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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes  Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 41 of 57 06 August 2014 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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Korean
I think I've enjoyed spending a couple of minutes studying Korean every day. The language does obviously remind me of Japanese, and the learning process is also having a similar effect. When I started looking at Korean a few years ago, I told myself that I never wanted to make a concentrated effort to learn the language, and I've kept with this philosophy even today. I haven't tried to memorize words with Anki or drill verb conjugations with tables. I don't get angry when I see the same basic word for the 10th time and still don't remember the meaning. Rather, I enjoy the feeling when that word that just won't stick suddenly and effortlessly enters my vocabulary or the elation I feel when verb conjugations lose all opacity in a moment of epiphany. That's how I want Korean to feel. And it's already happening now that I've started to relax a bit. Over my numerous attempts to learn Korean, I've seen basic words like 오다 and 보다 countless times, but I've never felt like I knew them. But recently while absent-mindedly looking through TTMIK lesson PDFs, something clicked and the words stuck. The same goes for verb conjugation. I always had a general feeling for how verbs should be conjugated and could recognize past and presence tense, but I couldn't conjugate. The other day, I was looking at the rules, not particularly trying to memorize them, and it suddenly made sense, like it was only logical that verbs would conjugate in that way. Progress is slow, but you know what? I don't really care. Japanese Oh Japanese, we used to get along so well. And now it's been two years that we've been fighting and trying to make up. Let's just have fun like we used to and not worry about where we are, okay? I've been watching some playthroughs of games in Japanese recently. I found this channel where two brothers play games, but I have to say that 弟者 has the more pleasant voice to listen to. In fact, he has one of the best voices I've ever heard. Even if I didn't understand Japanese I think I would enjoy listening to him. I've also started listening to 狭くて浅い奴ら again. It's a podcast about movies, games, comics and the likes. I listened to the episode on Frozen and now I'm tempted to watch it. Maybe I could find it in Japanese? French I'm leaving for Quebec in under 2 weeks and while I've been a little worried about starting a new life in a province where another language other than English is spoken, in a city where I don't really know anybody, I've started to calm down a little. I've noticed that as I become less self-conscious of my French level, I'm becoming a lot more comfortable in French. A friend of mine just got back from Trois-Rivières, where he had spent 5 weeks studying French with the myexplore program, and we had a skype call yesterday. Talking about Quebec got me very excited for going back! I want to make sure I don't fall into an English speaking bubble when I get there, so I'm going to force myself to avoid using English unless it's an absolute must for the first couple of months so as to make sure that I'm completely surrounded by French speaking people and have no reason to go back to English later. Mandarin Mandarin has been going surprisingly well. I've been spending a few minutes a day glancing at grammar and example sentences, and it doesn't feel like the language is resisting me in the least. A couple minutes of grammar every day and 10-15 minutes of characters in the evening and I'm golden. The only thing I find difficult is switching between writing simplified and traditional characters. I feel like I have to make a huge effort to switch mindsets, but I've been doing exercises with particularly tough characters to help with this. For example, I find alternating between writing 回忆录 and 回憶錄 to take a lot of concentration. The real problem there is that the character for lù is also written differently in Japanese (録) which complicates matters. I'm going to make as big an effort as I can to compartmentalize Japanese, Simplified, Traditional and Korean in the future as best I can. I've also ben listening to a lot of 泠鸢yousa lately. She often sings songs that were originally in Japanese, sung by vocaloids, in Mandarin. She also covers some songs in Japanese and her accent is rather cute, especially how she says ぼ and も! Edited by Sizen on 07 August 2014 at 5:19am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 42 of 57 10 August 2014 at 7:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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Korean
It has arrived: A Guide to Korean Characters, Reading and Writing Hangeul and Hanja by Bruce K. Grant. This is one of the prettiest books on Chinese characters I've owned. The pages are a bit smaller than most other books, and as a result the characters also use a smaller font. They're the perfect size for reading and just look spectacular! The other particularity is that the stroke order charts are done with individually calligraphed characters. All 1800 charts have 9 squares that show, more or less, the progression of strokes and it's very obvious that each square in each chart was done separately. The amount of work that went into this book is impressive considering it has no reason to sell nearly as much as similar books for Japanese or Chinese. I'm surprised at the quality. It's not really meant to be used as a textbook as the characters are ordered by stroke count, but there is a list of the first 900 characters Korean middle school children learn in order in the appendices which can be used to give one's learning a certain structure. Japanese I've been really bad about this all year, but things might be looking up. I've been spending about an hour listening to Japanese in the evenings for the past few days and I'm already starting to feel my Japanese coming back. In fact, I've unconsciously started to think in Japanese again. It's been a long time, so this is good news (even if it means my head is more crowded now)! I don't think I'm going to fix any new goals for myself in Japanese because it's no longer really a language I need for anything, but if I can continue to divert myself with the language, I might be able to get somewhere with it. French My log has become much less French centred, so I apologize for that. In all honesty, I don't usually have a lot to say about my French anyway. I've continued to read, listen, speak and do stuff in French as I always do. Not much linguistic insight to be found there currently! I'm sure I'll have a bit more to say once I'm settled down in Quebec. In the meantime, I might make some updated lists on the podcasts and YouTube channels I know about. At least that might be useful to somebody. :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4854 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 43 of 57 11 August 2014 at 12:07am | IP Logged | ||
It's your log, so you can write about what you want! But I would love to see a list of podcasts. And also perhaps a list of the books you have enjoyed the most. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 44 of 57 15 August 2014 at 3:29am | IP Logged | ||
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Well, here's a list of podcasts and youtube channels. I've also included things that I haven't personally listened to but know about. Hope you enjoy!
Nipcast is, originally, a Swiss group of podcasters who produce, in total, 7 different podcasts on varying subjects. Business, life hacking, education, sports, it's all there. I'm a personal fan of NipLife and NipTech. When it comes to finding Quebecois podcasts, there are two main networks that I'm aware of (besides Raido Canada). First off, there's RZO which is mostly for "nerdy" subjects. Video games, comics, movies, etc. There's also a podcast on photography and the Quebecois medical system, though. Plus the site has been steadily expanding over the past year or so, so I'm sure there will eventually be something for everyone here. I listen to quite a few podcasts on this site, but my two favourites are Horreur Gamer, which despite its name is on horror movies, and Pod Problème, a hilarious podcast where a group of people attempt to solve a listener's problem. The other site for Quebecois podcasts is Balado Québec, where I found Le Shower, a very laid-back interview show. Be ready for politics, sex, religion, education or whatever the host feels like talking about the day of the recording. Heading back to Europe, we have Patrick Beja, a seeming celebrity of the French podcast scene who occasional shows up in the English podcasting world. On his site there are three shows: Le rendez-vous tech (technology, French companies, politics that affect technology, etc), AppLoad (applications for smartphones and tablets) and Position (recommendations for things to do now: music, cinema, series, etc). And there's also this immense site here. I'll let you explore this one freely... Looking for more serious content by professionals? France Inter France Culture Radio Canada I recommend Euromag and Tire ta langue. Other assorted shows: Geek Inc, Mangacast, L'apéro du Captain, La voix dans la tête, Papa, à quoi tu joues ?. That about does it for podcasting. Moving on to youtube. I'll link to channels and to a recommend video if I have one. Axolot, Science. Bapt&Gael, Crude humour, Le Nouveau Cellulaire BeastModeIII, Gaming Commentary. cinefuzz, Cinema and Anime. Cyprien, "Podcast français", Noël. Cyprien Gaming, Gaming, Nidhogg : Le FOU RIRE ILLIMITÉ !. Dany Caligula, Philosophy. Diablox9, Commented Gaming. e-penser, Science. GonzagueTV, Comedy, Gonzague s'incruste aux NRJ Music Awards. Je joue le jeu, Gaming (Quebec), Youkai Kurabu. Joueurdugrenier, Comedic game reviews, Superman 64 & Batman Forever. KarimDebbache, Cinema, CROSSED - 18 - Final Fantasy : Les Créatures de l'esprit. Le Fossoyeur de Films, Cinema, Top 10 des légendes urbaines du cinéma. Le Trentenaire, Retro Gaming (Quebec). LinksTheSun, Comedic reviews, pop culture, Point Culture : Introduction à la musique "classique". MrAntoineDaniel, Comedic video reviews, WHAT THE CUT - SPÉCIAL VIDÉOS RUSSES. RealMyop, Speed runs/gaming. Normanfaitdesvideos, "Podcast français". Squeezie, Gaming. Testeur Alpha, Comedic game reviews, Des jeux de Zapper. Thomas Gauthier, Comedy (Quebec), Ta chambre est dégueulasse!. Usul Master, Gaming and gaming philosophy, Usul Passion : Don't Starve. I might get to books another time, but for now, this is enough, methinks. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 45 of 57 17 August 2014 at 8:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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So I'm heading off to Quebec tomorrow. I probably won't have the chance to post anything
until September, but I'll be sure to post when I get some time to describe my experience! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4854 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 46 of 57 28 August 2014 at 8:28am | IP Logged | ||
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I've been busy and haven't spent as much time on HTLAL as usual in the past month. But I wanted to give you an overdue "Thank you very much!" for your excellent post about podcasts and Youtube channels.
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 47 of 57 01 September 2014 at 2:55am | IP Logged | ||
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Oh my goodness! I'm back! Well, sort of. I'm back in Quebec City after a good ten or so
days in Montreal. And what a wonderful ten days they were. The main objective of my visit wasn't so much to explore the city. Rather, I took this time to acquaint myself with my father's (francophone) side of the family, or more specifically, my grandfather's side of the family. I was able to spend time with four of my grand aunts and uncles, three of my first cousins once removed and eight of my second cousins. I had never really met or gotten to know any of these people except one before, so needless to say I was ecstatic when the possibility presented itself. On my way back to Quebec City, I was quite saddened to leave behind this hitherto unknown part of my family. Where I live in Alberta, the only family I have are my parents and my brother; the rest of my family is spread out over Ontario and Quebec. I do go to see my family in Ontario often, but something about this visit in Montreal was special. Because of the nature of my family, there's never really been any kids in the house besides me and my brother: no nieces, nephews, younger cousins. Nobody. Here, on the other hand, I have eight second cousins, six of whom are younger than ten years old. They're all so adorable and I can't wait to see them again! I think they were the highlight of my visit. Well, that and the fact that I was able to meet an internet friend I have in Montreal for the first time. I've never met anybody I know on the internet in real life before! Naturally, we met up to grab a poutine and much fun was had. I wish I could meet more of my online friends now! Maybe I'll have to plan a trip to Europe soon! Anyway, while it's sad to say goodbye to all these nice people, I will more than likely have a chance to spend at least another week in Montreal this winter break! I just need to "put up" with Quebec City until then. :) So what does the future hold? I'm going to an initiation for my program tomorrow morning. All the other students in international studies and modern languages in one place. Should be fun! I know there will be other students like me there as well: other anglophone Canadian's who've decided to study foreign languages in their non-native language. I guess I'm not as mad as I thought I was! Other than that, classes start on the second and I'm excited to meet new people here in Quebec City, where I know absolutely nobody. This is still a cause of anxiety for me, but seeing as how everything has gone so far, I shouldn't worry so much. And for those interested, I've managed to keep my English to a minimum so far: only two conversations in English with people who don't speak French anyway. Welp, I need to wake up early tomorrow, so I shouldn't be dillydallying. Hope everybody has been having a nice summer. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sizen Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4284 days ago 165 posts - 347 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German | Message 48 of 57 25 September 2014 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well it's been a while, hasn't it? Everything is going very well here, if you were
wondering. I've started my linguistics degree and have just been loving it. I'm finally learning ideas which I had kind of imagined will studying foreign languages but didn't have a name for or didn't truly understand. It's such a wonderful feeling to see everything coming together! I have to admit though, it's been a couple years since I've been a full-time student so it has felt a little overwhelming at times, but I've been finding ways to deal with it. Lately, I've been getting up at 7:30 every day to go to the library and study for at least 2 hours and surprisingly... it's been working just fine. Like, I'm actually getting out of bed even though I don't have any real obligation to do so. My current classes are as follows: Introduction à la description linguistique, Linguistique française : phonétique, Les parlers français d'Amérique du Nord, German and a silly French writing class because I dun spik gud Frnch. (The teacher told me he didn't think I should be in the class, but there's nothing we can do because I'm required to take it to be accepted into my program. At least it'll be easy!) Otherwise, I've been working on my Spanish again as I'll more than likely have to take a Spanish class next term (24 credits/8 classes for my degree). So, looking for some materials, I went to Archambault and had a great surprise: Assimil is sold off the shelves here. Perfectionnement Espagnol and Le Catalan were acquired without much hesitation. Since I've been getting up earlier than normal lately, I've had a false sense of more time in the day. I've used this to my advantage to work through my Spanish book on days when I don't have class or am not busy. I'm trying something new this time, though. Before, I would shadow every episode until I could repeat the lesson at about the same rate as the recordings, but this time I'm forcing myself to memorize each lesson and I'm also going back and translating each lesson to English and then back to Spanish. This takes a LONG time. I've had the book for 2 weeks and I've memorized 5 lessons and translated 3 lessons back and forth so far. There are only 60 lessons, so I'd be happy if I get done with the book 6 months from now. Finally, after taking the vocabulary test mentioned in the great vocab thread and emk's thread, I decided to take on the Japanese one to see how I would do: http://www.itt-leipzig.de/static/startseiteeng.html 頻出日本語単語1000 28/30 頻出日本語単語2000 30/30 頻出日本語単語3000 27/30 頻出日本語単語4000 29/30 頻出日本語単語5000 29/30 Like, I know I can already read pretty well, but this really surprised me. I haven't been very active with my Japanese (sorry team!), and I've felt my vocabulary failing in some areas. I guess it's not as bad as it seems though. Anyway, as you might imagine, I've been a little busier now with my classes, so I haven't really been looking much at languages like Mandarin and Korean. I do plan on looking at these again sometime, but I'd like to get used to my schedule first. For now, I only have time for French, Spanish, German and Japanese. And even then, German and Japanese aren't getting nearly as much time as they should. We'll have to wait and see how things work out. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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