M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Fri Jul 15, 2016 6:47 am

Spanish

I have not been able to attend a lot of the Meet Up groups I typically go to on account of work, so when I went to a Spanish happy hour last week I found that my Spanish had deteriorated a little. At first I was slightly worried and wondered how long it would take to get back, but then after a conversations with a guy from Peru that I have not seen in awhile I was back to where I normally am in conversation. I got to chat with a guy from Mexico that I usually chat with and we were both joking around so much that I think it was beginning to bother some of the less experienced speakers who tried to join our conversation. Not good for them, but a sigh of relief for me that I could get to a point in my Spanish where I can relax and joke around with people like I would normally do in my native language.

Recently the cleaning crew at work hired a new person. He is from Guatemala and does not seem to speak much English. I had a nice long conversation with him today and got to hear about his struggles with learning my native language. That sense of feeling fairly relaxed with my speech that I experienced at the Spanish happy hour returned during our conversation. I hope this is a sign that my speech and listening skills are ready to take a step up.
Last edited by M23 on Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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M23
Orange Belt
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:08 am

Spanish

Last night our neighborhood had its yearly summer block party and my girlfriend and I decided to go. At one point we were saying hi to one of the people who lives across the street and he introduced us to a couple of his friends. One of them announced that she was from Colombia and that her English was not that good. She turned to her friend and started telling her what she wanted to tell us in Spanish, and we told her friend that there was no need to translate (in Spanish). Once it was made known that we spoke Spanish I had another one of those magical transformation experiences where people just let there hair down and become so much warmer once they know that you speak their native tongue. I think I amplified that a little bit when I guessed correctly what part of Colombia the girl from Colombia was from just by hearing a little bit of her accent. Before I knew it were were drinking tequila together and chatting up a storm. The girl from L.A. who was initially translating commented how much it means to her to hear other people learning her language. I love having experiences like this, and every time I have them it affirms my opinion that learning another language (even to just my meager intermediate stage) has been one of the best things that I have ever done for myself.
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M23
Orange Belt
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:23 am

Hello language log. Did you miss me?

Spanish

I took about five days off of work to decompress from all of the madness at work and it was delicious. I am STILL trying to finish Los Besos en el Pan but fortunately I am now a couple sections away from doing so thanks to having some free time during my vacation to just sit in a cafe and read. While I was off I also did something I have not done in a long time: attend a couple Spanish meet up groups. It was nice to reconnect with some folks that I used to have time to chat with on a more regular basis.

Aside from getting some good output (the meet up groups) and input (reading in Spanish) I was also able to get some studying in while I ran some errands (I have a digital recorder that I use to record things that I want to get in my head. I record it in a Pimsleur "how would you say ____" style).

German

Speaking of studying, I was also able to get some Duolingo, Pimsleur lessons while at the gym, and some time with one of my study books in during the vacation. It felt really good to not only have the time to get back to working on my languages, but to have energy left in the tank to actually hit the books.
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M23
Orange Belt
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Sat Dec 31, 2016 5:52 am

Even though my work situation is still a complete mess I am going to try to make this coming year more productive than 2016 was (the bar has been set extra low). I am going to set one goal for each language and aim to complete it by the end of 2017. Here are my goals:

German

I am still working with the same list of resources that I posted in 2016:

1. Pimsleur German audio course
2. DW Interactiv course
3. German Made Simple by Arnold Leitner
4. Duolingo


My German goal is to finish one (or all) of them by the end of the year.

Spanish

I have no plans to actively study this language, so my goal is to read 10 - 20 books in Spanish. I will post them here as I finish them off.
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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:11 am

Okay, I want to get more in the habit of updating my log to keep me motivated and focused at chipping away at my goals for this year so here we go...

German

I am still hitting Pimsleur when I go to the gym and I would not be surprised if this ends up being the resource that I finish off this year since it is the only one I work with on a consistent basis aside from my daily Duolingo lesson. Speaking of that, I am continuing to chip away at my tree. Counting each section between checkpoint I have five out of eight sections completed - so it is also very possible that I might get my tree completed by the end of the year. My retention of what I have completed thus far is not very good, so progress has been slow due to the amount of review that I find myself needing.

Spanish

The Art Museum currently has a Star Wars costume exhibition, and I went to check it out with a friend from Colombia last month. We spoke in English a little bit, but for the most part we stayed in Spanish mode. I played the Star Wars Lego video games in Spanish as well as watched a couple of the films and the animated series in Spanish, so that was a huge help. I also learned a few interesting things about the films from another culture's perspective (apparently many folks in the Spanish speaking world misheard "R2D2" as "Arturito").

I finished reading Los Besos en el Pan awhile ago and am working on a couple of books that I got for my birthday and for Christmas. I am not very far in to either one just yet. One is a translation of a book by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (I would like to be able to talk about meditation with greater ease) and the other is a translation of a book by Umberto Eco. All the Italian character names in the book is tripping me up so far. Hopefully my mind will adapt. I am also reading a collection of poetry by Lorca.
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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Wed Jan 11, 2017 6:53 am

Update time!

German

Nothing much to report here. I am hoping to get a cardio day in at the gym tomorrow or Thursday so I can do a Pimsleur lesson. I am a little behind on that (I have only done two review lessons this week) so I might just plug in my iPod in the car on the way to work just to ensure that I get it in.

I made a discovery the other day when I tried watching an episode of Peppa Pig (Peppa Wutz) on YouTube the other day and found out that I was understanding a lot more than I thought I would. I might have to include watching a short episode now and then into the rotation since it seems like it might not be a total waste of time.

Spanish

I attended a meetup group today to practice a little, and I have another penciled in for Friday. I also decided to start up a project that I have been thinking about doing for awhile now: recording a short video of myself speaking in the languages that I am learning so that I can see my progress as I improve. I made a folder for it on my Facedouche page and uploaded it there. It was cool to see a friend that I have not spoken with in person for about three years react to my progress. She was helping me out back when I was in the A1/early A2 stage, so it must have been quite a leap to go from that memory to see me speaking at my current level.
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M23
Orange Belt
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Thu Jan 19, 2017 7:52 am

I have been fighting off a cold and dealing with some house projects this past week so I do not have much to report aside from attending a Spanish happy hour, getting a lesson or two in on Duolingo for German every day, and enjoying media in Spanish. Once I can kick whatever bug my body is trying to fight off I'll get back to Pimsleur and such.
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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:18 pm

So, in addition to that cold that I had mentioned in my last post, one of my cats unexpectedly got really ill and we ended up having to euthanize him. I took a week off to get my head straight, so I do not have much to report. I kept a minimal daily Duolingo lesson up just to keep my streak going and yesterday I got back to working on my Pimsleur lessons for German. I also picked up one of my neglected books in Spanish to get working on getting through them.

I hope everyone has been well and has been kicking ass at their language learning.
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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:49 am

It's update time...

Spanish

I am a few pages away from being halfway through the Umberto Ecco book. Hopefully the last half will fly by. I am also chipping away at the collection of Lorca poems. Poetry never goes quick for me because, in my opinion, it is not meant to be read through like a book. I will read one or two poems here and there and just let them stew. The Chogyam Trungpa book... I haven't picked the thing up since I finished the introduction. That will change if I can get through Umberto Ecco fairly soon.

German

I finished another section of my Duolingo German tree, so I am slow getting closer to finishing it. I am also still chipping away at the Pimsleur course. I did some review lessons recently and I noticed that despite needing a refresher of some bits of information other things I just blew through like it was nothing.
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M23
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Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:58 am
Location: Colorado (USA)
Languages: Analog languages - English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (n00b). Digital languages- Java (n00b)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2186
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Re: M23's Language Log: Spanish and German

Postby M23 » Fri Mar 17, 2017 7:34 am

I am seriously overdue for an update...

German

There is not much to update here, unfortunately. I am still plugging away at doing at least one lesson on Duolingo a day. The Dunning-Kruger Effect is in full swing here as the more I learn the more I can see how much I don't know, and do not have even a basic understanding of. This is also coming through with the Pimsleur lessons as well as I find myself getting into areas where the intuitions I have constructed thus far are failing me or are inadequate.

Spanish

I finally finished the Umberto Ecco book I have been reading. Things are not looking good for me to make my goal for the year, but I am going to keep at it and see how far I get with it. With that being said, here is my official "I finished it" blurb:

Book 1

Numero Cero - Umberto Ecco

My lack of knowledge about Italian history and Spain slang seriously got in my way with this one. There was lots of moments where I felt either lost, or bored out of my mind because I just did not care enough to look into the figures being discussed or the Spain slang being used. One of the central characters that was investigating a conspiracy theory where Mussolini did not die when the history books say he did was verbose and made for some slow reading. The ending was anticlimactic yet interestingly realistic (i.e. if this conspiracy is as far-reaching as we believe it is then what good would it do to run off to some other part of the world?). On the plus side the discussion of how things would be reported in the to-be-released paper was quite the biting criticism on the current state of the media, and provided some good laughs.

I have started on the Trungpa Rinpoche book I mentioned previously, and am trying a different tactic with this one. Instead of just reading through it and finding my ability to discuss the subject matter in my target language lacking (which is what happened when I read one of Sakyong Rinpoche's books in Spanish), I am going to supplement my reading with podcasts and perhaps some journaling. I found the following video of the Buddhist concept of mind and emotion pretty interesting and easy to follow as both speakers spoke clearly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8nONGOe2g

Again, my aim with this is not to develop my ability to talk about some religion as much as it is to talk about meditation and more broadly about mind and states of emotion.
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