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HSD’s Attempt at learning German | ||
Tags: German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 1 of 23 03 November 2014 at 10:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm putting up a log about my efforts to learn German in the hopes that it will let me look back and reflect upon my progress. This is my first attempt at learning the language, and it is a journey that will hopefully end my state of monolingualism.
I am currently working through the Assimil German with Ease program and will be completing lesson 10 this evening. On my commute I am completing the Pimsleur foundations course, which moves slowly, but is great for pronunciation practice. On Wednesday I will begin the Teach Yourself course (one hour each weekday on my lunch break). Periodically throughout the day I have small moments when I practice with Anki, Duolingo, and/or Memrise. I'm very open to feedback along the way! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Xenops Senior Member United States thexenops.deviantart Joined 3817 days ago 112 posts - 158 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese | Message 2 of 23 04 November 2014 at 5:13am | IP Logged | ||
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Hello there! Since you use Anki, I highly recommend using Gabriel Wyner's method (his webiste is here: https://fluent-forever.com/ He also has a book, which is good, it just costs money. :P
Also check out Yabla on iTunes. They have short videos in German, French, Italian and Spanish with English and target language subtitles. Happy learning! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| CheChe Groupie United States Joined 3958 days ago 41 posts - 45 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 3 of 23 04 November 2014 at 5:23am | IP Logged | ||
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Good Luck!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 4 of 23 07 November 2014 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you for the well wishes! Well, so far my German study is progressing. I just completed unit 8 of Pimsleur, which I really enjoy. The price is steep, and I don't think I'm getting much new material out of it directly...but it's a great aid to my listening (and responding) skills. It is also doing a great job of reinforcing the materials I've picked up elsewhere. I will say, though, that unit 8 did introduce some new terminology to me, so as I venture further I think I'll pick up new material from Pimsleur directly. I have a long commute, so this is 'free time' with the study for me.
I just completed unit 14 of Assimil. The listening has gotten much more difficult for me, but by the end of the lesson I feel like I'm hanging in there. I really enjoy the Assimil program and can see why it's so highly regarded. I've been picking and choosing new sentences and vocabulary to plug into anki - there are always a few down moments during the day to reinforce the materials. Memrise has been hit or miss. I loved it up front, because I could use it during down time to pick up some random material--but lately they've been using several past tense verbs. I don't understand the concept at all, and since the material is truly random I am having a very difficult time getting it right. I don't think it's doing any harm to my progress, so I'll just slog through it until I can review the troublesome sentences with ease (this may take a few more days). I've really wanted to start picking up fun materials (articles, children's books, etc), but I am far away from being able to read anything in basic native texts. I looked through some Amazon previews of a few children's books and didn't make any progress, so I suppose I'll hold off on making any purchases on that front. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4681 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 5 of 23 07 November 2014 at 6:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I always love reading about the progress of German learners. So many "ah-ha" moments
with this language in particular (at least for me). I learned primarily with Pimsluer, Michel Thomas, and the internet in the beginning. I got Assimil later and I definitely wish I had started using it earlier. It sounds like you have a great plan. The key is to stick with it, maintain your motivation, and don't burn yourself out (yet). If you DO start to feel a little burnt out, at least stick with the Assmil lessons and Pimsluer. Teach Yourself can be a bit dry at times and frankly isn't as much fun as Assimil, but it WILL give you a decent foundation in German grammar. Viel Erfolg! Edited by BaronBill on 07 November 2014 at 6:37pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| HSD Newbie United States Joined 3667 days ago 10 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 6 of 23 10 November 2014 at 11:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks, BaronBill! One click led me to another and I happened upon your German trial videos. I'm not quite sure I'll be where you were at the 4 month mark!
I'm about 3 weeks in to intensive study and I am having some concerns with my output. I started Teach Yourself and was able to manage the basic numbers, but all the other prompts are met with mixed results. I can also do well with Pimsleur's prompts, but if I try to muster anything to say in German I really am at a loss. Is that normal? Assimil is going well, but again I am not sure I could produce anything on my own. I'm starting to feel like I could have great success if I were learning to READ German, but not quite sure I'll make it far enough along to speak/listen. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BaronBill Triglot Senior Member United States HowToLanguages.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4681 days ago 335 posts - 594 votes Speaks: English*, French, German Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, Persian | Message 7 of 23 11 November 2014 at 1:43am | IP Logged | ||
Don't worry. Assimil takes a bit of time to really start to sink in, but when it does, you'll notice a big improvement in your comprehension and your output. Assimil is also a great source of phrases and vocabulary for ANKI. Be sure to speak the Pimsleur answers out loud as many of these "canned" responses will start to become ingrained in your head and form the basis of much of your output in the beginning. The biggest key to better output is to practice output. I used to stand in from of a mirror with a dictionary in hand and just talk about whatever sprang to mind. When I didn't know a word (which was ALL the time in the beginning), I would look it up, construct my sentence, and repeat it until it flowed properly. It was a lot of work but concentrating on speaking early was a big push for me. It works. Du bist auf dem richtigen Weg! (You are on the right track!) Edited by BaronBill on 11 November 2014 at 1:46am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BOLIO Senior Member United States Joined 4650 days ago 253 posts - 366 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 8 of 23 11 November 2014 at 2:12am | IP Logged | ||
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I will follow your log with great interest as German will probably be my next language after Spanish(unless
that Russian Siren keeps calling me). :) All the best, BOLIO 1 person has voted this message useful |
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