Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

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Spaceman
White Belt
Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 12:49 pm
Languages: English (N), Spanish (Intermediate Receptive), German (Rusty), French (Very Rusty)
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby Spaceman » Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:08 pm

Finally finished Como Agua Para Chocolate, can't say I liked the second half as much as the first, but definitely enjoyed it overall. Not sure what I'll read next, but for now I've just bumped my secondary book (which I read when I just have a couple of minutes) up to my principal. It's a Spanish guy walking around the world. If I didn't bump it up it would take months to finish it.

My spouse is talking seriously about moving to Spain or Portugal in a year or two, so I am going to double down on books and podcasts from Spain rather than Latin America, but probably won't be able to resist some Latin American literature that I'm excited about and is finally within reach of my comprehension. Maybe I'll read genre stuff from Spain and only "literature" from LA.
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Spaceman
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 12:49 pm
Languages: English (N), Spanish (Intermediate Receptive), German (Rusty), French (Very Rusty)
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby Spaceman » Sun Dec 04, 2022 5:00 pm

So it goes without saying that my attempts at Spanish writing fell by the wayside after a few weeks. Even writing a few sentences every day is something that I need to carve out specific dedicated time for, and that's just not possible for me.

Doing it was definitely a good exercise though. Just sitting here, I don't feel like I'm capable of constructing any sentence in Spanish, but I did decently well with a little focus and practice for a few weeks. It made me feel like all this input I get is useful and that if/when I need to start talking, I probably will be able to without too much effort.
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Monk
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Languages: English (N), Spanish (~A1), Hebrew (beginner).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=18728
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby Monk » Mon Dec 05, 2022 2:51 am

Hi Spaceman. I found your language log while browsing this section looking for others who are learning Spanish. I'm new here, and I'm also new to learning Spanish. Not counting previous stalled attempts with the language, I've just passed the 100 day mark with doing something with the language every day.

I'm happy to see that your reading has really paid off. I'm a bit of a bibliophile, and one of the things that excites me about learning another language is that it will open up possibilities for entire new worlds of literature (even if some of that literature is in English translation. Reading in the original language is quite a different experience as I'm seeing already, even at my level).

I currently do reading practice a few times a week. At this stage, I'm still using dual-language books. But I have progressed from simple things like children's stories to short stories for adults. With the dual language books, my current method is typically to do three passes. First pass, I read in Spanish without looking at the English translation at all. To help with output, when I read in Spanish I'm reading out loud. Second pass, I will read the Spanish again, but this time I will cross-reference the English translation for words or phrases I don't understand. For the third and final pass, I will read the Spanish again without looking at the English, and I will write any words or phrases I don't know into my notebook if I think they are things I want to study again at some point to learn vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, etc.

Because I'm working with short stories this three-pass method seems to work well. Eventually I want to build up to full length novels for more extensive reading. I'll probably have to use a different method for that.

Regarding speaking. I know you mentioned one of the challenges is time constraints due to your current circumstances. I can appreciate that. I'm a father myself, but my son is grown now. If you do get the opportunity, I can say that italki has been a real boon for me personally. Even at this beginner stage, I've found that doing a 30 minute session, twice a month, has been extremely beneficial. Sometimes I will prepare ahead by writing out things I want to talk about. I will first write that out in English, then translate into Spanish, and read it over to myself several times before my session. I've found a great tutor on italki who is very patient and kind. He knows I'm a beginner, that I'm studying on my own, and that I am basically only using italki to force myself to talk. After the first or second session, the dread I felt thinking about having to speak in a language I barely know to a native speaker, where I only have about a 1000 to 1500 word vocabulary and an child's level understanding of grammar, all melted away. It's still definitely a struggle, and I'm still relying on some prep before each session (which eventually I want to do away with to have fully spontaneous conversations), but for me, each session has totally been worth it. I learn something every time, and I also discover other things to add to my list to learn, like vocabulary/grammar, or expressions I want to say during the course of the conversation that I realize I don't know how to say. These go in my notebook for further study. I also think there is something about encountering that type of thing in a live exchange that gives it context, which in turn makes it more meaningful to encode in my memory. For example, I wanted to say X when I was talking about Y. I didn't know how. I asked my tutor how to say that. He tells me. I write it down, and review it later. It sticks, nine times out of ten.

Best wishes with your Spanish journey.
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Spaceman
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Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 12:49 pm
Languages: English (N), Spanish (Intermediate Receptive), German (Rusty), French (Very Rusty)
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby Spaceman » Tue Jan 17, 2023 6:18 pm

Been a while since I posted anything here, and it's been a while since I've done too much Spanish-wise. Still reading and listening some, but not as much as I want. I was in Europe for a few weeks, mostly England but some Austria, so I switched my podcasts to German for a few weeks. It's very odd going from Spanish to German. My German is 20 years old, unmaintained. My Spanish is 18 months old and fresh but never spoken. On some level my Spanish comprehension is vastly superior, but German still feels so much more natural and comfortable to me. In Spanish I know all the words, but it feels foreign. In German it feels normal, but I don't know many words anymore.

Anyway, getting back into Spanish. Almost halfway through Cosas Que Perdimos en el Fuego. Which is... intense.
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Spaceman
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Posts: 41
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 12:49 pm
Languages: English (N), Spanish (Intermediate Receptive), German (Rusty), French (Very Rusty)
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby Spaceman » Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:01 pm

The problem with life at the stage I'm at, is that I keep thinking (or maybe just hoping) that I'm going to get less busy, but somehow always end up more. Both my kids are now in some sort of school/daycare for at least a few hours a day, but my job has increased almost exactly commensurately. Which spell check informs me is not a word.

All this is to say my Spanish exposure has steadily decreased over the past few months, but is still nowhere near zero, which I'm pretty pleased with. Yesterday I finally gave up on the book I've been reading (El Lector de Julio Verne), because it's just too slow. Really good, but a combination of my lack or time and my reading speed in Spanish just makes it impossible. I think I need to focus on pulp for a while until my head gets back in it. I switched to a Spanish translation of a childhood favorite yesterday (To Your Scattered Bodies Go), and ended up reading almost 2 hours before bed instead of my usual 5-10 minutes
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MorkTheFiddle
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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
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Re: Spaceman's Second Year Learning Spanish

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:23 pm

Spaceman wrote:The problem with life at the stage I'm at, is that I keep thinking (or maybe just hoping) that I'm going to get less busy, but somehow always end up more. Both my kids are now in some sort of school/daycare for at least a few hours a day, but my job has increased almost exactly commensurately. Which spell check informs me is not a word.

All this is to say my Spanish exposure has steadily decreased over the past few months, but is still nowhere near zero, which I'm pretty pleased with.
You're learning to cope with a busier schedule, which is a good thing. Cause it probably will get only busier. But lots of language learners here have dealt with it, so you will, too. :) Suerte.
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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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