An Opsimath's Log: DA, LA, NL, FR

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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log

Postby Elsa Maria » Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:16 pm

I've decided to join the Free and Legal Challenge, and I will be learning Dutch. This came along at the perfect time for me, as I was just about to launch studying Dutch but I had not yet bought anything. I already own a short grammar and some children's books/DVDs but I am content to put them aside until I finish the challenge.

I know maybe 20 Dutch words. But I do have a solid grasp on Danish, and I think that will help me along a bit.

I'll plan to post updates here. If you have not read about the challenge yet, you can see the details here. I'll keep adding to the resource list below.

Collecting for Free and Legal Dutch Challenge:
Time will tell which I actually use :)

Grammars / Dictionaries
dutchgrammar.com
Woordenlijst

YouTube Channels

Dutch Lessons
Learndutch.org

Official Cartoon Channels/Channels for Dutch Children
Peppa Pig Nederlands
nijntje
De Smurfen

Bookbox Dutch

Apps
Duolingo

Free & Legal Children's Books
Children's Books Forever
International Children's Digital Library

Podcasts
One Minute Dutch
Laura Speaks Dutch

Misc Websites
Europa - Teacher's Corner
50 Languages
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log (Danish, FLC Dutch, Russian, Latin)

Postby Elsa Maria » Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:03 am

FLC Dutch

I'm just getting my momentum going with the FLC Dutch challenge. I have PLENTY of resources to get started with. The
grammar website is fantastic.

I have been using Duolingo, the Laura Learns Dutch podcast, and all sorts of YouTube videos.

Danish

Watched Episode 21 of Matador. Such a great episode :) And I listened to a podcast episode about it.
Reading a chapter a day in my book.

And I wrote two long FB messages to a friend. It's a start. As a homeschool mom, I am well acquainted with the term reluctant writer. I've realized that that is what I am in Danish. A reluctant writer. I love to write in my native language and have to fight with perfectionism when writing in Danish.
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Re: An Opsimath's Log (Danish, FLC Dutch, Russian, Latin)

Postby aravinda » Thu Mar 15, 2018 7:17 am

I don't know if you already know this. Recently, reineke mentioned the LinguaText website where mcthulhu found an introductory Dutch textbook for free. Again, I don't know about the quality of the book and the answer key is only available for the instructors. The PDF and the (one?) mp3 file can be found under the side menu on the left.
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log (Danish, FLC Dutch, Russian, Latin)

Postby Elsa Maria » Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:45 pm

aravinda wrote:I don't know if you already know this. Recently, reineke mentioned the LinguaText website where mcthulhu found an introductory Dutch textbook for free. Again, I don't know about the quality of the book and the answer key is only available for the instructors. The PDF and the (one?) mp3 file can be found under the side menu on the left.

Thank you so much! No, I had not seen that thread.

FLC Dutch Update
Some other discoveries:
Free Introduction to Dutch MOOC (University of Groningen). Course lasts three weeks and the next one begins 13 June.

The Basic Civic Integration Exam can be taken abroad at the embassy. I am not sure if it is an A2 exam - I found some contradictory information. I could get to the embassy without too much trouble, but I am not sure that I will be willing to risk € 150 on my FLC efforts. We'll see!

Right now, I am watching lots and lots of YouTube videos, doing Duolingo, and working through the Laura Learns Dutch podcast series.
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby Elsa Maria » Tue May 01, 2018 2:55 pm

FLC Dutch
I have not spent a ton of time on Dutch since the FLC Challenge began at the end of February, but I have done enough to get a feel for the language. I think I can make solid progress going forward.

My main resources right now are:

A handful of favorite Youtubers. Thanks to a post by tommus, I just started watching Woord voor woord, and I really like it.

The official Nijntje channel / website. I'm in the process of matching up which episodes are also available on the official UK Miffy channel. I can pick up quite a bit if I watch the English version, look up some key words, read the Dutch description of the episode, THEN watch the episode.

The free Go Dutch textbook from LinguaText

Duolingo

Alas, I don't think the University of Groningen has set a new start date for the Dutch course. I am hoping that they offer it again soon.
I have discovered that there is a monthly language table meetup nearby, and there is a Dutch table. I don't think I would benefit from it yet, but I will go eventually.

Super Challenge Danish

This is my first Super Challenge :) I'll pick out my first book today. The film portion will be a big challenge for me.

In other Danish news, I finally finished Matador. The fact that it took me forever to get through is not a reflection on its quality. I wish it were readily available with English subtitles - I have several non-Danish-speaking-friends who would love it.
Last edited by Elsa Maria on Thu Apr 28, 2022 12:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby Elsa Maria » Fri May 04, 2018 12:56 pm

FLC Dutch

The free Future Learn / University of Groningen course has reopened for registration with a start date of August 13. Yippee!

I found another good source yesterday: Oefenen.nl and I particularly like the Taalklas.nl series. It is sort of a picture dictionary format. Bonus points for having no English involved.

SC Danish

I tried out a couple of the books on my shelf and decided that they were too hard to begin with. And then felt like I was getting behind already! So I've started with a reread of Ronja Røverdatter, one of my all time favorite children's books. For later, I have on hand the 1984 film as well as the anime series in Danish.
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby Elsa Maria » Tue May 15, 2018 7:39 pm

I have not touched Latin or Russian for a month. That was a BIG mistake, and one that I do not want to repeat. It is not quite a disaster with Latin, but I might as well start Russian again from the very beginning. And that is what I am going to do.

My current thought process is this:

As much as I want to keep improving my Danish, I foresee needing Dutch and Russian more in my future. I can keep Latin on a slow simmer and do not mind slow progress, but I am tired of backsliding from taking a pause. I've done it too many times. Now I just have to figure out a new routine.

I just started the Super Challenge with Danish, and I am not sure that this is for me. I don't enjoy all the tracking for one thing. Yesterday, I had a long drive and I listened to 1.5 hours of an audiobook that I barely understood. I accrued the minutes but it was largely pointless. Today, I took the same book and listened to a chapter, then read the chapter, then listened to the chapter. That was worth my time, but I have no idea how to count the time toward the SC. But I hate to quit already!
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MamaPata
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Long lost: Arabic and Latin.
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby MamaPata » Tue May 15, 2018 8:56 pm

I wouldn't worry about it too much (the backsliding or the Super Challenge!). I suspect you will find that after a few weeks of Russian, you will be back to where you were. You just need a bit of time to settle back in and remember it all!
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby Elsa Maria » Tue Jun 19, 2018 3:43 pm

At long last, I am operating on a summer rhythm. School demands have lessened, and it is too hot to want to go outside much. I kicked off the new rhythm by rearranging my bookshelves from end to end. One of the biggest changes is that I no longer have a Danish section. I used to have a section that held all of my Danish books - everything from grammars to YA fantasy novels. Now, I have put Danish grammars in my grammar section, fantasy novels in my fantasy section, an so on. This felt like a big deal. To me, it meant that the language really resides within me. I don't feel that way about any other foreign language, so all of my other foreign language books are still together in their own section.

DANISH

That being said, my Danish reading skills are still lacking. One of my main goals is to be able to read literature, especially the literature that has not been translated into English. To that end, I just tried Erindringer om Kærligheden by Kirsten Thorup, 2017 winner of the Nordic Council Literature prize. I can get the gist of the story, but I don't want just the gist of the story. That doesn't satisfy me. So back on the shelf it goes until I am ready for it. Not to mention the fact that my reading speed for books like this is slow that I might as well quit the SC challenge now.

So I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to start with the easiest unread Danish books that I own. Those would be Astrid Lindgren's Alle vi børn in Bulderby series. And then I am going to work my way upward. Luckily, I actually love children's literature. I think this will save my attempt at the reading portion of SC.

I'm not doing well with the film portion, alas. But I did start watching the series 1864, a historical drama about the second Schleswig war. There are only eight episodes, and I consider that a plus. I don't particularly like long series.

ENGLISH

I don't normally bother to log anything about my native language, but I have started listening to The History of English Podcast. I have only listed to 4/112 episodes. So far, it has been about the evolution of the Indo-European language tree. I knew many of the main ideas already, but the details are fascinating.
--
Next update will cover FLC Dutch, Russian, and Latin.
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Elsa Maria
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Re: An Opsimath's Log: SC Danish, FLC Dutch, +more

Postby Elsa Maria » Fri Aug 03, 2018 1:12 pm

Thoughts on Challenges:
I have tried out three challenges so far this year, and am experiencing mixed results.

Free and Legal Challenge (Dutch). I have kept up with this one, and have really enjoyed it. I don't really expect to reach A2 by the end of it, but I have found it rather easy to stick with the rules. Participating in it made me look harder for resources, and I have found plenty to use. I am a bit eager to use some things that fall outside of the rules, but it really isn't torturing me to wait either.

Super Challenge (Danish) The reading part is OK, although I am behind schedule. I use Goodreads to track my books, and it only takes a small amount of time to figure out how many words are on an average page and then calculate how a particular book counts toward SC books. I gave up on the film/listening portion almost as soon as I started. :oops: I didn't enjoy trying to figure out what counted and what didn't. A lot of what I listen to/watch doesn't count (short YouTube clips) toward the SC. I am not criticizing the rules of the SC - I am must musing over why it didn't work for me.
ETA: I am going to at least count the actual films/episodes that I watch. Because I really really need to do more of that, and it is easy to keep track of. Over the next couple of days, I am going to go through my notebook and then upload the tweets.


6WC (Russian) I tried a 6WC once before - maybe a year or so ago? But I did not follow it through. Daily tracking is just not my strong suit. I just signed up again to do the 6WC for Russian, and I am hoping that I can commit to 6 weeks of tracking. I love seeing the data once afterward, I just don't like the process of collecting it!
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