|
 |
TAC 2010, Team K, Teango - GE SP SW RU | ||
Tags: Kanji | Turkish | Listening-Reading (L-R) | Swedish | Total Annihilation Challenge (TAC) | Russian | German | French | Spanish | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 89 of 185 14 May 2010 at 12:37pm | IP Logged | ||
|
¿Qué pasa, hombre? :) My little Spanish LR project is nada in comparison to the hours I bet you're having to put in recently. I really hope you ace all the coursework and exams, and are able to get back posting soon - I miss your chido (I'm hoping this means "cool") logs and posts.
PS You can't imagine how difficult it was NOT to do Swedish instead of Spanish for this, the decision was very close! ;) Edited by Teango on 14 May 2010 at 1:35pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6170 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 90 of 185 14 May 2010 at 8:25pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Best of luck with your challenge. I will be most interested to hear the results. I'm a little jealous that you have the time to take on the challenge.
Hey after your done, have you thought about putting up a video or audio file so we can see the progress you've made just after a few weeks? I'm sure this experiment would interest just about everyone on the forum. Just a small suggestion. If I was going to do the challenge I would do it almost identically but I would do one or two intense Michel Thomas foundation passes just to get a little bearing before taking up L-R. Bonne Chance! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 91 of 185 15 May 2010 at 4:41am | IP Logged | ||
|
Thanks, Adrean. Your logs with LR and French last year were really fascinating to follow, so I hope I won't disappoint with Spanish this year.
I did actually think about doing some foundation passes with a beginner's course initially, but then decided against it and opted instead to stick with pure Listening-Reading for the first experiment, as suggested originally in siomotteikiru's post, and just see what happens. I will however read up on IPA, learn my own native phonetic library so I can compare with Spanish later, and quickly skim the summary background on Spanish language in Wikipedia, all hopefully in good preparation. I'm also toying with the idea of just playing some background Spanish audio or music on Sunday, to get the ears attuned before I begin studying. One thing that is worrying me so far though is that my Spanish truckload of orders hasn't arrived yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the German post won't mess up this time (things have been known to go missing or arrive very late before, you see). As regarding audio and video logs, it's a good idea and definitely worth considering. I'm a little camera-shy right right now, especially being genuinely quite ill and still in recovery at the moment, but I could definitely post up an audio file after the experiments. I'm not promising much, but it would be great to get some feedback and perhaps a few pointers from native speakers. Not long to go now before it all kicks off... :) Edited by Teango on 15 May 2010 at 7:04am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Wise owl chick Senior Member Ecuador Joined 5320 days ago 122 posts - 137 votes Studies: English | Message 92 of 185 15 May 2010 at 6:25pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Hi Teango,
I read your log. On the preceding page you wrote about "Mahlzeit", and I want to say that this is the word I learned, the people say this more that "Guten Appetit" I think. Probably it's lesser formal. Wir gefällt's dir jetzt in Deutschland zu wohnen? Ich weiß, du hattest eine slechte Erfahrung, das war ganz schlimm. geht's wieder besser, oder was findest du davon dort zu wohnen? Ich würde vielleicht auch gerne dort wohnen ich weiß es aber nicht. Grüße, Wise owl chick 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 93 of 185 16 May 2010 at 8:47am | IP Logged | ||
|
Ehrlich gesagt, meinen klugen gefiederten Freund, hat alles mir hier in Darmstadt nicht so super geklappt. Ich hoffte, dass ich bald nach Geneva entfliehen könnte, aber du weisst wie diese Dinge manchmal ausfallen können. Im Augenblick, würde ich lieber in Barcelona, Heidelberg oder irgendwo ähnlich wohnen, aber ich versuche immer allerdings das Beste aus allem machen! ;)
English for non-German readers: "To be honest, my wise feathered friend, everything hasn't worked out quite so well here in Darmstadt. I hoped that I could escape to Geneva soon, but you know how these things can somethings work out. I'd rather be living somewhere like Barcelona or Heidelberg right now, but I always try to make the best of things nevertheless!" [Please feel free to correct my no doubt appalling German, people, I haven't really started writing properly or delving into more advanced grammar yet...to catch up with my listening, reading and speaking...but I'm always keen to improve. :) ] Edited by Teango on 16 May 2010 at 9:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 94 of 185 16 May 2010 at 9:05am | IP Logged | ||
|
PROGRESS IN Spanish, WEEK 19/52 OF THE 2010 TAC CHALLENGE
SUMMARY Preparation (mainly plans, setting up motivators, gathering resources): sorry, no idea, I lost count - lots! ;) WANDERLUST CONFESSION BOX Just keeping up with my meagre pile of 172 kanji reviews for now, no new additions. TEANGO’S WORD/PHRASE OF THE WEEK "¡Buena suerte!" (good luck), my first real new phrase in Spanish (olé!), which I learned courtesy of ellasevia and papillon this week - many thanks! NOTES This coming Monday marks the beginning of a whole new chapter in my language learning book, where the whole shebang should hopefully reel in some interesting results. In preparation, I've been mainly tying off loose ends with work over the last week, and gathering the resources I'll need for learning Spanish over the coming month. In addition to setting up resources and my study environment, I'll also be spending some time today looking more into IPA, English and Spanish phonetics/orthography, and will try to gain a little background by checking out Wikipedia's entry on Spanish language if time permits too. So much needs doing really...I already feel like I'm rushing off to a tea party and the day has just begun! So on to the quest then, amigos y amigas! I'll try my best to put in the 120 hours of Listening-Reading as promised during the first fortnight (this works out as roughly 10 hours every workday plus an additional 10 hours over the weekend) [experiment 1], and then hopefully bring my speaking and writing skills up to a better level in the second fortnight using a variety of fresh techniques and spicy resources (just like a tasty salsa!) [experiment 2]. This won't be easy at all, as my health is not too good at the moment, and my recent erratic sleeping patterns need to seriously start counting Spanish-bleeting sheep at the end of the day and return my thoughts as soon as possible to a safer fold each night. To already quote Miguel de Cervantes' excellent advice in "Don Qioxote": "Blessings on him who invented sleep, the mantle that covers all human thoughts, the food that satisfies hunger, the drink that slakes thirst, the fire that warms cold, the cold that moderates heat, and lastly the common currency that buys all things, the balance and weight that equalises the shepherd and the king, the simpleton and the sage." When both experiments are over, for which I'll provide a daily log in each case so you can follow any progress, I'll be heading off to some warmer corner of the world where they actually speak Spanish to down a few sangrias and indulge in tables of tapas. Don't worry about me losing all the benefits of learning Spanish over such a short time either, I have ongoing plans to cultivate what I've learned much further, once I return. I haven't decided where to go just yet, and am currently trying to decide between Barcelona and the Canary Islands. Wherever I book my hols in the end, it will definitely be near sand, sea and salsa. I'm already getting excited at the thought of this little getaway... ^u^ Here's a list of what I'll be using for my studies... L-R literature with accompanying audiobooks and translations: - Antoine De Saint-Exupery, El Principito / The Little Prince (parallel text) - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal / Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Juan Ramon Jimenez, Platero y Yo / Platero And I (dual-language book) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Juego Del Angel / The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafón,La Sombra Del Viento / The Shadow Of The Wind [I'll probably only have time to get partway through one of Zafón's novels, but I ordered two just in case, and can use the other for daily reading comprehension checks.] Reference material: - Langenscheidt Pocket Spanish (Pocket Dictionary) - Búscalo! (Look it Up!): a Quick Reference Guide to Spanish Grammar and Usage - Pronounce it Perfectly in Spanish (with CDs) Online resources: - Yabla: LoMásTv (premium wesbite with video immersion, music, and flashcards) - Lang-8 (free written language forum for exchanging corrections) - various other websites, including information on IPA, and English/Spanish phonetics. Monday is going to be a very busy day indeed, as I'm still missing some of the materials I ordered (I get so excited opening up my Spanish language parcels when they arrive, you better believe it!). I also need a good quality dictaphone, and if I can get my hands on them, it would be great to have some Spanish music/movies/magazines, and perhaps some more lego (for motivation ;) too. I'll also be contacting several more language learning centres and local tutors in addition to trying to fit in my first 10 hours of Spanish LR throughout the day. Is this all going to be possible, I ask myself, or do I need to find a "time-turner" beforehand and steal some extra hours back?! Well, my main aim this week (outside of LR) is to book a native Spanish-speaking language tutor for the final week (i.e. in 3 weeks time) to help with discussions and essay writing, and ideally find somewhere to practice with Spanish people afterwards nearby. Living in Germany however, unlike somewhere like Miama, I soon discovered this wasn't quite so straightforward (as there aren't that many Spanish speaking people around here to be honest). The quoted prices are also a little scary, leveling out around €50-60 per 40 minute session in many places (Darmstadt is pretty damn expensive; it's certainly no Berlin!). The task will also be made that much more challenging because I aim to follow my own special programme of study over the week, rather than what's usually prescribed by a tutor or language school over months or years, and that (i.e. going outside the rules) is normally unheard of here. Still I'm persistent and very hopeful I'll find some kind soul to take me on soon. Just T minus 1 day and counting to lift-off now! :) Edited by Teango on 21 December 2010 at 3:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Wise owl chick Senior Member Ecuador Joined 5320 days ago 122 posts - 137 votes Studies: English | Message 95 of 185 16 May 2010 at 12:01pm | IP Logged | ||
Schade, ist Darmstadt besonders schlecht, oder ist das allegmein so dort? Ich hoffe, du kannst bald umziehen. Ich bin eine Mädel, also "meine kluge gefiederte Freundin" solltest du dann sagen :) ich weiß es nicht wie diese Dingen ausfallen können: ich bin noch in der Schule und jedes Mal als ich ins Ausland gefahren bin, war's mit meiner Eltern, oder vor lange Zeit mit meiner Gymnastikverein aber das war vor acht Jahre oder sowas. English for non-German readers: What a pity, is Darmstadt particularly bad, or is that generally like this there? I hope you can move house soon. I'm a girl, therefore you must say "meine kluge gefiederte Freundin" (in German there are some differences because of the gender but in English it's not). I don't know how can this things be: I'm sitll in the school and every time I was in the foreign countries it was with my parents, or long time ago with my gymnastic club but that was eight years ago, approximatley. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5558 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 96 of 185 16 May 2010 at 3:06pm | IP Logged | ||
This raises a good point. One of the benefits of languages like English is that you don't need to worry unduly about gender in cases where you don't really know for certain whether someone or something is male or female. Last time I covered myself by writing "amigos y amigas" in Spanish and got away with it ( ;) ) , but "kluge(n) gefiederte(n) Freund(in)" seems a little messy and confusing on the whole, so I went for pot luck and opted for masculine this time round. Knowing my recent luck and my worn-and-torn pots, I'm not surprised things turned out otherwise, but it would be a shame to miss out such phrases altogether in future. In English, it's common practice to stick with one or the other and not worry too much about gender, rather than needlessly cluttering up the page with "he or she" phrases every time, or worse still, perhaps resorting to the outdated use of "one". In other languages I don't know...what do people recommend? PS Another question for the grammatically brave of heart is whether a phrase like "my wise feathered friend" would fall under accusative or nominative. With my head full of worry over where the verb should go, I've probably misplaced this phrase in the accusative anyway, so should this now be "mein(e) kluge(r) gefiederte(r) Freund(in)"? Oh, headache time...writing in German is far from easy. Hilfe! :) Edited by Teango on 16 May 2010 at 3:07pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
