Frannie's 7 week mission Guatamala

[zenmonkey]

Along with the paid tutors you can also add a tandem partner or more on italki - they are free. Look at the Community menu item. Not quite the same as tutors but good practice nonetheless.

[FrannieB]

Thank you for the options

I'm at a unique point in my job right now where I have lots of time. I'm starting a new job on July 5th on my return from Guatemala and as my current job winds down and my daughter finishes up school I have the next 2.5 weeks to just focus hard on Spanish before Guatemala.

I want to take daily lessons and am also looking to do some 2 hours lessons - I'm pushing hard for these 7 weeks - then 2.5 weeks in Guate and then well I don't know what - I will have to come up with a new schedule because 3 to 5 hours a Spanish a day studying is not something sustainable or something my family will sign up for. Right now they are super supportive - and really truly come July/August I want to be camping and when I come home ride bikes and go to the beach with my daughter. Plus I miss listening to my audible books in English on social justice issues

That will be another journey itself transitioning from a 10 week kinda crazy push of Spanish all the time to maintenance mode.

[FrannieB]

So - I did it and I'm on baselang - I will write a review after my experience.

I have done it and upped my talking time to 2 hours a day - a lesson in the morning for 1 hour and 1 at night for 1 hour. I am still sticking with my primary Tutor who I have had for a couple months on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I really click with him. Funny note my daughter and husband are always oh you're talking to Mauricio - he has gotten to know my family because I do my lesson when my daughter goes to bed so they often get interrupted with hugs and kisses from her or questions about the next day. At this rate, the cost of each lesson will shake out to be about $6 dollars for close to 20 hours of lessons.

Add to the fact I have become literally obsessed with Destino's and the ridiculousness of it and the last two night binged 4 episodes - I'm getting a ton of Spanish.

Looking back at my goals for this seven weeks.
To have down the 5 tenses
Present - solid - can conjugate without even thinking anymore
Preterite/Imperfect - getting there - I think in two weeks I will be were I want to be, Which is I don't want to spend my lesson time in Guate working on this anymore. I still gotta think but can conjugate without thought - Using it is a little slow to roll of the tongue - but I do know when and how to use.
Future - Can use "Voy + infinitive" and the future no problem - My tutor is not fond of "voy + infinitive" I always to to sneak it in but he pushes me to conjugate
Conditional - Um yea that kinda hasn't been worked out so much - not running into it to much in my reading

I learned the present perfect and have it down pat.

used to be afraid of the subjuctive - okay actually feared it an who knows why. okay - I know why someone once told me the subjuctive is what differentiates Spanish learners . Well I have started to dabble a bit because of Destinos - Can't use it but am actively noticing when it is being used

Um yea - that turned into a rather long mid-week update.

[FrannieB]

Well here I am chugging along --

On Thursday of this week I had a complete and utter breakdown with my teacher - I actually ended up cutting my lesson short. I was just frustrated beyond belief and couldn't think - even though it is probably one of the best summaries I have ever written. Onward and Upward as they say.

This week
Destinos episode 26/52 - I just about adore everything over the top about this show - it is so ridiculous it is good.
Pimsluer I finished level 1 - 4/30 on level 2 - it is clicking right now and I'm zipping through lessons with one listen. I'm not sure I will continue after level 2
Langauge Transfer Late to the language transfer game - For me right at this point in my learning these lessons are critical. Every lesson I learn a finer point about grammar or word construction I missed in my initial learning started this week and am on 10/90 would love to finish before Guatemala - we will see
Douling/memrise I just do them when I want - they are good time fillers when I'm just sitting around and want to work on language kinda mindlessly
Notes in Spanish Good lord - this is what sent me into my downward spiral on Thursday - podcast 6/48. This podcast was about the rain in Spain - I swear I put the podcast on and it was like I had never heard Spanish before in my life - I could not for the life of me understand half of what they were saying - Then I thought okay I'll stop and just look at the transcript - - Nope not working for me either - I don't know what it was about this topic or the words I was blocked pretty bad. I will come back to podcast 6 again next week but had to take a break.
ingobernable started watching with Spanish subtitles - I'm getting up to 80% of what is being said. I could probably turn off the subtitles - We shall see
Tutoring Well, I did tutoring every day this last week for 1 to 2 hours.
*Tuesday and Thursday night with my normal Italki tutor who will always be my primary tutor - right now we are focused on writing. I read a chapter and write a summary - then we correct it and I read it aloud with him checking my grammar
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday - I am getting up 1 hour earlier than normal and doing a lesson with Baselang - I'm just following their curriculum and enjoying. I found two tutors I really like and will try to rotate between the two of them - the next four days I have lessons with them.
Reading A paco ardit A2 book - it was too easy/as in kinda not fun easy/as in I'm doing this because I should and to learn/and I don't stick with things if there is not element of joy - so I'm going to move on to the B1 level books / or maybe I downloaded a Sherlock Holmes leveled reader - I can't remember.

So there ya have it - my week of study - I will say I don't ever feel like my studying is getting in the way of any of my other life responsibilities, I feel I have found a balance - it is amazing how much time you can find in your day that you kinda waste. I'm basically getting in 4 hours a day of studying using found time - I have to drive to work, I watch TV anyways, getting up an hour earlier isn't killer, I read books before bed anyways - 5 weeks ago I would have never predicted I could do 3 to 4 hours a day of Spanish study consistently.

[FrannieB]

Just want to record that the Angels have sung - Unicorns and rainbows fill the sky.

Some intense practice on object pronouns and I would say I'm 80% of the way to understanding them. The 20% being able to use them in unscripted conversation.

Language Transfer just really speaks to me - or it could be working with my regular tutor, practicing using Pimsleur, doing workbook pages and doing the baselang lessons.

On this day June 8th 2017, the much elusive use of pronouns is no more for me. I would place them solidly in the land of semi-transparency.

[FrannieB]

So here I am mid week of the last week of my challenge.

I set some aggressive goals and for the most part I met them:

Lets start with courses:
Reading and Writing
Completed and wrote summaries for 4 short stories from the book Spanish Short stories for beginners
Completed and and wrote summaries for 2 stories on Veinte Mundos
Read all of Paco Ardit A1 books, started Reading and abandoned one A2 book, Read 3 B1 books and am now reading a B2 - These are right in my Zone of proximal development - not to hard and kinda easy - mindless reading that is fun and i can feel myself becoming a stronger reader
Speaking
Good lord I have hours and hours of conversation in with tutors -
I continue with my italki tutor twice a week and during the 5th week of this challenge I signed up for baselang - I am really enjoying this service and have found 3 tutors i really like and rotate between. one is really popular and his times book up quickly. I talk with a tutor on baselang every morning for 1 to 2 hours depending on the day
listening
I'm a bit all over the place with my listening
Destinos - I'm on 37 of 52 - I won't finish before leaving for Guatemala without a binge watch and that isn't going to happen. The weather it too nice right now to be inside binge watching
Ingobernable - Starting watching on episode 3 - enjoying and will finish
Notes in Spanish intermediate - on something like podcast 8 - listen when I want
Courses
Finished learning Spanish like crazy light - liked it but felt it was to much like Pimsleur to invest in it beyond the light level
Pimsleur - Completed level 1, and completed lesson 7 of level 2. I enjoy Pimsleur I will re-evaluate its place in my learning when I return from Guatemala
Language Transfer - Why did I not start this at the beginning of my challenge - good stuff I'm pretty sure I got to lesson 20 - I will finish after my trip his way of explaining things seems to be the final step i need in solidifying many concepts I have already learned.
Doulingo - Started and abandoned - played on it for one week - abandoned so far as to delete of my phone
Memrise - We have such a love hate relationship. With Baselang they have memrise courses that go along with lessons. I have somehow managed to finish a course and will finish another course before leaving.
Some workbook pages here and there
And I have started creating my own study guide using Study Spanish and Spanish Dictionary I have created one pagers for grammar concepts I have learned - This has been crazy valuable and I love my study guide. I enjoy creating the pages and sitting down and reviewing them.

I will do another test on Friday to see were I am. I started at A2.2 so high A, tested about two weeks ago and was a B1.4 - top of the B1 range - I'm really not sure it has changed because right now I'm in a phase where I feel dumber about Spanish then before I started. I know it is not true and it is a phase and I'm most likely experiencing significant cognitive growth right now, still it feels like I suck.

[the1whoknocks]

Congrats on making it to the last week of your challenge! Truth be told, I'm a bit envious that you're finishing it up with a trip to Guatamala.

I shared a bit of your surprise when I discovered Language Transfer - Spanish. It really does a great job of providing an overview of Spanish grammar, in a way that is logical and digestible ... and it's free! Maybe that was the most surprising part. There are a few tracks that I must have repeated more than half a dozen times and taken notes on. Although, I think they recommend against that.

Also, sometimes I found it really took weeks, if not months, to really see maximum benefits from spending increased time with Spanish. Sure, some things make more sense immediately, but looking back, it usually takes a while for me to feel I've hit my stride, and reaped the maximum benefits of my "work."

Looking forward to seeing how you decide to approach Spanish next.

[FrannieB]

So here we are at the end of my journey.
Just finished my last lesson of this seven week push with my baselang tutor - who I adore and I will be returning to baselang to continue working with him - he is outstanding.

In all honesty this last week I started to get burnt out pretty bad- so a change to Guatemala is definitely due. I will take the online quiz again and see whee I have landed a bit later today.

It feels oddly bittersweet to be at the end of the journey - it is like running a marathon, which I have done, and I'm having the same feeling. Its done - I worked so hard and I finished my goal - now what am I supposed to do. Good thing I have Guatemala on the horizon, okay as in maybe more then the horizon - I leave tomorrow.

[FrannieB]

Well here I am
Just finished the test and scored exactly where I started 7 weeks ago. A2.2.

Just two weeks ago I scored B1.2 - 1.4 and felt it was a fair assessment. Apparently I am devolving in my learning. I have put in so much time and effort on this push, we shall see what Guatemala brings over the next two weeks.