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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 33 of 40 24 August 2011 at 5:53am | IP Logged | |||||
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^^ Thanks James.
I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated in here... over a month again :/ However, I have been progressing in Spanish and definitely haven't quit! BUT progress has been slower than before as I've found it challenging to keep up the number of hours I was putting in previously (3-4 per day). I've been reading most days, reviewing vocabulary and working out of my grammar book, but I've fallen behind in terms of Platiquemos and have only been having a few legitimate conversations per week. The Spanish conversational group is definitely helping, but it's still only a couple hours a week - I need more. I'm trying to push one of my best friends (who is a native speaker) to switch to Spanish when we're talking, but she says it's hard to remember when she's used to speaking English with me. I want to start logging my progress in here more often - it keeps me accountable and putting it in writing really makes me realize when I've fallen short some weeks. Edited by vanillabean on 24 August 2011 at 5:54am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kreanga Newbie Denmark Joined 4768 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Danish* | Message 34 of 40 03 November 2011 at 4:51pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Your log is very motivating, vanillabean!
What's your Spanish status now? I'm just starting out myself. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 35 of 40 16 December 2011 at 8:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Sorry everyone, seems I am not very good at keeping up with this log!
My Spanish is still coming along well, although much slower than before. I think it is both a function of not being "as much" of a beginner anymore (where it feels like EVERYTHING is new) as well as not having as much time to devote to studying. The meetup group has been incredibly helpful. We are now up to 160 members and although only about half of them have ever participated, it's great to see so much interest in practicing conversational Spanish. Also, the people I have met along the way have really helped me as well =) I've fallen way behind in my audio course, however I'm still using my grammar books, flashcards on Anki and doing lots of reading. I find reading is an excellent way for me to learn. I try to read 2-3 news articles each morning for practice. I'll update in a couple days... I'm planning on doing a large amount of studying over the holidays so hopefully that will allow me to move forward a bit more. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 36 of 40 28 March 2012 at 5:05pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I haven't abandoned this journal. Although it's been over three months(!) since I updated, things have been going pretty well, except for my ability to get over myself and SPEAK around native speakers. This continues to be a problem. I'm not sure when this really started, but I've made some friends through the meetup group and it seems like once I'm friends with someone, I actually start to get more nervous about speaking with them. Yes, strange.
However. I have been keeping up with everything else, with the exception of my audio (Platiquemos). I need to do that on a more regular basis but I've been pretty busy lately. I've been getting lots of listening comprehension practice through both my friends, and consistent meetings on Skype. However, that remains a weak point for me - I understand the majority of conversations I hear until I'm being asked direct questions in a different way. As well, I've noticed difficulty if two native speakers are speaking together - they tend to speak exponentially faster as the conversation progresses. The meetup group has been a great success. We now have over 215 members and we're getting great turnouts to all our events. There's a lot of intermediate/advanced speakers (and native speakers) which has allowed me to learn a lot faster. I wrote the following for my journal on lenguajero.com - just some reflexions of my progress so far. I hope 2012 can be a lot better in terms of committment, progress and jumping even further out of my comfort zone. ------ La proxima semana sera un año desde que comenzé a aprender español. Estoy feliz pero al mismo tiempo, estoy frustrada porque pensé que mi español sería mejor en este momento. En verdad, solo puedo culpar a mi misma, porque una parte del problema es que cuando tengo la oportunidad para practicar, no hablo. Con mis amigos, he tenido muchas oportunidades para practicar pero no las he aprovechado. Espero cambiar eso el proximo año. Recientemente, he estado usando Skype más para practicar con otras personas que hablan español y quieren aprender ingles. Eso ha sido muy útil. Creo que cuando estoy hablando con hablantes nativos, aqui en Canada, me siento nerviosa porque yo se que ellos hablan español e íngles. Esto puede ser intimidante para mi. En contraste, por Skype, yo se que la otra persona esta an la misma situacion, asi me siento mejor. Tiene sentido? Mientras mi vocabulario ha mejorado un poco, mi comprension auditiva es todavia mala. Yo se que necesito tener paciencia, pero a veces eso es mas facil decirlo que hacerlo. Quiero ir a un país hispanohablante. Creo que podría aprender mas rapido. Estoy determinada a lograr mis metas. Es solo una cuestion de tiempo. Voy a continuar practicando, hablar con mis amigos, estudiar todos los dias y espero que algun dia, pueda hablar con fluidez. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 37 of 40 24 November 2012 at 8:41pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Again, it's been forever since I updated in here. I haven't abandoned by Spanish studying (in fact, I've been
spending more of my time on it). However, I'm going through a hard time right now with how my learning has been coming along. I know I need time and patience, but I've been really frustrated lately with how slowly things are progressing. Some days I feel so proud of my progress, and others I feel like I'll never accomplish my goals (usually after a night with native speakers where I pick up only half of what they've said)! I started Skype lessons with a Spanish tutor from Guatemala, so I spend an hour each Monday night - half is conversation and half is more intense grammar practice. I've also been meeting with some Skype partners that are trying to learn English. It's been pretty helpful but I still feel like I need daily practice. Some other exciting news is that I'll be going to Colombia in February for 2 weeks to take Spanish school and participate in a homestay. It's only 2 weeks, but I still think it will be really important for my progress. I like the idea of literally being forced to speak Spanish 100% of my day, even if only for a short time! That's all for now... I'll make a concerted effort to log in here a little more often with updates :) Edited by vanillabean on 24 November 2012 at 8:42pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 38 of 40 24 November 2012 at 8:43pm | IP Logged | |||||
Thanks! I'm glad you're following along - I'll try to update a bit more often though :) Spanish is coming along slowly but surely! How long have you been studying? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| kreanga Newbie Denmark Joined 4768 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: Danish* | Message 39 of 40 25 November 2012 at 1:34am | IP Logged | |||||
Oh, one year, but I have kind of stopped. Need to restart myself :O .. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5006 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 40 of 40 09 January 2014 at 2:48am | IP Logged | |||||
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Oh no... I feel so bad for literally abandoning my log here. :( I have still been working on Spanish but life has
gotten in the way and I somehow stopped keeping up with this. Not sure if anyone's still reading this, but I'll pick up where I left off! Without calling these resolutions (which make me cringe, haha) I have started off 2014 with a few goals: -Read at least 6 books in Spanish this year (classics) -Commit to at least 2 hours of spoken practice per week. While this doesn't seem like much, most of my practice is in small chunks of time or in conversations that switch back and fourth between Spanish and English. I'd like to regularly accomplish a couple hours of dedicated conversation. I still have many opportunities to speak in Spanish that I'm not taking advantage of! -Read the news in Spanish each morning, even if it's just one quick article -Start using my Anki vocabulary cards again, even if I can only do 10 minutes a day. So, we'll see how that goes! :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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