Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

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Xenops
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:34 pm

Bonjour mes amis! I made it to Boston. :D Well, Medford, but close enough. I was right in my initial thinking: that if I wanted to move to another country, I should first move to another culture in my own country, and see how I can adapt. I am suffering from culture shock, truth be told: if Idaho is vanilla or strawberry ice cream (boring and plain), then Boston is like the ice cream chain 31 flavors. I'm astounded at the differences. I'm also astounded that I'm here: I had no inkling of coming to the East Coast until this summer; I had my sights on Portland or Seattle, at the furthest. But I found a job, an apartment with a reasonable roommate, and a church with relative ease; I guess God wanted me here. :)

For languages, I'm astounded (I'll use that word alot) at the variety of spoken languages here. I now often eavesdrop on someone speaking French. There's a Japanese grocery a 10-minute walk from my apartment, with native Japanese speakers working there. In Idaho, I would go months without hearing either language spoken.

I'm reviewing French in Action, and listening to it on my commute. I find that I missed it. :) When I have a portion with parts I'm supposed to repeat, I whisper the words. Nobody around me seems to notice, since they are often on their phones.

For Japanese, I worked on Katakana and Hiragana games a lot on my computer when I was at the airport...And I haven't worked on it since. :? This is one example: https://japaneseup.com/japanese-alphabet-typing-game-katakana/

I'm finding that I'm lacking enthusiasm for studying for my ASCP boards, because I discovered that my current job doesn't *require* it. It's strongly encouraged that I take it, if I want to be promoted later I would have to take it, but the focus of language study is really tempting me...
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reineke
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby reineke » Wed Sep 13, 2017 1:05 am

Boston... potatoes...vanilla ice-cream... love 'em. Good luck!
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DaveBee
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby DaveBee » Wed Sep 13, 2017 7:23 am

Xenops wrote:I'm finding that I'm lacking enthusiasm for studying for my ASCP boards, because I discovered that my current job doesn't *require* it. It's strongly encouraged that I take it, if I want to be promoted later I would have to take it, but the focus of language study is really tempting me...
Could you do both? Study for your ASCP boards exams, but supplement your text books with some relevant french language texts?
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Xenops
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:53 am

DaveBee wrote:
Xenops wrote:I'm finding that I'm lacking enthusiasm for studying for my ASCP boards, because I discovered that my current job doesn't *require* it. It's strongly encouraged that I take it, if I want to be promoted later I would have to take it, but the focus of language study is really tempting me...
Could you do both? Study for your ASCP boards exams, but supplement your text books with some relevant french language texts?


This had me thinking all day yesterday. :) My only concerns are that I'm at a pretty low level in French, and I would really need to work on basics before I could make much use of native French materials. It might be hard for me to juggle things at once, even if they complement each other. Thank you for your suggestion; under different circumstances I would engage in it, but if I could *focus* on the exam for the next month or so, then I'll be free. ;)
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Xenops
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:54 am

reineke wrote:Boston... potatoes...vanilla ice-cream... love 'em. Good luck!


That's what I should have used! Idaho is like a plain baked potato, and Boston is like an ethnic dish with all sorts of spices. :D
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DaveBee
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby DaveBee » Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:23 am

Xenops wrote:
DaveBee wrote:
Xenops wrote:I'm finding that I'm lacking enthusiasm for studying for my ASCP boards, because I discovered that my current job doesn't *require* it. It's strongly encouraged that I take it, if I want to be promoted later I would have to take it, but the focus of language study is really tempting me...
Could you do both? Study for your ASCP boards exams, but supplement your text books with some relevant french language texts?


This had me thinking all day yesterday. :) My only concerns are that I'm at a pretty low level in French, and I would really need to work on basics before I could make much use of native French materials. It might be hard for me to juggle things at once, even if they complement each other. Thank you for your suggestion; under different circumstances I would engage in it, but if I could *focus* on the exam for the next month or so, then I'll be free. ;)
I definitely agree on making your exam your top priority.

-----------
As a separate issue, I wouldn't underestimate your french passive understanding. It really does have more common vocabulary with english that you'd think, so reading a french language book where you have domain-specific knowledge might well be more understandable than you'd expect. But that is perhaps something you should explore *after* your exam. :-)
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Xenops
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Mon Oct 09, 2017 11:58 am

My ASCP exam is scheduled for October 28th, and then hopefully, I'll be free. :D I finally found a source of motivation: coworkers close to my age or younger passed the exam, and having felt like an outsider most of my life, this provides motivation to work hard to be with the "cool kids".

I have been using Anki to study for the exam, and I made a video of my methods for my Facebook group:


I'm so looking forward to being done with this. Then, language time!
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Xenops
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Location: Boston
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Today's the Day

Postby Xenops » Sat Oct 28, 2017 1:38 pm

Bonjour mes amis! Today's the day: I am taking the ASCP exam. I'm not going to lie, I'm nervous, but I figured God's will shall be done, one way or the other. I'm not as stressed as I could be, because my supervisor made it clear that my job does not depend on passing the exam, that many fine employees that work there haven't passed it yet. Plus, I'm not sure if I want to pass: I do not want the stress that the supervisors currently have (trying to work around a troublesome lab manager). Conversely, passing would allow me to get a raise and a promotion, and give me a general feeling of wellbeing.

Regardless of the outcome, I decided that I needed a (long) break from studying for that exam, and needed to invest in other projects, like French. I had said in the 2017 Resolution thread that I wanted to reach B level in French by the end of the year, so I'll work hard on that for two months and see where I'll end up.

I've also done some soul-searching lately: perhaps because of the influence of this community, or perhaps I heard stories of Americans marrying those from foreign realms (both friends and friends-of-friends), I had dreamed of marrying a native Japanese speaker or more recently, a native French speaker: someone's who is not American, so I can leave the States with him. But after moving to Boston, and having struggling American immigrants first ask about my occupation (in the medical field) and then subsequently ask for my phone number (I declined), I realized that I'm not any better than they: they want to marry into the U.S., and I wanted to marry out of the U.S. Plus, I realized: would I love the person for the culture and language he represents, rather than for him personally? And surprisingly, even though I could list the many issues I have with Idaho, and I'm finding that Boston is a better fit for me, I still miss Idaho: I still identify myself as a girl from Idaho, because that's the state that shaped me. It would be the same if I moved oversees, say France: I would identify myself as an American, I could not forget my heritage to try to become completely French (even if I got a perfect accent).

I'll update more regularly. ;)
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Xenops
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On break: Japanese (approx. N4), Norwegian (A2)
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Fri Nov 17, 2017 4:29 pm

Well, I failed the ASCP test, but I'm not surprised, nor terribly bothered at this point. Now's the time for French!

I also found an interesting way to use Anki: by making, essentially, my own Duolingo, but by using French in Action and Assimil.

For the Front card:

Code: Select all

{{cloze:Text}}<br> {{type:cloze:Text}}_

<div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;'>{{Sound}}</div>
<div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;'>{{Picture}}</div>


For Styling:

Code: Select all

.card {
font-family: arial;
font-size: 30px;
text-align: center;
color: white;
background-color: #335036;
}

.cloze {
font-weight: bold;
color: white;
}


For the Back card:

Code: Select all

{{cloze:Text}}<br>

<div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;'>{{Sound}}</div>
<div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 20px;'>{{Picture}}</div>


And I have pictures! (click on each for a larger view)
Image
I take the French in Action audio file and open it in Audacity.

Image
I select the portion I'm interested in, and play it.

Image
Then I export selected portion.

Image
Then I name the file what it says, and use my French keyboard.

Image
I open Anki.

Image
Then I open Anki and use the "Special Cloze" option. I find a picture of Mireille on Google. I drag the audio portion into Anki

Image
I select the written portion to be "clozed".

Image
I add the card, and this is what the card will look like. It will have a space for me to type the missing portion. I also hear the audio at this point.

Image
I plug in my answer, and see the correct answer, again playing the audio.

Edit: Thread on how to extract audio from a website: https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=5910&p=75077#p75060
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Xenops
Brown Belt
Posts: 1444
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:33 pm
Location: Boston
Languages: English (N), Danish (A2), Japanese (rusty), Nansha (constructing)
On break: Japanese (approx. N4), Norwegian (A2)
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=16797
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Re: Hestia's Log (FR, JP)

Postby Xenops » Thu Nov 23, 2017 3:02 am

Bonne nuit, mes amis. :) I went to New York City recently to meet up with fellow LLORGers (merci Ani et EMK!), and I think everyone appreciated the diversion. It further encouraged my wish to focus on one language and really tackle it.

As I strategized how to tackle French, I was reminded of something my psychologist from two years ago said: "I think you are afraid of succeeding". Of course, at the time, I denied it, but now I find myself pondering it. What does succeeding in French, in reaching B2 or beyond, look like? What would I have to change to get there? How would succeeding change my outlook, my future? Am I afraid of seeing in actuality what I'm hoping to see?

Since I've gotten home, I have been using Anki as I described in the post above, mostly focusing on reviewing the previous chapters of French in Action. When I'm caught up, then I'll continue the regular studying along with Anki. I have 7 chapters to review, and I'm finishing up chapter 3

Also, currently I'm typing with the French keyboard. It tqkes so,e getting used to: the qùs qnd the ,ùs qre in the zrong spots; good grief.
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