Newbie Lee's Log 2016 - Spanish

[Lee-in-Pennsylvania]

December 11, 2016
Routine Studies
Pimsleur 2, Units 1-3 twice
Vocabulary cards, 13% mastery
Reading: finished Ramona la chinche
Easy Spanish Step-by-Step: Nothing
Destinos: Episodes 14-19
Skype lessons - two, one with a new teacher and one with my usual one
Daily devotional in Spanish (1 page reading each day)

Problems!
So this entry, which is my first in three weeks, shows a slide down a slippery slope. First came a short vacation at Thanksgiving time that took me out of my routine. Next, I got super busy at work, plus I am coming up to a book deadline. Spanish has really taken a backseat, and coinciding with doing it less, I have felt less enthusiasm for it. Can I ever really reach fluency? Will I stick with it or allow it to defeat me as Mandarin did?

The only bright spot is reading, which speaks to the power of routines. I read a page of Spanish each morning as part of my morning devotionals, and I read a few pages before going to sleep in the evening. I enjoy it and I am able to do it, partly I'm sure due to earlier-in-life studies not only of Spanish, but of French and Latin.

I do find the iTalki lessons motivational, but also a little demoralizing because I'm so bad at speaking.

I think I need to do non-time-consuming, easy stuff until I meet my book deadline December 20th. That means a little Pimsleur while driving, Destinos in the evenings, a little vocabulary work.

Any suggestions about regaining motivation would be welcome.

[Tomás]

December 11, 2016
Routine Studies
Pimsleur 2, Units 1-3 twice
Vocabulary cards, 13% mastery
Reading: finished Ramona la chinche
Easy Spanish Step-by-Step: Nothing
Destinos: Episodes 14-19
Skype lessons - two, one with a new teacher and one with my usual one
Daily devotional in Spanish (1 page reading each day)

Problems!
So this entry, which is my first in three weeks, shows a slide down a slippery slope. First came a short vacation at Thanksgiving time that took me out of my routine. Next, I got super busy at work, plus I am coming up to a book deadline. Spanish has really taken a backseat, and coinciding with doing it less, I have felt less enthusiasm for it. Can I ever really reach fluency? Will I stick with it or allow it to defeat me as Mandarin did?

The only bright spot is reading, which speaks to the power of routines. I read a page of Spanish each morning as part of my morning devotionals, and I read a few pages before going to sleep in the evening. I enjoy it and I am able to do it, partly I'm sure due to earlier-in-life studies not only of Spanish, but of French and Latin.

I do find the iTalki lessons motivational, but also a little demoralizing because I'm so bad at speaking.

I think I need to do non-time-consuming, easy stuff until I meet my book deadline December 20th. That means a little Pimsleur while driving, Destinos in the evenings, a little vocabulary work.

Any suggestions about regaining motivation would be welcome.

I have found consuming a little news an easy habit to make. I browse the VOA site every morning and read at least one or two stories. Periodically through the day I might check one or two other news sites and maybe read whatever story catches my eye.

I also always have an audiolibro in my car. I don't always feel like listening to it, but 90% of the time I do. If I don't feel up to it, I listen to a Spanish music station instead.

These two habits have gotten me through dry spells of motivation, and ensured that I read and listen at least a little Spanish every day. I have also set my gmail and my Google News to be in Spanish all the time.

[Lee-in-Pennsylvania]

Thank you, Tomas. News is a really good idea and if I would bite the bullet and put my social media in Spanish... that would really help! I am maybe not quite as advanced as you are, so "News in Slow Spanish" works pretty well... I should do more with it.

[klvik]

I do find the iTalki lessons motivational, but also a little demoralizing because I'm so bad at speaking.

Focus on what you can say in Spanish now that you couldn't say a few months ago. It is easy to lose sight of our progress when we are wrapped up in the process of learning. As you learn more vocabulary and more grammatical structures it is natural that you will start expressing yourself in increasingly complex ways, so it doesn't feel as if it is getting better. If you compared transcripts of your first conversations in Spanish to your recent ones, I am certain that you would see a significant improvement.

I think I need to do non-time-consuming, easy stuff until I meet my book deadline December 20th. That means a little Pimsleur while driving, Destinos in the evenings, a little vocabulary work.

I think you have identified a good way to get through the next few busy weeks. Good luck finishing your book.

[Systematiker]

You've gotten a hold of a good idea - making Spanish a part of your daily life, using the language, in your devotional. The more you can do that you would have done anyway, the less it's "learning work" and the more it becomes a part of your routines. Iguanamon actually recent,y recommended to me the Thru the Bible page and app, which for Spanish has not only a daily program in Latin American and continental Spanish, but also has a transcript. You can find it at http://ttb.twr.org, where you can flip the language and also get the app. I've also found that the Amazon kindle store has a huge amount of free devotional-style material in Spanish when you set the filters, so that may interest you as well.

You'll get there! The small amounts until your book is done seem like a good plan to deal with busy times.

[Lee-in-Pennsylvania]

Thank you for the encouragement, Klvik. You're probably right about the improved conversational ability, given that a couple of months ago I could barely say "hola"--partly because of fear, it's true, but partly because of knowing and remembering so little. Now, I can actually have a limited, poorly pronounced conversation, but it is a conversation.

Systematiker: that's a great app/site you suggested, thank you!

[Lee-in-Pennsylvania]

I've been away from this log, and Spanish study, for TEN MONTHS! I was having trouble finding time to study, and realized I needed to focus on my writing, so I decided to drop my studies.

Trouble, is, I really want to learn! I've missed studying and I want to continue. I am in the midst of a busy semester now, but next semester I will have more time.

Anyone else ever started up a language again after a long gap? Do you start from the beginning again or do a quick review and keep moving on? I've definitely forgotten a lot...