Serpent's profile backup

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Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
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Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:54 pm

As of 18.07.2015:

Russian Native language Skills
English Advanced Fluency Studying on and off Details Skills 8 Reasons
C1 Finnish Advanced Fluency Studying actively Details Skills Certificates 33 Reasons
German Basic Fluency Studying actively Details Skills 12 Reasons
Spanish Basic Fluency Studying actively Details Skills 16 Reasons
Portuguese Basic Fluency Studying actively Details Skills 21 Reasons
Latin Basic Fluency Not studying Skills 5 Reasons
Toki Pona Intermediate level Not studying Details Skills 10 Reasons
Danish Intermediate level Studying actively Details 12 Reasons
Italian Intermediate level Studying actively Details Skills 18 Reasons
Romanian Intermediate level Studying actively Details Skills 16 Reasons
Esperanto Intermediate level Not studying Details Skills 5 Reasons
Indonesian Intermediate level Not studying Details Skills 14 Reasons
Polish Intermediate level Studying on and off Details Skills 13 Reasons
Belarusian Intermediate level Studying on and off Details Skills 11 Reasons
Ukrainian Intermediate level Studying on and off Details Skills 9 Reasons
Croatian Intermediate level Studying actively Details Skills 16 Reasons
Catalan Beginner Studying on and off Details Skills 11 Reasons
Yiddish Beginner Not studying 6 Reasons
Czech Beginner Studying on and off 7 Reasons
Dutch Beginner Studying on and off Details 11 Reasons
Swedish Beginner Studying actively 15 Reasons
Norwegian Beginner Just flirting 4 Reasons
Estonian Beginner Not studying 10 Reasons
Welsh Just on my hit list Not studying 6 Reasons
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:57 pm

Russian :lol:

My plans to develop my Russian skills
Learn Old Church Slavonic

:roll:



Skills

Sometimes Advanced book writing

Sometimes Writing a book

Sometimes Writing a newspaper-type article
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

Online
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tastyonions
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1572
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 5:39 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
Languages: EN (N), FR, ES, DE, IT, PT, NL, EL
x 3856

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby tastyonions » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:00 pm

Good luck with your Russian! I hear it can be a tough language. ;)
0 x

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:05 pm

English

My plans to develop my English skills
I have Advanced Grammar in Use on my shelf, bought it for classes but we didn't end up using it. Gotta have a look...

How I use English
internet

My strong points in English
writing, spelling, not having an obvious Russian accent (or hopefully any particular one - I like to think I just sound generally non-native)

My weak points in English
advanced vocabulary and its pronunciation
this got better thanks to learning Romance languages and Coursera

My reasons to learn English
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I love the culture associated with that language
Very importantVery importantVery important For pleasure
Very importantVery importantVery important To listen to music in this language.
Very importantVery importantVery important Because it's widely spoken across the world
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds
Very importantVery importantVery important For travel opportunities
Rather Important Because it is spoken in many countries
Somewhat important Because I need it for my work

How I learned English
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I browsed the dictionary to discover new words (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned by heart songs in my target language (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I had friends with whom I spoke in my target language (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read and wrote fanfiction in this language. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I translated songs in this language. (Regularly)
from Britney Spears (when I was 8) to heavy metal :lol:
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I practiced the language in my everyday life (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read articles/books looking up unknown words (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read articles/books with no dictionaries (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I took private lessons (A few times) Edit Delete

Quite efficient I spent a lot of time doing exercises on the grammar and vocabulary (Regularly) Edit Delete
Quite efficient I took classes at school (Regularly) Edit Delete

Not very efficient I studied the language at College/University (Regularly)
I don't feel I've made almost any progress :/ Edit Delete
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:13 pm

Finnish ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

How I use Finnish
Internet, books, speaking with Finnish friends both online and offline, understanding songs in Finnish

My strong points in Finnish
These were my YKI results in spring 2011:

listening, speaking, reading, writing - C1
vocabulary and structures - C2
I sort of consider myself C2 at all of these, except maybe listening. But yes I'm especially proud of my grammar :P

My reasons to learn Finnish
Very importantVery importantVery important To listen to music in this language. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For pleasure Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I have friends who speak that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because it has some interesting linguistic features Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To meet new people Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I live close to a country where it is spoken Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because the language has an exotic appeal Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To browse the Internet in that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I find the language fascinating in itself Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I love the culture associated with that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To read books/literature in this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To read newspapers in that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For travel opportunities Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For the sake of its own Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important I have always wanted to learn this language. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To pick up girls/boys who only speak this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important because of the pleasure in understanding it Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important A dark primeval urge that I cannot explain Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because Finnish is beautiful Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important I find the grammar beautiful. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because you get lots of good gluten- and lactose-free food in that country
just kidding... but though i don't need it, this makes me love Finland even more Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important It's special to me. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I find the language strangely intuitive. Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because Finnish is not Indo-European Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I hate not being able to communicate, and don't want to impose English on everyone. Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because it may be useful within my profesional field. Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I like a sports team from a country where the language is spoken Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important To increase my value on the job market Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I have friends who are learning this language Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I like the challenge of a difficult language Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I find it cool/chic to speak this language Edit Delete
Somewhat important Because I want to speak several languages / become a polyglot Edit Delete

How I learned Finnish
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I used textbooks to study on my own (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned by heart songs in my target language (Very Often)
Mokoma, Yö, Teräsbetoni, Maj Karma, Klamydia, Viikate.. Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I created my own immersion method. (Very Often)
nothing special, just everything in Finnish everywhere. Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I shadowed/followed dialogs in the target language (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Constant daily drilling on my own (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read novels in my target language (Very Often)
Seitsemän veljestä, The Da Vinci Code, Yhden Yön tarina, LOTR, The Hobbit, Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi, Narnia etc. Currently reading The Unfinished Tales. Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I spent a lot of time doing exercises on the grammar and vocabulary (Very Often)
up to 9 hours a day Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I conversed with native speakers (Very Often)
mostly over the Internet Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I switched my OS/software to this language. (Very Often)
laptop, iPod, firefox... can't do this on my Nokia XD Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I spoke to myself in this language. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I used flash-cards software (Regularly)
Luckily there are no prepared Finnish dictionaries for flashcards software, so I created mine myself and I think it has played an important role in my memorization. Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Lots of word lists (Regularly)
learned quite a bit of vocabulary this way at some point Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I wrote regularly and had a native speaker correct me (Regularly)
serpent-849.livejournal.com Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read articles/books with no dictionaries (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read articles/books looking up unknown words (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I travelled to a country where the language is spoken (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I had a job where I used the target language (Once)
4 days at Moscow Non-fiction Book Fair Edit Delete
had one more job by now, almost a year but much more Spanish/Portuguese than Finnish
Quite efficientQuite efficient I used a Spaced Repetition System. (Very Often)
mnemosyne, now switched to Anki because I can use it online Edit Delete
Quite efficientQuite efficient I listened to audiobooks in my target language (Regularly) Edit Delete
Quite efficientQuite efficient I watched movies in my target language (A few times) Edit Delete
Quite efficientQuite efficient I learned another language through this one (A few times)
German, Esperanto, Latin, Portuguese, Romanian... When you learn L3, L4...Ln through L2, L2 starts to seem almost a native language to you. Edit Delete
Not very efficient I used a course from FSI or DLI (A few times) Edit Delete
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:17 pm

German

My plans to develop my German skills
reading

How I use German
reading, watching football

My strong points in German
maybe listening

My weak points in German
grammar, comprehension

My reasons to learn German
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I have friends who speak that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To listen to music in this language.
Rammstein Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To read books/literature in this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For gastronomic reasons
Beer! :) Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important .... a long sad story Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I studied it at school
I chose it myself and really wanted to speak it Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I love the culture associated with that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I had to learn it in college/university
I've just realized that if I could take another European language (but not French) I most likely would. Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because it will help me learn other Germanic languages in the future Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important For travel opportunities Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because it's closely related to another language I know
This was probably my main reason originally. The similarities with English fascinated me.

How I learned German
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient listening to music (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Played computer games (Regularly)
Pottermore, Criminal Case
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient by using the lyricstraining site (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched football/soccer in this language. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Super Challenge (A few times)
I didn't even complete it
Quite efficient More than 10 years (Regularly) Edit Delete
Quite efficient Language challenges (Regularly)
Especially the two-week Tadoku when it was my main language
Quite efficient Deutsche Welle (A few times) Edit Delete
Not very efficient You'd better ask how I didn't learn it (Very Often) Edit Delete
Not very efficient Several years of formal education. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Not very efficient Read magazines (A few times)
for learners
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:25 pm

Portuguese

Why I learned Portuguese
Originally, to read Fernando Ribeiro's books. I found myself loving the language and culture more and more as I've explored it.
At one point, I started watching Portuguese football randomly, and in March 2009 I fell in love with Benfica. This gave me a very strong additional motivation to communicate in it, mostly on twitter.

My plans to develop my Portuguese skills
Complete a super challenge, SRS grammar stuff; writing, shadowing, working on the intonation

How I use Portuguese
Mostly online; reading also.

My strong points in Portuguese
Unlike many people I went from it to Spanish and not vice versa, so I hope I come across as more respectful of the language than many who studied Spanish first. My Latin also helps :)
also, listening (especially European Portuguese)

My weak points in Portuguese
advanced vocabulary, some irregular verbs, literary grammar, differences between Portugal and Brazil (I understand the Brazilian accent but I suspect I have some vocabulary gaps etc)

I also need to work more on my pronunciation and intonation, though I wouldn't call them real weaknesses

My reasons to learn Portuguese
Very importantVery importantVery important To browse the Internet in that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Out of academic interest
My first 'normal' Romance language: Latin and Esperanto technically don't count. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To meet new people Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like a sports team from a country where the language is spoken
Benfica
Very importantVery importantVery important To watch soccer matches in this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I have friends who speak that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important I'm interested in the Lusophone world Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I didn't want to learn a too common language
so much more interesting than Spanish!
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I think Portuguese is much more beautiful sounding than Spanish Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because it has many speakers and resources but it's not mainstream. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important because it sounds very original quite different from other european languages Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important I already sound like I have this accent
nasals...
Very importantVery importantVery important I like etymology Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To listen to music in this language.
Moonspell
Very importantVery importantVery important To read books/literature in this language
Fernando Ribeiro
I recently got to tell him that 8-) :oops:
Very importantVery importantVery important For pleasure Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I find the language fascinating in itself Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To access more information. Edit Delete
Rather Important For travel opportunities
no particular plans at the moment, but hopefully someday...
Rather Important Because I want to speak several languages / become a polyglot

How I learned Portuguese
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned by self-study on the internet. (Very Often)
TWITTER
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Immersion (Very Often)
at home
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I made this language a part of my lifestyle. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Tried to immerse myself in the language as much as possible (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Watching TV (Very Often)
football online actually
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I lived in Russia for three months. (Very Often)
can't help trolling :P
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Thinking in the target language (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Immersion in Russia for one year. (Very Often)
even more appropriate haha
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read articles/books with no dictionaries (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient passively picked it up (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Comprehensible input (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Anki (Very Often)
I accidentally posted Spaced Repetition as not very efficient and I can't edit that
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient reading, listening and trying to speak (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched football/soccer in this language. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched interviews (Very Often)
Especially love those of Jorge Jesus
sigh ;__;
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Gaming (Very Often)
CRIMINAL CASE! Great for everyday items.
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient AJATT (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I had a job where I used the target language (Regularly)
spam analyst :)
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read about Latin's development. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned another language through this one (Regularly)
makes it psychologically more familiar
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I switched my OS/software to this language. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient cloze deletion. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient by doing GLOSS lessons (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient by using the lyricstraining site (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I listened to many songs in that language (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Assimil (A few times)
I've had a go at it several times and I definitely will again in the future
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I shadowed/followed dialogs in the target language (A few times) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Language challenges (A few times)
Tadoku and 6WC (though I haven't done a 6WC with Portuguese as the main language)
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Movies (A few times)
They've helped me with Brazilian Portuguese
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Fell in love (Once)
with Benfica
Quite efficient I read novels in my target language (Regularly)
could've been a bit more effective maybe.
Quite efficient I practiced conjugating verbs (Regularly) Edit Delete
Quite efficient Ilya Frank method (Once)
I read one book using this method and it's been helpful for sure
Not very efficient I used a Spaced Repetition System. (Regularly)
I started using it for grammar as well and it's been great
Not very efficient * a little thing called listen-reading. (A few times)
I tried to do it with religious texts in the beginning... worked fine as an introduction but I haven't done it after that
Not very efficient I took group classes (Once)
Just a month, mostly gave me confidence about my pronunciation+some basic grammar and vocab. It also taught me that I lose motivation for self-study when I take classes. supplementing one with the other sounds great but it's not for me
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 7:40 pm

Spanish

How I learned Spanish
football, twitter, reading (Tadoku was really effective!), some LR. GLOSS and lyricstraining :)
MOOC's (online courses) are what took me to basic fluency.

My plans to develop my Spanish skills
reading, writing, speaking, more MOOC's

How I use Spanish
football, twitter, reading and all the cool stuff that isn't available in Portuguese or Italian

My strong points in Spanish
Spanish is part of a larger framework for me, along with other Romance languages and Latin. I believe I've been able to make my Portuguese knowledge an asset rather than a source of confusion and errors.

My weak points in Spanish

some gaps in the grammar, lack of speaking practice

My reasons to learn Spanish
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I have friends who speak that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To watch soccer matches in this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because it's related to another language I'm learning Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To read books/literature in this language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important It's a Romance language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For travel opportunities Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For pleasure Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I found great learning material for it
tons of stuff online, especially GLOSS and lyricstraining. audiobooks. various materials I'm interested in, e.g. Forlán's book
Very importantVery importantVery important A challenge
I signed up for Tadoku more or less randomly, just to finish a book, and this was very important
Very importantVery importantVery important To access more information. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important It's unavoidable
unavoidable for a football fan and language geek
Rather ImportantRather Important Because it is spoken in many countries Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important I like etymology Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important Because it is an easy language Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important To get more votes at this forum. Edit Delete

How I learned Spanish (I marked all steps as very efficient. I knew what I was doing)
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched football/soccer in this language. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Reading books, listening to radio (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I created my own immersion method. (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Gaming (Very Often)
Criminal Case
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Language challenges (Very Often)
Tadoku, 6WC, Super Challenge
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient AJATT (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient by using the lyricstraining site (Very Often)
Héroes del silencio, Juanes, Mägo de Oz
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I speak a language very similar to it and picked it up by watching TV, reading etc. (Very Often)
Portuguese
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Autodidact: I learned it myself, but with help from media and friends (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Comprehensible input (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I listened to many songs in that language (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Multi-track approach (Very Often) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned by self-study on the internet. (Very Often)
Twitter and Facebook
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched educational videos for natives on Coursera and other MOOC sites (Regularly)
Also Miríada X. Mostly medical or interdisciplinary subjects
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I learned another language through this one (Regularly)
I used Italian materials for Spanish speakers. Maybe something else that I can't remember
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I used a Spaced Repetition System. (Regularly)
Mostly in the beginning
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I switched my OS/software to this language. (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient by doing GLOSS lessons (Regularly) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I had a job where I used the target language (Regularly)
spam analysis at Kaspersky Lab
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient * a little thing called listen-reading. (A few times)
Very early in my learning
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I read about Latin's development. (A few times) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I watched TV in my target language (A few times) Edit Delete
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Writing on Lang-8 (A few times)
I posted there just twice but it helped me identify the weak points to address through input
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient Travelling (A few times)
As of the time I upgraded to basic fluency, I haven't been to Spain yet. Used the language in Malta and Poland, actually.
Very efficientVery efficientVery efficient I used textbooks to study on my own (A few times)
Books like breaking out of beginner's Spanish (not as low-level as it sounds!), Spanish vocabulary: an etymological approach
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
x 5179
Contact:

Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:10 pm

Spanish is really where I grew as a learner. But I love Portuguese more. :P
some recent posts

basically Spanish is like a sunny Mediterranean vacation. (European) Portuguese is like standing on the edge of Cabo da Roca and trying not to fall, and then finding a safe path towards the cool majestic ocean. Guess which one is more fun ;) Lol I've not done either thing really, sorry for the cheesy comparison. I'm mostly referring to the shortage of materials and the sometimes excessive prescriptivism. But no other Romance language resonates like that with me. Or maybe it's just that there's only one Moonspell.

***

Ironically, today I read some more of "Breaking out of beginner's Spanish". (it's not as beginner-level as it sounds!!! highly recommended!)
I also lost my Super Challenge streak although I did watch some videos on Miríada X last week.

My Spanish profile lists pretty much all the steps I've taken to learn Spanish, but I thought I'd list the few books I've read so far:
-Diego Forlán's biography. I think I started it in Finland in July 2011. I was relying purely on my Portuguese and it was hard. I finished reading it during the January 2012 Tadoku, with a much better comprehension by the end.
-Two years later (Jan 2014) I signed up for a Tadoku with Finnish and Spanish again, out of nostalgy. I was missing them after the first Super Challenge (where I didn't do them)... But I realized that I didn't have anything I truly wanted to read in Spanish! This has been fixed ever since, but back then I just went through the public domain books I had on my e-reader, and I chose "El idilio de un enfermo". Nice old book.
-I'm still reading Paulo Coelho's "Valquirias" but I expect to be done soon. Right now I'm on page 159 out of 219. I've been reading this book in bursts, cruising to the next "book-item" (50 pages) and then taking a break. Hoping to read it before the year ends.
-I've also been reading a collection of Latin American fantasy stories, and I've read about one SC item by now.

Of course, without my Portuguese (and Latin, and Italian) I would've needed much more reading to be anywhere near my current level.

***
For the record, I started watching football in Spanish in early 2009. I honestly tried to support Barcelona, no kidding :D I also started Italian around the same time (I even have an official starting date - April 6). Until 2012 I just kept absorbing it through football (as I mentioned above, I started reading my first book in July 2011). Before Euro-2012 I decided that I would do a 6WC in the language of the country that wins (unless it's England, France... or Russia :D). And Spain won. I watched Destinos and did random other stuff. A few months later I got a job where I would process the spam, and I did way more Spanish and Portuguese than I was expected to. Well, it was actually an internship, and it lasted until the autumn of 2013. So these were the key moments of my Spanish learning prior to 2014.
0 x
LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome

User avatar
Serpent
Black Belt - 3rd Dan
Posts: 3657
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:54 am
Location: Moskova
Languages: heritage
Russian (native); Belarusian, Polish

fluent or close: Finnish (certified C1), English; Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian
learning: Croatian+, Ukrainian; Romanian, Galician; Danish, Swedish; Estonian
exploring: Latin, Karelian, Catalan, Dutch, Czech, Latvian
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Re: Serpent's profile backup

Postby Serpent » Sat Jul 18, 2015 8:13 pm

Italian

My plans to develop my Italian skills
complete a super challenge and travel to Italy

How I use Italian
football, twitter, reading

My strong points in Italian
being able to use my academic and practical knowledge of other Romance languages and Latin very efficiently.

also listening and certain areas of vocabulary (medical and sports among others)

My weak points in Italian
verbs, vocabulary

My reasons to learn Italian
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like the way the language sounds Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For pleasure Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To listen to music in this language. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important For gastronomic reasons Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To read books/literature in this language
Dante, Materazzi, Cavani... lol.
Very importantVery importantVery important Out of academic interest Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I like a sports team from a country where the language is spoken
Fiorentina, Napoli, Juventus... oops ;) Serie A is my favourite league, as simple as that.
Very importantVery importantVery important To watch soccer matches in this language
amazing emotional commentators
Very importantVery importantVery important Because I have friends who speak that language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important desire to be a polyglot Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important It's the direct descendant of Latin. Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important it is a passsionate language Edit Delete
Very importantVery importantVery important To access more information.
I started on 06 April 2009 when Adrian Mutu had knee surgery.
Rather ImportantRather Important Because I can understand it, but not speak it Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important I like etymology Edit Delete
Rather ImportantRather Important For travel opportunities Edit Delete
Somewhat important Because it's related to another language I'm learning Edit Delete
Somewhat important Because it is an easy language Edit Delete
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LyricsTraining now has Finnish and Polish :)
Corrections welcome


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