Re: rfnsoares' log PT, EN, FR, ES, IT, RO, RU, PL, GR, DE and much more
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:29 pm
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.
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.