French, Japanese and Who Knows What Else

[Sarafina]

I am busy with French and my final end of year exams. I am only spare 30-60 minutes for Japanese.
I'm trying to set realistic goals.
03/03/18
On Weekdays
1. Listen to Japanesepod101 episode (around 20 minutes). So far I've completed 5/50 Nihongo Dojo: Absolute Beginner. But I need to review the last couple of episodes.
1b) Add the sentences from Lesson notes from that Japanesepod101 lesson to Quizlet/Anki and review it (around 10-15 minutes)
1c) Loop the dialogue section of that episode while shadowing it (the dialogue section is usually less than 1 minutes so 10 minutes worth of repeating)
2) Then go through Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons series which takes 3-10 minutes about each
3) Go through 10 minutes of Terrace House/Haikyuu!!/or my transcriptions of PDR-San videos as part of my intensive listening and chunking method
This is roughly 60 minutes worth of work.

I can manage it if I wake up 30 minutes earlier to go through the Japanesepod101 epsiode and do some the exercises on the Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation series. Then use my time on the bus (to listen the dialogue section for about 10 minutes).

Weekends
I can go through two episodes of Japanesepod101.
And spend 30-50 minutes on Terrace House/Haikyuu!!
Then to practice the dialogue sections with my language exchange partners


Timeline/Deadlines which are probably going to throw out of the windows quickly.
-To finish Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation series by 31/03/2018 (which have 27 lessons).
After that I am hoping to either then start to use the subs2rs deck I have for Mushishi (which includes all the episodes of the first season) and Whisper of the Heart. I don't have definite goal of when I want to finish those decks.

To finish the Nihongo Dojo: Absolute Beginner learning pathway by 18/04/18 then around that time to start to read Yotsuba. I have all 13 volumes on my GDrive. I have a site that has the volumes of Naruto and A Silent Voice in Japanese but it has such disturbing ads and I have to be on alert for questionable popups. During the summer holidays I don't mind buying it on Amazon.jpn on my Kindle which I will need to find.

-Nihongo Dojo: Beginner pathway which takes 25hrs 12min and The Path to Advanced Japanese takes 36hrs 11min to complete. I hope to finish both of them by 19/06/18. I finish my exams on the 18/05/18 so I can afford to spend 3+ hours of blasting through those lessons.
Similarly I want to finish going through all two seasons of テラスハウス ボーイズ＆ガールズ イン・ザ・シティ and all
three seasons of ハイキュー!! by the 19/06/18.

[Fortheo]

It's so strange that we both binge watch the same non French shows (ATLA, Juliette je t'aime etc) in French. I share your struggles with listening for longer than 30 minutes; I'll put a podcast on and then my mind is off in space 30 minutes later.

Lately, I'll try to listen to something challenging in the beginning of my study session--this will usually be a native French show, or a native French speaker on YouTube--and then at night I binge watch anime dubbed in French.

I figure, if I can't concentrate for more than 30 minutes, then I'll just have to add several 30 minute listening sessions in throughout the day.

Good luck! We seem to be at a similar level, so I'm looking forward to your progress.

[Sarafina]

It's so strange that we both binge watch the same non French shows (ATLAB, Juliette je t'aime etc) in French. I share your struggles with listening for longer than 30 minutes; I'll put a podcast on and then my mind is off in space 30 minutes later.

Lately, I'll try to listen to something challenging in the beginning of my study session--this will usually be a native French show, or a native French speaker on YouTube--and then at night I binge watch anime dubbed in French.

I figure, if I can't concentrate for more than 30 minutes, then I'll just have to add several 30 minute listening sessions in throughout the day.

Good luck! We seem to be at a similar level, so I'm looking forward to your progress.

That's such a cool coincidence. I try and fail not to let my mind wander off after 30 minutes of listening to a French podcast.

I've realised that there's no point in forcing myself to concentrate on a 50 something minutes episode or podcast when I stop paying attention after 30 minutes. I am now trying to do several 20-30 minutes chunks of listening instead.

As much I love watching animated series in French, I need to remember to balance it with French native materials that really challenge me and put me out of my comfort zone. Over this weekend, I hope to find the best way to balance that and change my method accordingly.

[Sarafina]

It's so strange that we both binge watch the same non French shows (ATLA, Juliette je t'aime etc) in French.

Good luck! We seem to be at a similar level, so I'm looking forward to your progress.

We both seem to use the same grammar book. I am also using 'Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar'. I am slowly working my way through it.

[Sarafina]

03/03/2018

Listening
I watched two episodes of Steven Universe which is around 20 minutes worth.
I watched three episodes of ATLA (which was more than 60 minutes)
I watched a little over 30 minutes of Juliette je t'aime

Speaking
https://vocaroo.com/i/s13E8fSnmSYd

I didn't do much for reading or writing today.

[Fortheo]

03/03/2018

Listening
I watched two episodes of Steven Universe which is around 20 minutes worth.
I watched three episodes of ATLA (which was more than 60 minutes)
I watched a little over 30 minutes of Juliette je t'aime

Speaking
https://vocaroo.com/i/s13E8fSnmSYd

I didn't do much for reading or writing today.

I doubt you need more cartoons to watch, but If you do, I enjoyed the french dubbing of gravity falls a lot. Also, how often do you practice writing and speaking? is it a part of your daily routine?

[reineke]

I feel guilty when I watch TV series in French. Even though I know of the importance of extensive listening, I feel like I am just loafing around and that I should be doing something like reviewing French grammar.

Don't feel guilty and of course you need more cartoons. Everyone should watch cartoons.

[Sarafina]

03/03/2018

Listening
I watched two episodes of Steven Universe which is around 20 minutes worth.
I watched three episodes of ATLA (which was more than 60 minutes)
I watched a little over 30 minutes of Juliette je t'aime

Speaking
https://vocaroo.com/i/s13E8fSnmSYd

I didn't do much for reading or writing today.

I doubt you need more cartoons to watch, but If you do, I enjoyed the french dubbing of gravity falls a lot. Also, how often do you practice writing and speaking? is it a part of your daily routine?

Thank you for the recommendation.

Since the new year started, I've massively neglected speaking. I never write that much apart from random French homework set by the teacher at school. Speaking and writing haven't been a big part of my daily routine which that needs to change. Although I'm trying to get into the habit of writing 250-500 words a day in French answering an IB HL French writing task. Apart from those little monologues that I've been posting, I rarely get a chance to speak much French.

There was a point where I was having two to three 1 hour conversations a week in French for about a little under 2 months. I was amazed by the massive improvement. From not being to speak for more than 1 minute in French before lapsing to English to being to debate about the startup culture in France in comparison to America. Hopefu

My speaking has regressed since January. As unfortunately those Italki lessons were expensive. I was unable to get a part-time job and I didn't like having to ask my parents for money for my lessons. My savings are going towards uni and hopefully a week or two in France. I've regressed since then. In the summer holidays I can work full-time and use that to have 3-5 lessons a week.

Sorry if I overshared.

[Sarafina]

I forgot to mention that on the 4/03/18

I listened to an interesting podcast on FranceCulture called Schizophrénie : vivre avec.
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/ ... vivre-avec

It was a real breakthrough for me as I was able to understand 90% of what they said. Then I read quite a lot of Le Monde de Charlie (which is a fun and easy read but the only challenging thing about it is the colloquial language) and a text by Marcel Proust.

My listening comprehension fluctuates depending on much sleep I've had, my mood and who knows what else.

[Sarafina]

05/03/18

Japanese
I haven't been able to implement my Japanese study plan into action because I'm exhausted and I am too stressed to sleep and I am not feeling well. I couldn't even take a day off school because I don't want to miss school.

French
In the morning, I was binge-watching these YouTube videos which ask the French public questions like "Avez-vous un ami noir/blanc?" ou "Accepteriez-vous que votre fille épouse un musulman ?".
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLZwco ... bJQ/videos
A year ago I could have only dreamt about watching and being able to understand YouTube videos with native French speakers speaking normally to each other. I was able to watch those videos with almost as much ease as if the videos were in English.