Bex Spanish log 2019: a definitive guide on the slowest way to learn Spanish ever!

[Bex]

Are you studying the conjugations in terms of their patterns?

Yes I've been learning all the patterns, I'm slowly getting there. I've been using an app, songs and tables etc to memorize the patterns and categories.

I practiced on my own, by writing, which was its own form of drilling.

I'm thinking this may be a good way for me to get extra practice alongside FSI because I could deliberately try to use whatever I'm finding tricky on FSI and then maybe get me writing corrected on italki or with a tutor. Hopefully as you say this will make them stick.

I don't think that helped much, but I was just trying to boost your morale. Hopefully it worked.

Morale boosted and a great help...thanks eido

[Bex]

Are you studying the conjugations in terms of their patterns?

Well eido if you go and give people ideas...

...I made myself a cheat sheet of the irregular verb patterns

20190613_142030_resize_21.jpg

[Bex]

Placing this here to look at later...

Lots of 90's cartoon series (full seasons) in Spanish, no subtitles.

https://mixtoon.com/

[Bex]

General update/ Friday ramblings....

FSI: I'm still finding it useful, mostly just for showing my weaknesses. I'm not sure I've actually learnt anything new on the grammar front but I have learnt some fairly useless military vocabulary  . I'll just keep going as Brun Ugle suggested, although I may start to note down the grammar I find less automatic and come back to it at some point for revision.

Past tenses: I only have a few pages of my Past tenses workbook left, I've been focusing on  getting the tense usage correct with the book but it did shown me how bad my conjugation skills are in the pretérito. So I'll probably go back and run through the exercises again when I've finished the book. The second time will be mainly to practice the conjugations. Hopefully I'll see an improvement after the month or so I've spent trying to learn them properly.

Reading: Still not really enjoying but I'm definitely improving in terms of being able to read more quickly/fluidly. I've decided to read the Diario de Greg books. First pass extensively (no lookups allowed). Second intensively. Then onto the next book. I'll see how it goes, I'm about half way through the first book and it seems pretty easy compared with HP so the intensive pass shouldn't be too bad.

Listening/watching:  I never have any problems finding content on YouTube or podcasts.

Writing:  I'm thinking I might start this up again, since  eido suggested it as a way to practice and consolidate what I'm learning. I just need to plan how... I might just start translating a few times a week and see how it goes.

Speaking:  I'd like to do more (actually any would do) but with all the above I'm running out of time each day. I may try and fit in some Glossika GSR just to keep a little practice in there somewhere. I also have an audio course where they ask questions and you have to reply. Both of these I suppose would be better than nothing but again there's a time issue.

I may have to start actually planning out my time more carefully or drop a couple of things until I've finished the SC at least.

Sorry for the long post, sometimes I just have to write it all down to make sense of what I need to do going forward.

[Bex]

I've been really studying the Preterite conjugations since I started on the past tenses on FSI and I created a sheet to test myself on 168 past tense verb conjugations (mainly common Preterite) to see if my studying was having any effect.

2 weeks ago: I didn't really know any of them very well.
1 week ago: I got 40 incorrect.
Today: I got 11 incorrect.
Once I am under 6, I will create another test sheet with examples of all types of irregular past tense verbs and start the process again.

Once I'm below 6 incorrect on the second test of irregular verbs, I will make a second pass through the exercises in my Past Tenses workbook

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FSI unit 20...direct & indirect object pronouns used together

This has always been a weak spot of mine. I tried to go through the unit and it was awful. It really confused me that they use Les instead of Os and always use Le where I would use Te.

I think this lesson in particular shows it's age and the differences between LA & Spanish from Spain.

Yesterday I read through the lesson and wrote out the dialogue and many of the drills.
Today I created another cheat sheet for the D/O & I/O pronouns and an Anki deck with 78 sentences from Tatoeba to learn how to apply the pronouns.

Once I've read through the lesson in the FSI book a few more times, done a few of the drills from the book and gone through my Anki deck for a week, I will attempt lesson 20 again.

[StringerBell]

FSI unit 20...direct & indirect object pronouns used together

This has always been a weak spot of mine. I tried to go through the unit and it was awful.

I'm currently having the same exact experience in Italian...the direct/indirect pronouns are really making me hate the language and I've considered throwing the book across the room to vent some frustration. I decided to just stop attempting the exercises and move on to the next chapter. Who needs pronouns, anyway?

[Brun Ugle]

Remember that FSI courses are made for diplomats, so they tend toward formal usage. I actually felt that that was very useful for me. In most of my real life conversations, I end up using informal forms because that’s the norm in language exchanges. So, I find it useful to get some practice in more formal language.

[iguanamon]

...This has always been a weak spot of mine. I tried to go through the unit and it was awful. It really confused me that they use Les instead of Os and always use Le where I would use Te.
I think this lesson in particular shows it's age and the differences between LA & Spanish from Spain.

It's just formal Spanish. There are situations where you will use "le" and "les" in Spain, in formal situations in speech, writing and reading. "Os" is primarily used in Iberian Spanish, with "vosotros", and you're right... on this side of the Atlantic "vosotros" is not used much. "Les" is also used as an object for "them" in Iberian Spanish but it serves double duty in Latin America where it is used as the object for "Ustedes" as well. Context serves to help figure out which one is which.

While you may not use formal Spanish often, there is indeed a time and a place for it. I wouldn't use "tuteo" forms in a government office where I needed something they could provide me, or with a police officer, my kids' school headmaster (principal- US), or in a formal letter to the bank or a government official for example.

You may not be in a situation where you will have to use formal Spanish, but living in Spain, such situations will inevitably arise. The ability to use the appropriate grammar forms will be appreciated and may serve to get you what you want or need more readily.

It's a pleasure following your progress, Bex. Your work with FSI is really helping to advance your Spanish!

[Bex]

I'm currently having the same exact experience in Italian...the direct/indirect pronouns are really making me hate the language and I've considered throwing the book across the room to vent some frustration. I decided to just stop attempting the exercises and move on to the next chapter. Who needs pronouns, anyway?

Totally agree.... horrible things!

Really bothers me that I can understand and produce them in written form pretty well but I can't use them when speaking at all

I am going to knuckle down and do as much as I can with them for 1 week and then I will be doing the same as you and moving on to the next lesson. There's only so much pain I can take.

[Brun Ugle]

I'm currently having the same exact experience in Italian...the direct/indirect pronouns are really making me hate the language and I've considered throwing the book across the room to vent some frustration. I decided to just stop attempting the exercises and move on to the next chapter. Who needs pronouns, anyway?

Totally agree.... horrible things!

Really bothers me that I can understand and produce them in written form pretty well but I can't use them when speaking at all

I am going to knuckle down and do as much as I can with them for 1 week and then I will be doing the same as you and moving on to the next lesson. There's only so much pain I can take.

That’s what I usually do with a hard chapter too. I generally make two passes through every chapter and I might do a third if it’s hard, but then I move on. Usually the problem clears itself up better if I just move on than if I keep trying to force my brain to learn everything before I go on. I make a note of hard bits so I can go back after I’ve done a few more chapters and usually then when I review them, everything clicks into place.