rfnsoares' log PT, EN, FR, ES, IT, RO, RU, PL, GR, DE and much more

[rfnsoares]

After a few silent months, it's time to resume my log. I'll be trying to write more in English in the months to come. I need it...

DE: I don't even remember the last time I studied German. Probably it was more than 5 years ago, but this time I believe that I can achieve my goals, which are reading and listening, enjoying the language at an intermediate level, at least. Well, I've been studying German for almost 90 days now. I did the first 40 lessons of course "Curso de Idiomas Globo" (it's an old course, very popular here in Brazil in the 80's and 90's), then I started Assimil "German with Easy". Today I finished the 43rd Assimil lesson. So I'll be finishing the passive wave by the end of the week. I'm quite enjoying German now. My plan is to finish Assimil and I'm seriouly thinking of getting the Assimil Perfectionnement Allemand. If everything goes according to the plan I intend to start reading intensively next year. Also in parallel with Assimil I've been working on the list of 500 verbs and Memrise 5000 words. Everyday before starting an Assimil lesson I randomly select 15 words (or verbs) from one of these two lists and go over them, trying to memorize them. I alternate between these two lists. I think it's a way to learn and add more words... The number of new words provided by an Assimil lesson is just too small...

RU: My russsian studies are going very well. I've read 18 books so far and I'm about 65% way through Anna Karenina. I must confess that I need a break or I'll burn out. I've been intensively reading in Russian since February 2018. My reading skills have improved greatly. I can read almost fluently, but slowly (maybe 3 times slower than I read in my native language). I've decided that I won't stop reading the book, but I'll reduce the amount of reading, for sure.

EN: For the first time in years, maybe in 3 years, I had a language exchange today! It's a Russian woman who speaks English with a British accent. She contacted me on Italki last week and fortunately we could make possible a session for today morning. It was great! It seems we're at the same level and struggling with the same issues. She proposed me that we could be working on our vocabulary in order to "activate" it. So every week each of us would bring a list of 10 words that we had come across during the week, then one would explain the meaning of the word to the other and together we would create sample sentences from them. It doesn't need to be single words. It could be idioms, etc. She thought that it would be a good idea to make them useful and part of our everyday life, using them actively instead of just chatting. We tried the "method" with one word as an example. I brought the word/expression "teeming with" that I came across yesterday reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and she taught me the adjective "slap-up" with the example slap-up breakfast and explained me its meaning. I hope that we continue with the sessions, it might work.

ES, FR, IT: I've been reading newspaper articles in these languages, especially in French.

[rfnsoares]

DE: Today I completed the passive wave of the German Assimil course. So I’d like to talk a little bit about my first impressions of it. In general the course is good and I’m really enjoying it. I like the dialogues, they are fun and interesting. So they completely get my attention. My main concern is that the vocabulary presented in the course is not rich, at least in the first 49 lessons. That’s why I’m also using some lists of words. There are only 3-4 unknown (new) words every lesson. As for the grammar, the course, so far, only introduced the Present tense (Präsens) and the Present Perfect (Perfekt). The Future tense is expressed using the Present tense. Besides I think they overuse the Modal Verbs, for they are in every single lesson. The adjective and pronouns declensions were covered as well as the word order in subordinate clauses and in the presence of the conjunction “that”. I had a look at the next lessons and I found them about 20% larger than the previous ones.

RU: Я хотел бы немного рассказать о своем опыте и трудностях в изучении русского языка. Русский язык был первым самым сложным языком, который я до сих пор изучал. Кириллица не так уж сложна. Это можно узнать за несколько часов. Грамматика и словарный запас очень сложны. Это начальные трудности. На данный момент я пытаюсь понять, как использовать префиксы (приставки). Это мне еще очень сложно. Когда я читаю книгу, я обращаю пристальное внимание на эти подробности. Это необходимо для говорения и понимания русского языка. В некоторых глаголах это легко понять (например, в глаголах движения), однако в других разница очень неуловимая и очень зависимая от контекста. То есть мне еще нужно много читать и читать... Несмотря на эти трудности, я уже умею читать очень хорошо и свободно, но мой словарный запас еще не очень хорошо развит, потому что иногда забываю значение некоторых повторяющихся слов. Одним словом: терпение ... Наконец, хотел бы я сказать, что написание чрезвычайно сложно и требует много времени, поэтому я буду писать только время от времени. В следующий раз я планирую написать о том, почему я начал изучать русский язык.

PS.: It took me more than one hour to write these words in Russian

[Radioclare]

PS.: I took me more than one hour to write these words in Russian

I spent 45 minutes trying to write 150 words in Russian this week, so I know how you feel

[rfnsoares]

PS.: I took me more than one hour to write these words in Russian

I spent 45 minutes trying to write 150 words in Russian this week, so I know how you feel

Writing is so time consuming, especially if your target language is written in a different alphabet. I use the mouse to type (click) on the virtual keyboard

[Teango]

PS.: I took me more than one hour to write these words in Russian

I spent 45 minutes trying to write 150 words in Russian this week, so I know how you feel

Writing is so time consuming, especially if your target language is written in a different alphabet. I use the mouse to type (click) on the virtual keyboard

If you're experiencing difficulties typing in Russian, here are some suggestions to help you out:

1. Do you have a Russian - Phonetic keyboard option or something similar in your language settings? This could well be the droid you're looking for...

2. If not, you could alternatively download a customizable keyboard app and create your own "Russian - Phonetic" keyboard.

3. Or if you don't mind correcting a few bizarre typos, you can always use automatic speech recognition and switch your input language temporarily to Russian. This is what I do on my phone. And although it can be infuriating to be occasionally treated like Inspector Clouseau (or your target language's equivalent bumbling detective) by the software, you get to score some pronunciation practice into the bargain - bonus!

4. Finally, there are free online keyboards available out there that can help you get the job done, e.g., WinRus.

Keep up the good work, rfnsoares, it sounds like you've made great progress since 2018! Очень круто!!

[aaleks]

I agree with Teango, rfnsoares, you have made great progress!

[cjareck]

I don't think that installing a phonetic keyboard is a good solution. In my opinion, it is more reasonable to learn the "normal" Russian keyboard. In Google Translate, you may set the keyboard to Russian, and you see a preview of it, and you may use it for practice. I write without looking at the keys in Polish, German (there are only differences in Y, Z and diacritical marks), Hebrew without any problems. With Russian and Arabic, it goes slower, and I need a few words to warm myself up

[rfnsoares]

If you're experiencing difficulties typing in Russian, here are some suggestions to help you out:

1. Do you have a Russian - Phonetic keyboard option or something similar in your language settings? This could well be the droid you're looking for...

2. If not, you could alternatively download a customizable keyboard app and create your own "Russian - Phonetic" keyboard.

3. Or if you don't mind correcting a few bizarre typos, you can always use automatic speech recognition and switch your input language temporarily to Russian. This is what I do on my phone. And although it can be infuriating to be occasionally treated like Inspector Clouseau (or your target language's equivalent bumbling detective) by the software, you get to score some pronunciation practice into the bargain - bonus!

4. Finally, there are free online keyboards available out there that can help you get the job done, e.g., WinRus.

Keep up the good work, rfnsoares, it sounds like you've made great progress since 2018! Очень круто!!

Thank you, Teango, for the alternatives. I think I'll have to practice a lot if I want to type in Russian.

I agree with Teango, rfnsoares, you have made great progress!

Thank you! I have, but there is still room for improvement.

I don't think that installing a phonetic keyboard is a good solution. In my opinion, it is more reasonable to learn the "normal" Russian keyboard. In Google Translate, you may set the keyboard to Russian, and you see a preview of it, and you may use it for practice. I write without looking at the keys in Polish, German (there are only differences in Y, Z and diacritical marks), Hebrew without any problems. With Russian and Arabic, it goes slower, and I need a few words to warm myself up

I use the Windows10 virtual keyboard. Yes, indeed! It would be a good strategy practice typing on the regular keyboard but looking only at the virtual keyboard. It might work!