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CongerConger’s TAC2014 [Individual] | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| CongerConger Diglot Newbie Norway Joined 3926 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Russian | Message 1 of 6 01 January 2014 at 11:41pm | IP Logged |
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This will be my TAC2014 log wherein I will track my progress in language learning throughout the year. My language of focus for this challenge is Russian, but as I wrote in the sign-up thread I am considering picking up an additional language.
Background I can with absolute certainty put my Russian level at A0. I have done 16 lessons of Pimsleur Russian 1 before starting this challenge, but I have also been exposed to the language through films, music and travel, so I do already have a very basic repository of vocabulary and phrases internalized. As for general language learning experience I once did a degree in the humanities which gave me some rudimentary knowledge of Ancient Greek and Latin, but I have not done much to maintain this knowledge in recent years. I’ve also had the infamous three years of public school German, and I could probably be somewhere around level A1 after some brushing up of old skills. I do return to it from time to time, and a few months ago I read Hesse’s Der Steppenwolf in German without too much dictionary usage. I have also flirted with Old Norse, Basque, French, Spanish and Hungarian in the past - woe to thee, O wanderlust! Motivation My reasons for wanting to learn Russian are numerous but basically it boils down to a fascination for anything Russian that has been with me since childhood. I love the culture, the country and the sound of the language. A recent trip to the Karelian/White Sea region is what prompted me to finally start learning this language in a serious and systematic manner (I have flirted with on several previous occasions). Learning the language may also serve me well professionally, but in this respect other languages may be even more valuable so it is not a primary motivational factor for me. Goal I stated in the sign-up thread that I wanted to reach something akin to a B1 level by the end of the year, but I don’t really know how realistic that goal is. I obviously want to learn as much as possible, but as I have no immediate need to learn the language I don’t want to push myself too hard. My immediate goals are: 1. Establish a consistent, productive and enjoyable study regime. Basically I want to study for at least one hour every day, and get as much out of it as possible while still enjoying myself. 2. Finish off Pimsleur Russian 1, and maybe also Pimsleur Russian 2 and 3. The course has really helped me with my pronunciation so far, and given me a good start, but I do sometimes find it a bit tedious and slow. 3. Work through Colloquial Russian and/or The New Penguin Russian Course. PS: Although I’m exposed to English daily, and certainly do more reading in that language than in my native Norwegian, my active usage of it has suffered severe neglect, and so I really do appreciate any grammatical corrections or stylistic criticisms that you may have. I may also have to take a test (TOEFL or IELTS) eventually, so any comments as to my present level and what I might work on are very welcome. Edited by CongerConger on 03 January 2014 at 1:12am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| CongerConger Diglot Newbie Norway Joined 3926 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Russian | Message 2 of 6 01 January 2014 at 11:42pm | IP Logged |
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| CongerConger Diglot Newbie Norway Joined 3926 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Russian | Message 3 of 6 01 January 2014 at 11:51pm | IP Logged |
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So, starting off in a lazy fashion just to have something done and posted on the first day of the new year: today I did:
1 hour of Pimsleur Russian 1, lesson 17, listening and responding as one is supposed to do, and then repeating some new and/or difficult words and phrases. 15-20 minutes of some unorganized listening-reading activity to the song Домой (Domoi) by Любэ (Lube). Basically I listened to the song while reading the lyrics in Russian, and then I read through a translation I found online (yes, reliability may be a problem here). This was just a spontaneous thing, and probably not very effective, but nevertheless a nice way to get some Russian exposure at work. Edited by CongerConger on 02 January 2014 at 12:00am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5277 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes  Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 4 of 6 02 January 2014 at 5:52pm | IP Logged |
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Hi, and welcome to the forum! Happy to see more from Norway here :-)
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| CongerConger Diglot Newbie Norway Joined 3926 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Russian | Message 5 of 6 03 January 2014 at 1:32am | IP Logged |
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Takk for det Solfrid Cristin! Godt å se at jeg ikke er alene om å prøve å lære meg russisk.
02.01.2014 Continuing with Pimsleur, lesson 18 (45 minutes). No serious difficulties, except for sometimes mixing up ж and ш when speaking. The nice little "Drinking Pressure in Russian 101" near the end of the lesson was rather enjoyable. I also spent 30 minutes going through the first lesson of Colloquial Russian. The course looks good but I am not quite sure how to approach it yet. NB: First post updated Edited by CongerConger on 03 January 2014 at 2:00am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| CongerConger Diglot Newbie Norway Joined 3926 days ago 8 posts - 8 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English Studies: Russian | Message 6 of 6 11 January 2014 at 11:57am | IP Logged |
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Lacking regular internet access can certainly take its toll on a language learning log,
but here goes: 03.01.2014 - 11.01.2014 Since the last update I have been working through Pimsleur Russian 1, each day repeating the previous day's lesson before moving on to the next. I am now at lesson number 28 and should finish off the first part of the Pimsleur course on monday. A small personal victory there. I have not gone any further with the Colloquial Russian course apart from some occasional leafing through the first couple of lessons. The reason for this being a busy schedule and a small portion of laziness. Hopefully I'll manage to start working on it soon. So, until the next update my plan is to get started with Pimsleur Russian 2 and Colloquial Russian (seriously!), and perhaps also to find some other materials to use as supplements. Being something of a language learning materials hoarder I have quite a few options to choose from. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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