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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Recht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5809 days ago 241 posts - 270 votes  Speaks: English*, GermanB1 | Message 81 of 127 28 April 2009 at 10:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hey Fairyfountain,
Since it seems you have experience with speaking partners, I was wondering of you could give me some tips. I've just emailed 25 people regarding becoming speaking partners. I'd like to fill up every spare moment of my day in conversation with someone. Any tips for this? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 82 of 127 28 April 2009 at 11:55pm | IP Logged | ||
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I emailed 1K people and didn't manage to find enough partners, so I don't really have any advice. I'd say, be as pushy and enthuasiastic as you can, but try to remain polite too.
Oh and, since I've made noticeable progress in my spoken English, Americans tend to keep me on the phone for much longer (sometimes up to 1h30!). If you struggle too much, most partners will tend to hang up quite quickly, just a thought. Ask for 5 minutes of conversation and sell yourself :p 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Recht Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5809 days ago 241 posts - 270 votes Speaks: English*, GermanB1 | Message 83 of 127 29 April 2009 at 12:07am | IP Logged | ||
Oh, I should have specified. The idea is that you meet your partner at a cafe or bar or something like that, and speak half the language they want, half then one that I want. I don't think they can hang up on me in person :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 84 of 127 29 April 2009 at 12:43am | IP Logged | ||
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Well, then sorry, I've never done that!
The only contacts I had with American took place in a controlled environment (in my case, university). I'm a big fan of voice chats, though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 85 of 127 04 May 2009 at 6:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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My log's back on track, but I'll only post a ballpark figure of my progression.
LISTENING: 335/10K overall VOCABULARY (FLASHCARDS MADE+ PRONUNCIATION): 200/16.5K (I resetted my count 2 days ago) Edited by fairyfountain on 04 May 2009 at 7:13pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 86 of 127 04 May 2009 at 7:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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I just saved all the pronunciations I downloaded. Total number: 1.9K, so it was well worth it!
However, my computer doesn't seem to like gigantic zip files. That's also why I decided I'd save the files on 3 platforms at least - since every single word means at least one click, I'd better save it all. I mailed the zip files to several mail accounts, just to be on the safe side, and will also put them all on a memory stick. That plus my hard drive and my ipod should be enough. However, once the total size of the files excedes 40 Mo, I'll start burning CDs and DVDs and then store them in someplace safe. I have more storage ideas, and I'll put them in practice once my collection is sizeable. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 87 of 127 04 May 2009 at 9:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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Quick update: I'm pretty much finished with all my saving work. It took a lot of time. In the meantime, I made a dozen more flashcards, so it's all good.
I'll never compile such a hefty zip file again. My computer needed 3 hours or so to compress it, and even if it's handy, 11.5 Mo of words isn't that well accepted by most email providers. Something tells me that the postmaster messages I'm getting aren't a good sign :p Still need to do my vocabulary reps, but it can wait, as I have to work on my presentation urgently. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| fairyfountain Senior Member Zimbabwe Joined 6136 days ago 254 posts - 248 votes 5 sounds | Message 88 of 127 05 May 2009 at 12:22am | IP Logged | ||
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Quick updates are defo the way to go. I'm done with looking for words for my presentation. I'll try to think of more good adjectives, but I've run out of options - thesauruses can only help that much.
A week ago, I hurt my pronunciation badly by voice chatting too much, so I'm trying to get it back by not talking. However, I'm still struggling. Two weeks of heavy listening and shutting up come at a price: time. I'm afraid I won't be able to create such good conditions again until the exams. Sometimes, mistakes are do a lot of damage, and I've got to try and rake as much listening hours as possible till D-day. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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