Log 2k18

[sillygoose1]

I've been away from the forum for quite awhile but not away from languages. I'm very happy with my progress this year. Recap of 2017:

French:

Near native listening skills I'd wager. I doubt I'm going to get further than that without living in a francophone country so I'm content with boosting my vocab with what I can. I'd like to think that with everything I've done these past 6 years that I could claim a C2 level.

Spanish:

Yikes. Hardly anything. Still about a C1 level with maybe better active skills than last year.

Italian:

Had some brief hiccups but I'm back on it. Probably also around a C1 passive with around the same level of active skills as Spanish

German:

I'm functional now! Somewhat. Probably around B2 level. Movies are still hard as well as most comedy shows. I lose the thread easily on novel length audiobooks. But short series and casual podcasts are easy for me.

Russian:

I feel like hardly any progress but I'm sure there has been. I'm still not able to do much of anything. Reading is still difficult. Besides fairy tales everything else requires a copious amount of dictionary use. Very discouraging and I feel lost since this is the most "foreign" language I've ever learned.


So I guess my new goals will be maintenance of Romance languages ie watch some movies and TV shows that I really want to watch, audiobooks of some classic literature, and a talk show every so often. Maybe get used to more Canadian argot and accents. I cant see myself getting too intense with French in the future anymore. I think the Romance language I'll try to put the most effort in will be Italian if anything.

However, this is going to be the year of Germanic and Slavic languages. I'm looking to get a C2 in German and C1 in Russian as long term goals. I'd also like to add Polish, Dutch, and Swedish this year to my "serious" list.

[sillygoose1]

French:

Zemmour & Naulleau - Two episodes
Touche pas a mon poste - One episode
Les grandes gueules - ~20 hours of casual or intensive listening last month
Various novel length audiobooks

Italian:

Smetto Quando Voglio
L'ispettore Coliandro S6E2
Suburra S1 Total
A few audiobooks

Starting Gomorra season 3 tomorrow and Il Nome della Rosa audiobook restart


Spanish:

La Casa de Papel S2E2
Alli abajo S3E7


German:

Maennerort
Das Verschwinden - Two episodes
Braunschlag - One episode
Pregau - One episode
Horace Walpole - Die Burg von Otranto audiobook
Grimm brothers - Fairy tales audiobook

Russian:

The Sniffer - S2E3
Silver Spoon - S2E4
Fairy tales

[Willow]

I'm functional now! Somewhat. Probably around B2 level. Movies are still hard as well as most comedy shows. I lose the thread easily on novel length audiobooks. But short series and casual podcasts are easy for me

It really interests me how it works with different people: having B1 in German myself, I'm able to understand long narratives (and videos) with quite challenging vocabulary, but I'm able only to produce very simple sentences of my own with very simple structure...

Besides fairy tales everything else requires a copious amount of dictionary use.

In my opinion, fairy tales are the best way to grasp the basic vocabulary and cultural elements at the very beginning

[sillygoose1]

I'm functional now! Somewhat. Probably around B2 level. Movies are still hard as well as most comedy shows. I lose the thread easily on novel length audiobooks. But short series and casual podcasts are easy for me

It really interests me how it works with different people: having B1 in German myself, I'm able to understand long narratives (and videos) with quite challenging vocabulary, but I'm able only to produce very simple sentences of my own with very simple structure...

Besides fairy tales everything else requires a copious amount of dictionary use.

In my opinion, fairy tales are the best way to grasp the basic vocabulary and cultural elements at the very beginning

The best thing about the language community is how different we all are. Some people at the same stages in the same language find certain things difficult while others find it easy. I remember for example that I used to find audiobooks hard while TV series like Kaamelott (this is French btw) were easier for me while others could listen to Les Miserables or some other 30+ hr audiobook but couldnt understand a movie too well.

And yes fairy tales are great. I tried to listen to them without the book but for the moment that is too hard. I'm hoping to be able to take the training wheels off for Russian soon!

[Willow]

The best thing about the language community is how different we all are.

I know it, but this fact just keeps astonishing me But at the same time, the mere thought of how different we are fills me with a pure delight

[sillygoose1]

French:

Going through the Apocalypse series. Already did WWI/II now I'm getting to Verdun, Hitler, and Stalin. Really great series.

Been keeping up with Zemmour & Naulleau also which is a good show with many differing opinions. Two hours each episode but the debates get so good that it flies by.


Italian:

GOMORRA SEASON 3 WOOO. Already watched the first. Im 3 behind. Also watched Smetto Quando Voglio again as well as Divorzio all'italiana and a few episodes of the new Ispettore Coliandro. Bestiale.

German:

You are wanted - 3 more left. Comprehension is a hit or miss. Some dialogues I get and others are all blank.
Also watched an episode of Braunschlag & Pregau which were hard because Austrian. And after You are wanted I will finish Das Verschwinden.

Keigo Higashino - Verdaechtige Geliebte - chapter 3 audiobook. Couldnt keep up because it was sort of difficult


Spanish:

Episode of La casa de papel. 3 more left before the series ends. Not a boring episode so far.


Russian:

Reading Henning Mankell's Killer without a Face. Not too bad so far but I cant follow the thread either.

[sillygoose1]

French:

Books; audio:

Notre Dame de Paris - 20h
Histoire de la Revolution francaise - 20h
Le rouge et le noir - in progress


Series:

Baron noir - 6/8 episodes


Film:

Oscar
+ a few others that escape me now


Italian:


Series:

Gomorra season 3
L'ispettore Coliandro 5/6 episodes season 6


Audiobooks:

Aeneid
La Divina Commedia + I promessi sposi (coming up next)


German:


Audiobooks:

Friedrich Schiller -
Die Braut von Messina
Kabale und Liebe

Goethe -
Faust
Iphigenie
Die Wahlverwandtschaften (too difficult at the moment, coming back)


Books:

Anselm - Warum Gott Mensch geworden


Series:

Dark - 4 episodes


Russian:


Series:

The Dawns here are Quiet - 3/5 episodes
Silver Spoon - season 2

L/R:

Pavel Bazhov - The Malachite Box

[sillygoose1]

French:

Palmashow emission - ~3h
Three Mousquetaires audiobook ~1h
Finished Baron noir
Five or so films. Ascenseur pour l'echafaud, Classe tous risques.


German:

Episodes 1&2 of Babylon Berlin
Chapter 15 of the newest Jussi Adler Olsen audiobook whose name escapes me at the moment. I think the Marco Effect?
+ German dialogue in Ascenseur pour l'echafaud and La Dolce Vita


Italian:

La Dolce Vita
Finished Aeneid audiobook
Finished ispettore Coliandro

Russian:

Finished the Dawns Here Are Quiet 2015 miniseries War sucks
Finished The Malachite Box
Watched two episodes of the Sniffer


Missed quite a lot of words during the Palmashow emission just yesterday for my standard even though I saw all of the sketches before and understood them previously. Also watched La Dolce Vita and couldn't decode some of the French dialogue. I got "le tipon" from "le petit pont" and "saule oint" from "sur ce point" on another show. They just didn't come to my head. Also missed some words on my audiobook which is bizarre. This is strange because they are easy enough words and phrases and I could break down the sounds, but my head just shut down and couldn't connect. This has happened to me in English when I'm tired and stressed or after listening a lot.

I think I'm approaching my biannual plateau where my brain shuts down and blocks out words, then after a break I understand more and decode quicker. Like an upgrade. I wasn't stressed or tired when I did my listening. I posted this in another thread just yesterday and now it's happening. This happens after I consume a lot of material generally. Every few hundred or so hours. This oddly enough hasn't happened in Italian or German at the moment while it is in French. Probably time for a French break.

Does anyone know if this is all in my head or if this is an actual thing that happens? I tried looking for a study but I don't know the linguistics jargon.

[neuroascetic]

How is Babylon Berlin? The concept seems interesting. Since it looks like you are in the U.S. too, are there official streams for us right now?

[sillygoose1]

How is Babylon Berlin? The concept seems interesting. Since it looks like you are in the U.S. too, are there official streams for us right now?

It's pretty good so far. It seems like I'm about to be in for a wild ride. They laid out all of their subplots just within the first two episodes and I already feel like they'll be able to handle it all.

As for official streams I think it's coming to Netflix at the end of the month last I checked. I'm using more unconventional means at the moment so I can't speak for other services.