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Amerykanka’s TAC 2013, Teams Żubr & Nebun | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5168 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 1 of 176 26 December 2012 at 5:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi, everyone! This will be my second year participating in the TAC, and I am very excited about it. First, a little
information about me that is pertinent to language-learning. I taught myself to read when I was four and I became a voracious reader. I was the kind of girl who never went anywhere without a book, who made up secret codes and alphabets for fun and sent messages in them, and who invented languages and went around speaking in them. It was no wonder, really, that I ended up enchanted with languages. Around 7 years ago, all things Polish began to fascinate me due to my Polish heritage. I soon proceeded from liking Polish to liking all languages, although I didn't start seriously studying until 3 or 4 years after that. This is an abbreviated version of my history with languages - I'll include more details in my list of languages, which is coming soon! (There is a new addition to my languages that I am thrilled to be able to announce!) This year I am on two teams - Team Żubr and Team Nebun. I am looking forward to a year of study with these two awesome teams! Edited by Amerykanka on 26 December 2012 at 5:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5168 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 2 of 176 26 December 2012 at 5:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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My exciting language list has arrived!!!
ENGLISH English is my native language. However, I believe that you never stop learning a language, not even your native one. There are still thousands of words I don't know, and my writing can always improve - and so I make a conscious effort to read good, challenging books in English. Currently I am reading Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. I also want to add that I truly love English. If I could choose, I would pick English as my native language. POLISH It was Polish that first kindled my language passion. I have been learning Polish for around 7 years, but with varying degrees of intensity. When I was in my preteens and early teens, I was determined, but clueless, when it came to languages. Several years into my quest to learn Polish, I had acquired much better learning habits and then I began to study in earnest. I attended three-hour classes on Saturdays, which then changed to private lessons during the week, where I tried not to mangle the beautiful Polish language with my imperfect grasp of grammar and my often insufficient vocabulary. I studied grammar eagerly on my own; read 6 books in Polish, learning thousands of new words; and wrote long essays which my Polish tutor corrected. This went on for almost four years, until last year my busy schedule and the necessity of focusing on Spanish and Latin took a serious toll on my time. 2013 is going to be different. Polish is my favorite language, and near-native fluency is my ultimate goal, so I will make time to study. Right now I am at basic fluency. The one aspect of my Polish skills that I am satisfied with is my pronunciation - starting a language at an early age has some advantages. :) GOALS - Refresh my vocabulary. I have learned around 8,000 words, but over the last year my memory began to fail me. A few weeks ago I started typing my paper flashcards into Anki, and this should help to reactivate those seldom-used words. - Learn at least 1,000 new words by August. This is not a very large number (about 35 words per week), but I am trying to be realistic: I will still have to dedicate much of my time to Spanish and Latin. I would rather surpass a modest goal than fall short of an extravagant one. - Listen to Drużyna Pierścienia and other audiobooks to improve my listening comprehension. - Finish reading Kamienie na szaniec and read Krzyżacy by August. Also, read some Polish poetry and short stories. SPANISH When I was six, my mother wanted me to be exposed to a foreign language, so she bought a program for me to start Spanish. I finished it and later worked through three levels of Rosetta Stone, supplementing these programs with sporadic forays into Colloquial Spanish and other grammar books. Needless to say, this did not produce very impressive results. Two years ago, faced with a mission trip to Nicaragua, I decided it was time to crack down and learn Spanish properly. Since then, I have worked through Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate, three levels of Pimsleur, a Spanish AP prep book, and multiple exercises in my Practice Makes Perfect review books. I have also read three books (La Ciudad de las Bestias and El Reino del Dragón de Oro by Isabel Allende, and El Aprendiz by Mario Méndez), learned 5,000 vocabulary words, written 6 or 7 essays, and listened to hours upon hours of podcasts, telenovelas, and news videos. Currently I am around basic fluency. Even though I do not feel the same attachment to Spanish as I do to Polish, I will not be satisfied with anything less than near-native fluency. I must admit that at first I really disliked Spanish (as much as I can possibly dislike a language, anyway), but as I progress in my studies my love for the language grows. Spanish will be, along with Latin, one of my main focus languages in 2013. GOALS - Read lots of books, short stories, and poems. I mastered my native language by reading, and I intend to do the same with Spanish. Next I plan to read La Emperatriz de Los Etéreos and Las Dos Marías. These are both teen fiction; after I finish these two I probably need to move on to harder novels. - Learn thousands of new words. I haven't picked a definite number for a goal yet. - Improve my listening comprehension with at least 15 minutes per dayof podcasts, news videos, etc. - Finish my exercise books to improve my grammar and probably find an additional grammar source. LATIN I've been learning Latin since I was nine, as it was a mandatory school subject from 4th grade to 10th grade. I chose to continue learning Latin after that (and I am still learning Latin now) for several reasons. 1) As a Catholic, Latin has a special significance for me as the language of the Church. 2) Latin has proved an invaluable tool when it comes to perfecting my English and learning Spanish. 3) I really enjoy Latin and I am interested in reading the original Latin texts of Vergil, Cicero, etc. 4) Can you imagine me turning down a language? Anyway, I used Henle Latin and then switched to Wheelock's, which I really liked. Now I am working through A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by John Collins, which I have mixed feelings about. I also purchased Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar and it has become my favorite reference book. In addition, I am currently tutoring someone in Latin 1 and Latin II (high school level) which is a great way for me to review. I would say my Latin skills rank as upper intermediate. My main weakness at this point is vocabulary. I know at the very most around 1,000 words, which is pretty pathetic after 8+ years of study. My knowledge of grammar, on the other hand, is very good. GOALS - Finish the exercises for the last four chapters of Wheelock's. - Finish Collins and use Allen and Greenough's as a grammar supplement. - Translate the Locī Immūtātī sections at the back of Wheelock's and also other original Latin texts. - Learn more about scansion, figures of speech, etc. - INCREASE MY VOCABULARY! I hope to learn at least 2,000 new words this year. (Once again, I am setting modest goals for myself.) ANCIENT GREEK I will be returning to my Greek studies this August. There is nothing else to say for the time being in regards to this fabulous language. And now for my exciting new addition!!! ITALIAN About a year and a half from now, I will almost definitely be spending three months in Rome. I decided that I had better start studying Italian now so I can at least be at basic fluency by the time I land in Italy. Italian is the most confusing Romance language for me (besides Romanian). I can read Portuguese, Catalan, and even French better than I can read Italian, so I am excited about finally penetrating its mysteries. Currently my level is zero - I can say "andiamo", "famiglia", "signora", and "dov'è", but that is about all. This year Italian will not be a primary focus language; however, I do want to reach a good intermediate level. My intent is to lay a firm foundation so that I can study more effectively in the months leading up to my trip. GOALS - Start and finish Ultimate Italian Beginner-Intermediate. - Start and finish Assimil Italian With Ease. - Learn lots of words - I'd say at least 1,500 by August. Well, I hope you made it through that post! I don't like really long posts, but there was nothing to be done. :) Edited by Amerykanka on 27 December 2012 at 4:24pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5168 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 3 of 176 26 December 2012 at 6:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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SPANISH
WEBSITES a good Spanish dictionary RAE dictionary RAE's guide to Spanish grammar a good Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary listening material (Radio ONU - never used this, but it looks good) listening and reading material (VeinteMundos) more listening and reading material (BBC Noticias) TEXTBOOKS & PROGRAMS The asterisk indicates courses that I have used in the past, but do not use anymore. *Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate by Irwin Stern, Ph.D. (this book was very good - I learned a lot from it) *Pimsleur's Spanish (Latin American), levels IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, and IIIB (this program helped my spoken Spanish immensely - luckily for me, my library had all three levels so I didn't have to buy them) *Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) levels 1, 2, and 3 (Second Edition, I think - I did learn some from this program, but not enough to justify paying the price for it. I never plan to buy Rosetta Stone products again!) *Colloquial Spanish of Latin America: The Complete Course for Beginners by Roberto Rodriguez-Saona (I never actually finished this book - I honestly didn't like it very much) MORE TO COME SOON . . . READING MATERIAL An asterisk indicates books that I have already read (in Spanish). El Retorno del Rey by J. R. R. Tolkien Harry Potter y la Cámara Secreta by J. K. Rowling *La Ciudad de las Bestias by Isabel Allende *El Reino del Dragón de Oro by Isabel Allende *El Aprendiz by Mario Méndez La Emperatriz de los Etéreos by Laura Gallego García Las Dos Marías by Maria Inés Falconi I have also found lots of short stories and poems online. See this website! There is a lot more to come ! Edited by Amerykanka on 03 March 2013 at 4:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Marya Diglot Groupie Poland languagewanderer.com Joined 4411 days ago 62 posts - 77 votes Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: Russian, Norwegian | Message 4 of 176 26 December 2012 at 8:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hey!
Wish you good luck with Polish:) I'm always impressed when foreigners decide to learn the polish language 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6102 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 5 of 176 26 December 2012 at 8:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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Wagons roll! [Can I say something like: 'No dalej!'?]
Good luck in 2013 Amerykanka. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5168 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 6 of 176 26 December 2012 at 8:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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@Marya, Bardzo dziękuję za Twoją ofertę pomocy dla naszej drużyny - jestem pewna, że będę potrzebowała
dużo pomocy i rady! Powodzenia w Twoich studiach w 2013! :) Jak zauważysz jakieś błędy w moim piśmie, proszę daj mi znać! Polski to mój ulubiony język, ale jeszcze mam wiele problemów pisząc i mówiąc w tym przepięknym języku. @Mooby, thank you! Życzę Ci powodzenia w 2013! Edited by Amerykanka on 26 December 2012 at 8:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5392 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 7 of 176 27 December 2012 at 3:45am | IP Logged | ||
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I am seriously afraid that your enthusiasm is going to convince me to "just spend half an hour a day" with my Assimil Polish book. LOL I am glad to be on at least one of your teams again this year. It was fun to follow you last year, and I look forward to what 2013 brings for all of us. I hope 2013 is a great year for you. :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5168 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 8 of 176 27 December 2012 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | ||
Yay, I finally updated my second post to show my list of target languages!
I am excited to be on one of your teams again, as well! Your list of languages is very exciting and I can't wait to read your log! :) By the way, you have been using Assimil Italian With Ease, right? What do you think of it? Since I am starting Italian, I want to buy a good course, and Assimil is at the top of my list. And about the Polish . . . well, what can I say? It's an awesome language! With all the languages you already study and just the general business of life, I'm not sure how you can find that half hour, though. I know that I can barely manage four languages! :) Edited by Amerykanka on 27 December 2012 at 4:34pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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