ShawnP's Spanish Adventure

[ShawnP]

Nothing too exciting for my Spanish. I worked with Glossika a bit and listened to ramdom mp3's I downloaded from the web. I bought the first Harry Potter for Kindle but realized I'm not quite ready for that. So, its back to easier reading material.

For videos, I watched all the seasons and episodes of Marco Polo in Spanish with English subtitles as well as a few Kung Fu movies. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Marco Polo on Netflix. I've now moved on to Fuller House which is a show based on the TV series Full House from 20 years ago or so. Not as addictive but still good.

[ShawnP]

Movies/TV shows: 12 hours
Listening: 3 hrs
Reading: 0 pages

Right now, I'm working my way through Fuller House TV show, Destinos, and a random movie or two. I will most likely move on to Orange is the New Black series after that then jump over to some telenovelas. Listening has been through earlier lessons of Assimil Spanish, Glossika Mexican, Doorway to Mexico and Showtime Spanish podcasts, as well as a bunch of random mp3's I've downloaded. Although I don't have a script for them, I think I'll keep listening as I understand a lot of the subjects and words although a bit still escapes me. I've tried News in Slow Spanish and a Buenos Dias America but I'm not understanding a whole lot and can't follow along.

[ShawnP]

Not the best week for study due to external factors but I got in a pretty good bit of time. As usual, the majority consisted of Glossika, some podcasts, and listening to native materials. From the TV show side, I completed both seasons of Fuller House in Spanish with English subtitles. I've now watched 3 episodes of Orange is the New Black. I'm enjoying it so far. I wanted to watch "Teresa" but I noticed they are about to take it off Netflix in July so I didn't want to get hooked. My reading is still suffering.

On another note, I'm in the process of building my own Assimil-style courses, Intermediate and Advanced, with native speakers and material. I've got an Intermediate one in the works that consists of 74 lessons. I've got the mp3's completed as well as the Spanish side completed, and about 1/5 of the English side translations done. I have an Advanced one also with 83 lessons, mps's completed, but haven't begun to put in a Spanish/English side format. What I like about it is the mix of people from Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Panama, etc.

[ShawnP]

This week was a fairly productive week. I've worked mainly on Glossika's GMS Mexican Spanish Business, Fluency 1, and Fluency 2. Mostly just listening and repeating sentences, that's it. Nothing strenuous. However, for a class I'm taking, my research report is on the effects of Spaced-Repetition. So, I'm going to put Glossika GSR to the test by covering lessons 1-50 on Fluency 3 since I haven't done F3 yet, then testing myself on reading, speaking, writing, and listening. It should be a good study to see just how effective spaced-repetition is (for me).

I also completed my own Assimil style work with intermediate level audio and lessons, 64 to be exact. I'll work on my Advanced level when I have the time that consists of 72 lessons. I figured if I'm going to listen/repeat over and over like Assimil, I might as well listen to native speakers talking about things I'd most likely hear in the real world. Although I have Assimil Spanish/Ease and Spanish w/o Toil, I could never stick with them. Perhaps I should learn all of the actual Assimil lessons passively then eventually go back and do an active wave eventually. Time will tell.

For videos/TV, I completed two more Destinos videos and I'm on Season 1, episode 4 of Orange is the New Black which is pretty funny. Yesterday, I decided to look into Mexican shows and played an episode of Yago. Man, I got hooked on the first episode and now have to include it in my study routine.

Reading, well, still on the backburner.

[ShawnP]

Another week has passed and I’ve done much of the same. I’ve been focusing mostly on Glossika Business module and have started Fluency 3 module. I have Fluency 1 and 2 modules pretty much down but will give it a while and go back over them I got in three more Destinos videos and two Orange is the New Black shows. Still working on the telenovela Yago. I can see how these shows can be like crack for a crack addict.

Tomorrow I start my own Assimil Latin American version (Intermediate) I created for myself. It’s not nearly as long as a real Assimil course but I think that might be a good thing. I took out a few lessons that I didn't like, and chopped and truncated the rest down to just under 1 hour, in 64 lessons. Although some are up to around 1.5 minutes, most are around 30-40 seconds. I think these short bursts of native materials will help keep me focused and less aggravated, as well as give me more time to speak out loud each sentence many times over. I’ve got my own Advanced course almost halfway completed. I wound up with 72 lessons at 1:15 hrs. It seems the mp3’s are a little bit longer on average.

My listening of podcasts and other material went down as I spent the weekend with family at the lake. So, I’m looking forward to getting back to it tomorrow.

[ShawnP]

It's been a pretty good week but mostly with videos/Netflix. Still mostly focusing on Glossika and native materials, mostly just listening and reading. I did complete one of my goals which was to finish the Destinos videos. I binge-watched the last 8-9 episodes in two days just to finish it once and for all. I maybe even shed a tear at the end, lol.

Yago is still the telenovela I'm watching in Spanish with English subtitles. It's probably not the best but I'm hooked now so I'll just keep with it. Orange is the New Black Spanish w/English subtitles is second. However, they are both tough and I've noticed what is said doesn't always match up with the subtitles so time will tell. I'm certain I couldn't follow along much without subtitles. Perhaps I should find something easier or listen and read more for a while and go back. What do ya'll think?

I didn't listen to any podcasts or do any reading this week.

[reddragon]

Just been reading through your log (spanish beginner here).. just wondering if you have the ISBN number for the spanish glossika book as I can't find it anywhere - thank you, and good luck with your studies

[ShawnP]

Reddragon,

I opted for the electronic book and then put it on my ipad. It was cheaper than an actual hardcopy book at the time. As for the ISBN, I'm not sure if you'll find one. Best bet is to go to the Glossika website to see.

[reddragon]

Reddragon,

I opted for the electronic book and then put it on my ipad. It was cheaper than an actual hardcopy book at the time. As for the ISBN, I'm not sure if you'll find one. Best bet is to go to the Glossika website to see.

thanks, I will have a look

[scrambledeggs]

Forgive the intrusion here, I bought the Glossika Spanish (EU) course a few days ago, largely based on web reviews here. I feel the need to share my experience to warn others.

It isn't what I expected, even looking at the test files briefly on the internet. The sentences are borderline incorrect, they over use the present progressive, which is very limited in Spanish compared to English; the sentences are also puzzling in "is the sun shining? Yes it is shining", as no one ever will be asking that type of thing in country. I understand the concept of building blocks, but there is no need to use useless sentences. They also use a more stilted manner of interrogatories, not reversing the verb location and relying on tone only.

I find the course unbearable to use though I was able to force myself to go through two full days, I couldn't do anymore, I had to stop this morning.

I also don't think the female narrator is very skilled, though I listened to the voice before buying (at my work speakers, instead of downloading it), I didn't fully realize how it would impact the training. Her voice is rather thin and she does not enunciate well; it sounds both recorded but not resonant, rather unrealistic of training.

I'm going to concentrate on dialogues instead, which I think have better sentences. I suppose Glossika has value to someone who hasn't studied the language at all, wants everything laid out, and has limited objectives: they just want to learn it for a trip.