There are worse things I could do... (FR, RU, ES)

[MamaPata]

Thank you for all the suggestions - that ought to get me well on the way!

I had a bit of a meltdown about Russian this week - as happens on a fairly regular basis! By my standards for Russian related breakdowns, it was pretty teeny, but it's been making me think. I went through my Lang-8 posts to add my most recent corrections to the file I keep - it's a useful way of gauging my progress and my weak areas. And in some ways, this was positive, because I am making fewer mistakes with the grammar I ought to know. (Although I have no idea how long it's going to take for me to remember where ли ought to go!). A lot of the responses that I was getting were about things just not sounding Russian - that it would be more natural to use alternative vocabulary or structures. This is a good sign and it shows that my attempting to write more in Russian is paying off - I am making progress. But I started to get a bit down about it, and I couldn't decide if it was worth continuing to practice writing, if the advice I am getting is so context based.

I do love Russian, and I enjoy studying it (mostly). But I am aware that I am behind where I ought to be in preparation for the next academic year, and this is something I struggle with. I have always prided myself on my academic success, and at some level, I just have to accept that I am not going to do as well in Russian as I would like. This is fine - I am stronger in my other subjects, and I prefer them - so I just need to do well enough that they can pull me to the grade I want. So I have decided that actually, I need to let go of my challenges and my obsessionality with Russian just a tad - I will continue working towards them, but the most important thing is to do things I enjoy.

TL;DR: More crummy TV, less stress.

Russian
- 15 hours.
- Read: 33 pages of Harry Potter. While there is a lot of vocabulary I don't know, I can read this without too much pain, I'm just not really getting into it.
- Watched: A stupid amount of OUAT. My love for Robert Carlyle remains strong. (Although my love for Mulan has been cruelly deprived this season). I'm definitely picking up a lot of magic related vocabulary, but it's also helping generally - I just feel a bit more attuned to Russian and in general, I'm just more inclined to work on my Russian.
- Wrote: Nothing.
- Grammar: A little practice on negatives with my teachers
- 2 Italki lessons.

French
- 6 hours of French
- Read: 20 pages of Le Roi de Fer.
- Watched: Several episodes of Brooklyn 99 and two of Au Service de la France. I'm kind of amused watching these at the same time because they're oddly similar.
Several Marine Leleu videos.

Spanish
Nothing.

[MamaPata]

This week was really busy, weirdly, so I'm really happy that my hours remained pretty stable. Next week is going to be quite strange, as I'm going to see family for a few days, so that will really affect what I can get done. We'll see how it goes, but I'm aiming low.

In other news, I've been spending this weekend sorting out the books in our house which is a monster project, and has cut into available time. It also means that I have been presented with a bunch of English books I want to read, as well as some that I will read and give away. (Plus some Russian books that I may read in translation before attempting the original!) I also signed up to a classics reading challenge at the start of the year, and have managed the first level of that (12 books - the canon is not my strong suit). I'm kind of keen to see if I can reach 25 (the next level), but as we're now over half way through the year, I will probably focus on classics in English rather than reading (so much) more slowly in French or Russian. The point of the challenge is that I am always a bit embarrassed by how many books I wish I'd read, and because I want a wider cultural knowledge. Being able to have read quite a few more books would make me feel much better, and so the positives are stronger than the negatives.

So English reading is definitely going to be pushing its way into my spare time in the future. It's a pain, because I would like to be reading more not in English, and it will cut into my language hours generally. But I'm not particularly bothered. I'm trying to find a balance between my interests, and sometimes that means languages will lose out. My progress will be slower, and I have to be okay with that. There's lots of great advice on this forum about making sure languages are a part of your life and finding ways to slide them in, which has been incredibly useful. But there are also things that matter more to me personally, and I'm okay with that too.

Russian
- 13 hours.
- Read: a few pages, but nothing worth counting.
- Watched: Continuing with OUAT.
- Wrote: Nothing.
- Grammar: A little practice with my teacher
- 1 italki lesson and 1 exchange.

This week looks less good for Russian, but I am feeling reasonably happy with it - I watched a lot, I spoke, I had a focused lesson, I was reading. Some weeks the numbers don't match the experience.

French
- 7 hours of French
- Read: 30 pages of Le Roi de Fer. I am finding this much harder to understand than other things I've read, because the vocabulary is really different.
- Watched: Several episodes of Brooklyn 99 and 1 of Miss Fisher. I'm watching stuff with my parents in French, so that tends to all be dubbed series, and they need English subtitles. Brooklyn 99 is really quite fast and casual, so it's harder to tell how much I'm understanding and how much I'm matching to the subtitles. I try not to read them, but it's just automatic - I don't know how to ignore them. On the other hand, Miss Fisher is so slow and clear that I can hear each individual word. I do still read the subtitles, but I don't feel it bears any relation to my listening to the French.
Obviously in an ideal world, I would be watching native content, but I want to spend time with my family and this works for all of us. And if I could find more time, French TV is not what I would do with it - in that ideal world, Russian, university, exercise, cooking, friends, yada yada, would all have to come higher on the list!
- 1 italki lesson

Spanish
Ehhh.

[DaveBee]

French
- 7 hours of French
- Read: 30 pages of Le Roi de Fer. I am finding this much harder to understand than other things I've read, because the vocabulary is really different.

I've been reading a Game of Thrones books, I checked one scene against an english language copy, and there's a wall of text I'm just not getting.

- Watched: Several episodes of Brooklyn 99 and 1 of Miss Fisher. I'm watching stuff with my parents in French, so that tends to all be dubbed series, and they need English subtitles. Brooklyn 99 is really quite fast and casual, so it's harder to tell how much I'm understanding and how much I'm matching to the subtitles. I try not to read them, but it's just automatic - I don't know how to ignore them. On the other hand, Miss Fisher is so slow and clear that I can hear each individual word. I do still read the subtitles, but I don't feel it bears any relation to my listening to the French.
Obviously in an ideal world, I would be watching native content, but I want to spend time with my family and this works for all of us. And if I could find more time, French TV is not what I would do with it - in that ideal world, Russian, university, exercise, cooking, friends, yada yada, would all have to come higher on the list!

Channel 4's website has some french telly with english subtitles. I've been watching Mafiosa, I think 'No Limit' is a comedy.

[Elenia]

I know how you feel. There are tons of things I want to do, but I'm slow and take lots of breaks. I've found what works for me best with reading. I do well with just one book to read at a time, but that means one book per category. So, for example, one non-fiction book, one foreign language book and one English fiction. That way, I can rotate based on how I feel, and know that I'm always doing something I want to be doing

At any rate, as long as you're happy with the way you organise your down time then nothing else matters

[MamaPata]

French
- 7 hours of French
- Read: 30 pages of Le Roi de Fer. I am finding this much harder to understand than other things I've read, because the vocabulary is really different.

I've been reading a Game of Thrones books, I checked one scene against an english language copy, and there's a wall of text I'm just not getting.

Oh I know that feeling! I go from pretty decent comprehension, only a few words unknown and guessing from context, to total confusion! I've been going back through the first chapter with a dictionary to help, but I was travelling and my mini dictionary didn't have the words I was looking up!

I also think that a lot of my problem comes from lack of general knowledge as well as my French failings. Where the text is about people's relationships or stuff that matches to modern politics, I do fine. (I am much better at talking about politics in foreign languages than I am at everyday stuff. It's very telling! ) But I have zero religious knowledge and I'm mostly interested in modern history, so I am totally adrift as its set in medieval times. In the end, I've been chatting to my grandad who was a historian and teacher, and trying to map the French history onto stuff I know from Shakespeare (thank you Richard II and Henry V!), so I'm hoping that will make it a bit easier.

That said, (and all complaints aside) I would definitely recommend the Rois Maudits series to you if you're studying French. They were really popular so you can often get them quite cheaply, it is mostly quite manageable (just skip some paragraphs as necessary!). And if you like GoT, George R R Martin has called these the original Game of Thrones. They're more historical, but it's definitely intrigue and plotting!

(They are also apparently some of Putin's favourite books, but maybe ignore that! Apparently the Russian translation was really popular, so if I survive the French, I might try that).

Apologies for mistakes, on mobile.

[MamaPata]

I went to see my grandparents this weekend gone, so I'm only just getting round to posting. It cut into my language hours for obvious reasons, and I had to guess a bit for my hour count as I didn't take my computer (and thus didn't fill in my spreadsheet). On the plus side though, I got to see the sea (and my grandparents... ). And I am now the official Best Granddaughter.

This is not that hard when you are also the only granddaughter.

Russian
- 12 hours.
- Read: 40 pages of a Tamora Pierce novel.
- Watched: Continuing with OUAT. I've made it to the fifth season!
- Wrote: ...
- Grammar: ...

French
- 3 hours of French
- Read: 50 pages of Le Roi de Fer. I've started going back through this to look up the words I don't know, which I think will be good for me. (Although, I am very good at starting doing this! I have done this for the first chapter of quite a few books!)
- Watched: I'm not sure I actually watched anything at all.

Spanish
Zilch.

[MamaPata]

Well it's nearly a fortnight since I last posted, but I'm still going to separate the two weeks. Unfortunately, I'm not actually that sure about any of my numbers as my laptop decided to have a temper tantrum for most of the time. Ahh technology..

Things are a little strained, as I have been battling university bureaucracy. We should have been able to apply for our modules by the second week of August, but it's now September and still no luck. I'm probably hoping to do a French course this term (one in uni and one out). But until I have my modules, I don't know if this will be feasible, so that's annoying. (Also, I need to tell my work, so it's driving me round the bend, but there you are). The French courses should be good though - they'll likely both be quite culture based. I'm definitely hoping to do an art history course, and the other one will probably be politics or literature. There's a little voice at the back of my head that suggests that one of those courses should be a Spanish course instead, but she's wrong. I love and miss Spanish, but I want to graduate (preferably with good grades! ) and I would like to work in France when I do. So for now, Spanish is just a casual flirt, rather than a committed partner!

While I haven't managed to do much language work, I have been getting to do some languages at work! One of my tasks is fairly research heavy and I've been able to read articles in French and Russian (and even one in Spanish). So that's been pretty cool - it's nice to be reminded why I actually learn the damn things! None of my languages are really work proficient yet (although I have used Russian for volunteering), but I would really like them to be in the future. It's not a priority just yet, but it's something I'm definitely keeping in mind.

Anyway, data: (I haven't included total hours, because I just don't know)

Russian

- Read: 34 pages of У войны не женское лицо (Светлана Алексиевич). I'm really enjoying this and I'm not finding it too complicated, though I don't think I could cope with a paper version. I would definitely recommend it to other Russian learners (once you're through a few easier options!). That said, it's incredibly tough to read emotionally, it's very harrowing. Alexievich is a Nobel prize winner and I can definitely understand why - the book (and as I understand, all of her other books too) take the form of short excerpts from her interviews, there's very little of her own voice included. This one is about women's experiences of the Second World War, but she has several others (I think Tarvos has been reading Second Hand Time, which is about the end of the Soviet Union). I really want to read her book about the war in Afghanistan, but I'd like to read all of them. It's fascinating to learn about people's experiences (both of the war, and her interactions with the censors, which she includes). For me, it's incredibly important to understand the human side of history, so this is perfect for me. But this was such a painful time, it's a lot to read about, so I'm making my way through very slowly.

- Watched: Continuing with OUAT. Not at all harrowing! I've reached the end of the fifth season, so only one left now! I'm not too worried about the fact that I'm watching translations - it's a pretty decent dub in my opinion, and I will be back to watching Russian films very soon.
- Wrote: Eh, let's not go there.
- Grammar: Pfft.

French
- Read: 107 pages of Le Roi de Fer. I'm loving this.
-... I don't think I watched anything actually.

Spanish
An episode or two of Daredevil. When I'm watching this, I really enjoy it, but as soon as I stop, I can't get back into it. Needs more jokes! (That said, the trailer for the Defenders looked good...)

[MamaPata]

Progress is being made (outside of languages). I've applied for my modules at long last, so hopefully that will all go through and I'll get a timetable soonish. That way, I can sort work and my extra-curriculars, and generally know what I'm doing. Keep your fingers crossed that there's no more bureaucratic nonsense!

Other than that, I don't really have much too announce. But hopefully, that will clear the way for me to be able to focus on languages again. I'm really bad when I can't control things - I like to know what's happening when, so I can plan everything. So having this uncertainty has been getting to me a lot. While it's still not sorted, I'm feeling a lot less panicked. (Risky, but hey.) So hopefully that will give me a bit more space to get excited about languages again.

Russian

- Read: A few bits and pieces
- Watched: Continuing with OUAT.
- Wrote: I really need to get back into the habit of this.
- Grammar: I'm not really sure what I'm going to do about grammar. I've finished several of my textbooks and I've given my copy of Penguin Russian to my brother, who is doing a Russian course this term. I didn't have more than a couple of chapters in it, so I'm not too bothered, but it means I don't currently have a Russian textbook that I'm working with. I've had a look for advanced textbooks but I haven't really come across anything that meets my needs. I don't want to pay more than £30 at absolute max, and I want something very grammar focused, but that goes beyond cases. I'll keep working with Я знаю и люблю русские глаголы and I might go back to Russian in Exercises, for now.

French
- One episode of Brooklyn 99 with my parents.
- I listened to the first four chapters of Jekyll and Hyde in French when I went running the other day. I've never read it in English, so I don't really know it beyond the basic premise. While I would say that I understood the vast majority of the vocabulary, I'm not following the story 100%. I know what's happening, but I keep losing the details. I don't know how much of this is my French and how much is that I'm not one for podcasts or audiobooks generally - I suspect it would be the same deal in English. I don't listen to podcasts in any language because I've never been able to focus on them, but as my runs are getting longer, I need something to entertain me. I don't know how much I'll stick with this, but it's better than nothing I guess?

Spanish
I started watching Teen Wolf in Spanish. A friend of mine has been nagging me to get back into it so this seemed like a good way to relax, chat with her, and actually come across some Spanish.

[MamaPata]

I don't really have much to report, and I hven't been filling in my spreadsheet so no proper summary this week. The next few weeks are completely jam packed - two jobs, uni prep, a wedding, two pre-wedding events, plus exercise and friends as usual. But term also starts in a fortnight, so I'm trying to shove some Russian back into the picture, as I'd really slacked off. I had my first italki lesson in a while, which was really helpful, and she's sent me some resources to work with. I've also booked in a few more lessons, but the wedding means I can't do anything for most of the week.

Other than that, there's not much to report. I'm looking at starting two French courses soon, one of which is pretty advanced, so that should be a challenge, but hopefully an interesting one!

[DaveBee]

I'm looking at starting two French courses soon, one of which is pretty advanced, so that should be a challenge, but hopefully an interesting one!

Is that with your university, or are these online MOOCs?