A language learners’ forum

It is time for me to withdraw from the FLC Challenge. I didn't get to A2, but I certainly got somewhere. And I probably saved myself money by not jumping into spending any. I have had a lot of time to think about the best use of my funds going forward. Actually, I might not buy any course immediately. But I do have some physical books on hand that I had bought in the Netherlands last year, and I want to start using them. I also have some already-paid-for apps and subscriptions that include Dutch, and it is time for me to take advantage of them.

Elsa Maria wrote:It is time for me to withdraw from the FLC Challenge. I didn't get to A2, but I certainly got somewhere. And I probably saved myself money by not jumping into spending any.

Even though you didn't complete the challenge, I'm glad to see that you gained some benefit and that's the point of this thing! As the challenge ends, I'll be writing a post asking participants to share their experience for the benefit of future participants and those who may be interested. Thanks for participating, Elsa Maria!

The first Free and Legal Challenge (FLC) will be ending soon. Nobody signed up to take any language beyond A2. Nine months will have passed on November 20. For those that are still participating, I'd love to know how this experience has been for you, what you have learned in the language you've studied and what you have learned about learning with 'less than ideal" resources. So be thinking about that and please post it here.

I will be starting a new challenge soon, after this one ends. The target will to reach A1 or A2 in the language chosen, free and legally (that's why it's a challenge). There will be only two variants in the new challenge:

1) Pure FLC- only free and legal resources available online.
2) Library assisted- resources available through your public library or via an inter-library loan.
FAQ: "Does this count?"
A: If you think it won't count, you're probably right. If you want to learn a language without limitations, go right ahead!!! You'll just be doing it outside of the challenge. I'll start a new thread soon for the new Free and Legal Challenge.

My update.

I started with 2 FLC objectives, one full FLC (Setswana) and the other library assisted (Czech). I dropped out of the Czech one pretty quickly mostly because of lack of interest. Czech had more resources available than Setswana, but I think part of the challenge is trying to do more with less. I got a lot of help and suggestions from members of the forum and managed to recruit a lot of people into doing Setswana with me. Although they were not doing the FLC and so could purchase resources if they like. Without the luxury of purchasing time with a tutor (I didn't actually find anyone) or purchasing a standard course, I actually think I've done OK.

The Setswana study group was formed and as a team effort we've discovered a lot of free resources on the Internet and even a soap opera to watch. Memrise courses as well as books, and Peace Corps programs are available. I visited the Botswana embassy in London, but unlike the French they don't promote their language, which is a real shame. I've discovered a lot of resources and posted them in my FLC log, and into the study group.

I seriously doubt that I've progressed beyond A1 in Setswana. This however is down more to my poor study habits than any lack of material. I think what I learned most by doing this FLC is about the country of Botswana and the people and the culture. I learned a lot more about the Batswana (the people of Botswana, who speak Setswana) as I progressed. So purely from the point of view of cultural awareness I've learned a great deal! In fact I really want to visit Botswana and try to use my poor Setswana at least to say "Dumela Rra" or "Dumela Mma" to people.

The FLC has definitely shown me that there is information and resources out there to learn a language. It has also shown me that the best way to find it is to have access to a bunch of like minded language learners like the ones on this forum.

Sadly at the end of the challenge: Ga ke kgone go bua Setswana. (I don't speak Tswana.) Ke tlhaloganya gannyane. (I understand a little).

Let me end by saying thanks to iguanamon for creating the FLC and thanks to all the people who helped me with my FLC in Setswana. (Ke leboga thuso ya gago!) I encourage everyone to spend a little time thinking about a language they might want to learn in the next FLC !!

Tsamayang sentle! (Stay well everyone!)

In spite of the fact that I didn't make it all the way to the end, I loved this challenge. My downfall was not that I felt compelled to buy something - it was that I gave into the temptation to use the cool Dutch stuff that I had already owned before the challenge started. I'd like to do it again, and I'll think about which language to try in the next round.

I actually signed up to go to B1 and I’m still doing Ukrainian under those rules, so...I’ve got six more months.

Czech I left alone for too long, although I didn’t bail on the challenge, I won’t catch it up in six months.

Today is 9 months to the day that I started my FLC for Czech and Setswana. Today I'm officially calling it quits in both Czech (which I dumped ages ago) and Setswana. Now a lot of people reading this, who've been bamboozled, blackmailed and coerced into learning Setswana with me will be annoyed, or raving bloody angry with me. Well tough!

In reality, I'm not giving up Setswana, but simply giving up the Free and Legal Challenge portion of it. This is because I would actually like to pay for an iTalki tutor, or purchase a book, or otherwise spend some money learning Setswana. The restriction on spending money hasn't really held me back, but I would like to have the flexibility to learn and to spend money on materials.

So again, I would encourage people to try a less resource endowed language and use the FLC as a launchpad into the language. The FLC has been a really great driver for me to learn something which isn't mainstream. But now I'm off to Amazon to buy something!

iguanamon wrote:There will be only two variants in the new challenge:
1) Pure FLC- only free and legal resources available online.
2) Library assisted- resources available through your public library or via an inter-library loan.
FAQ: "Does this count?"
A: If you think it won't count, you're probably right. If you want to learn a language without limitations, go right ahead!!! You'll just be doing it outside of the challenge. I'll start a new thread soon for the new Free and Legal Challenge.

I'm going to take a swing at the Pure FLC with Uyghur. The beginning journey won't be very adventurous as there is a free textbook with audio, but we'll see what happens later. As I start today, I'll finish the nine-month version by November and then see if I continue for another six.

I don't know if this is going to kick off again this year. But I'm toying with the idea of selecting some random language and try to combine this with the 366 day challenge....

Suggestions? Comments?

rdearman wrote:I don't know if this is going to kick off again this year. But I'm toying with the idea of selecting some random language and try to combine this with the 366 day challenge....

Suggestions? Comments?

Danish/Norwegian, you can connect with your inner-Viking