Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Ongoing language-learning challenges, and team challenge logs (but not individual logs)
Cavesa
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Cavesa » Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:50 pm

Question: should we report progress (like the completed courses) in the original posts or in new posts, or both?
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Ani
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Ani » Tue Jul 19, 2016 8:02 pm

Cavesa wrote:Question: should we report progress (like the completed courses) in the original posts or in new posts, or both?

If you feel compelled to go back and add a strike through that's fine, but if you make a new post we can all congratulate you. I think it is super motivating to see new posts from people completing things so don't hesitate to brag a little bit :)
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But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Cavesa
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Cavesa » Wed Jul 27, 2016 9:11 pm

Today, I finished Gramática B1!

more info on page 40 of my log.
The smaller goals are still possible to complete within the time limit. I probably need to set horribly unrealistic goals for myself, so that I get at least part of it done and therefore progress :-D
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Elexi
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Elexi » Thu Jul 28, 2016 10:23 am

Late in the day, but I'll join.

I tend to flick around courses - but I'll commit to two that have been hanging around:

German

Linguaphone German (the 'third generation' 1970s-current 30 lesson version) - I stopped doing this course a couple of years ago at Lektion 13 and restarted it recently. With some recent extensive revision I have got to lesson 15 - Pretty much following the instructions, but I am using Memrise as my word and sentence list to help me remember where I am.


French

French in Action
ooh la la la - this is an exhausting one. My method has evolved to this:

1. Learn the vocabulary from Memrise (I have completed the vocab for the video part of the course)
2. Read through the script in the text book over and over until I can follow it fluently.
3. Watch the videos (I have seen them all about 3 or 4 times already) - write down anything not in the script and add it to Memrise.
4. Copy into Memrise the sentences from the observations and the answers to the exercises in the Workbook and then paste in the audio.
5. Do the oral exercises in the Workbook. Use Practice Makes Perfect and Grammaire progressive du francais for extra practice.
6. Read the 'readings' in the back of each Lecon and add new vocabulary into Memrise
7. Watch clarifying examples from other sources (e.g. I find 'Learn French with Pascal' on YouTube to be helpful) - if necessary add these to my Memrise notes.

Doing this method I am currently at lesson 45.
Last edited by Elexi on Thu Aug 18, 2016 3:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cavesa
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Cavesa » Thu Aug 18, 2016 2:09 pm

Completed Fiesta 1!!!!

Okay, why this is not a big achievement: I had one unit left and the content was not new to me.
Why it is still an achievement:
1.Those exercises are quite tough, I'd say the authors are more demanding than some others writing for learners of the same level. (but the book is great and beautiful) Especially the translation ones are awesome, they trully made me leave my comfort zone, despite the fact this book is supposed to lead from 0 to A2/B1 only (info second hand, from various curricula using the book. There is no official label on it, it was published in 2001 and republished with changes not that much later. The biggest improvements seem to be MP3s or free download instead of a stupid extra CD, availability of an ebook, and such stuff, not sure about the content of the book changes, I don't think any were needed :-) ).
2.I had been wanting to finish it (and be free to start more appropriate Fiesta 2) for ages. I had never been able to get to it, sit down, and in a few sessions complete the damn last lesson :-D
3.This course had been my first contact with Spanish ages ago. I had been using it in a small group with a teacher (a polyglot btw), but hadn't had the time back than and, more importantly, hadn't known as much about language learning to get all I could from that time. So my knowledge had been quite superficial and almost completely lost afterwards. It is good I could finally reopen and close correctly that phase of learning. I've realized how long it has been since then. Ten years. I am getting old.
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby PeterMollenburg » Fri Aug 19, 2016 8:43 am

Cavesa wrote:Completed Fiesta 1!!!!

Okay, why this is not a big achievement: I had one unit left and the content was not new to me.
Why it is still an achievement:
1.Those exercises are quite tough, I'd say the authors are more demanding than some others writing for learners of the same level. (but the book is great and beautiful) Especially the translation ones are awesome, they trully made me leave my comfort zone, despite the fact this book is supposed to lead from 0 to A2/B1 only (info second hand, from various curricula using the book. There is no official label on it, it was published in 2001 and republished with changes not that much later. The biggest improvements seem to be MP3s or free download instead of a stupid extra CD, availability of an ebook, and such stuff, not sure about the content of the book changes, I don't think any were needed :-) ).
2.I had been wanting to finish it (and be free to start more appropriate Fiesta 2) for ages. I had never been able to get to it, sit down, and in a few sessions complete the damn last lesson :-D
3.This course had been my first contact with Spanish ages ago. I had been using it in a small group with a teacher (a polyglot btw), but hadn't had the time back than and, more importantly, hadn't known as much about language learning to get all I could from that time. So my knowledge had been quite superficial and almost completely lost afterwards. It is good I could finally reopen and close correctly that phase of learning. I've realized how long it has been since then. Ten years. I am getting old.


Good job Cavesa! Yay!!! :D and thanks for the description :)
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snowflake
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby snowflake » Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:36 am

Sort of a vent though I'm wondering if anyone else is having some hiccups using their course? I'm back from overseas, trying to settle into a study routine and am finding the organization of the accompanying audio annoying. The audio pieces are not necessarily sequential and the groupings seem a bit odd....the answer key is also numbered slightly different from what's in the book.

On a side note, I realized that my textbook has 36 chapters (spread across 2 volumes) so have doubts that I will be able to finish it by the end of this year as hoped.
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby PeterMollenburg » Mon Aug 29, 2016 1:53 am

snowflake wrote:Sort of a vent though I'm wondering if anyone else is having some hiccups using their course? I'm back from overseas, trying to settle into a study routine and am finding the organization of the accompanying audio annoying. The audio pieces are not necessarily sequential and the groupings seem a bit odd....the answer key is also numbered slightly different from what's in the book.

On a side note, I realized that my textbook has 36 chapters (spread across 2 volumes) so have doubts that I will be able to finish it by the end of this year as hoped.


Frustrations and the like are part and parcel of the journey. If your course is particularly frustrating perhaps you have another course or some other ressource which you will find more motivating for a while? The key is to stay active, don't let the bothersome course drive your learning to a halt, find something which keeps you moving forward!
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Carmody
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Carmody » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:38 pm

Tom, are you out there? Is this the right place for French In Action?

You set Sept. 6 as the start date and this is an update.

1-Have viewed all the videos once.
2-Just received today the Study Guide for Part I.
3-Have reviewed about 5 chapters of the Textbook
4-Have received Part II of the Workbook
5-Workbook Part I is on order and is due Sept. 8th.

My wife said she wants to join in and that I need to calm down and not be so excited.

Summary:
My apologies for the delay, but it looks as if Sept. 8th will be my start date or whenever it arrives.
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Carmody
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Re: Course Completion Challenge -- Open for business!

Postby Carmody » Tue Aug 30, 2016 10:38 pm

Tom, are you out there? Is this the right place for French In Action?

You set Sept. 6 as the start date and this is an update.

1-Have viewed all the videos once.
2-Just received today the Study Guide for Part I.
3-Have reviewed about 5 chapters of the Textbook
4-Have received Part II of the Workbook
5-Workbook Part I is on order and is due Sept. 8th.

My wife said she wants to join in and that I need to calm down and not be so excited.

Summary:
My apologies for the delay, but it looks as if Sept. 8th will be my start date or whenever it arrives.
1 x


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