An Opsimath's Log: DA, LA, NL, FR

[jeff_lindqvist]

The idea behind the 24in48 readathon is to read for 24 hours out of 48. Audiobooks do count. Reading Rockstars like LunaMoonsilver actually reach that target

Give me action-packed novels from authors like Dan Brown, Roger Hobbs and Gregg Hurwitz, and I'm up for the challenge (whenever next one is). I wonder if they're all available in German (or Spanish)... and if so, how much my reading speed will improve along the way. (It's not as high as in Swedish/English yet.)

If reading speed is something that you're aware of, did you happen to notice any major changes during the weekend?

I'm convinced it correlates very much to the level in the language - and possibly it goes both ways.

High level → high(er) reading skills, and high reading skills → high level in the language. Any ideas?

[Elsa Maria]

The idea behind the 24in48 readathon is to read for 24 hours out of 48. Audiobooks do count. Reading Rockstars like LunaMoonsilver actually reach that target

Give me action-packed novels from authors like Dan Brown, Roger Hobbs and Gregg Hurwitz, and I'm up for the challenge (whenever next one is). I wonder if they're all available in German (or Spanish)... and if so, how much my reading speed will improve along the way. (It's not as high as in Swedish/English yet.)

If reading speed is something that you're aware of, did you happen to notice any major changes during the weekend?

I'm convinced it correlated very much to the level in the language - and possibly it goes both ways.

High level → high(er) reading skills, and high reading skills → high level in the language. Any ideas?

Well, reading speed was a problem by Sunday night, no matter the language. My eyes were tired, and my focus was off

Even the simplest stories in Dutch are extraordinarily difficult at the moment. And my coursework can only do so much to prepare me for reading fiction. My coursework wants me to be able to introduce myself, talk about my family, and be able to find an apartment.

I keep in mind how I helped my kids learn to read - by continually but gradually increasing the level of difficulty and by gradually building stamina.

[IronMike]

I almost did this 24in48 thing this weekend, but was distracted by personal family things. I will put this on my calendar for the July 20-21 iteration.

[Elsa Maria]

January Wrap-Up:

365 Day Challenge:
31 days Danish
31 days Dutch
Yay!

There were a few days that the challenge felt like a burden, but not too many. I wish I were doing as well with my non-language 2019 ideas, so in those domains I am considering Feb 1 to be the new Jan 1

Here is what January looked like for me:

I consistently used ATracker to collect my data. And stripping out the English reading that I tracked for the 24in48 Read-a-Thon, the total for January was 68h26min. I'll try to post details later.

[Elsa Maria]

So this is what ATracker tells me that I did in January:

Dutch

Coursework 6h52min
That is going to class and completing homework.

Listening 18h16min
Pimsleur 20(?) lessons
One week in NL

Reading 2h35min
Het Grote zelfleesboek
Jip en Janneke

Grammar 2h8min
I am using learndutch.org and I like it a lot.

Speaking 1h 13 min
While in NL

Writing 0h48min
Copywork
Making an island

Vocab Study 1h31min

Latin
Coursework 9h10min
Online Class plus homework

NLE prep 0h41min
practice tests

Misc 2h38min

Danish
Writing 0h23min

Reading 9h34min
Anne Franks Dagbog

Vocab Study 2h12min

Listening 9h47min
Season 1 of Rita
1st Harry Potter film

Russian 0h32 min
Spanish 0h06 min

---
My only real, but not surprising, disappointment is Danish Writing.

[Elsa Maria]

Yesterday was one of those A+ language learning days:

2 hours of Dutch class.
I know a lot of people here dislike classes, but I enjoy a good class. It satisfies the extrovert in me, and I love having a native speaker available for questions.

Danish book club. Love my book club. Nothing is better than discussing books with friends.
2.5 hours of listening to Danish and speaking it.

In between those two events, I had about an hour to kill. I went to a cafe and studied for the National Latin Exam.

Today, I will probably do the bare minimum to maintain my 365-day challenge streak

Speaking of streaks and challenges, here is how it is going for me:

365 Day Challenge for Dutch and Danish. Perfect score so far! I can't believe it, really. Streaks on apps are meaningless to me, and I never care if I lose them. This is different. I think it is because it is in line with my homeschool philosophy: there will be good days and there will be bad days, but if we show up ready to work day after day after day we will get where we need to be.

6WC (Dutch): I seem to usually occupy a spot around #17, and I have been in the top 10 at times. That has been unexpected.

Short story challenge (Danish): I have read two short stories. I don't know if that counts as success or not. I haven't written about them on the challenge thread, and I want to do that.

Output Challenge (Danish). Maybe I should drop out, but I'm not ready to do that. I have written hardly anything, but hey, it is only February. I wrote two teeny tiny emails this week, and they took me forever. But the word count is certainly unimpressive. I have to rethink this.

What's working?

Most of my challenges. See above.
ATracker. I have a solid habit now of using it, and I have tweaked it to get the reports in a format that is meaningful to me. My only complaint is that it is a battery hog.

I am watching a Danish TV show that I love: Rita. I can't wait to see the next episode, and I think I will enjoy rewatching episodes/scenes. Which I definitely need to do. All that slang!

What's not working?

Output in Danish. With the exception of yesterday, I have hardly any recent output. And it showed in my speaking ability yesterday. I think I will book some italki lessons. I wonder if LEs are possible with Danish. There are not typically many Danes who need to practice English. But I only need ONE, so maybe I should look into it before I decide it is impossible, right?

This week, I will really truly focus on writing in Danish.

I don't have the right balance between language learning and other things that I like to do.

What's holding me back?

I am still sticking Danish words in Dutch sentences. Grrr.

Decision fatigue? Too many resources? Maybe.
Too many languages? Maybe. But I won't drop Danish, Dutch or Latin. I want to participate in the new FLC, but that might put me over the edge. If I keep my expectations in check, I might do it. I have until March to decide!

[avalon]

Speaking of the National Latin Exam, did you ever see my offer to you at the bottom of page four?

[Elsa Maria]

Speaking of the National Latin Exam, did you ever see my offer to you at the bottom of page four?

Oh, goodness. I am so sorry for not responding to that - how embarrassing.

I took your advice and started with the most recent exams and have worked backward - excellent advice!
At this point, I think I am fine without additional materials, but thank you for your kind offer.

I have now taken the first half of all of the previously released exams to see how I would do with the cultural questions. There really is no history in the Intro Level, and the geography is simple as can be. I have studied the 12 major Olympiads, and I already knew all of the mottos and derivatives. Thanks to homeschooling, I had some other materials already on hand, and that took care of stuff like clothing and the house. Now I just have to iron out a bit of the Latin itself, and then I think I will be just fine. While I would like a perfect paper, I will settle for getting a medal and 100% of the actual Latin questions correct

ETA: Oh, and at this point I cannot stand the Cambridge textbook.

[Elsa Maria]

Dutch is fun.
I have decided that I am very lucky. I enjoy children's literature and good cartoons/animation. I am genuinely entertained by nijntje, and Jip en Janneke. Kikker is OK, too.

I am in the mood to make some long-term plans. I'm in my mid-fifties, and if I am lucky enough to be like my mom then I will still be fit for travel in my 80s and certainly capable of language study. So here is my 30-year plan

There are no timelines attached. I'll do whatever pleases me.
At the moment, I am working on all of the PART ONE languages. I might be able to add one more into the current mix.

PART ONE
Danish
Goal: C2 reading and listening comprehension. Maintain active skills at B2 or above.
All skills are currently B-something.

Dutch
Goal: Take the A2 exam then reach for B2 in passive skills.
All skills are currently A-something.

Latin
Goal: Keep taking online classes and the NLE until I run through all of the levels. And then keep reading. Maintain involvement in the Latin community.

PART TWO
In no particular order:

Use knowledge of Danish to start reading in Norwegian. Then Swedish.
Learn some Faroese and Greenlandic.

ETA: Use knowledge of Dutch to start reading Afrikaans.

Learn at least one Slavic language. I am currently interested in both Polish and Russian.
Reactivate my Spanish.

All plans will be thrown out the window in favor of different languages if travel opportunities or new family members (like children-in-law or grandchildren) change things up




According to ATracker:

Dutch
January 33h23min
February 26h06min

Danish
January 21h56min
February 21h11min

Latin
January 12h29min
February 12h0min

[Elsa Maria]

I have managed to keep up with the 365 day challenge for both Dutch and Danish. Woot! I usually try to get one of them done first thing in the morning.

Danish
At this point, I can't imagine my life without Danish. I should be much, much better than I am but I don't think I'll ever give it up.

I really have not done any proper study in some time, and I just treated myself to Danish: A Comprehensive Grammar (Routledge). I have been using the Essential Grammar version for years and this is a big upgrade. Eighty pages on nouns alone!!

Dutch
I am still going to class weekly, but I am not going to continue next year. My last class will be mid-May, and I think I will revert to only self-study.

Latin
I took the National Latin Exam (Intro Level) in March. I don't have the results yet, but I believe that I did well. My class started up again this week after a long break.

Polish
This is my FLC language. I had a start date of March 15, and I have not done much yet. But I have sampled lots of YouTubers and free courses. And now I have a plan. I am going to do the FSI course. I am also going to make a list of the A1 topics from my Dutch and Danish textbooks, and cover those topics using YouTube. As soon as I can manage it, I will start reading fairy tales.

Spanish
I have started to reactivate the little bit of Spanish that I know. For now, I am not going to study Spanish. I'm just watching videos and reading a bit. I've been watching the Dreaming Spanish video channel, and watching the Muzzy videos.