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Amerykanka’s TAC 2013, Teams Żubr & Nebun | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5163 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 81 of 176 09 March 2013 at 4:07pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm just popping on here to say that after another 50 minutes or so of reading I finished El Valle de los
Lobos!!! Now I have read six books in Spanish!!! I am doing very well on my goal of reading twelve books in 2013: 1. La Emperatriz de los Etéreos (January) 2. Las Dos Marías (February) 3. El Valle de los Lobos (March) So far I have been reading a book per month, but hopefully I will finish my next book by the end of March so I can get ahead. The last few months of this year are probably going to be really busy, so I won't have as much time then as I do now. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5163 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 82 of 176 17 March 2013 at 12:35am | IP Logged | ||
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I didn't have a very productive language week, but I did have a very productive week in general, so I am
not upset about the rather small update that follows. I am trying to reduce my general business by attacking several projects, so I temporarily have less time to study. But once I get a few things out of the way, I should have extra study time! ITALIAN I listened to Pope Francis's first speech in Italian - he is going to be an awesome pope! Or at least I hope so. Anyway, I don't know if this really counts as study, since I mostly relied on my Spanish skills to figure out what he was saying. I did pick out some of his actual phrases, though, which was neat. LATIN: 4 hours 28 minutes FLASHCARD REVIEW (58 minutes) Nothing interesting to report here. GRAMMAR STUDY + REVIEW (1 hour 15 minutes) I reviewed different kinds of pronouns and subordinate clauses. I also studied the concepts in Unit 29 of Collins - if I remember correctly, this was almost all review. Plus the Latin student I'm tutoring has reached infinitives, so I explained to him the formation of, differences between, and uses of the present, perfect, and future infinitives (active and passive, with the exception of the rare future infinitive passive). This was a good review for me, too. TRANSLATION (35 minutes) I translated two paragraphs from St. Augustine's Confessions. I had read these parts in English before, which helped a little. There is still one sentence that I can't understand for the life of me, even after studying the English translation. I just don't see how the words and structures combine to produce the supposed English translation. Oh, well. MISCELLANEOUS (1 hour 40 minutes) This was mostly discussion in class and answering questions on different Latin passages. SPANISH: 5 hours 47 minutes VOCABULARY & FLASHCARDS (4 hours 12 minutes) I spent about 1/3 of this time reviewing flashcards in Anki and the rest of the time learning new vocabulary and adding it to Anki. Guess what? My largest Anki deck has FINALLY passed 5,000 cards. I am now proudly at 5,039 cards, which means I know around 5,300 or so words. READING (0 hours 0 minutes) I didn't read anything, but I did check out Cien Años de Soledad from my local library. I will need all that vocabulary I've learned, since this book is my next reading challenge! I also have two more books by Laura Gallego García to read, and the book on Catholic theology, but those are much easier so I will probably read them on the side as I struggle through Gabriel García Márquez's masterpiece. I also checked out a book of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's poetry. LISTENING COMPREHENSION (1 hour 35 minutes) I listened to the news for half of this time. What with Jorge Mario Bergoglio's election as Pope Francis and Hugo Chavez's death, Canal 15 has had a lot of news stories lately. In spite of last week's rant concerning Mockingjay, I did listen to two more chapters of Los Juegos del Hambre on YouTube on Monday. I wanted an alternative to the news and my podcasts. POLISH: 2 hours 25 minutes VOCABULARY & FLASHCARDS (1 hour 40 minutes) I am terribly behind on my flashcards, but I did review some of them and I added quite a few new words to my Anki decks. LISTENING COMPREHENSION (45 minutes) I decided that I needed a break from The Fellowship of the Ring for two reasons: 1) I am at my least favorite part (the Old Forest/Tom Bombadil) and 2) I need something a little more colloquial to listen to, since J. R. R. Tolkien employs quite a bit of old-fashioned/archaic vocabulary. I don't want to go around speaking like I'm from the 19th century! Anyway, I was stumped for a little while, but then I had a marvelous idea: listen to The Hunger Games in Polish! I found the audiobook on YouTube and I started with Chapter 9, since I had listened up through Chapter 8 in Spanish. I'm sad to say that it was slightly harder for me to understand the Polish version than the Spanish version, even though I liked the Polish narrator a lot better. I think I'd better give up my charade that my Polish is still better than my Spanish and just admit it: under most circumstances, I am more comfortable in Spanish. Which is why I need a Polish comeback! :) Edited by Amerykanka on 17 March 2013 at 12:38am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JohannaNYC Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4444 days ago 251 posts - 361 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English*, Italian Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 83 of 176 17 March 2013 at 11:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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Have you been practicing with Julie? That should help with your Polish comeback :)
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Vos Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5558 days ago 766 posts - 1020 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Polish | Message 84 of 176 18 March 2013 at 8:44am | IP Logged | ||
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Hola Amerykanka, ¿Cómo andas? Parece que todas las lenguas te van bien y que estás estudiando bastante. ¿Has
notado alguna dificultad en estudiar el Italiano y el castellano a la vez? Leo que pronto vas a empezar a leer Cien Años de Soledad, ¡Vaya! Dime cómo te resulta cuando lo empieces ya que todavía no me he atrevido a leer algo así y sigo ciñéndome a libros bastante sencillos, como traducciones de Los Partidos del Hambre y 80 Mil Leguas de Viaje Submarino, el último lo cual podría recomendar. ¿Tal vez sea hora de empujarme un poquito más? Bueno, voy tarde a clase. ¡Hasta la próxima! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5163 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 85 of 176 20 March 2013 at 12:47am | IP Logged | ||
Well, the last two weeks both of us have been too busy to talk. But I'm hoping it will work out this week! :) I'm also going to Skype with my former Polish teacher, so hopefully all that conversation time will have some good effects. So far I've had a good Polish study week, so my Polish comeback has begun! :) EDIT: @Vos, ya tengo que irme, entonces luego escribiré un mensaje un poquito más largo, pero ayer empecé a leer Cien años de soledad y ¡es muy difícil! Sin embargo voy a continuar leyéndolo porque el desafío me ayudará muchísimo. Edited by Amerykanka on 20 March 2013 at 12:53am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5163 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 86 of 176 23 March 2013 at 3:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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Antes de que actualice este log, quiero darles un resumen corto de mis experiencias recientes leyendo en
español. Me hace falta escribir más - el mucho tiempo que paso leyendo me ayudará mucho en activar mis habilidades escritas, tan sólo necesito escribir con más frecuencia. El "ensayo" que les prometí sobre Las Dos Marías todavía se prepara, porque no he tenido suficiente tiempo para acabar con ello. Creo que voy a ponerlo aquí a plazos, de tal modo será menos estresante. De todos modos, hoy les cuento la historia de mis experiencias recientes leyendo en español. Hasta la fecha he leído seis libros, todos los que se clasifican como juveniles, y por fin se me da bien entender este tipo de libros sin mucho esfuerzo y sin tener que buscar el diccionario cada dos segundos. La velocidad con la cual leo tales libros en español casi alcanza mi velocidad en inglés. Claro que todavía me apunto largas listas de vocabulario nuevo nada más abrir un libro en español, pero la mayoría de estas palabras la reconozco o por lo menos puedo adivinar su significación por el contexto. Mi vocabulario se ha agrandado y sigue agrandándose mucho por estos libros, pero en cambio por estar ya familiarizada con las estructuras gramaticales y estilísticas que abundan en este género de libro, no tengo ningún problema con entender. En resumen, me ayudan mucho los libros juveniles en cuanto a la mejora de mi vocabulario, y por eso voy a seguir disfrutándolos, pero no me ofrecen los desafíos necesarios para continuar mejorando mis habilidades lectoras . No quería que mi progreso se estancara, así que decidí que me tocó leer algo más difícil. Elegí Cien años de soledad y esta semana me puse a leerlo. Terminé el primer capítulo (veintiuna páginas), pero ¡me llevó una hora y media! Hay tantos vocablos nuevos y tantas estructuras interesantes y difíciles de entender. Todavía no he formado una opinión sobre la fábula y los personajes, pero me encanta el desafío de entender lo que está pasando. A mí me gusta mucho escribir - el moldear oraciones con las palabras más apropiadas, aprovechando la lengua al máximo - y me fascina ver como un maestro como Gabriel García Márquez lo hace en español. Estoy muy satisfecha con mi decisión de acometer un proyecto de lectura más desafiante. No pienso terminar Cien años de soledad hasta el fin de mayo, entonces voy a continuar leyendo otras cosas a la vez - libros más fáciles, cuentos, etc. Bueno, eso es todo. :) ¡Aprecio todas correcciones y comentarios! @Vos, pues recibiste una respuesta bastante larga a tu pregunta sobre cómo me iba leyendo Cien años de soledad. Debes leerlo tú también - sería interesante compartir nuestras experiencias. Para responder a tu otra pregunta - hasta ahora no he pasado suficientemente tiempo estudiando Italiano para ver qué efectos hará en mi español y viceversa. Creo que mi español ha alcanzado un nivel bastante avanzado como para poder evitar los efectos negativos de estudiar un idioma semejante, pero no dudo que al principio mi Italiano va a sonar mucho al español. Edited by Amerykanka on 23 March 2013 at 3:12pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5163 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 87 of 176 23 March 2013 at 3:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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This was a pretty tame language week. I'm still working on reducing general business, but in a few weeks I
will have more time for languages. ITALIAN: 0 hours Look to see serious Italian studies starting April 15. Before then, don't expect much. LATIN: 4 hours 11 minutes FLASHCARD REVIEW (1 hour 11 minutes) Enough said. FLASHCARD ORGANIZATION (50 minutes) This doesn't technically count as study time, since I was just shuffling cards around between decks and occasionally modifying a definition. But this will help me so much that I am going to count it! :D TRANSLATION (1 hour 25 minutes) More of St. Augustine's Confessions. Boy is his writing hard to understand!!! OTHER (45 minutes) This was grammar review and discussion. POLISH: 3 hours 40 minutes FLASHCARD REVIEW (1 hour 12 minutes) I feel like finally I am making some progress in the not-forgetting-essential-vocabulary-that-I-have-known-for- years area. VOCABULARY REVIEW & ACQUISITION (1 hour 15 minutes) I added quite a few news words and review words to Anki. I am very satisfied with my results. READING (15 minutes) I finished Chapter 3 of HP 1. I need to read more next week! LISTENING COMPREHENSION (48 minutes) I listened to more of The Hunger Games. I think my listening comprehension is improving slightly. WRITING (10 minutes) My writing consisted of emailing Julie and my former Polish teacher trying to set up Skype sessions (which didn't happen - hopefully next week!). But anyway, I am totally thrilled because one of the emails I sent to Julie DIDN'T NEED ANY CORRECTIONS!!! I know it was just a few paragraphs long, but I am still absolutely delighted. :) SPANISH: 7 hours 19 minutes FLASHCARD REVIEW & VOCABULARY ACQUISITION (2 hours 24 minutes) Not much to say here. My flashcard deck has reached 5,078 cards. GRAMMAR REVIEW (17 minutes) I did some exercises in one of my Practice Makes Perfect books. LISTENING COMPREHENSION (1 hour 50 minutes) I watched the news, watched a telenovela, and listened to two chapters of Los Juegos del Hambre. WRITING (45 minutes) My writing consisted on my previous post. I hope that I didn't make too many mistakes! READING & VOCABULARY ACQUISITION (1 hour 28 minutes) As I mentioned in my previous post, I read the first chapter of Cien Años de Soledad. It was challenging, but also very instructive. I think my reading skills will improve drastically as I read this book. My goal is to finish it by the end of May, but that may not be possible - we'll see. READING (1 hour 20 minutes) This was my "fun" Spanish reading of the week. I read some of Los Juegos del Hambre (from the parts I listened to in Polish) and also the first 53 pages of La Maldición del Maestro, the sequel to El Valle de los Lobos. It was okay, but so far it hasn't been as enjoyable as the other books I've read by Laura Gallego García. Edited by Amerykanka on 23 March 2013 at 3:43pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Vos Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5558 days ago 766 posts - 1020 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Polish | Message 88 of 176 24 March 2013 at 6:36am | IP Logged | ||
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Vaya Amerykanka, tu castellano ha mejorado tanto durante este año pasado y ahora escribes con tal confianza y
destreza que ya no te parece ser una lengua extranjera en absoluto. De hecho los últimos 6 meses llevo haciendo lo mismo que tú en cuanto a leer libros para jovenes, tanto todos los Harry Potter como Los Partidos del Hambre, los dos cuales me han ayudado mucho a familiarizarme con estructuras gramaticales más complejas pero de un modo comprensible debido a su tema no muy difícil. Sin embargo creo que ahora me he acostumbrado a una cierta velocidad y facilidad con las que leo, que ahora no me empujo a intentar algo más desafiante ya que me encanta no tener que buscar una palabra o releer una línea a cada rato y puedo simplemente disfrutar del libro mientras reforzando lo que ya he aprendido a la vez. Pero como ya te he escrito anteriormente, tal vez ya sea hora de empezar a leer cosas que fueron dirigidas a adultos y, más importante, a los que tienen castellano como lengua materna en vez de traducciones del inglés. Te deseo mucha suerte con tu reto muy impresionante y creo que pronto seguiré tus pasos. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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