This log will be a place to keep track of my goals and my daily learning. I want to prioritise learning Bulgarian, of which there aren't as many resources as other languages I've learned in the past. One would think living in the country for over half a year would make a difference but that is not the case, apparently.
I've been taking group classes at a Bulgarian language school which has given me a solid base for my self-study. So far comprehension is my weakest area - it's like it becomes a completely different language when I hear it aloud!
2024 Goals
- B1 level
- Read and translate Ерагон
- Watch and be able to vaguely follow reality shows like Ергенът
- Group classes
- Anki for vocabulary
- Speaking with my partner and their family
- Watching television
- Attempting to read books I'm already familiar with
Old Languages
I've had a long journey of learning languages, yet my retention has always been pretty poor. Part of it comes down to running out of steam to practice, and the other part to simply not having any use for it. Still, I think this insight into my background might be interesting!
- Mandarin Chinese: One of my first forays into another language. I think I got through HSK1 and was partway through HSK2. I could understand a lot of conversational Chinese and my writing was fine. Of all the languages I've learned, Mandarin is the one I've progressed the most with
- Japanese: Learned a fair amount and traveled to Japan a couple of times, and I've since lost most of my vocabulary and grammar. I like Japanese but would probably only pick it up again for travel reasons
- Russian: Studied for a year. The only thing I retained was the alphabet which helped me pick up Bulgarian faster
- Turkish: Also studied for a year. Retained nothing but the pronunciation
- Cantonese: Mostly learned to converse, and learned a bit of traditional Chinese writing. No urge to pick this up again as I was learning it to converse better with my (now ex's) family
- Greek: Living near Greece it pays to have a bit of this in my pocket. The alphabet is my biggest hurdle for some reason! My level is very much beginner and I only tend to refresh it when I'm going to Greece
- Swedish: I've flirted with Swedish a few times, and I very much like the language, so I could see myself picking it up again