Ani's 2017 Log

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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7332
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Systematiker » Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:59 pm

Elenia wrote:
Ani wrote:
Elenia wrote:Try checking out the reviews on Goodreads or babelio.fr for the books on writing advice. Also maybe search specifically for the blogs of authors you like?

As for your sentence idea - it sounds great! I harvest sentences (as I think probably everyone who has even looked at this site before knows!) and I keep on meaning to incorporate them, the words they use or the structures into my own writing. I've never done it systematically before. How exactly were you thinking of using sentences? Maybe we can share tips and motivation - we can perhaps try to post something on our logs each week?



Those are good sites to check. I had forgotten about them. Thanks!

I don't have a great plan yet for using sentences, but I am pondering this in "real life" too, trying to figure out how to teach writing to my children. One of the better reviewed step-by-step methods is from Don & Jenny Killagon. You can see large previews of the books on Amazon (.com). I think I am going to buy the elementary school one as soon as I finish the aforementioned paperwork I need to fill out, and then I'll be able to talk about it a little better. The basic idea is breaking sentences, and then paragraphs, down into chunks and imitating the individual chunks to make new sentences. They just draw slash marks through the sentence separating off the subject, prepositional phrases, compound verbs, adverb clauses, etc. Through the process you end up both seeing and creating dozens (hundreds?) of sentence parts, and get a feel for how they are successfully combined by good writers (if you use good models). I don't want to restrict myself to middle school writing, but I thought to get started I'd work from a couple reading comprehension books I have that are full of poems, short stories, and excerpts for native speaking upper elementary/middle school kids. It would be a work in both grammar and vocab for me as well!

I am totally up for some sort of joint tip/motivation/writing sharing if we think of some way that it works. I see that you post your own writing on your log quite a bit, but unfortunately I can't read any of it :-p :lol:


Well, even if we don't think of a way to work together we can motivate and encourage each other :) I can and probably should post translations, it's just that I'm lazy XD


I would actually be interested in joining y'all, if you'll have me - I've got a 20-lesson style thing for imrpoving writing in German I'd like to work through (and let's face it, I do ok at "dry research monograph" and passable at "manuscript for sermon" but everything else is meh).
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Wed Jan 25, 2017 9:05 am

Yes definitely! I don't know what you guys would be most interested in for an actual plan. Something more than "work on writing and tell each other we did it"? I'm fine with the low-stress version or something more intense.

I realized I do have one book on improving writing -- Taches d'encre by Siskin. It is definitely for English speaking college students and mostly works on expanding vocabulary and thinking about word usage. Might be helpful but I don't want to commit to working straight though it. Also someone mentioned Expression Ecrite from CLE today and I have the self control of a gnat so I ordered it. No idea if it will be what I am looking for at all. I still want to keep looking for writing books for sure.


In other news, I finished Sous les Vents de Neptune. It was a very good read for me. I typically wouldn't expect myself to like policiers but somehow I do.. I just like books I guess. Anyway. I did find it hard to suspend disbelief at a couple parts but there were plenty of really enjoyable bits to make up for it. Part of it is set in Hull Quebec, which I learned by complete coincidence today is not called Hull anymore but I guess is just now joined with the larger city Gatineau. So interesting to hear the characterizations of French and Canadian perceptions of each other that Vargas works into the story.

I plan I going back next and reading L'Homme Aux Cercles Bleus, but in between I am reading Martin & les fées by Dominique Gorse. It's a kid's book on reading level for maybe an 8 year old. I read about 1/3 of it tonight. Need something light to clear my head :) I might read Kate DiCamillo's La Quête de Despereaux in there too. Trying to "read up" my back log of paper books.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Cavesa » Wed Jan 25, 2017 5:14 pm

Yes, I would definitely love to work on writing with someone (even if the cooperation was just "Ani has already written two pages this week and Systematiker eight, I should move my lazy....pen and get started"). And sharing ideas what to write about would be great too, that is my biggest problem. That and being shy to write publicly (my "France" log has been dying)

Yesterday, I found some great resources on writing in French in one of the university libraries here. Lots of reactions like "how comes I hadn't known about that before my DALF?" and betrayed ones like: " Why didn't Google show me? Why didn't Amazon offer it? Why don't bookshops and libraries specializing in French learning stuff have it?"

I think I am gonna make a thread on writing focused resources.
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =15&t=7332
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Systematiker » Wed Jan 25, 2017 5:46 pm

Cavesa wrote:...
I think I am gonna make a thread on writing focused resources.


Please do! I might even get motivated enough to start doing some writing in languages other than English and German...
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Elenia » Wed Jan 25, 2017 10:06 pm

Ani wrote:[...]I am reading Martin & les fées by Dominique Gorse. It's a kid's book on reading level for maybe an 8 year old.[...]


You do know about this, right? I don't know the particulars of the offering, or how accessible it is but I got that rec from emk, so...
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:09 am

Cavesa wrote:Yes, I would definitely love to work on writing with someone (even if the cooperation was just "Ani has already written two pages this week and Systematiker eight, I should move my lazy....pen and get started"). And sharing ideas what to write about would be great too, that is my biggest problem. That and being shy to write publicly (my "France" log has been dying)

Yesterday, I found some great resources on writing in French in one of the university libraries here. Lots of reactions like "how comes I hadn't known about that before my DALF?" and betrayed ones like: " Why didn't Google show me? Why didn't Amazon offer it? Why don't bookshops and libraries specializing in French learning stuff have it?"

I think I am gonna make a thread on writing focused resources.


Oh yes please to list the resources you found! That would be so helpful. And it looks like we have a good sized group now for our writing project. Yay!
Elenia wrote:
Ani wrote:[...]I am reading Martin & les fées by Dominique Gorse. It's a kid's book on reading level for maybe an 8 year old.[...]


You do know about this, right? I don't know the particulars of the offering, or how accessible it is but I got that rec from emk, so...


Yes I think I found the book after following the reference from EMK. I hadn't been able to find the musical story, although now amazon has it and even has it for streaming if you have music unlimited (I don't). I am going to consider (who are we kidding.. impulse control of a gnat) buying the CD after I finish the book. I really like that little boy's voice.



----

I missed my Finnish/Russian studying today :-p Wednesdays are just terribly busy for me. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Going away on "vacation" this weekend. We are staying in a near by hotel to ski and play in the pool. We tried to do this right before Christmas and two of the boys got terrible, terrible stomach bugs simultaneously. We thought food poisoning until my daughter and I got it 2 days later and my husband a day after that. The kids haven't quite grasped that since we all got sick following, it wasn't food poisoning to start with. They keep asking if DH and I will please please please feed them safe food this time. It is really very cute and honestly, DH and I feel just as nervous going back even though it should be fun. I think it will be. Just a little traumatized still. This means tomorrow I have to take care of that paperwork (1h15 drive each way) and I will have to squish in extra cleaning and packing over the next couple days. I'll probably only get to French reading and maybe an episode or two of Les Voyageurs du Temps.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:36 pm

6 Week Challenge is coming up! Which language do I enter with?? I haven't had a beginner language since coming to this forum so getting to participate in a 6 Week Challenge (finally!) is really exciting!

I am aware there is a lot of punctuation up there but I am not taking it out :lol:

I think I might switch to Supisuomea and Suomea Suomeski instead of Assimil. Maybe I will just read through the Assimil grammar and notes, or speed through in one sitting listening and reading without anything else. IDK. I like the book itself. The size and paper are so appealing, but.. I just can't make myself do it.
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:15 am

Did really well with all my courses yesterday, despite somehow having a much shorter attention span than usual. Today though some fairy seems to have cast a sleeping spell over me. Not sure what is going on. Every time I sit down, I fall asleep. Basically slept all day... read and slept. I am hoping to be better tomorrow and that this isn't the start of an illness.

We are having an exciting diversion tonight with a couple moose bedding down in the yard. My 2 year old is trying to express all his concerns in a crazy mix of French and English. He apparently wants the moose to come inside. He is very upset that they are eating our trees, and he expects me to open the door for them. He did have a minute where he was afraid the moose had eaten my husband, or that my husband was going outside to pet them and not taking him (the toddler) with him. It is so hard to be two and want things so badly :)

Going on vacation tomorrow. Hope to spend most of the next 4 days reading by the pool or swimming in it, with some breaks to play in the snow and take naps :)
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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Ani » Tue Jan 31, 2017 2:20 am

Well, vacation didn't happen. I had some symptoms right before we left that were looking a bit like some very concerning pregnancy issues, so I was sent straight for more testing and appointments which all conflicted with the actual going on vacation part. This is the second time we have cancelled this same attempted vacation for medical issues. The upside is that I am completely fine. It was probably just an allergic reaction, nothing surprising for me.

So I am in a bit of a bad mood over my lack of vacation and I don't feel like actually studying. I am thankful French is strong enough that I can relax and still be doing language stuff because all I want to do is bury myself in a book. I logged a couple hundred pages this weekend sulking and resting in bed :lol: Days like this really make me wish that enjoyable input was all I needed. :roll:
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But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

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Re: Ani's 2017 Log

Postby Elenia » Tue Jan 31, 2017 9:46 pm

Sorry to hear about that, Ani, but glad that it wasn't anything serious, and that you're well! About the vacation... maybe it just wasn't meant to be?
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