Dean slowly learns Spanish

[MonoDeano]

I missed the update last week because I was traveling.

I kept up with Spanish on my travels and I had a few interactions with Spanish speakers which were satisfying but made it pretty clear how far I still have to go to have anything near an actual conversation.

I did Duolingo every day and took a new book with me. Before I left, I found a box of used learner books I'd bought when I had the best of intentions 2 years ago. When I opened the box it was pretty obvious that I got carried away buying cheap second hand beginner/intermediate reading books. The road to monolingualism is clearly paved with impulse purchases and little follow through.

The good news is I'm now sitting on a few interesting books that I can work my way through with my newfound momentum. I took Read and Think Spanish with me. It's interesting but definitely a step up from the bilingual books I worked through in Jan. I'm not sure if it's regional vocabulary or that the bilingual books are just that easy, but I definitely struggled to get through these stories. While not long, they often seem to be a list of new words and phrases with a story in there somewhere. The extra time it took to get through these short stories seriously affected my momentum but I got through the first section trying not to worry too much about all the new words. When I re-read them, they were easier but still took quite a bit of time. I'm going to aim for a section a week without worrying too much about memorizing and studying at this point. I'm just looking to get more reading miles in over February.

With that in mind, when I got home Stories from Spain was sitting on my doorstep and I tucked into that right away, reading and re-reading a story a day.

My limited ability to chat or understand native material really hit home that learning Spanish is going to take a really long time. There is just no way around it. It takes time to get through the material and work on skills needed to have a basic two-sided conversation.
My hope is that as I get better, the hour I spend with the language in a few months equates to a lot more exposure than the hour I'm currently spending reading through a few pages of pretty basic text.

Its daunting but I'm still enjoying the process and feeling motivated to progress after my short trip. The goal is still B1 by June and B2 by end of the year.

Andale!

[iguanamon]

Yes, it takes time, even for a so-called "easy" language like Spanish, so don't feel bad. Have a look at the articles in VeinteMundos. These are non-fiction, "magazine" articles about 10-15 minutes long with text printable to pdf and mouse over definitions of "tricky" vocabulary online. The audio is downloadable in mp3 for listening practice and is very clear. Most are at an intermediate level so they may be a little above where you are right now, which means you are probably ready for them. VeinteMundos is a good and (I don't know why) underutilized resource.

[jeff_lindqvist]

Wow, that's a great resource! The format suits me perfectly.

[MonoDeano]

Thank you Iguanamon. VeinteMundos looks like it could be really helpful and interesting. I've browsed the site before but never read more than a couple of articles. They were a bit too advanced for me and were taking me too long to get through with how I was approaching them. They very quickly became a chore.

Given how I'm enjoying these short accessible cultural stories at the moment, they do seem to be the perfect next step for me. I'll dig in once I finish this Historias series, so probably a week or so from now. I think I'll have enough miles of reading under my belt for them to be challenging but accessible with some perseverance. This time around, the plan is to keep moving through the article, not stopping to intensively study every new word I see in there. I also definitely need to add audio to my studies so these will fit in nicely.

There is a real sense of progress in just getting through these stories and moving on. It's more interesting, feels less arduous and I'm sure that makes it more likely that I'll keep moving forward in my quest.

[iguanamon]

Thank you Iguanamon. VeinteMundos looks like it could be really helpful and interesting. ... I think I'll have enough miles of reading under my belt for them to be challenging but accessible with some perseverance. This time around, the plan is to keep moving through the article, not stopping to intensively study every new word I see in there. I also definitely need to add audio to my studies so these will fit in nicely.
There is a real sense of progress in just getting through these stories and moving on. It's more interesting, feels less arduous and I'm sure that makes it more likely that I'll keep moving forward in my quest.

You're welcome, Dean. The key is to stick with it. Being persistent keeps you in the game. Being consistent wins the game. There are a ton of articles in the VM archive. I believe that if a learner at your level went through two or three of them a week, in addition to formal study, it would help a lot. They can also be put on a phone for listening while driving or other down time. The articles are varied and will provide a wide exposure to build vocabulary. I don't see many people using them. It's a really underutilized resource and it's free. I wish there was something like this for other languages!

When using a transcript for learning and training listening, I like to read it first then listen. Then listen while reading. Then, ultimately, listen without reading. There are many ways and variations to use a transcript. When training listening I will also take notes while listening and/or transcribe what I'm hearing using my own shorthand. The transcript is your answer sheet to check your comprehension. There are many ways to train listening, but this has worked for me in the past. Just remember that you want and need to be able to listen without subtitles and/or a transcript. These are an aid to help train listening, not a crutch. ¡Suerte!

[Brun Ugle]

Also note that Veinte Mundo articles have a simplified A2 version on the tab marked “lenguaje”. So if you are having trouble with the main article, you can try reading the simplified version. Then when you go back to the main article again, you’ll already know the gist of it and it will be easier to understand.

[MonoDeano]

Thank you Iguanamon - that seems like an achievable target for the VM. I'm looking forward to starting it, which is a great sign. I've been thinking a lot about a formal course to work through as well. I've purposefully kept it pretty simple at this point but I do feel I'm going to need something to coach me into more complicated material in order to get better.

And thanks Brun - I didn't know there was A2 version. That might be a great way to start.

[MonoDeano]

A quick quest update. I missed the log entry last week but kept up my work with Spanish every day.
Over the past 2 weeks, I've done Duolingo and read through my bilingual book. I finished the Stories from Spain and am happy that I've worked my way through the 3 bilingual books as I set out. Reflecting as I reach the end of February, I'm happy that I've managed to sit down with Spanish every day and work on it with a sense of purpose. It's been enjoyable and I feel some progress with the language.

Having said that, it's been a passive 2 months. I'm able to read these texts without having to look much up and Duolingo isn't a challenge, but I'm not producing any Spanish. It still feels like I'm a long way from a basic 2 sided conversation. I have been looking up meetup/Intercambio groups near me but I'm not sure if I'd get much out of it at this stage. I'm also looking at short podcasts/audio with transcripts to listen to intensively. VeinteMundos and the MiniStories on LingQ seem accessible and functional for me at the moment. I'm also looking around for a course to supplement my reading and give me structure as I move out of beginner material. I think I'd get a lot more from a meetup/skype or tutor session if I could have a basic conversation so I'm delaying that a bit at this point as long as I keep soaking up Spanish daily with my studies and pushing forward with new material, wracking up the miles in Spanish.

My goal over March is to work on basic production of Spanish, both writing and speaking, working through some grammar in Practice Makes Perfect and adding audio to the daily routine. I'd also like to keep up the daily reading of articles, even if it's just 1 a day to get through another book I have.

[MonoDeano]

Quick update as we approach the middle of March. I have continued to work with Spanish daily. I kept going with Duolingo daily. Again, I like the ease of it and the accountability of maintaining my streak. It's a powerful little motivator. I'm a little worried about how I'm going to maintain the daily momentum once I finish it. I wish there was another level...for 'serious' Spanish students who actually want to gain conversational level. I guess that is the art and discipline of self-study though, and where learning from the advice and experience of fellow language learners comes into play to create your own path.
I'm hoping Duolingo gets much more difficult as I get into the last 40% and forces me to pick up a textbook to figure out what we're covering. So far it's been mostly a review of things I've looked at before so a good review but not a significant challenge.

I've also been working through First Spanish Reader by Angel Flores. It's another book I picked up cheaply second hand a few years ago. ($1.50!) It's not as easy as the previous bilingual books because this is actual literature (simplified) and I think some older more 'literature' Spanish words. It's more difficult so quite a bit slower but I'm determined to finish it and add it to the pile of completed books on the way to conversational Spanish. I'm not stressing about memorizing or learning perfectly, just aiming to get through it deliberately.
The pace has been slow but the direction has been forward and the actions have been daily and deliberate.
So far, so good.

[MonoDeano]

Hello Team!
I haven’t fallen off the wagon yet but I’m just hanging on by my fingernails. Pardon the whine but I’m hoping writing out all of my study sins will help me get a plan in place and get through it.

I’ve been focusing on Duolingo and Practice makes Perfect the last few weeks. Duolingo is great for keeping the momentum going but I don’t think it’s helping me much at this point. I’m slowly going through Practice Makes Perfect but it feels like I’m trying to learn Spanish in a laboratory. It felt like I was getting a lot more Spanish miles under my belt with the bilingual readers. The level was more basic but I was just getting a LOT more exposure to the language in an enjoyable way.

VeinteMundos and RadioAmbulante took a while to work through so I didn’t keep that up as I should have. I tried to get the most out of them by making lists(Anki) of unknown words which I would review but that was a lot of my Spanish time spent on one or two articles a week and it became a serious chore. I was spending more time making lists than having much fun with the language so I stopped reading altogether. I didn’t feel like this with the readers because I was just trying to get through the stories rather than memorize them.

The whine comes from the fact that I’ve put a lot of time into Spanish, but I still feel a VERY long way from being able to get into any type of native material and an even LONGER way from any type of conversational level.

I’m committing the cardinal sin of going full steam ahead without much listening and speaking because they’re still so difficult. I thought more time with grammar would help but it just seems to have slowed everything down as I use my Spanish time to wrestle with tricky points of grammar and exercises, rather than conversation or interesting material.

Ok so there you have it. All written down. So – what am I going to do about it. Well the going has gotten tough, so I’m just going to keep on going.

Importantly, I enjoy the language, enjoy spending time with it and am enjoying the process. I just wish I was getting a lot more ability out of the time I’m putting into it. This may be because I’m not being very efficient as I’m not doing a formal course, or because I’m not yet comfortable with the idea that the struggle is the way forward and that it’s going to take A LONG time of fumbling around. Either way, I’m going to push on until the end of the year and see how I feel then before any serious change in tack. Just reading a few blogs here and printing out a few articles this week has my motivation up again.

Alrighty, to task:

1. Get back to the weekly blog. It was a good way to keep honest and actually see that I had put in time and effort and accomplished my small goals even if I didn’t feel any progress in ability.

2. Limit my Grammar time. 15-20 minutes at a time instead of throwing lots of time at it and trying to perfect it, only to forget most of it a week later. I think that’s really where the whining is coming from. I have an idea about better review but I’ll get to that in the future.

3. Do what I enjoy – keep reading interesting things (VeinteMundos, Bilingual books etc) once or twice move on. I really enjoyed this and managed to get quite a few used bilingual books for really cheap that I can work through. Most aren’t graded readers but actually interesting short stories side by side in Spanish and English so they should be good for interest and to learn from.

4. I need to get daily listening in. I tried listening to the news for a few days it was a complete blur. So I need to start a lot slower. Maybe Notes in Spanish and VeinteMundo will be the start for the next 2 weeks. Just making this a routine will be a good start.

5. Consider a tutor. I need to start producing the language with writing and speaking. I went to a meetup and other than a few small sentences I couldn’t say much or understand anything spoken at regular speed so it wasn’t much fun but this is the goal - so I need to start.

I have a few ideas on how to get all this together but I think this is long enough and should keep me accountable and moving forward for the next few weeks.

Ok – stay tuned. More positive progress reports coming and a lot less whining. I promise.