also perfectly content with my progress in Italian. I would kind of like to activate it over the next year, because I haven't spoken a word of Italian since I first started learning, and booked a bunch of italki lessons in a fit of motivation.

I'd like to see my Tagalog improve, rather than treading water in the pool of perpetual beginners. I think that means really digging into Elementary Tagalog, completing the course, and committing to regular lessons with a paid tutor who won't spend half of the conversation telling me how good I am at saying "Hello. How are you?" in Tagalog. I'll never be truly fluent in Tagalog, because I have no interest in native media, but I'd like to get to the level of a heritage speaker who can fully participate in informal conversation in the home, but whose experience and fluency is limited to the narrow sphere of his or her own family.

So maybe I'll be looking at something like:
January - June 2018: keep up with Spanish and Italian input. Focus all formal study on Tagalog.
July - August 2018: heavily focus on Italian to activate the language. Continue with Tagalog study.
September - December 2018: keep treading water and try not to quit when things get busy

Sounds like the start of a plan!
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Re: Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

Postby Stelle » Sat Dec 16, 2017 3:29 pm

Goals for last week:
- Read a book every single day in any language - no. I read five out of seven days.
- Study Tagalog five out of seven days - no. I studied Tagalog twice last week.
- keep listening during my commute, alternating between Italian and Spanish - yes
TOTAL TIME SPENT ON LANGUAGES: 390 minutes

Not much to report on this week. Life got crazy, and when life gets crazy, dedicated language study is one of the first things to go. I'm ok with this. I'm quite happy about the fact that both Italian and Spanish are ingrained enough in my life right now that they don't get thrown out the window when things get busy. Alternating listening during my commute, my weekly Skype chat with a Spanish tutor, and reading L'Uomo in Fuga for a few minutes before bed each night is certainly enough to maintain my momentum.

Tagalog, though...ah, Tagalog. I'm definitely going to have to find a way to make it just a part of my life, instead of something that I have to remember to sit down and do.

No goals for next week! I'm just going to survive the last week of school before the Winter break...
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