6wc - Italian

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bryan
White Belt
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:56 pm
Location: USA
Languages: English (N), Spanish (B1+)
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6wc - Italian

Postby bryan » Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:47 pm

The next six week challenge starts on Saturday. For this go around, I'm going to give Italian a go. Clara and I are planning a trip to Italy next spring so now seems like a good time to learn the basics.

My plan of action:

- MT Italian Foundation
- Assimil Italian

Expectations at the end of the 6 weeks:

- I should have finished the MT Foundation course and be comfortable with the most common verbs and the present tense.
- Finish the passive wave. The passive waves ends on lesson 49. In six weeks, at 1 lesson a day, I should be close to that.
- Try not to confuse Spanish and Italian.
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sillygoose1
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Languages: _
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A1: Mandarin
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=751
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Re: 6wc - Italian

Postby sillygoose1 » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:51 pm

In bocca al lupo! Vedrai quant'e' bello l'italiano!
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bryan
White Belt
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Location: USA
Languages: English (N), Spanish (B1+)
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Re: 6wc - Italian

Postby bryan » Sun Aug 02, 2015 1:35 am

Day 1 is in the books. Today I finished disc 1 of MT Italian. A few thoughts:

- Very, very Spanish-like. Some words and verb conjugations sound exactly the same.

- There seem to also be elements of French. On at least one occasion I said a French word at a speaking prompt. I should probably add I'm no better than A1 in French. I learned some "survival" French prior to a trip to Paris a couple years ago.

- I have some concerns about language interference with Spanish.

Overall it was fun. I will probably do disc 1 again tomorrow before moving on to disc 2.
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Spoonary
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Re: 6wc - Italian

Postby Spoonary » Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:22 am

bryan wrote:- I have some concerns about language interference with Spanish.


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this is definitely something I have experienced. My brain just thinks "OH, you're speaking foreign, you must want to say this phrase like THIS!" and I'm just like "No, brain, no." :| I tend to focus on the fact that (as I'm sure you have noticed) there are differences between the two. I find if I think about those differences, that my Italian comes out better, and less 'Spanish-influenced'. I guess the definition between the two languages will be strengthened with time.

Good luck with your challenge! I look forward to following your progress :)
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bryan
White Belt
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 1:56 pm
Location: USA
Languages: English (N), Spanish (B1+)
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Re: 6wc - Italian

Postby bryan » Sun Aug 02, 2015 3:16 pm

@Spoonary About half way though the fist MT disc I was starting thinking....Why couldn't we have picked a vacation spot that had a language that wasn't so close to Spanish? Like maybe Germany?? haha
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Cavesa
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Re: 6wc - Italian

Postby Cavesa » Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:44 pm

bryan wrote:@Spoonary About half way though the fist MT disc I was starting thinking....Why couldn't we have picked a vacation spot that had a language that wasn't so close to Spanish? Like maybe Germany?? haha


Because Italy is so damn beautiful! The food so damn delicious, weather and see marvelous, monuments amazing, music great and diverse...
And italians make much better coffee than germans, that fact shouldn't be underestimated as well.

I've been postponing Italian exactly because I didn't want any interference with my previous romance languages. However, two are still separable. What helped me start Spanish was listening. The languages look much more alike than they sound. Perhaps that will help with Italian as well, since you chose a listening heavy approach.

I wish you lots of fun and good luck!
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