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Bakunin TAC 2013 Asian 鶴 / Żubr | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes  Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 41 of 94 03 March 2013 at 9:03pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update. I'm a quarter into my target of 1000 hours, well ahead of time. I'm sure book keeping and keeping a log help me to stay focused and balanced in my activities. From my stats, I see that I spend about 10% of my time on speaking, which seems to be a healthy proportion. I could do some more writing, but, honestly, I can't be bothered to do structured writing exercises right now. Chatting is fun, though, and a good alternative source of input.
Concerning my secondary goals, royal vocabulary and either Buddhist vocabulary or some Pali, I think I'm doing fine on the first. I've read a few stories using royal vocabulary, and I can recognize the most important terms. I'll continue to expose myself to royal vocabulary at a slow but steady pace. Concerning the second goal, I haven't done much. I didn't find a neat book to study some Pali last time in Thailand (I would only want to study it through Thai, obviously), and I haven't read any Buddhist texts or stories apart from พระเจ้าสิบชาติ (which I'm still at). I'm counting on my primary school education project to give me sufficient exposure to Buddhist terminology (they have Buddhism as a subject) in order to meet this goal. Listening: 91 (+5.6) Reading: 109 (+8.7) Speaking: 23 (+2.2) Writing: 8 (+0.8) Other: 29 (+2.7) Total: 260 Listening: Apart from the usual stuff (podcasts and radio), I did a last set of recordings for thairecordings.com. I also watched a few episodes of VRZO. Reading: Some reading on the internet, but mostly reading offline. I've finished ห้าสหายผจญภัย สูตรลับเกาะเคอร์ริน; next in line is ห้าสหายผจญภัย ล่ารถไฟปีศาจ. I've paid some attention to my reading speed: usually, I read word for word, from left to right, but sometimes, when I'm captivated, fully focused or the content is very easy, I read in chunks. Reading in chunks is much faster and therefore more enjoyable. I'd like to transition to reading in chunks for the most part of my reading, but I think I'm just not there yet. This is entirely a matter of exposure, I believe. The more I read, the better I will be able to predict what word or phrase is coming next, and the better I will be able to read in chunks. Ah, and reading the news in Thai instead of the New York Times… so happy about the clean, reader-friendly fonts of my iPhone app - can't stand those busy websites. Speaking: Phone. My performance (rated by myself) is quite erratic. Should I care? Writing: Chatting on whatsapp. Other: Typing… I finished the long chapter on plants, which was quite interesting, and I'm in the middle of the chapter on animals. I try to type ten pages every day (ten pages of a primary grade 1 school book isn't that much) in order to make some progress and move on to grade 2. I'm half-way through science, and then there are another two subjects waiting: Buddhism and technology/professions. Both should be interesting, though. Typing is great; it helps a lot with spelling (which can be a challenge in Thai), I see lots of new (but basic) words in context, and I learn a lot about Thai culture and the way Thais see things. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 42 of 94 08 March 2013 at 9:40pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update. A fairly uneventful period.
Listening: 97 (+5.9) Reading: 116 (+7.0) Speaking: 26 (+2.7) Writing: 10 (+1.6) Other: 32 (+2.8) Total: 280 Listening: News podcasts, a few episodes of VRZO, and some TV on dootv. Reading: Mostly continued with my novel, but also reading the news and some other random stuff on the internet. Speaking: Phone calls with friends. Writing: Mostly chatting on whatsapp, but also two entries on lang-8. I don't really know what to do with lang-8 corrections... this time I wrote a second entry practicing a few corrections from the first entry. Other: Still copying primary grade 1 science. Finished the chapters on animals and the human body, currently working through a longish chapter on materials (wood, plastic, cloth, rubber etc.). Next up is a chapter on soil. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 43 of 94 13 March 2013 at 6:48pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update on another rather uneventful period.
Listening: 100 (+3.5) Reading: 125 (+8.9) Speaking: 30 (+3.6) Writing: 11 (+0.9) Other: 35 (+3.2) Total: 300 Listening: Didn't do much listening this period, just my daily dose of VoA and NHK news. I should ditch the latter, really, but can't find a good replacement. Reading: I've read a lot, mostly continued with my novels. I've realized that I'm now well under 3 minutes per page, and even faster when I'm captivated (usually the last third of the book). Not too long ago it took me five minutes to read a page. The faster I read the more fun I have and the more I want to read. It's a virtuous circle. I've also continued with an unfinished Tosachat story (viedums suggestion) on the weekend, but I can't bring myself to work on it during the week. Speaking: With my italki tutor in Thailand and operating on a Thai schedule, speaking is with friends on the phone only. Writing: Chatting on whatsapp. Other: The highlight in terms of new content, as always, are my typing sessions. I've finished the subject science and started Buddhism. It'll take me a bit longer to work through the Buddhism schoolbook because it's full of new words; I expect up to two weeks. The first chapter introduces Buddhism and gives an overview over his life. There's of course, a special register for Buddha and Buddhist monks, but there's some overlap with the royal register. From what I can see, the schoolbooks on Buddhism are an excellent introduction to basic Buddhist terminology because they are graded in terms of difficulty and explain most new words. The chapter I'm currently working on presents Buddhist stories including one of the Tosachat set. The schoolbook also touches upon Islam and Christianity. Edited by Bakunin on 13 March 2013 at 6:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 44 of 94 17 March 2013 at 9:56pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update.
Listening: 105 (+4.8) Reading: 135 (+10.4) Speaking: 30 (+0.1) Writing: 13 (+2.1) Other: 38 (+2.6) Total: 320 Listening: The usual suspects. Reading: Continued with Enid Blyton's Famous Five adventures, occasionally getting frustrated with Blyton's tendency to stereotype gender roles. Apparently, Blyton was criticized for using only a fairly restricted set of vocabulary... I think that's helpful for me as a learner. Need to 'graduate' from Blyton soon, though. The good thing about reading a series of books is that you don't need to think about what to read next; just grab the next book of the series. I've got around ten books left, so in summer I should be ready to move on. I also read a number of news articles this period. Speaking: Almost no speaking. Writing: Chatting on whatsapp. Other: Typing: I'm still working on the subject Buddhism. Thai Buddhism is full of hocus-pocus and has little in common with the Buddhism I encountered in Soto Zen when I was younger. It's all magical stories and little about Buddha's main ideas or the meditation practice he suggests. Edited by Bakunin on 17 March 2013 at 9:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 45 of 94 23 March 2013 at 8:31am | IP Logged |
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Time for another update.
Listening: 111 (+5.6) Reading: 144 (+8.7) Speaking: 32 (+1.9) Writing: 13 (+0.5) Other: 41 (+3.3) Total: 340 Listening: News podcasts and radio. Reading: I've finished the Famous Five series and have turned to another series with 4 kids and a bird. The first few pages were full of new descriptive words I hadn't seen before, but now my reading speed is back to normal. Speaking: Phone. I'd schedule a tutoring session but had to cancel it because I got sick. Writing: Chatting on whatsapp. Other: I've finished Buddhism; the last chapter on important Buddhist holidays was useful. The next subject is 'professions and technology'. The first two chapters were on work at home (chores), how to hold a toothbrush, spoon or fork, etc., and on clothes. Today I've started the chapter on food covering the five main food groups, kitchen utensils and ways to prepare food. It contains a lot of useful vocabulary, not all of which I'm familiar with. Edited by Bakunin on 23 March 2013 at 8:32am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 46 of 94 26 March 2013 at 6:49pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update. I got the flu and spent most of my language time reading.
Listening: 113 (+2.8) Reading: 157 (+13.5) Speaking: 32 (+0.8) Writing: 15 (+1.2) Other: 43 (+1.8) Total: 360 Listening: As usual, I kept up with VoA's and SBS's news podcasts and listened to some random radio talk shows. Reading: Since I finished the Famous Five series and started the Adventure series, reading has become even more fun. I was broadly familiar with each of the Famous Five books' plots because I had read them in French a few years ago, so I always had a hunch what was coming next. But that's different with the Adventure series. While I faintly remember having read those books as a child, I can't remember any details whatsoever. Now it's really exciting to follow the stories, and I catch myself wanting to read the next chapter and the next one. The characters are also quite different in personality, and there's a lot of new vocabulary associated with each of them. Generally, the language overall is refreshingly different because the two series have different translators. I've already finished the first one and hope to finish the second one this month as well. Speaking: Phone. Writing: Whatsapp. Other: Ah, typing! Slowly but steadily making my way through Professions and Technology… the next topics after 'the five main food groups' were agriculture and craftsmen. Got an overview of the most important gardening tools as well as tools used by various craftsmen. As I said before I love how varied the content of schoolbooks is. While I can follow my own specialized interests myself, systematically going through schoolbooks makes sure that no major lexical field falls by the wayside. Only five or six more days to go, and I'm finished with grade 1! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 47 of 94 30 March 2013 at 7:21pm | IP Logged |
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Time for another update. We're 25% into 2013, time to check how things are going.
Regarding my main goal, to spend 1000 hours on Thai and to keep some balance between the four main skills, I think I'm very well on track. Time-wise, I've got 38% already and think I can keep the required level of involvement to comfortably reach 1000 hours. In relative terms I've spent only 13% on speaking and writing combined which seems low, but in absolute terms it's a bit more than 30 minutes per day, and that's in line with what I consider balanced. I just need to make sure this figure doesn't drop. Regarding my secondary goals, I'd say I'm doing ok. Royal vocabulary: I've read a number of stories involving royalty and royal vocabulary, I've encountered brief sections containing royal vocabulary in various schoolbooks, and I've read the first two Tosachat stories choke full of royal vocabulary. I'm far from comfortable with the royal register but I'm learning the basics and seem to be on track. Buddhist vocabulary or Pali: Firstly, I haven't been able to find an attractive introduction to Pali roots in Thai, and secondly, Buddhism is a school subject and I've got a few books on my desk to work through, so I'll go for Buddhist vocabulary and won't do Pali this year. I've completed primary grade 1 Buddhism and the first two Tosachat stories. Compared to the royal register, I feel even less comfortable with Buddhist terminology at this point in time, but since I've got a plan I think I'm doing ok. Books: In the first quarter, I've worked through 6 schoolbooks and have read 11 novels for young readers. I don't have statistics for the time before 2013 but I'm sure I've never read so much in Thai in a quarter. This is partly due to the fact that my reading speed has noticeably improved recently. Listening: 119 (+5.2) Reading: 168 (+10.5) Speaking: 33 (+0.8) Writing: 16 (+1.3) Other: 45 (+2.3) Total: 380 Listening: VoA, NHK and SBS podcasts as well as random radio talk shows (including an interesting discussion on the developing situation in Thailand's southernmost provinces). I wanted to watch some TV (I have a subscription with dootv.tv), too, but some of my favorite TV shows seem to have ended in 2012. I also watched a few episodes of VRZO on youtube. Reading: I finished the second book of the Adventure series and may start the third one today. I also read a number of news articles and finished the second of the Tosachat stories. This story was long (>7000 words) and really tough going; I found new words (mostly royal or Buddhist terms) in almost every sentence until the very end. Speaking: Phone. Writing: Chatting on whatsapp. Other: I finished grade 1, thank goodness, and will now move on to grade 2. I've got eleven grade 2 subjects to work through; this will take a few months. The first subject I'll be working on is Science. The topics - plants, animals, human body, … - are the same as in grade 1, but there's much more detail. I like learning in spirals, it helps to reinforce and consolidate knowledge. Edited by Bakunin on 30 March 2013 at 7:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bakunin Diglot Senior Member Switzerland outerkhmer.blogspot. Joined 5128 days ago 531 posts - 1126 votes Speaks: German*, Thai Studies: Khmer | Message 48 of 94 03 April 2013 at 7:27pm | IP Logged |
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I've estimated my reading speed, quick and dirty. Here's my calculation: The book I'm currently reading has 18.5 words per full line (I counted two lines, 17 and 20 words), 24 lines per page. I adjust that product by 0.7 to account for the fact that many lines are not full. From several measurements during the last week I know that I need a bit under 3 minutes per page when reading full chapters. Comes out at about 110 words per minute (wpm).
Here's an overview of reading speeds from a random website (Forbes), sanity-checked with figures on wikipedia: Third-grade students = 150 words per minute (wpm) Eight grade students = 250 Average college student = 450 [...] Average adult: 300 wpm Wow! I'm still a factor 3 below the average adult reading speed. There's still a lot of room for improvement... Edited by Bakunin on 03 April 2013 at 7:28pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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