Eceec's Language Log

[Eceec]

So this language log is going to document my ongoing adventures in studying Brazilian Portuguese.

I’m part of the 2018 Output Challenge, because currently speaking is my weakest skill and I agree that it is helpful to make output to discover errors and gaps in knowledge. I recorded myself speaking for the first time on Feb 12th and I found a lot of words that I would like to know. I also created a personal Super Challenge, which started on Feb 12th as well. This goal is similar to goals I made in the past. To make it easier, I am counting the reading in the Super Challenge by number of pages. I started with news articles, but it was too difficult to determine the number of pages one article would be so I switched to a book.

I am a big fan of small daily amounts of work and have been using Beeminder to keep myself on track for 2 years now. You can make a goal, like “Record 150 hours of myself speaking brpt by December 31st” and then it can generate how much you need to do per day, per week or however you want the goal set. Then you just have to report how much you are doing. It tells you when your next amount is “due” for example, I have a Duolingo goal and in 2 days 20 hours and 30 minutes it needs to see that I’ve added +10 xp to my total xp in Duolingo (this one is retrieved automatically by the website) or else I will be charged $5 on my credit card. Anyways, there is a video on the main site if you want to know more.

The point is I will probably be removing the bars from my signature and leave a link here to my Beeminder if you want to check or confirm how I am doing in the Output Challenge.

This is for recording 50 hours of audio (which I has converted into minutes):


This is for writing 50,000 words:

I’ve taken a few online tests which put me at a B1. I also looked at the CERF scale and in my opinion I am probably a “low” B1 in everything but speaking, where I am probably an A2.

[Elenia]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your journey!

[iguanamon]

Bem-vindo/a ao fórum, Eceec! Good to see someone here learning Portuguese. Boa sorte!

[Eceec]

Welcome to the forum, and good luck with your journey!

Thank you! I hope you continue to have much success in yours!

Bem-vindo/a ao fórum, Eceec! Good to see someone here learning Portuguese. Boa sorte!

Obrigado viu! tô muito feliz aprender!

So, I have been quite slow to post here, I have not been completely consistent in my daily activities but most of the goals are starting to ramp up and become daily things, so I do not have a choice.

I have noticed that it has become much easier to talk in Portuguese then when I first started just a week ago. Additionally I have started reading Ender's Game (Jogo do Exterminador) in Portuguese and the first two? sessions were extremely painful, but the third and fourth were much better. I had forgotten to time myself, from now on I will track how long it takes me to read the required amount. I think I missed the largest time drop already, but it will be interesting to see how I progress. I listened to my first native content for my personal super challenge today.

Here is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqP2BbovHdQ . This seems to be a new video series shes is doing "Pensamentos da Bela" because I only found two on her channel, but I think they are very good. It is limited to one topic, the production value is high, and she speaks very clearly. Additionally the description contains a lot of information about what will be in the video and therefore helps add context before I watch it. I don't agree with some of her viewpoints (she is rumoured to have eaten her placenta) but there are some things we are both interested in so it makes for good viewing.

Overall, it's been an interesting few days. I am on vacation this week and have been slacking hard. I hope to use the rest of the week to get ahead and install some very strong safety buffers (I.E listen, read, and write 'more' so if there are days I simply do not have time to do the work, I do not have to stress).

EDIT
I am trying to look for videos based on whether I think I will understand a majority of the content. I just watched another video from Bela, this one is almost a year old about taking a sugar free challenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EiThmRqfzo . This throws nicely back to an article I read in portuguese some time ago about accusations that the sugar industry has been manipulating science research much like cigarette companies did. https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2017/1 ... 30869.html . So, it went well and I feel as long as I take a more thoughtful approach to what videos I watch, I could easily switch to "Brazilian youtube" "full time".

I share in hopes that other people learning portuguese could find something that interests them, but going back to that sugar article has benefited me. El País has a "Pode te interessar" section on the side of articles, this could be a very useful tool to read many articles on a certain topic! I study political science, and right now I am quite keen on learning all the political terms, concepts etc in Portuguese because it is something I really enjoy listening too and talking about. I should probably make that a priority!

[Eceec]

By far the hardest part of my challenges is the reading, it is the hardest to do. I was a little tired of reading jogo do exterminador because it was a slog to look up so many words, so I read some articles, and retried reading Star Wars: Uma Nova Esperança. I have the physical comic book, and this is the first thing I am able to read that is physical, and without the help of a dictionary. I am just trying to guess words I do not know and move on.

I partly stopped reading jogo do exterminador because I was a bit tired of it, but also because of the "Free and Legal" challenge. While I would like to join with a new language, I know it would take a lot of effort and might eat into my portuguese time. So instead I decided to legalize my portuguese learning. I have more then enough legal material anyways! When my portuguese is at a higher level (C1?) I will look into starting another language with the FLC.

Stat updates: I started my challenges on Feb 12th 2018, today is Feb 23rd 2018

Output Challenge
Writing: 2986 words / 50,000 words (I did count entries I made starting from January)
Record Audio: 113.4 minutes / 3000 minutes (This isn't a perfect count, but I am a bit too lazy to go through 40 minutes of audio to cut out the very short silences, I am so much more productive now in speaking then I was on Feb 12th, I am very happy with my progress) (I can always do an extra 10 hours or something in the end to ensure it's legit).

Unofficial Super Challenge
Reading: 50/5000 pages read
Consuming: 35.35 / 9000 minutes of native audio/video

I am ahead of the required pace in both aspects of the output challenge, but in my own super challenge I am significantly behind pace because I did not do much during the buffer period. Before my university classes resume again, I would at least like to have a 3 day buffer on all my challenge goals. Let's see how much damage I can do tomorrow!

[Eceec]

Another Day, another daily dose of Portuguese. Went well today, and I actually finished "early" in the night. The comic is much more enjoyable then Jogo do Exterminador. I am quite glad I started reading it instead. At first I wondered if I was violating the spirit of the challenge, but then I remembered it doesn't matter because I made this challenge up lol.

I watched my longest native video yet today, it was a 24ish minute interview on "The Noite" of a youtuber from Holland who has become very popular with Brazilians. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRKeYxOvEHk . The hardest part is when the portuguese translation is spoken over the english that is already being said. Eventually I got use to it and was able to focus on the portuguese. Honestly I don't think I would watch this show if I got it on TV. They had a skit in the middle of the interview that I skipped because it wasn't funny at all. The host made a few jokes that were kind of funny but overall it was kind of awkward.