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BAnna’s TAC 2014 Spaß-Lobo-IndRussian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4525 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes  Studies: German | Message 193 of 236 20 June 2014 at 9:20am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm watching the World Cup here, but don't count it. Like you I am mostly just watching the action.
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| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4614 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 194 of 236 25 June 2014 at 5:47am | IP Logged | ||
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Couple of quick recommendations:
German film: Oh Boy (American title is Coffee in Berlin) Spanish film: La danza de la realidad Russian series: Sherlock Holmes (my childhood obsession with Holmes is returning) German book: Als wir traeumten (umlaut a is not rendering correctly) HTLAL has been pretty speedy...maybe everyone's watching World Cup? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4525 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 195 of 236 25 June 2014 at 7:28am | IP Logged | ||
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In Berlin you have no choice but to watch the Weltmeisterschaft. All the cafes, bars, corner stores have flat screen TVs out to watch the games in the evenings. It's really a nice month once every four years, where everyone is in a good mood watching the games, meeting neighbors...
I really liked Oh Boy! (strange the American title was changed). It really captures the spirit of Berlin in a nice way. Edited by patrickwilken on 25 June 2014 at 7:29am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4614 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 196 of 236 30 June 2014 at 12:46am | IP Logged | ||
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It's been a while since I've done a proper update and it's near the end of the month, so time for a summary of
June: Overall Since the weather is nice, I'm trying to do more listening while I'm out and about (plus it's a way to get some exercise while being immersed in the language), yet I know my attention may not be all there, so I often repeat listen a couple of times and just count it once. After reading the article Iversen posted about the ineffectiveness of learning vocabulary from context and an article on Vocabulary Myths, I've completely rethought my not actively studying Spanish or German, and decided I do need to occasionally do some formal study (not sure about the ratio: maybe a half an hour to an hour a week should be enough?) I've signed up for a weekly C1 conversation class in German, and am going to revisit working in my Spanish workbook. I'm way ahead of where I need to be to complete the SC, so I think some study time is warranted. I also saw a video by Anthony Lauder where he said that language learning is like learning a musical instrument: you need both practice time and play time. To paraphrase: "If all you do is play, you don't get any better. And if all you do is practice, you can't perform". And while extensive reading/listening does develop an ear for correct language, I think short grammar/vocab sessions will cement those patterns all the more. Speaking of vocab, I gave Anki another shot with Russian. I did it for a little over a week, then stopped and also took a break from Russian for a few days. I think I will go back to my handwritten lists and cards for vocabulary learning. What I didn't like was the structure/timing of Anki. With my handmade lists and cards, I can do them whenever and however I like, and I think the writing out by hand actually helps me learn the words. I'll post my Russian stuff on my polydog log...that is, my polylog? :) Spanish Watched/Listened: Spain: Flaman-scifi-comedy series, Master Chef España (cooking contest), interview with Eduardo Galeano US Spanish-language programming: news, and analysis of World Cup (as well as World Cup games but did not count these as SC), documentaries on the Amazon, Yellowstone, nature photographers Chilean movie: La danza de la realidad Audiobooks: Sin novedad en el frente (All quiet on the western front) -the narrator read really fast. Abridged version of La Regenta (narrator from Spain, 19th century Spanish-language novel with themes similar to Madame Bovary) Read: Wrapped up Siempre nos quedará Paris (about movies and Argentinean history), Breve historia de la primera guerra mundial (well-written but depressing non-fiction about WWOne), and will be done very soon with the book version of La regenta. This last is an adapted, simplified version of the novel. German Read: mostly just Als wir träumten (over 500 pages), some articles from Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, and a teenage mystery Die drei??? und die feurige Flut. Watched/listened: German movies: Clara Immerwahr (biopic about a chemist who committed suicide during WW1 partially because her husband was developing poison gas for use in the trenches), die Päpstin (woman who lives as a man and becomes Pope, set in the Middle Ages), Oh Boy-Coffee in Berlin (slacker in Berlin). TV shows: Kaisermühlen Blues (heavy Viennese dialect, but soap opera didn't really capture my interest), Interviews with Marcel Reich-Ranicki (literary critic) Per Leo and Feridun Zaimoğlu (writers), some Tatort episodes, documentary about Surveillance Audiobooks: end of Homo Faber (engineer in 1950s), Nathan und seine Kinder (historical young adult novel set in Jerusalem during time of Saladin about conflict between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, based on Lessing's Nathan der Weise), Das kleine Gespenste (Audioplay based on kids' book-sort of like Casper the Friendly Ghost), and Ensel und Krete (Walter Moers' hallucinogenic take on Hansel and Gretl) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4614 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 197 of 236 16 July 2014 at 12:44am | IP Logged | ||
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I really miss the World Cup, although now the dust has settled, I can get back to studying. My intention is to not
do it as intensely as before. I watched or read about many of the games and pre- and post-game analysis in Spanish or German, but also attended some public viewings in English. It was really fun watching with other fans. I've also been watching an Argentinean series on soccer history and just started Eduardo Galeano's book, "Fútbol sol y sombra". I always get very caught up in World Cup, though unlike my husband, I'm a casual fan most other times. I even won a pool bet selecting Germany with a score of 1-0. At one of the public viewings, I was conversing with a German-Argentinean gentleman in German, Spanish and English. Fun! He said he was rooting for Germany, but he admitted he wouldn't have been sad if Argentina had won and even had the flags of both countries displayed at his home. :) For anyone learning (or who already speak) French, I saw a good movie one of my skype partners recommended (though she watched it dubbed into German): Les Intouchables. And there is an interesting French-language interview (with Spanish subtitles) of Lilian Thuram in Canal Encuentro's Fútbol Pasión-El racismo en el fútbol. Watching games and socializing for a good amount of time per week made me realize I have been spending way too much time in solitary and mostly sedentary study (something like 25-30 hours per week on languages on top of working full-time). I would like to cut back to something reasonable like 10-15 hours and give myself more time to socialize, be active, and just have fun. My reason for learning languages is enjoyment, but I admit I have been overly perfectionistic and creating unnecessary stress for myself. Speaking of stress, I tried to signup for a relaxing C1 conversation course, but it was cancelled, so they put me in a C2 class. Yikes! But luckily it's on Saturday mornings (great time for me), the instructor is fantastic, there's a great group of friendly and very fluent people, and it covers a bit of almost everything: grammar, conversation, and reading a novel together. It will *undoubtedly * help me improve, even if I feel I'm in a bit over my head at the moment. A bit? More like I'm at the bottom of the ocean... I'm making very slow, but steady progress with Russian, mostly using instructional materials, but treating myself to a subtitled film once a week or so, mostly Sherlock Holmes. I may dabble a bit with "The Little Prince", though it's still way above my level. I found an audiobook copy at my library, so I could read and listen at the same time. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4136 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 198 of 236 16 July 2014 at 2:07am | IP Logged | ||
If you're a Holmes fan, then you might like this episode of Fallo de Sistema (Spanish podcast on RTVE): Buscando a Sherlock It's a fun show - they talk about different versions of Sherlock Holmes in movies and video games. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4614 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 199 of 236 16 July 2014 at 5:10am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks, Stelle, for the great recommendation. :) I'll definitely add this to my list. I really like listening to podcasts while walking.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4614 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 200 of 236 19 July 2014 at 7:29am | IP Logged | ||
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Well, my plan to cut back on language study didn't go at all as planned. :0
So far this week, I've spent 14 hours on German alone. Why? Lots and lots of homework and reading for my great but challenging C2 class and a completely addictive audiobook: Tintenherz. The narrator is excellent (Rainer Strecker), but I had to delete the musical interludes between chapters. At least I am taking longs walks and riding the stationary bike while listening, so am not just sitting like I am whilst doing homework. There are 16 discs and I'm on number 5. Oh, and it's the first of a trilogy of fantasy books...I guess I'll be busy for a while. So much for cutting back. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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