I got a big dose of motivation and transcribed a little more than 1/3 of episode 4 of Lucifer today. The hard part is getting started, but once I do I tend to get in a flow and I am capable of doing it for up to 1-2 hours. I now think that two weeks per episode might not be necessary. So my new goal is to crank out 1 transcription per week. Let's see if I can up my game!
I've been thinking about what I'd like to focus on next year. I need to do more reading, which for me is going to be some kind of combination of R-L and intensive reading to beef up my vocabulary. I can not stand reading where I'm trying to guess multiple words on a page from context because then the whole scene feels like it's covered in gauze and I don't trust that I actually understand what's going on. When I get to a point where there is ~1 unknown word per page, then I'll switch to extensive reading. I'm not ready for that yet.
I think if I alternate between R-L and intensive reading it might not be too awful. I'm thinking of doing it like this:
If I have an audiobook:1st Pass: Listen to Italian audiobook, read English text
2nd Pass: Listen to Italian audiobook, read Italian text
3rd Pass: Read the Italian text intensively, looking up all unknowns
If I don't have a corresponding audiobook, I'll do:1st Pass: Read a chapter in English, then the same chapter in Italian
2nd chapter: Read the Italian text intensively, looking up all unknowns.
Additionally, I'd like to focus on writing more. Reading intensively and writing are both pretty labor-intensive, so I'll have to figure out how to not burn myself out.
rdearman wrote:There is already a writing challenge. The Output Challenge is to write 50k words in 1 year in the target language.
Rather than strive for a certain number of words written, I'd like to focus more on getting into a habit of doing certain kinds of writing activities. So rather than counting words, I would have checklist for each type of thing I'd like to do every day.
I had in mind something like this:
SHORT ACTIVITIES TO DO EVERY DAY (in Italian):
1) Write 1 paragraph based on a prompt (get corrections)
2) Write ~one page journal entry recounting my day (get corrections)
3) Write at least one text message.
4) Do scriptorium with sentences that I got corrected from my journal entries or Lucifer transcripts I made.
LONGER, MORE COMPLEX ACTIVITIES TO WORK ON: Choose one option from the list below. Do at least 1 per week:
-Write a summary of something I watched, listened to, or read.
-Write a review of a book, movie, hotel, restaurant, etc…
-Write a letter of complaint to a company.
-Choose 5-10 new words from my Anki deck and write a silly story with them.
-Devil’s Advocate: Choose something that I have a strong belief about, then write about it from the opposite point of view.
-Write a story using as many idioms and clichés as possible.
-Write my autobiography starting in the past, continuing into the present, and ending with the future.
-Write a How-To article. Think of something I do everyday (like making coffee) and write a step-by-step article explaining how to do this thing in a very clear and concise way.
-Choose a random picture and write a description of it, using as many adjectives and sensory descriptions as possible.