Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:18 pm

I have been plodding away with my previous plan, though it's mostly been catch-up for a while now, mostly due to my holiday which caused chaos to my Memrise account.

My main focus currently has been to get back on top of everything I had done, ensuring that it's all nicely cemented in brain somewhere.

*I have decided to edit this with more information as it's not currently very informative.

Kindle readers
To be edited

DVD series
Just completed Buffy in German.
Resumed Stargate SG-1 in German on season 7

YouTube
Monster Rancher (episode ( 12 ) of 54)
Kirby

Textbooks
Fit fürs Goethe
Menschen A1 Arbeitsbuch
Menschen A1 Kursbuch

Other courses
Pimsleur 2
Michel Thomas
FSI
Assimil 2011
Assimil 2014

Completed courses as of 4/11/2015
Pimsleur 1
Pimsleur 2
Pimsleur 3
Pimsleur 4 (50%)
Michel Thomas foundation
Michel Thomas advanced

I had been doing one lesson a day of Assimil 2011 and 2014, however due to time constraints and the fact that the course is only going to get more difficult, I've since decided to concentrate on the 2011 course. I have to try and force myself to stick to a daily routine with it until it becomes second nature. I plan on finishing it and then starting the 2014 course from scratch again all the way through to completion.

The goal that demands most of my attention currently is one that I've set myself on Memrise. The particular "course" didn't exist when I first started my log so I had numerous other courses that I worked through instead. I still do some of these but I focus on the Memrise A1 course. It consists of 83 levels and the majority of the content are in sentence form. Memrise only records "items" and no one was able to answer my question regarding how many unique words were used in its creation so I can only say that I am currently 943 out of 1743 which equates to 53% complete. Clearly words will be repeated but even so, if we guestimate each item to consist of at least 3 words that's still going to be somewhere close to 6k words. Some of the longer sentences - one of my favourites - "sie sind dick weil sie zu viel Schokolade essen" are around 9 words, and some of longer still.

I got on quite well with my array of readers but I started to find it a bit of a bore despite the stories being quite good considering the limitations on vocab available. I have since started reading Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik and it doesn't seem too far out of my league. I should point out that reading is by far my weakest skill. I'm hoping to read a little every day without any particular set number of pages or a chapter, etc. This way it's more likely I'll stick to it.

Recently I've been watching far more on youtube than DVD/Bluray or otherwise. This is primarily down to my new tv which allows me to watch youtube on it, so I can watch stuff like Monster Rancher in hd, fully in German. There's no subs but I am actively trying to discourage the use of subs and focus purely on the spoken element. So far so good.

When I do currently watch something other than youtube, it's most likely Grimm which I managed to buy before the price went back up. The dubbing is actually quite nice for this, it's been a while since I saw the first season in English, but in all honesty apart from Wolfie, they sound pretty much the same. I asked for Spooks in German for Christmas which I am quite looking forward to as although it's been forever since I watched it, I really loved this series. I also figure it's going to have quite a lot of day to day language with the exception of the spy specific stuff.

Hmm, what's left to expand on? Okay, audio.
So I have completed Pimsleur 1-3 and I am 50% through the 4th one. I really like Pimsleur and assuming it's more or less the same in content for all languages it's available in, I'd definitely use the same approach at the beginning. Michel Thomas is also very good in my opinion as it focuses on the aspects I usually try to avoid. So upon combining these two courses, it covers a decent range of what most would need at the start of a language journey. I'd use both of these in future for whenever I start Spanish but that's not going to be for a long while, at least not until I finish at least the Assimil courses I have for German.


Current main goals
Complete the Memrise A1 course
Complete Assimil German 2011 course
Complete Pimsleur 4

I'd especially like to go as far as possible with Assimil before visiting my friend in December. If I can get my spoken German to a reasonably decent level by then I'd be very happy.
Last edited by WalkingAlone13 on Wed Nov 04, 2015 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:56 pm

Voi ei, voin käyttö "Not the real HTAL" suomessa nyt! :D Mutta nyt, minulla on halu kirjoittaa suomeksi...

Noh, ehkä Saksalainen tulee seurava ja voin käytännössä, että myös. Minulla on unohtaa paljon suomea, niin, ehkä tama on hyvä minulle.

Noh, että on hauska.

Sooo, I should probably get back to some more German study, but I am loving the language pack. It means that I donät have to feel quite so guilty about reading the forum so often, as you know, I'd be using my passive skills at the same time. I might try to maintain my Finnish a little better by reviewing it in part on Memrise.
0 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Thu Jul 23, 2015 7:55 pm

I have been keeping to my usual Memrise catch-up and my usual media related study. However I am finding my studies to be quite disjointed at the moment, probably due to goings on in my life at the moment. While I am a little all over the place regarding my studies, I've taken advantage of it and decided to try some other resources that I never had the time for previously.

One of the "new" (for me) resources has been Yabla German.
I am quite undecided as to my opinion on this. It certainly gives me confidence when I don't need to slow down or read the English subtitles to understand the content. Plus, some of the videos are taken from a classroom setting from a German course - it's also set in Tuebingen, which is where I visited on my holiday in May.
I'll probably try to incorporate this but only one or two videos a day, as I'm not sure I am learning that much from it so far.
If anyone has any tips for how to use this more effectively, please do let me know :)

I have also recently given the German Glossika a try.
I really don't know if I understood how one is supposed to best use this resource. I jumped straight in with the GSM files, which I believe are more intense? I might have this the wrong way around. I remember reading that it's best to listen to all 1000 of the sentences the first time using it, but that seems quite unfeasible and therefore I omitted this step. I have just finished the first 250 sentences and will probably just try to keep to this pace, though, again, I don't think I am using this method correctly and will have to have a proper read to ensure I use it efficiently.

Last but not least, I actually discovered that I still have my Germanpod101 files, I had laptop problems and transferred a lot over to my external hard drive to make sure I'd not lose any resources, but I forgot I had done so and never returned them to my laptop until now.
I remember liking these but not the annoying opening to every single mp3. I do remember people talking about a free programme that can get rid of these, but I don't remember, nor do I have the skills, most likely, to get rid of these without messing up the files.

I am hoping I'll be able to return to my more structured learning routine come next week, assuming I am feeling more myself by then. Until then it's mostly sporadic Memrise catch-up and more Stargate SG-1, occasional reader, etc.
0 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Tue Aug 04, 2015 2:50 pm

Just to revive my log a little, I'll just quickly summarise what I've been doing as of late.

I have currently been stressing over a lot of things as I am toying with the idea of studying a language at university, which has not gone down very well at all with those around me. The problem is, in the long term I'd very much like to teach a language or work as either a translator or an interpreter. However all of those would be impossible without a formal qualification. So for me, despite the debt, it'd end up worthwhile as it's the only means of achieving my goal.

My current study has been a little all over the place because of this, but I thought it better to just do some when I am in the right mood, rather than frustrate myself because I have other things on my mind.

Recently I've just been using the following;
Readers
I mostly read and re-read the five mentioned in my opening post, however I discovered I have a lot on my backup by Hueber. I think I have around 70 all varying from A0 to B2 in terms of difficulty. I've had a brief look through most of these and I think the majority will probably be quite useful. Once I have everything a little more sorted, I am toying with the idea of attempting to complete a book per day.

TV series
Buffy
I completed Buffy a while back now and did notice quite a nice improvement in my listening comprehension.
Stargate SG-1
I am just starting the eighth season now, though I really must remember to buy season 9 and 10 directly from Germany as the English versions do not have German audio for these two seasons. If it is of interest to anyone, as they are cheaper here than in Germany, season 1 does not have German audio but season 2, 3,4,6,7 do, season 8 you can get with or without German audio. Seasons 9 and 10 don't seem to have German audio on any of the versions I've found. So that's a German Amazon or Ebay job.
I watch these with subtitles as well but I'm really considering trying without as I find that I am starting to understand quite a lot now without looking at them. Naturally when they start talking about hyper drives and such, it's somewhat of a necessity for me but otherwise it's not too bad.

Upon the completion of Stargate I might either watch Elementary as I've recently purchased both from Germany, or I might try and watch Grimm or Sleepy Hollow. Though I'd have to buy those first.

Textbooks
Menschen A1
I remember seeing a HTLAL member suggest this as a beginner resource and as it wasn't too expensive and my other textbooks are not really that great in my opinion, I decided to give it a go. Trying to get a decent routine going with a textbook after so long without is proving to be a little challenging for the time being.

MP3 resources
I've mostly been using Glossika and listening to German musik. I often go out on my bike when the weather is nice, but I don't always feel like audio courses so I sometimes mix things up a little with my current favourite German band We butter the bread with butter. If I want something a little mellower I'll listen to Christina Stuermer instead. I don't actually know that many German artists or bands, I can't stand Ramstein as the lyrics are far too simple and repetitive for my liking. Yes, We butter the bread with butter hardly have the greatest lyrics of all time but they don't take themselves seriously.

Memrise
I haven't been as active as I would have liked but I still manage to hammer away at the top 5k words each week at least. I also sometimes manage to go through the A1 official Memrise course every so often. I mostly review for the time being.

That's pretty much it for now. Hopefully if all goes well and I go ahead with uni, I'll be able to get a nice routine together again and really focus on my German. I am somewhat undecided about what my other language will be should I go ahead though, as neither French, Spanish nor Chinese really grab me. I'd much rather Swedish or Polish but unfortunately these are not options.

Oh, and I finally found a temporary fix for my sound issue with Windows 10. So...providing I still have any language exchange partners left, I can get back to my Skype exchanges. I used to do one at least once a week and really enjoyed them.
0 x

User avatar
Via Diva
Green Belt
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:11 pm
Location: somewhere around Moscow
Languages: Russian (N), English (~C1), German (~B1)
Wanderlust/abandoned: Czech, Swedish, Italian, Modern Greek, Esperanto, French, Dutch, Finnish
Hit-list (?): Icelandic, Hungarian, Sanskrit
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=929
x 412
Contact:

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby Via Diva » Tue Aug 04, 2015 3:21 pm

If you need good lyrics, you have to listen to something a bit more obscure. Check the link in my signature, or just look up bands like Angizia, Dornenreich, Samsas Traum.
Or read my log, hehe.
Just one song so you could decide whether you should do all that I am recommending you to do:
1 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:08 pm

Danke, Via Diva! :)
I've not had the chance to listen to it just yet but I always welcome suggestions and recommendations, so I look forward to giving it a listen tomorrow and hopefully, having a new artist to add to my mp3 player!

My routine is slowly getting back to normal. I've still got a lot of forms and information to provide but it's not as stressful as it was. I hope I've not just jinxed myself by saying that.
I've been keeping up with my reviews on Memrise, added a few new words over the last week and also done some more Pimsleur and Glosika. I am actually growing fonder of Glossika now that I've given it enough time. I plan to have my initial schedule back on track by Sunday. Let's see if I can keep to it. I did indulge slightly in my wanderlust as of late as I saw a German/Polish reader for the grand total of £2 including postage. How could I refuse such a tempting offer!
0 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Thu Aug 06, 2015 3:18 pm

Via Diva wrote:If you need good lyrics, you have to listen to something a bit more obscure. Check the link in my signature, or just look up bands like Angizia, Dornenreich, Samsas Traum.
Or read my log, hehe.
Just one song so you could decide whether you should do all that I am recommending you to do:


I had a chance to listen to the link this morning, it was certainly different but I quite liked it in the end. The beginning of it reminded me of Pan's labyrinth for some reason. I'll definitely check out the other suggestions, and with the length of that song, especially if the others are equally as long, they will definitely be useful for long bike rides. Thanks again! :)

I've always followed your log, by the way. You are amongst my top inspirations on HTLAL, I'm just not so vocal and therefore don't post often - though I am trying to change this. I know that you enjoy writing a lot of freehand and wondered if you have any advice for the German ß? I only just realised how long it takes me to write it (ruining my flow) and even then it usually doesn't look right. I'm so used to typing that I had never noticed before.


........
Mini update: I just finished another 8 pages of the Fit für Goethe A1 kurs Buch. I actually quite like this book at the moment, and fortunately it doesn't require you to listen to the audio constantly alongside the activities. I personally do not like books that require you go through exercise by exercise with audio. I do so much audio related activities elsewhere I really just want to practise on my reading or writing skills while working through a textbook. This is why I love textbooks like Nya mål for Swedish and Suomen Mestari for Finnish. I desperately need to find something like these for German.
1 x

User avatar
Via Diva
Green Belt
Posts: 262
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:11 pm
Location: somewhere around Moscow
Languages: Russian (N), English (~C1), German (~B1)
Wanderlust/abandoned: Czech, Swedish, Italian, Modern Greek, Esperanto, French, Dutch, Finnish
Hit-list (?): Icelandic, Hungarian, Sanskrit
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=929
x 412
Contact:

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby Via Diva » Thu Aug 06, 2015 3:46 pm

WalkingAlone13 wrote:I had a chance to listen to the link this morning, it was certainly different but I quite liked it in the end. The beginning of it reminded me of Pan's labyrinth for some reason. I'll definitely check out the other suggestions, and with the length of that song, especially if the others are equally as long, they will definitely be useful for long bike rides. Thanks again! :)

I've always followed your log, by the way. You are amongst my top inspirations on HTLAL, I'm just not so vocal and therefore don't post often - though I am trying to change this. I know that you enjoy writing a lot of freehand and wondered if you have any advice for the German ß? I only just realised how long it takes me to write it (ruining my flow) and even then it usually doesn't look right. I'm so used to typing that I had never noticed before.

Danke ^^
And yeah, there's a plenty of songs which are even longer, hehe, but mostly they vary between 5 and 8 minutes, I think.

Hmm. I don't really care much for the flow, I write kinda too slow, if I intend to get a neat result. But ß should take you longer, it's ss, after all :) Anyway, here is one to snow the trajectory:
Image
and a neat one:
Image
Hope it helps :)

I can actually make a video in case someone would be interested, hehe. I'm sure there should be some already, though.
1 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Sat Aug 08, 2015 12:12 am

Danke! They actually helped quite a lot, as earlier I was completing more of the "Fit fürs Goethe Zertificate" and after remembering your examples, found that I could write them much quicker, and more accurately than before. I'd be too embarrassed to show them anytime soon, however.

*Update
After reading through some of the experiences others have had with Assimil, I finally decided to give mine another shot. The first probably shouldn't count anyway as I had no idea how to use it and ended up using it exactly as it shouldn't be used. Go me. Now that I have a better understanding of how to use it since reading through the Wikia page, I'm hoping to really give it a good go and hopefully finish it.
Seeing as I'd been researching Assimil so much, I had a quick look at which courses were available now as I had seen a few mentions of more being available since buying mine. Nothing as yet which would be of interest to me. However I did pick up a copy of Le suédois (without audio. boo :()for the grand sum of 68 pence. Okay, so with postage it was more like £3.18 but despite not knowing any French and probably not using it for a while, it seemed silly not to snap it up. Plus, French is one of the languages I might have to take at uni, so who knows, perhaps I'll be able to use it sooner than anticipated.

I'm scheduling things a little better now at least, so all going well I think I'll be on track for really getting back to a proper routine. Sormet ristissa! Daumen drücken!
0 x

User avatar
WalkingAlone13
Orange Belt
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:03 pm
Languages: English (N) German (B2) Finnish (beginner) Swedish (beginner) Polish (beginner)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... f=15&t=742
x 340

Re: Das Faultier der Deutschen Sprache

Postby WalkingAlone13 » Tue Aug 11, 2015 11:43 am

I've been making some nice progress with finally catching up on my reviewing sessions, which is great as I'd feel comfortable slowly adding some more words to learn. I've also been sticking to my textbook and have been able to read a lot more frequently than I ever had previously.

However, I am slightly apprehensive now. I got some more news back regarding my course and unless my hearing is totally shot, it said that we're expected to read 40 hours per week(outside of uni). That's almost six hours of reading per day. How is that possible? I'm hoping it was either a mistake or they have just estimated that by an incredibly slow paced reader.
If that IS the case, I'm definitely going to have try and get a reading routine sorted as I just don't read anywhere remotely close to that amount. So, after hearing this, it's likely that my German skills are going to take a hit as I'm going to have to focus all my attention on reading before my course commences. Still, perhaps my German reading will hit the ceiling in terms of ability.

Back to finish some reviews on Memrise for now and then I'll sort out my list of reading materials.
0 x


Return to “Language logs”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Kraut and 2 guests