Chove's Log

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Thu Nov 19, 2020 6:57 pm

I haven't really been that inspired by the German course lately, and I've felt like I'm not allowed to do anything else if I don't do that. I remembered that I started this degree to learn a language rather than to get good marks in a degree that I probably won't be able to use for anything much, so I'm relaxing the "rules" and letting myself just do whatever in German, because that'll improve my language skills alongside the course. My history degree taught me only one thing and that's how to research an essay topic at short notice, so I can use that skill when it comes to the German assignments. I'll do the coursework, but I'll let myself do other things as well. More interesting things.
6 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Sat Nov 21, 2020 12:51 pm

I could do with a Polish reader/book that's suitable for someone at about an A2 level, but the ones I've looked at on Amazon are of the 'translated into every language we could think of' variety and not much use to me.
2 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Mon Nov 23, 2020 12:45 pm

Curious/bored I bought The Little Prince on Kindle for 99p and I can actually understand quite a lot of it. Wow. Probably just because I know English and Spanish, rather than because I've learned that much French itself. Since I'm only really wanting reading knowledge of French I might switch to just reading it and seeing how much I can learn that way. I'll probably write down the words that won't stick and put them into Anki. Just it feels really weird to be able to read so much in a language I don't know.

I do like learning-by-reading generally, it feels less like work than a textbook. It's what I mostly do for Spanish these days, and I do a bit with German as well.

Might let myself dabble a bit in the coming weeks, it keeps things interesting.
2 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:52 pm

Found and bought a digital copy of a Polish reader! It's "First Polish Reader: Volume 2" vby Wiktor Kopernikus, from a site called Audiolego and there are audio files with it. It's aimed at A2 learners, which I *think* is about my level and I recognise a lot of the words on the first page. And it has a picture of rats in it! (I have two pet rats :D ) I think intensive is the way to go and to try and learn the words I don't know yet. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

I'm going to keep on with The Little Prince in French, where I know enough that I can follow along with the help of the Kindle dictionary. It's quite an enjoyable story so far, I've never read it before.

My first German assignment came back and I got 86/100 but alas this doesn't count towards my final grade, it was just the "formative" one to get feedback on where we are so far. The tutor thinks I am quite good at German, which was reassuring! I believe we're supposed to be at about a B1 level currently. I'm mostly skimming the actual coursework at the moment and trying to spend more time reading. I have a few magazines that I got in Germany last year, so those should last a while given how slowly I read.

Listening to Spanish podcasts while lying awake for ages failing to sleep. Spanish is so fast!
5 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Thu Dec 17, 2020 8:19 am

Not done much the past few weeks for health reasons, but I managed to finish "Fünf Freunde auf neuen Abenteuern" which means I have now read an entire book in German! I didn't understand anything like all of the words, but I was able to follow the plot and decide which characters I did and didn't like. Hopefully this is the first of many, not sure what I'll read next in German.
8 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Tue Dec 22, 2020 10:32 pm

Today went well, I managed to do a bit with all four languages. I did about an hour of German, which consisted of some coursework and some reading (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). I have an assignment due at the start of January so I'm trying to cut that task into smaller bits to avoid getting overwhelmed. I read for about half an hour in Spanish, which was the second Harry Potter book. I'm enjoying it more than the first book. I did some French which was mostly reading but also some vocabulary work, and I worked with Teach Yourself Beginners' Polish for another half hour.

I don't usually manage to get that much done, but it feels good to have managed it today.
3 x

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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:46 am

German: Continuing with my Open University course, I got a good mark for the most recent assignment and have another one due in about three weeks. Aside from coursework I'm trying to read 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' though I haven't got very far. Mostly not using a dictionary, aside from the occasional word that repeats a lot that I can't work out.

Spanish: I do really badly on online placement tests, Lingoda has me at A2 which is at least an improvement on the A0 Kwiziq gave me. I think this is because my grammar is pretty terrible, you could say that I speak Spanish but with low accuracy. I don't think just reading is going to fix that, so I'm going to try a bit of bidirectional translation with a book of beginner's short stories, and I should also use that big Spanish grammar exercise book I got however long ago. How I passed a university course in this language I will never know.

French: Still working through the basics. I have enough now that I can read a simple text if there are enough English and/or Spanish cognates, but that's nowhere near the "reading fluency" I'd like to have some day. Using DuoLingo but I don't really enjoy it and it's quite slow even if it gives a lot of useful repetition. One thing is I keep forgetting "de/des/etc" when there's no article in the English translation.

Polish: Kind of back to the start with Teach Yourself Beginner's Polish, so that I can go over what I do know and pick up things I don't know. I started this language a number of years ago but due to inconsistency and laziness haven't got very far. One thing that annoys me is that I find it easier to read in French than in Polish, and I don't even speak French. Oh, the value of cognates.

Overall I am not very good at any of these languages but I like trying to learn them so I won't give up yet.
6 x

User avatar
chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
x 920

Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:21 am

For health reasons I've done almost nothing for a few weeks now. Anyone got any tips/advice to how to restart learning after a short break? I seem to be scared to start again in case I've forgotten everything.
1 x

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tungemål
Blue Belt
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Joined: Sat Apr 06, 2019 3:56 pm
Location: Norway
Languages: Norwegian (N)
English, German, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, Polish
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=17672
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Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby tungemål » Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:04 am

You haven't forgotten everything. Besides, a few weeks is not much time. But you could review a couple of lessons that you've done before?
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chove
Green Belt
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:42 pm
Location: Scotland
Languages: English (N), Spanish (intermediate), German (intermediate), Polish (some).
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9355
x 920

Re: Chove's Log (Spanish, German, Polish, French)

Postby chove » Mon Feb 15, 2021 1:49 am

Had a change of medication, which has helped a bit so I am trying to get back to languages. I tried the DuoLingo French stories, so far they seem more enjoyable than the typing sentences game. I go back and forth on Duolingo, but mostly I find it too boring after a while and end up not doing it. If it's too easy it becomes a fight against typos, and if it's too hard that's annoying as well because a lot of the time you're guessing at what you did wrong.
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