Bex 2020 log: Back to basics [ES]

[Bex]

About me
As most of you know by now...I have lived in Spain for years but still can't speak Spanish very well. Still plodding...

After living in Spain for nearly 3 years I decided I really loved it and ought to learn the lingo. So...

2016/17 log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=3949
Rushed through Assimil, Glossika, Michel Thomas and Duolingo. Messed around got nowhere.
2018 log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7387
Native material too difficult, so switched to learners material.
2019 log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=9907
Completed the Super Challenge. Can now consume simple native material (reading & listening) with some crutches.

I have managed to not very impressivly reach a shaky B1 with my "method"

Still this year will be "the one"!

[Bex]

Reserved for listing future achievements

[Bex]

So that’s it really… I still have no idea what I'm doing, so I've decided this year to go back to basics and do the job properly from the ground up.

I'm using Kwiziq and I've already completed the A0 level (took me 1 day) and I'm now working through A1.

I may also use text books to compliment Kwiziq if required.

My 2020 goals:
1. Before the next SC, so in the next 3.5 months: complete all the levels up to and including B1 on kwiziq.
2. Lots of listening/watching in 2020 - I'll start with a target 100 hours but I'd like to reach 400 hours [unlikely ] by the end of the year

If I decide to do the next Super Challenge:
3. 2500 pages reading.

[Cenwalh]

Hi Bex,

I've attentively read most if not all of your log entries over the past year. It seems to me that your level is far above the level where going back to basics will be of any use. I appreciate that you don't know 100% of everything from A0 to B1, but who does? I worry that off the back of what seemed a very successful super challenge, that spending 4 months on studying basic grammar is a step back rather than a step forward. I know this is something that iguanamon has disagreed over quite strongly with PM - and I don't want such a disagreement - but when you can broadly understand TV shows and read Harry Potter, why would you go back to studying A1 materials?

I'm not saying don't study grammar, I just think that a wide knowledge with gaps will be better for you than a very narrow knowledge without gaps. Moreover, if you're constantly trying to fill in your gaps, you're going to forget some of your breadth because you're not focussing on the more advanced stuff.

[Bex]

Hi Bex,

I've attentively read most if not all of your log entries over the past year. It seems to me that your level is far above the level where going back to basics will be of any use. I appreciate that you don't know 100% of everything from A0 to B1, but who does? I worry that off the back of what seemed a very successful super challenge, that spending 4 months on studying grammar is a step back rather than a step forward. I know this is something that iguanamon has disagreed over quite strongly with PM - and I don't want such a disagreement - but when you can broadly understand TV shows and read Harry Potter, why would you go back to studying A1 materials?

I'm not saying don't study grammar, I just think that a wide knowledge with gaps will be better for you than a very narrow knowledge without gaps. Moreover, if you're constantly trying to fill in your gaps, you're going to forget some of your breadth because you're not focussing on the more advanced stuff.

I agree totally and you're probably right 4 months is too long. I'm going to combine my studying with listening/watching as much as I can, hopefully this will still expose me to the more advanced content enough.

I don't want to spend much time on reviewing the A levels. I've only spent 1 day so far on A0 and I'll probably spend 1 or 2 days on A1.

Interestingly even at A1 there are 1 or 2 things I understand completely when I read them at this beginner level but I still make mistakes when producing (conjugations for example or writing numbers/dates etc). I am finding that taking 2 minutes to read over the lesson and understanding where I'm going wrong is actually quite a quick but helpful process.

I'm hoping I can go over A2 fairly quickly as well and then I can focus on the B levels where I actually have to start studying new grammar properly.

I know it seems like a step backwards but I'm actually enjoying the process and finding filling in the gaps or actually confirming things I'm just currently guessing (because it seems right), really helpful.

[dicentra8]

I know it seems like a step backwards but I'm actually enjoying the process and finding filling in the gaps or actually confirming things I'm just currently guessing (because it seems right), really helpful.

It is! I'm also skimming through some beginners stuff with Japanese at the moment. The most helpful benefit I get from doing this is that I always end up finding something that I thought I'd understood for good, but then I notice it had this extra nuance that I didn't pick during the first time. There's always something a person might miss when they're learning something for the first time. The person, at the time, also had less knowledge to compare things and get a better understanding of it. And combining that with "listening/watching as much as I can" sounds like a good plan. Good luck with your goals and learning!

[Cenwalh]

I don't want to spend much time on reviewing the A levels. I've only spent 1 day so far on A0 and I'll probably spend 1 or 2 days on A1.

Interestingly even at A1 there are 1 or 2 things I understand completely when I read them at this beginner level but I still make mistakes when producing (conjugations for example or writing numbers/dates etc). I am finding that taking 2 minutes to read over the lesson and understanding where I'm going wrong is actually quite a quick but helpful process.

I'm hoping I can go over A2 fairly quickly as well and then I can focus on the B levels where I actually have to start studying new grammar properly.

I know it seems like a step backwards but I'm actually enjoying the process and finding filling in the gaps or actually confirming things I'm just currently guessing (because it seems right), really helpful.

I think I got the wrong end of the stick where time was concerned. As you were and hope it goes well

[Bex]

I think I got the wrong end of the stick where time was concerned. As you were and hope it goes well

I think more likely I just wasn't very clear

[Bex]

Quick update:
Kwiziq A0 100% 9/1/2020 (2 hours)
Kwiziq A1 95% 17/1/2020 (8 hours)
Now onto A2...

My present tense irregular conjugations have improved immensely but I still need to work on my big numbers.

I have a renewal coming up but I'm not sure how long I should subscribe for...1 month or 3 months?

Since it's taken me 10 days to cover A0 & A1, I'm not sure a month subscription is enough to cover A2 & B1. I am totally guessing that A2 will take over 2 weeks and B1 over a month.

The big advantage with paying monthly is the faster I go the more money I save

[Bex]

Finally getting into a routine with the new job and so I have time to think about how I´m going to proceed over the next few months. I am writing my goals here in an attempt to focus myself. I have found myself procrastinating a ridiculous amount for most of January and I think I need to really need to narrow my attention onto 1 or 2 things and not hundreds, as I am just wandering aimlessly ATM.

I´d like to focus on 2 things for the next month:
1. 20% - Grammar A2-B1
2. 80% - Listening

1. Grammar: I have been reading through the A2 Spanish lessons library on Kwiziq, I am about half way through and adding anything I am unsure of to my notebook on Kwiziq and a physical notebook as well...for review later. I haven´t renewed my Kwiziq subscription yet as January is a ridiculously busy month for me and it would just be a waste of my money. I will renew it for at least 1 month on the 8th February but until then I´ll continue working through the Kwiziq library and making notes.

2. Listening: I would like to create listening habits, so I have the radio on all the time or listen to podcasts whilst having lunch, driving, working etc. Something like this.....

Yoga each morning using the app DownDog in French (I hadn't realised that this was, slowly, drilling me in certain verbs and body parts)

....which appears to be a most excellent idea.
I have a podcast app and now also an app to play my MP3´s (thanks rdearman), both of which automatically display my listening time data (including radio listening) so that will make listening easier to log.

I keep wanting to start courses, Glosska, Anki, etc but I think focusing on just 2 activities at the moment is the way to go for me, I just can´t seem to focus at all with lots of activities or options to choose from....too many sweets in the sweet shop