Systematiker Does Everything Different: An Intermittent 2019 Log

[Systematiker]

Months later....


I’ve pretty much shelved everything that I wasn’t already decent at, with a couple exceptions. The Romance and Germanic languages are enjoyed, much less than before, but I’m reading or listening to podcasts, or music, in most of them. Oh and I’ve read some more of that novel in Galician from that odd experiment I never finished. Latin and Greek never get ignored long.

For a while I was doing a fair bit of Russian, mostly because tv with RU subtitles is at least to be followed now, but I haven’t done much in a few weeks.

Arabic, Korean, Ukrainian, and Hebrew have come to a screeching halt. It’s a time thing. Occasionally I’ll listen to a news clip in Hebrew or text but it requires a lot of mental effort. I’ll re-engage these shortly, though.

For that, though, Farsi hasn’t done bad at all. Short audio stuff, short dialogues, and chipping away at it has me following some of BBC Persian as a podcast, and I may aim for testing in it in a month or two.

The reality is, I’ve lately sometimes had 14-16 hour days for 15-18 days in a row so I’ve just not had the time to do much with languages. It will get better, but it might get worse first.

Totally not caught up reading the forum, either.

Anyway, I’m not gone, just, not as here as I’d hoped.

[Systematiker]

I’m on vacation for two weeks!

It’s been brutal since I last posted, so I have nothing to report on language progress at all. I think I was doing even less than before.

Currently in Europe, so some things are getting a workout. I’m re-evaluating my plan for study, we'll see what I think I can do in coming months.

[Systematiker]

Well I’m back in the US. Got to use German (and Swabian, but not really Bavarian), Spanish, French, Russian, and believe it or not, Arabic, while out and about.

I’ve also realized that I download 38 hours worth of new podcasts weekly - no wonder I don’t ever manage to listen to everything.

First, the less interesting part: for my Romance and Germanic languages, my plan is essentially to continue enjoying them. I don’t have any goals for improvement. I’m going to listen to my podcasts and watch the things I find interesting, and read according to my goals (which gets a bit lit canon, I’ll admit, eg I’m working through Machado de Assis’ obras, or some stuff by Strindberg). I’ll probably be taking a few tests this year, depending on how things go in the next few months, just to have an official benchmark (and because I can conveniently take DLPTs at no cost).

What I’ll be working on actively: Persian, Russian, Ukrainian, Korean, Hebrew, and maybe Arabic. I may dabble with some of the others that have interested me, or with things that catch my attention, but I won’t have capacity to actually be working on more than this.

For Persian, I figure I can do a podcast probably three times a week, and some short book work four times a week. I have the “Learn Persian in 100 Days” that I’ve mentioned before, and a French-based Assimil, so it’s not a big chunk in either case. Listening is by far my strongest skill here, I really need to work on reading.

For Russian, at present, I’m aiming to continue watching as at present, along with intensively working with a slow podcast twice a week, and intermittently reading the Bible (perhaps a novel that I have as well if I have the mental space to slog through it).

Ukrainian, mostly I’m planning on continuing the learning podcast I have, to the tune of a couple times a week, and looking what other options I may have.

For Korean, I’m planning an audio lesson a couple times a week, and do some L-R work as well.

Finally, for Hebrew, I’m tentatively planning on doing a lesson or two out of Ha Yesod weekly.

Added to all of the above is some app learning, as I can fit it into slower times throughout the day. Duolinguo, Clozemaster, Mango, and the CL-150 platform are all options, so I should be able to do something.

Well, that’s the plan anyway.

[MamaPata]

Interesting plans! Do you have a sense of which exams you might try to do?

[Systematiker]

Interesting plans! Do you have a sense of which exams you might try to do?

I’m probably going to try Farsi and Russian before the end of the year, depending on what things look like in the fall. I’ll probaly also look at taking French, Portuguese, and Swedish (if there’s even a DLPT for Swedish).

I don’t have to sign up way in advance, and I can take them during normal work hours, so it’s pretty easy for me to decide to take one. For some languages, it actually makes a difference in my pay, for others, well, every quarter or so there’s an opportunity to be recognized for both job accomplishments as well as self-improvement and community involvement, and passing a language test or two with at least B2 is a decent mark of “self improvement”. So I’ll probably take them when it’s advantageous, rather than just for a sense of curiosity about where I’d test.

[IronMike]

I’ll probaly also look at taking French, Portuguese, and Swedish (if there’s even a DLPT for Swedish).

If I recall properly, there is a Swedish DLPT, a II or III.

[Systematiker]

Largely I’m actually sticking to my plan. Largely in that I have been doing almost all the things I’ve planned, but with additions.

Where I’ve failed is Korean. All the rest has been as described. Of note is that I’ve seen another boost in receptive ability in Slavic languages. I understand a lot of what I hear - still can’t produce worth a doggone though, as my laughable exchange with a monolingual Ukrainian speaker (ok she probably spoke Russian too but anyway) last week proved to me.

However, with podcasts on continuous play, I caught an episode of NTR Kunststof (I keep it around but usually skip it because my relationship with Dutch is strange) that was an interview with Aafke Romeijn, and I was fascinated. This led me to more of her music, the realization that the bow wave effect has taken place, picking back up a novel I abandoned long ago (and finding it much easier than ever before), and, entirely logically, grabbing my copy of TY Afrikaans and starting the first couple lessons of that. Because what I really needed was another couple of Germanic languages grabbing my attention.

[Systematiker]

Well. Ever notice how my logs tend to be “plan! Modification of plan! Totally didn’t follow plan! New plan!”?

My Germanic rabbit trail has continued, involving a Dutch novel, and entire season of a Danish tv show (Herrens Veje, English on Netflix as Ride upon the Storm), and Afrikaans music. I lost three days last week for various reasons, and I’ve got to travel this week as well due to a death in the family. Also I now have to share my office space for the next few weeks, so my empty times are not as available.

And of the plan I did....Arabic. Instead of what I’d planned. So I’m aiming at getting at least the audio portions of my original plan back on track this week, plus apparently Arabic because I’ve not lost much and what I had seems to be readily available so why not, while the motivation is there. That, and to not binge an entire second season when I have other things to do...

[Systematiker]

One death in the family, one funeral, one death of a dear friend, and one notification that I’m moving across the county in two months...

Primarily working on Farsi, Arabic, and Russian from the plan. I will probably just put Ukrainian, Hebrew, and Korean back on hold for a few months.

Also decided to commit to Afrikaans, and, since I’ll be stupid close to Mexico, try to reach the next level in my Spanish (I know, I said I was good with where I am, but I can’t pass up the opportunity).

Sometimes the plan changing isn’t my fault!

[cjareck]

One death in the family, one funeral, one death of a dear friend

Sad to hear that. I will pray for them.

Well. Ever notice how my logs tend to be “plan! Modification of plan! Totally didn’t follow plan! New plan!”?

Also decided to commit to Afrikaans, and, since I’ll be stupid close to Mexico, try to reach the next level in my Spanish (I know, I said I was good with where I am, but I can’t pass up the opportunity).

It seems that your plan of changing plans is still working But I totally agree, that it would be a great waste not to use the unpredicted opportunity.