Aloyse's study log (ZH + some ARB, ARQ, KAB, EN, ES, JP)

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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
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Aloyse's study log (ZH + some ARB, ARQ, KAB, EN, ES, JP)

Postby Aloyse » Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:50 pm

Edit 15 November 2020:

Studying/maintaining Chinese/ZH (~B1 reading, ~A2 speaking) and Japanese/JP (~A1).
Using written English/EN daily (C1), but spoken English infrequently (self assessment: B1. Terrible pronunciation.)
Reviewing previous studies in Modern Standard Arabic/ARB (A1/A2).
Dabbling in Algerian Darja/ARQ and Taqbaylit/KAB (A0),
And perhaps reviewing some forgotten Spanish/ES (self assesment: A0 speaking, B1 reading).

Skip to this post to see a list of languages I have had an interest in


====
Original post

Currently I have a tentative Chinese routine:
- listen as much as possible, mainly to imandarinpod intermediate podcasts and radio programs. It can add up to several hours a day, but I don't really keep count.
- note down some new words while listening. I add them to pleco flashcards because it's an easy to create a list with definitions, and I almost always have my phone with me.
- devote 15' everyday to learning to write the words from my list, with pen and paper. Usually 2-3 new words per day + review of 10-15 previous words. I concentrate on remembering the simplified characters, but I also write the traditional characters a few times.

I'd like to add some reading, writing and speaking.
And I'd like to learn colloquial Chinese and technical Chinese and chengyus and business Chinese and get back to reading news articles.
And I'd like to work on listening to non-standard accents, and actual interaction in Chinese (which has been both motivating and discouraging in the second half of 2018 when I attended a course with a bunch of heritage learners who had all kinds of strange accents).
But I'm quite busy already... I'll see it I can add something to my routine in February.


Japanese: apart from 1.5h of class per week, I haven't been doing much studying. Basically I've been coasting on my previous knowledge of Chinese characters and hiragana. I should really set 10-15' aside everyday in order to learn the vocabulary and all the different readings of the Kanji and the many ways to count etc.
Last edited by Aloyse on Sat Aug 28, 2021 9:24 am, edited 8 times in total.
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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Sun Jan 20, 2019 8:43 pm

I like the imandarinpod podcasts because they're all in Chinese, the mp3 and the text or dialogue transcript are available on the website without registering (registration is needed for the full pdf learning guide only), the podcasts are varied and interesting (some are about traditional Chinese culture, about chengyus, about modern life in China including the use of phone apps etc)
I tried their Special Chinese podcasts, but the regular news items a little too advanced for my listening level, so I used to use them for reading+looking up the words in a dictionary+reading aloud+checking my pronunciation with the podcast (which I am not doing at the moment, I'm focusing on listening).
However they also have some intermediate level "Special Chinese" podcasts (marked as (特)) in which they read a single and relatively easy news item and comment/paraphrase/explain it. These are quite useful for me right now. And they have modern topics like 人工智能.

Some drawbacks of imandarinpod:
they only have female voices (I didn't think it would be a drawback, but the other day I was listening to a radio program with male voices and I felt that all the imandarinpod listening I had been doing didn't adequately prepare me for that)
and they have pretty standard accents (which is a blessing if you're doing shadowing, but again it doesn't prepare you to understand a random Chinese person with a local accent).
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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Thu Jan 31, 2019 2:03 pm

Taking a few minutes to update this log. I almost wrote "in a busy schedule" but my schedule hasn't actually been that busy. I'm just exhausted after several weeks of poor sleep.
I had two bad days of "whatever is the point of learning Chinese anyway". And on the third day I almost skipped my Japanese class, but in the end I did attend, and unexpectedly it put me in a good mood.

I've added 《大校的女儿》 to my Chinese listening list just because it has different/daily life vocabulary and I found it interesting.

Someday I'd like to take part in the output challenge but it doesn't seem realistic right now.
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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:13 am

I've been stuck at listening level 1+ forever (on the Mandarin oda test).
Actually the level 1+ items are rather easy for me now, but I still can't understand the gist of the level 2 items on the first (or second or third ...) attempt.
All this imandarinpod and radio program listening is fine and good for learning vocabulary, but apparently it doesn't do anything for my ability to understand fast spoken Chinese in less than ideal conditions :?
I need to think about tweaking my routine at some point. However I don't want to ditch imandarinpod intermediate as long as I am learning new vocabulary from it. And I don't think the "less than ideal" audio melds well into my extensive listening routine.

I guess I need to add some intensive listening somehow, separate from the extensive listening routine.


Edit: totally unrelated, I've been reading Skynet's logs. They inspired me to make all kinds of crazy study plans. Then I sobered up and resolved to listen to one Spanish podcast (length: 5') per week.
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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Thu Feb 07, 2019 8:36 pm

Reviewed lessons Marugoto A1 lessons 1-6 - audio only, while doing chores (need to review again with the book because I have forgotten some words :oops: )
Trying to settle back into my Chinese listening/vocabulary routine... already missed 5 days this month.

Feeling renewed energy for some time consuming necessities of adult life. I can do it. Once it's done I can spend more time on hobbies like languages and mahjong.
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Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
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Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:38 am

今日は二月十日(日)です。

我昨天听了一个有关网上安全的西班牙语播客。我觉得主持人说得太快哈哈。
因为明天有日语课所以今天应该好好复习日语课本的词汇和句型。
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Future me already did it.

Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:01 pm

虽然我上日语课的时候觉得很有意思,但是我对课外的日本文化活动和日语漫画、小说、电影片、动画片等感的兴趣没有那么大…
我躺着在床上在听NHK的日语课。
上个句子的语法可能不完美。
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Future me already did it.

Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:48 pm

I switched my vocabulary learning order from FIFO to LIFO. Better to learn the words while I remember which podcast I heard them in. As to the beginning of the list, I might never get to it, but there's no shortage of Chinese words to learn and no need to learn specific words, so that's not a big deal.

我今天参加了中国茶文化课和中文合唱团。这个周末还必须听到一个西班牙语播客和复习日语课的内容。
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Future me already did it.

Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:51 pm

我最近这么忙,连充值电车卡都忘了,今天该买票了啊!
不用说,没有学习中文。
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Future me already did it.

Aloyse
Orange Belt
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2019 9:00 am
Languages: Fr (N), EN (C1),
ES (B1?), ZH (B1),
JP (A1), ARB (A1?),
ARQ (A0), KAB (A0)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=9983
x 603

Re: Aloyse's study log

Postby Aloyse » Tue Mar 19, 2019 8:19 pm

私は毎日7時に起きます。
朝御飯の後でシャワーを浴びます。
8時に会社に行きます。
午前8時半から午後5時半まで仕事をします。
正午頃昼御飯を食べます。
6時頃内に返ります。
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Future me already did it.


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