“Finnisch mit extra Mühe” -- a group learning project (because Finnish wasn't hard enough before)

[Yuurei]

*Max. 3 cookies/learner.

Now I'm doubting my decision!!!
P.S.Should I understand your message means that you'll bring cookies to the next Polyglot Conference in Berlin, enough for the whole table of excited Finneandertalisch speakers?

XD Yep, that's exactly what I meant to imply.

Also, thanks to everyone for their (only slightly scary) advice

[Brun Ugle]

- 2 infinitives (learn the "short" form of the 1st infinitive and the 3rd infinitive. The other infinitives aren't used as much but knowing how to form and use them would be handy if you were advanced)

I like the idea of two infinitives. The Finns must be a very practical people. It's always a good idea to have a spare infinite around, you know, in case the first one gets a puncture or something.

Seriously though, thanks for all the great work you put into the Finnish profile. I just put a link to the whole thing in the links section. You've basically already done all the work of locating resources for us. That list is almost overwhelming.



And now, some group business.... Do we have a plan? Do we even want a plan? I figured that it probably is best not to have any set schedule or anything too specific since we are very different and lead very different lives. I know Cavesa has her medical studies taking up a lot of time and tends to binge-study languages, then disappear for a few weeks when her medical studies take over her life for a while. Yuurei seems to be very organized and good at following a schedule. I go back and forth between moderate schedules and all-or-nothing extremes, and I think Elenia is probably somewhere in the middle. Still, it might be fun to have some vague plans and sort of follow the same path more or less.

When I used Assimil for German, I started out doing one lesson per day, but the last third of the course was considerably more painful than advertised and I ended up slowing down to about three lessons per week. I think the Finnish course is going to be fairly difficult right from the start because of the base language, so I probably won't be doing a lesson a day, at least not for long. The course is 100 lessons, so that means about 149 days of lessons (you start the active wave at lesson 50). We have a bit more than 34 weeks from the beginning of September to the end of April, which would mean proceeding at a rate of a bit more than 4 lessons per week if we want to finish the whole course before the next Gathering. Is that our goal? Or should we keep our ambitions/expectations a little lower? I'm really not sure how well I will be able to get through ~4.5 lessons per week when the base language is German. However, I intend to do FSI and Supisuomea (and possibly some other stuff) on the side, and that may help.

Also, should we try for any group activities? Maybe we should just wait and see what occurs to us as we go along.



To any of our advanced Finnish learners who are following this: If you have any specific suggestions about our study plans, or thoughts about what you would do had you been starting out today, don't hesitate to give us some advice. (We might even take some of it.)

[Brun Ugle]

*Max. 3 cookies/learner.

Now I'm doubting my decision!!!
P.S.Should I understand your message means that you'll bring cookies to the next Polyglot Conference in Berlin, enough for the whole table of excited Finneandertalisch speakers?

XD Yep, that's exactly what I meant to imply.

Rdearman, there are going to be cookies! Now you have to join us!

[Henkkles]

Personally if something seems scary it just makes me more determined to achieve it.

I didn't mean to scare anyone, I just really wanted to drive home the fact that you should learn to read the standard, but not learn to speak it, unless you plan to get hired on the evening news team. Besides I've met too many students who have neglected the 'real' language altogether, resulting in stunted ability to actually function in Finnish. If you take heed, you'll be fine.

[Elenia]

And now, some group business.... Do we have a plan? Do we even want a plan? I figured that it probably is best not to have any set schedule or anything too specific since we are very different and lead very different lives. I know Cavesa has her medical studies taking up a lot of time and tends to binge-study languages, then disappear for a few weeks when her medical studies take over her life for a while. Yuurei seems to be very organized and good at following a schedule. I go back and forth between moderate schedules and all-or-nothing extremes, and I think Elenia is probably somewhere in the middle. Still, it might be fun to have some vague plans and sort of follow the same path more or less.

When I used Assimil for German, I started out doing one lesson per day, but the last third of the course was considerably more painful than advertised and I ended up slowing down to about three lessons per week. I think the Finnish course is going to be fairly difficult right from the start because of the base language, so I probably won't be doing a lesson a day, at least not for long. The course is 100 lessons, so that means about 149 days of lessons (you start the active wave at lesson 50). We have a bit more than 34 weeks from the beginning of September to the end of April, which would mean proceeding at a rate of a bit more than 4 lessons per week if we want to finish the whole course before the next Gathering. Is that our goal? Or should we keep our ambitions/expectations a little lower? I'm really not sure how well I will be able to get through ~4.5 lessons per week when the base language is German. However, I intend to do FSI and Supisuomea (and possibly some other stuff) on the side, and that may help.

Also, should we try for any group activities? Maybe we should just wait and see what occurs to us as we go along.

This all sounds very reasonable to me! I like the idea of us all trying to finish assimil before the gathering. We can try doing fun, easy little monthly or weekly challenges, too, along the lines of the Polish/Swedish challenge group I was a member of (I'll link later, no time now). We can forgo the penalties, though...

[Brun Ugle]

This all sounds very reasonable to me! I like the idea of us all trying to finish assimil before the gathering. We can try doing fun, easy little monthly or weekly challenges, too, along the lines of the Polish/Swedish challenge group I was a member of (I'll link later, no time now). We can forgo the penalties, though...

Actually, after being in the US eating everything in sight for nearly a month and with the lack of exercise for several months due to vacations and illnesses, I could probably use a few push-ups.

I like the idea of little challenges, linguistic or physical.

[jeff_lindqvist]

Rdearman, there are going to be cookies! Now you have to join us!

Cookies? I'm in!

[Brun Ugle]

Rdearman, there are going to be cookies! Now you have to join us!

Cookies? I'm in!

Look, Elenia! We've caught another one! Mwahahaha.

[Cavesa]

Thanks for all the awesome advice, guys!

Yes, Brun Ugle is right about the plans. I suck at all the "a bit every day" plans. I am more the "devour and digest" kind of learner (something like snakes. Sounds like an idea to build my next log's name on).

So, I am all for a vague plan. I am highly unlikely to combine Assimil with many other sources. There is a very good looking Finština nejen pro samouky (readers of my log, as this is an outcome of intertwining our logs, may remember my odes to German from the same series). There is the LTlike course. But is it doable with my doses of free time? And I will surely work on other big goals in 2017 (NOT a new langauge). I will definitely need a more systematic grammar tool but giants like FSI are again unlikely to fit into the schedule. Perhaps the essential grammar by Routledge? I'll need to read Chungs awesome overview of resources a few more times.

I think striving for Assimil completion (or at least passive completion and active as near completion as possible) is a good goal. But we might profit from monthly goals. Monthly plans are still far from vague yet free enough to adapt to different pace of each madwoman and madman here. And it could reflect how difficult is the course getting.

Btw, is it reasonable to expect, Hekkles, that tv series will take care of the problem, like they do in my other languages? Is there enough material for a super challenge or two, that wouldn't be bad? (I personally don't know what would I fill an SC in Czech with, to suit my tastes. )

[rdearman]

*Max. 3 cookies/learner.

Now I'm doubting my decision!!!
P.S.Should I understand your message means that you'll bring cookies to the next Polyglot Conference in Berlin, enough for the whole table of excited Finneandertalisch speakers?

XD Yep, that's exactly what I meant to imply.

Rdearman, there are going to be cookies! Now you have to join us!

hmmmm... chocolate chip?

EDIT: All joking aside, I think I have a problem. I posted this and then spent 30 minutes finding out the cost of Assimil Le Finnois (Finnish), then looking at the Finnish FSI, then I actually did searches in my local library online for learning material (Only had Teach Yourself, but with CD's). Of course this is just a silly moment of wanderlust for the promise of cookies. Lord only knows what I would have done if had been brownies on offer.