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Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 12:48 pm
by Xenops
I haven't been on here lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been studying! ;)

For the local French group, one other girl has been attending for the last two weeks, and she studied French in high school, and she's interested in picking it back up. She served in the Peace Corp in Africa, so we both have international perspectives. :)

I need to be more systemic with my non-school time: my studying for my program sometimes shift day by day, so my non-school activities get shifted too, and sometimes that just turns to maintenance items, like doing dishes.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 5:02 pm
by Systematiker
Having read your log...someone interested in German, who specifically mentions wanting to read Bonhoeffer? Ok, I'm subscribed. Even if you are putting German on the back burner for now.

Since you mentioned the New Testament (which I use a lot as a resource with languages), the youversion bible app has multiple translations Ina huge number of languages, usually with some standards downloadable for non-streaming use, and usually a few versions with audio as well. French, Spanish, and German for sure.

Following with interest!

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2016 12:06 am
by Xenops
Systematiker wrote:Having read your log...someone interested in German, who specifically mentions wanting to read Bonhoeffer? Ok, I'm subscribed. Even if you are putting German on the back burner for now.

Since you mentioned the New Testament (which I use a lot as a resource with languages), the youversion bible app has multiple translations Ina huge number of languages, usually with some standards downloadable for non-streaming use, and usually a few versions with audio as well. French, Spanish, and German for sure.

Following with interest!


Thank you for the visit, Systematiker! Your post is making me reconsider German as a more regular learning activity. :mrgreen:

And thank for the app info! I'll have to check that out.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 1:43 pm
by Xenops
For the past three days I've been able to to a leçon a day from Assimil. :mrgreen: This is just the right pace, because if I was any slower, I forget what I learned. I'v also dabbled in Duolingo, while making notes on the material, and included walking in my weekly schedule so I can use Pimsleur French for that time period. I was originally put off by the Pimsleur because the first lesson seemed really fast-paced, but now it's back to Pimsleur standards.

I also watch either episodes of Engrenages or Wakfu a fews times a week; I'm not much of a TV watcher, and school keeps me busy, so this is what I can fit in.

Lately, I confess, I've been tempted by koine/Biblical Greek, both for actually learning the language and for linguistic curiosity. I found a *free* website that looks reasonable for my getting started, at least. I'm not sure how far I will go. It's by a pastor, if you are curious: http://learngreekfree.com If I was to got farther, what resources would you recommend? I figured I would save Attic Greek for the future when I have more time. 8-)

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 2:36 pm
by Systematiker
I've still got to get back to you about purchasable programs/books in English, but if you are looking for free stuff and don't mind an old-school approach, check out the materials at http://www.textkit.com

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 1:15 pm
by Systematiker
So, I didn't forget, here's what I got on Koine:

At the Seminary here, we're using Fredrick Long's Kairos; Mounce is a solid old standard but "better than Mounce is Black's thing, he did it with B&H" which I assume is David Black's Learn to Read NT Greek.

Further, I was told that if it's for the langauge and not "just" exegesis, start with Athenaze, which is like Lingua Latina only for Ancient Greek ("but get the 2nd edition, the 3rd got all messed up"). This fits with how I was taught in Germany - we were taught classical Greek, and Koine was just that much easier. I honestly wish Athenaze had been available when I was doing it, if it works like LLPSI I would have loved it. I may even get a copy of it anyway, in case I get asked this sort of question again.

Well, and if you really hit German, Kantharos and Hellas are great resources, in my opinon. We used Kantharos at the uni, I used Hellas for self study (and when I did the Graecum, I found out the classical Gymnasium used Hellas as their text too; I think they took 3 years to cover it though).

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 1:13 pm
by Xenops
Systematiker wrote:So, I didn't forget, here's what I got on Koine:

At the Seminary here, we're using Fredrick Long's Kairos; Mounce is a solid old standard but "better than Mounce is Black's thing, he did it with B&H" which I assume is David Black's Learn to Read NT Greek.

Further, I was told that if it's for the langauge and not "just" exegesis, start with Athenaze, which is like Lingua Latina only for Ancient Greek ("but get the 2nd edition, the 3rd got all messed up"). This fits with how I was taught in Germany - we were taught classical Greek, and Koine was just that much easier. I honestly wish Athenaze had been available when I was doing it, if it works like LLPSI I would have loved it. I may even get a copy of it anyway, in case I get asked this sort of question again.

Well, and if you really hit German, Kantharos and Hellas are great resources, in my opinon. We used Kantharos at the uni, I used Hellas for self study (and when I did the Graecum, I found out the classical Gymnasium used Hellas as their text too; I think they took 3 years to cover it though).


Nice! Thank you very much for the info. :D I'll take a look at these. The German bug is starting to bit again, so maybe I'll at least make it a weekly thing.

For other news, I did a leçon a day from Assimil for a four-day streak, and then school assignments got in the way. :( Hopefully I'll get back to speed today.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 2:33 am
by Xenops
I haven't touched Assimil much, mostly just listening to the audio for review. For about 3-4 days straight I listened to Pimlseur French while on walks, I finished unit 6. Initially I didn't like the male speaker, but the woman speaker makes up for him. ;) I also returned to FSI Phonology, finished chapter 4 part one.

It's been on my mind lately to start planning to immigrate elsewhere: I still have at least two years before that's plausible, but I thought I should at least get an idea of what to expect. I've been praying about what languages should I prepare myself for, and so far my impression is to focus on French. I'm not sure where that will take me.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2016 4:58 am
by Xenops
I confess that I'm still awake because I am watching the live election results. ;)

For good news: I have have either a 5-day streak with Assimil, or a 6-day streak (I'll just say I have a 6-streak, shall we?). I'm also up to unit 9 on Pimsleur. Lately I'm trying to figure out how to use French in Action, as I have used copies of the text, the workbook, and the study guide, with access to the audio and video.

Re: Xenops Dates French! (and maybe German)

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 3:13 am
by Xenops
I finished Leçon 25 of Assimil yesterday, and I think I'm on a ten-day streak with that. :D Pimsleur I haven't done as much, since I haven't gone walking like I should (bad me). I did watch the introductory and the first official lesson videos of French in Action: I can see myself liking this program. It's immersive, but it tells you the grammatical points, too. The first lesson I know most of the vocab, so I anticipate the next one to be more challenging.