Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

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german2k01
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Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby german2k01 » Sat Oct 23, 2021 8:15 pm

Hello Guys,

My goal is to be a fluent reader by the end of 2022 where for the most part I can read both fiction and non-fiction freely in German with minimal use of a dictionary. Let's assume, my current level is at A2 I am supposing it as a worst-case scenario.
What I need is a "micro" goal that I can achieve on a daily basis probably shooting for a number of pages in a typical novel/book or a number of words etc Of course, I will make time for it.

Thanks
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby Le Baron » Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:04 am

Hello,

1. Read a bit every day.
2. Don't read books you find too hard just because you think you ought to be able to read them by now. Put them aside for later.
3. Use the graded so-called 'easy readers'. These are not children's books or a cop-out. I read and still have piles of these in lots of languages including German: Mein Onkel Franz, Till Eulenspiegel, Treff mit Trimmel, Das Feuerschiff... They can be finished relatively quickly or lingered over. They make you feel you are getting somewhere (because you are). The original series books can be found all over in 2nd hand bookshops or charity shop bookshops (which is where I buy them).
4. Don't shy away from young adult literature. A lot of it is very good with lots of styles and doesn't talk down to the reader by oversimplifying. Excellent once you're in a reading groove and for hammering basis vocabulary/constructions into place
5. Choose books with reasonable chapter lengths. I read a novel recently with very short chapters and it means you can conquer a chapter or two per evening before bed. Some reading must be done for pleasure rather than study.
6. Write down only a few words/troublesome constructions you encounter when reading. Only the very worst and then learn those few. As you go through the book doing that you'll accumulate a lot of learning points and likely come against them numerous times as you pass through the book. So you'll get them hammered in.
7. Conversely, don't worry about knowing every single word you read. If context helps you guess just move on. If a word keeps appearing and you don't know it, look it up and carry on. Active exposure over time is what a learner needs.
8. Finish one book before starting another. Enjoy it. Pretend other books don't exist until you're done. Go for everything you can get out of each book. Slowly, but surely.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby AllSubNoDub » Sun Oct 24, 2021 12:38 am

I think you're probably underestimating your abilities a bit, but I guess that's better than going in the other direction. Judging from your former posts, you probably need a bit of balance as Paul Nation recommends. Since you seem heavily dedicated to L-Ring, and that method agrees with you, maybe you can at least supplement with something more intensive. I think L-Ring, may give people a false sense of understanding more L2 than they actually are (especially if you're following along with the L1 text).

So maybe supplement this with actual reading with no audio and see how much you understand. You could even try reading one of the books you've already L-R'd to see if you actually understood it (I guarantee you'll get something out of re-reading either way, even if it's just fluency practice). Allow yourself to look up a few words per chapter, but put a hard limit on it. Conversely, try blind listening and see how much you understand. This will be the best test to see if the L-Ring is actually working.

If you're still dead set against speaking for now, I still highly recommend you try writing a page a day or so, even if it's something like Luca's BDT method. When I first tried speaking, I totally froze up out of nerves, so I eased into it with text chat services.



Edit: I just realized I went beyond reading, which wasn't your original question. If you're just focusing on reading, then you can't go wrong with Le Baron's advice above (though I still stand by mine). Also I would add, try to intensively read short news articles in addition to your regular reading. You can use easy news geared at learners in the beginning and work your way up. An article a day would be a good micro goal.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby iguanamon » Sun Oct 24, 2021 2:59 am

The only things I would add to the excellent advice given by Le Baron and All Sub No Dub are to seek out some books with lots of dialog and don't ignore quality translations that natives themselves read. I know nothing about modern German literature, but in Catalan, reading Dashiell Hammett's novels and other "hard-boiled"/"noir" novels in translation and native helped me build a good base in common language. In Portuguese, I read a lot of intelligent "chick-lit" (Sophie Kinsella; Meg Cabot; Carina Rissi) novels both translated and native which had loads of dialog and did the same thing for me as hard-boiled detective/noir novels (Dashiell Hammett; Joe Gores; Ramon Usalla) did for me in Catalan.

They have all kinds of everyday language you might want to use or will hear in conversation. I hope you can find some similar books in German, with or without audio. The Hammett novels read almost like screenplays. They held/hold my interest and that's half the battle.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:51 am

I cannot recommend books with short chapters highly enough. The sense of progress can’t be beat, even if it still takes forever to finish the book.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby german2k01 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 7:53 am

4. Don't shy away from young adult literature. A lot of it is very good with lots of styles and doesn't talk down to the reader by oversimplifying. Excellent once you're in a reading groove and for hammering basis vocabulary/constructions into place


There are some interesting suggestions which of course I will be following. I have bought a few detective books each book is like 90 pages long(Kommissar Klicker by Rainer M.Schroder). I will be reading them for sure. I have not ventured into young adult literature as yet but heard good things about reading them by other experienced language learners. There is a list of young adult literature available on Goodreads. I will check it out for sure. Read good reviews about "Krabat" on Reddit. Thus, I will start with that.
Last edited by german2k01 on Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby german2k01 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:16 am

I think you're probably underestimating your abilities a bit, but I guess that's better than going in the other direction. Judging from your former posts, you probably need a bit of balance as Paul Nation recommends. Since you seem heavily dedicated to L-Ring, and that method agrees with you, maybe you can at least supplement with something more intensive. I think L-Ring, may give people a false sense of understanding more L2 than they actually are (especially if you're following along with the L1 text).


Totally agreed. Even though L-R helps you to understand the plot but it also gives you a false sense of understanding more L2 than you actually are. I actually read the "Game of Thrones " Book1 in a free-flow mode, after doing it L-Ring 5 times (in terms of listening) but 3 times while reading L1 text and 1 time while reading L2 text. On more time unassisted listening.
My comprehension level was not the same as understanding it while reading text L1.
However, my reading fluency improved albeit at a cost of dropped comprehension. I understood what was going on in the plot but my overall comprehension of the plot was not 90% + which was the case while reading L1 text.


So maybe supplement this with actual reading with no audio and see how much you understand. You could even try reading one of the books you've already L-R'd to see if you actually understood it (I guarantee you'll get something out of re-reading either way, even if it's just fluency practice). Allow yourself to look up a few words per chapter, but put a hard limit on it. Conversely, try blind listening and see how much you understand. This will be the best test to see if the L-Ring is actually working.


See above point. I am thinking about buying "Crime and Punishment" and " "Notes from Underground" in a hard copy which I have done L-Ring recently, do it free flow reading and see if I actually understood it.
One thing I have observed is that my listening ability sees a real boost when I get to hear real people. For example, I got to interact with a banker at a local Deutsche Bank after doing L-Ring the aforesaid books and I understood him hassle-free and he spoke for 5-8minutes nonstop but again I am not sure if it has got to do with L-Ring or watching Television series in parallel.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby german2k01 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 8:36 am

They have all kinds of everyday language you might want to use or will hear in conversation. I hope you can find some similar books in German, with or without audio. The Hammett novels read almost like screenplays. They held/hold my interest and that's half the battle.


That's a good suggestion. I will look into those authors. The only contemporary German author I have read so far is "Sebastian Fitzek". I have read 4 novels so far out of his long list of novels. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Fitzek

However, when it comes to German contemporary authors there is a whole world out there. I am sticking with him and will be reading a few more novels of his because I am used to his writing style now and his choice of words. Albeit I read those novels with a lot of dictionary lookups. For me I tried reading the first book of Harry Potter after a few pages it was a slog for me. Therefore, I am treating his novels more like a book series as I am not venturing out into other German authors as of yet. I do not know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby rdearman » Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:21 am

german2k01 wrote:Hello Guys,

My goal is to be a fluent reader by the end of 2022 where for the most part I can read both fiction and non-fiction freely in German with minimal use of a dictionary. Let's assume, my current level is at A2 I am supposing it as a worst-case scenario.
What I need is a "micro" goal that I can achieve on a daily basis probably shooting for a number of pages in a typical novel/book or a number of words etc Of course, I will make time for it.

Thanks

You said you have to read 8-10 million words in this thread: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 20#p196086

german2k01 wrote:You are right with your assessment. In order to be at C2 level, you have to read somewhere between 8-10 million words and also touch upon a variety of content such as books, novels, newspapers, academic journals, magazines, etc Not just novels.


So, 27,398 words per day is your "micro" goal. Or about 109 pages per day given a word count of 250 per page.
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german2k01
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Re: Reading goal for 2022 - need your advice?

Postby german2k01 » Sun Oct 24, 2021 11:38 am

So, 27,398 words per day is your "micro" goal. Or about 109 pages per day given a word count of 250 per page.


Finally someone with an analytical mind. Reading 109 pages per day is doable. This was the answer I was looking for my micro goal.
Thanks.
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