A language learners’ forum

IronMike wrote:I'm committing myself to taking the DLPT in November.

Let's change that to December. I think I need a bit more time. :O

Got mail today!





Congrats Meddysong! Book looks great. Can't wait to start on it. And thanks for the autograph Meddysong and Radioclare!

Wow, page 3. Crap. Been a while.

I've decided to put Swahili on pause and not take the DLPT. I've got a good reason. If I take the DLPT and score below 1+ (B1) on each part (listening, reading, speaking), then I cannot get any training from my employer. It's a weird system, which resulted in me not getting training in BCS because I'd taken the DLPT (after thinking I could get myself back up to my previous scores of 2-2+/B2) and scored below the 1+'s. It's weird: I have to either have no scores (thus a 0/0/0) or pretty good scores minimum (1+/1+/1+) or no soup for you!

So I'd like to get some Swahili training some day, so I'm not taking the DLPT/OPI.

Thus, I've started back on Old English! Fun fun fun. Back in the TY Complete Old English, on unit 2 now.

Just finished unit 4 of TY Complete Old English. Unit 5 is as far as I got two Christmases ago.

Half-way through unit 5, then paused for a bit. I'm in a writing club...well, to be honest, my wife and I started it almost 2 years ago. Anyway, this month's prompt is "blood-curdling horror" (it is Halloween month, after all) and I had nothing. Nada. Till my wife and I were talking, and I mentioned wanting to translate some Esperanto lit into English, and boom! I remembered a horrible chapter in the book Medalionoj (Medallions), a book about the Polish experience under Nazi rule. I won't mention what the horrible chapter's subject matter was, but let's just say, it'll fit the prompt.

So for the last 3-4 days I've been translating and editing. Today I went back to unit 5 of Old English and wow, forgot a bunch. Once I got to the exercises at the end, I didn't remember what I learned earlier. So tomorrow I'm going to review the chapter completely then do the exercises. Then, oh boy oh boy, unit 6!

In other news I've got a new boss who is very language-positive (he's an Arabic speaker and former diplomat in Arabic-speaking lands). He's approved me applying for language training, so if I get my way, I'll have a full-time Russian class for a week in December, then a 4-hour per week evening course for 5 weeks next year. Right before my DLPT/OPI! Fingers crossed.

Finished unit 6 and will take a few days off as I'm en route Texas for my sister's wedding. But I'll be back at it on Monday!

Also getting back into Russian, reading an article a day at work. Starting this slowly as I have issues with burnout, and will be doing a Russian course soon that'll be full-time.

Glyphstudy just started their Collier & Manley section of Middle Egyptian today. I signed up of course. I'm trying to increase the number of language courses I've started and quit.

I signed up for Hoch back in 2018 with my then-18 year old daughter. It just got to be too much with our getting kicked out of Russia, living in a basement in DC for three months, then moving to Boston. Then of course the Coptic (which I did for about 7 months) and Hittite (2 months?). Seriously, though, this one seems a bit slower and easier, so here's hoping I can stick to it.

And with this, I've signed up for the November-December iteration of the 6WC (#egy in case you're interested in the ISO). So I'll at least aim to not quit till after December 15th. /snort/

Got back from the wedding late last night so will begin unit 7 of Complete Old English today, probably after reading through my notebook first. I've got a goal of reading Beowulf in the original someday, so I'd like to make it through this text.

Old English is going great, as is Middle Egyptian. The first homework for Egyptian is due this Sunday, but I've got my daughter, her wife, her wife's mother and her wife's daughter all coming to the house this long weekend, I'm going to do the Egyptian homework Wednesday so I can have the weekend with family.

And on Sunday the next Esperanto Sumoo starts. Anyone else partaking? Clare?

IronMike wrote:And on Sunday the next Esperanto Sumoo starts. Anyone else partaking? Clare?

I'm going to have to refresh my memory of the rules! I do actually have a couple of Esperanto books that I want to read before the end of the year, but I've currently got novels on the go in German, Croatian and Russian so I'm debating how much Esperanto reading I can commit myself too

Radioclare wrote:

IronMike wrote:And on Sunday the next Esperanto Sumoo starts. Anyone else partaking? Clare?

I'm going to have to refresh my memory of the rules! I do actually have a couple of Esperanto books that I want to read before the end of the year, but I've currently got novels on the go in German, Croatian and Russian so I'm debating how much Esperanto reading I can commit myself too

Very simple: commit to a certain number of pages per day. You don't have to finish the book. PM me if you need S-oro Hori's email.