eido wrote:Now that I've settled on German and Spanish, what should be the game plan?
I want to max out my skills in Spanish to C2+, eventually getting some kind of piece of paper that says I'm incredibly proficient. But I want to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. I realize talking weekly for many hours might be the best way to go about this, because I've heard many people reference that. I don't think just going through the regular undergraduate coursework will prepare me for excellent conversation skills, especially as it's online coursework.
Definitely speak, speak, speak. If your school has a language exchange program, wherein you serve to help a Spanish speaker learning English and vice versa, jump on it.
From the CEFR guideline, I pulled the following two bits from the C2 column that you can (sort of) work on in a self-study manner:
"I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as
manuals, specialised articles and literary works." So also read, read, read. Look at the descriptors here. I'd say you'll want to e.g. read Borges, read some Spanish commentaries on Borges, listen to a Spanish lecture on Borges, write a page on Borges (see below). For specialized articles, I'd start with some basic 101-level stuff in your field, see what they cite, branch out to related fields, etc.
"I can write clear, smoothly-flowing text in an appropriate style. I can write complex letters, reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points. I can write summaries and reviews of professional or literary works." Write, write, write. I'd begin by keeping a diary in Spanish, as well as maybe trying to summarize/distill some of the readings you do for the above.
I tried to find on Benny Lewis's site any tips on the CEFR, but this was all I could come up with:
https://www.fluentin3months.com/languag ... o-courses/He claims to have sat the DELE C2 within 1 year. I like, guess I believe him, but that's probably the result of doing nothing but Spanish 24/7, and there's probably more to it than that, but either way he apparently did pass the exam, and if you can navigate the site you might find a more detailed writeup. On the other hand, as linked in the thread on job requirements, here is an extensive writeup from someone here who sat the test:
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... it=dele+c2Finally, as we also discussed on the jobs thread, preparing for the DELE exam is not just Spanish, but preparing for the test itself. So these guidelines and anything they offer on Cervantes Institute would be worth looking at. All in all, I think it will be a fun and rewarding journey, and I wish I myself bit the bullet and sat the C1 when I had the opportunity to.
And I should consider my family more. That's part of the reason I posted this thread. I don't want to be capricious and go by whim or wanderlust as much as I do anymore, because eventually I have to graduate and be a responsible adult. That means chores, errands, bills, obligations social and occupational, otherwise. I kind of make myself sick with how little responsibility I have. I suppose if you're an average young person you disregard every person that could be important to you unless you decide they should be. Of course, I'm generalizing based on what I've heard other people say about people my age: past, present, and future. I'm also commenting on my perceived lack of consideration for others. My thread here thus far shows that, or so I believe.
