Anno nuovo, log nuovo (2019)

[Tristano]

Reading the post about learning a language only through speaking has deleterious effects on me.
So I decided to slow down my already slow study of Greek and try to learn to speak a language through mainly speaking... or better, repeating what the natives say. And reading random articles. And test myself at the end. (Though don't hold your breath, the probability I finish a project are extremely low. You should know it by now)

In order to succeed I need a language that is transparent enough for me, so something related to a language I already speak and or that I already studied it and can partially understand but not speak yet.

Romanian, German, afrikaans and Portuguese are perfect options for me.
But I don't plan to go to south Africa any time soon. Actually I'm going to Germany very soon which makes the choice easy (= everything except German, it would actually be useful so bad idea). Today I had fun with Romanian, but seriously speaking, I should fill my head with German before going to Germany. And I don't need to use italki to test myself
I just hope my brain stops decorating "eu scriu o scrisoare" (not sure about the spelling, let alone the grammar).

I drive a lot for work. 50languages will be the tool. And lot of repetition. Only two weeks of time for 100 lessons.

[StringerBell]

Have you already considered Pimsleur as a way to learn through only speaking? Since you have a lot of time in the car, it seems ideal. Maybe your local library system has it?

I just hope my brain stops decorating "eu scriu o scrisoare"

BTW, I'm very curious about what this means!

[Tristano]

Declaring. Nor decorating. Lol
It means "I write a letter".
I can't use Pimsleur because it is too slow and also because I already used it for German (same with Michel Thomas). Plus it is too less material.

[Tristano]

Did today lessons 1 to 30 of 50 languages German (also known as book 2).

Tomorrow I'll do 15 to 45, Monday 30 to 60 etc.

German is easy for me in this moment, with some previous study and knowledge of Dutch. That's how I process so much so fast. I still have to do lot of repetition, and I'll lose it as fast as I progressed if I won't keep practising. Reading extensively for an extended period of time would have a much more long lasting and deep effect.

If I succeed with this experiment I can adapt it to different languages. My Romanian, Hebrew, Bulgarian and Greek are suffering. With Spanish and French it would be a good refresh. Maybe using Dutch instead of Italian as a base. All if I can handle the boredom - it is dry.

[Tristano]

Until now it is a walk in the park. Except that sometimes I give the right answer but my tongue starts bleeding because of the many schwscjwschwig, a problem that sometimes I still have with Dutch (pronouncing something like "hoofdweg" is still very difficult for me). The method does a very good job into simultaneously teaching the structure of the language and introducing formal situations and business transactions that are very useful food tourists travelling to the country. The downside is: it's BORING. and in the 50+ languages they don't have Icelandic grrrrrr

[Tristano]

Almost at the end. I did 85 lessons and this afternoon I will do the remaining 15.
The experience has been a bit painful but it gave me a lot of confidence to start speaking with a native. It really helped me activating the language. As for my current level, I guess something around A2. I guess after the vacation I'll study something different and I will tackle it with renewed enthousiasm in one year, doing something else (Assimil?) aspiring to a weak B1.

But overall I'm very happy about the results.

Then I will decide what to study next after my vacations in Germany, again using the same course (50 Languages / Book 2).
- Romanian? I can already read it and understand decently the spoken language with easy materials
- Portuguese? Never studied but I can understand a lot of it especially in written form
- Spanish? I can already speak it but I don't do it since years. I definitely need a refresh
- French? Same as Spanish
- Hebrew? Already studied it but completely forgot it. Much more challenging than the ones above.
- Greek? Similar to Hebrew, maybe a bit easier.
- Bulgarian? Same as Greek.
- Something else? Because after all, why not?

[Tristano]

Had a conversation in German with a colleague that also speaks 6 languages like me.
She was shocked to hear that I reached that level in 2 weeks (2 working weeks, that means 8 days actually)
(that level means: not fluent, but fluent enough to be understood, not kilingl someone for the boredom and able to talk about different topics - which is A2ish I guess)

Speaking already Dutch at c1ish level certainly helps, but good boost to my ego nonetheless!

[Tristano]

Three days in my German vacations. I thought here everybody knows English and they would not let me speak German and switched immediately to English. Nothing more wrong than that.
Apparently the second language of choice of most people here is, I kid you not, Dutch. Problem is, I find their Dutch barely understandable. And they mostly do not speak English. They even answer back in German. Which is brilliant, because it forces me to speak German. Admittedly, my spoken German isn't great, but enough to obtain what I need and ask for information. I understand a good deal if I know the context, but I am in difficulty if I don't know the context or don't expect an interaction. It took me long to reach that level in Dutch and English though, so I'm pretty pleased about how far I went with only 6 days of speaking practice. Getting better would take me much longer from now on.

[Tristano]

Ouch. Missing completely German vocabulary related to shopping for clothes is not very practical. I should have prepared this situation in advance.
Which I'll do very soon. My girlfriend is in shopping mode...

[Tristano]

I come back from Belgium where I participated to a European conference about software. This year I decided not only to watch talks, but also to walk to each and every stand and have a chat with the people. So: European conference and Belgium. A language paradise. I have success as well as failure stories Here a few anecdotes:

- at a parking place, a Belgian guy asked me in Dutch how he could pay for the parking. I started explain me and after a while he told me we could speak in English or in French. I proposed him German. We spoke German (my Dutch is much better than my German, but I won't speak English with you!)

- in the conference, I had quite a long chat in English with a guy, when I noticed from his name he was Dutch. I switched to Dutch and we kept talking in Dutch. He was pleasantly surprised.

- I walk to another stand, I approach a guy in English, he tells me: hey don't worry we can speak Dutch! I was amazed and very surprised. I ask him, in Dutch, what does make you think I can speak Dutch? He tells me: you sound very Dutch! He was also very impressed by my Dutch. The guy of the parking place seemed to think differently though

- I walk to another stand, a French guy with a very French accent explains me in English about their product. At the end I said a couple of sentences in French. I ended up saying: merci pour ta éxplication. He was pleased, I left ashamed for my grammar mistake.
- after having a nice chat with a team, they tell me: this guy is a speaker, come to see his talk later. I will, I say, I count on it says the other. I do it, and at the end of his talk I reach him to congratulate him. I see him speaking in Dutch with another attendant (he's Belgian), I also approach him in Dutch. The guy "wtf??? Also Dutch?!"

- at the restaurant's hotel a waitress approaches me in English. Fantastic, another person that assumes I can't speak Dutch I think. I order the drink, when she comes back to take the order I do so in Dutch. She did a terrified face and she says: I'm sorry I don't speak Dutch! Oh sorry I thought you were speaking in English to help me I say. Where are you from? ITALY she says. Lol with all the countries! Perfetto, allora parliamo in italiano I say. The relief on her face!

So yes, I'm not a great polyglot, I don't really have a usage for most of the languages I know or I would like to know, but in such occasions it's damn fun!