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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 65 of 95 28 January 2015 at 12:37pm | IP Logged |
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Hey Straya, thanks for dropping by!
It sounds to me that you've made a great start, and Swan is undoubetedly good. When I began in 2010, I went a bit crazy and bought a lot of grammar wookbooks, some of which I still haven't used to this day (but I will, if only to confirm and consolidate what I already know). You only need a couple of books to start with, so in addition to Swan I'd suggest either 'Colloquial Polish' or 'Polish in 4 Weeks' (books 1 and 2). Both have audio dialoques, concise explanations and exercises. You may also want something like Pimsleur to help with pronunciation. There's lots of other perfectly good options, but you can waste money and time juggling between similar material. Once you approach the Intermediate level, I would recommend the specialist grammar books published by Universitas which cover in more detail things like verbs of motion and Polish numerals. As you'll have gathered from reading my logs, I like listening to Radio Trójka. I like the range of podcasts on culture, science and society. I can practise reading the short introductions and then get listening. Listening comprehension is still frustratingly slow. When I started, I seriously underestimated the amount of input that is required for comprehension to become noticeable. Even now I look at how little reading I manage compared to some of the more experienced HTLAL-ers. Read lots, listen to lots. Tons. I used to think that learning a language is like climbing a mountain, and that somewhere high in the clouds there is a pinacle of achievement which, on reaching, I could finally plant my flag and say with satisfaction 'I've done it'. Well, I've come to realise that place doesn't exist, it's a myth. Instead of a single pointy rock, there are high undulating terraces and plateaus, any one of which will give you a commanding view, but not necessarily the absolute view of everything. So who cares about summits, as long as your view keeps expanding and, importantly, you are taking the time to enjoy what you're seeing. That the language is increasingly comfortable, useable and enjoyable if not absolutely perfect. I guess this stems from my goal-orientated way of thinking. I like goals. But rather than agonise over reaching an abstract goal of 'learning Polish' (what does that actually look like anyway?), I like to set concrete goals such as read this workbook, these 50 books, 10000 pages by Christmas, watch 10 films by February, write 10 x 1000 word essays on Lang-8, etc. Go with Swan and maybe one other grammar of your choice. And dive in. Swim about in it (not drown!). Listen, read, make pen-pals....make it part of you. Did I hear you're going to Poland? You have to tell me about it - powodzenia! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 66 of 95 14 February 2015 at 7:52pm | IP Logged |
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double post Edited by Mooby on 14 February 2015 at 9:11pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 67 of 95 14 February 2015 at 9:10pm | IP Logged |
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Anki = 5118
Hours Studied =78 (Total this year: 160) Pages read so far this year =279 Just finished reading 'Przygody Piotrusia Pana' (Adventures of Peter Pan) by J.M.Barrie. The dialogue was quite easy, the rest of the prose was convoluted and challenging in places. Apart from the occasional podcast I've not listened to much. I've not watched TV for a few weeks and just watched one film, a dubbed 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. And apart from a little vocabulary building and Anki reviewing, I've only completed a few more pages of 'Polish in 4 Weeks' (Book 1). Having missed 3 Polish Conversation lessons on the trot (sore throat / icy weather / lack of motivation), I went to class this week and practised a few basics. I also got to converse with one of the Polish cleaners in the lift on my way out - as soon as I got home I reviewed this conversation and learnt how I could have expressed myself better. The art of small talk, use of colloquialisms, brief exchanges, knowing and deploying set phrases automatically - although not hard per se, it requires a good deal of practise to sound natural. Words of the Week mieścić imp. - 'to hold', 'to contain'. How many litres does that bottle hold? ('Ile litrów mieści ta butelka?'). przedsięwzięcie - 'venture', 'undertaking'. It's a huge undertaking ('to ogromne przedsięwzięcie'). runąć per. - 'to collapse', 'to crash', 'to fall down' speedily. The helicopter crashed into the lake ('śmigłowiec runął do jeziora'). pachwina - 'groin' anatomy. Lumps in the groin ('guzki w pachwinie'). ładunek - 'load', 'cargo'. Ship with a cargo of coal ('statek z ładunkiem węgla'). February's Track As it's Valentine's Day.....Brathanki - Mamo ja nie chcę za mąż ('Mum, I don't want to marry'). Edited by Mooby on 14 February 2015 at 9:13pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 68 of 95 17 February 2015 at 4:55pm | IP Logged |
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Scribblings based on last Wednesday's conversation class at college:
Ślimak Take a word After everyone else has left I take my time, eyes down looking for trip hazards. I finally approach the lift. People wait politely Although I am now the object of their curiosity. From 20 paces I pick out the Polish girls one gently berating the other about something. Twelve paces to go. I think of something to say placatory, humorous perhaps. Let them know, that I know. English dominant reflex orders: “you are painfully slow, say 'snail' with a shrug and a smile”. Five paces remain. Everyone has stopped talking one of them holds back the lift doors. Meanwhile, newly laid neurons are firing and searching through buried files in the basement there is a word. I know it, just need to extract it in time. Two paces. I step into the lift. The target word has been acquired and is converting to audio. My lips part and pull back slightly as my tongue rises to create a voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant. My vocal cords twitch, air expells. It's just a sound to the people on my left but a word to the girls on my right. They smile as if by magic. They know. We know. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| pesahson Diglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5727 days ago 448 posts - 840 votes Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: French, Portuguese, Norwegian | Message 69 of 95 19 February 2015 at 4:38pm | IP Logged |
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I love the poem, Moody!
I never would have thought that a poem about linguistic struggles could be so engaging. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 70 of 95 18 March 2015 at 1:06pm | IP Logged |
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@ pesahson: many thanks - now I just need to write it in Polish!
Anki = 5225 Hours Studied = 111 (Total this year: 271) Pages read so far this year = 458 I spend a lot of time with Anki. Not just reviewing, but ammending old cards with notes and newly found phrases or sentences that illustrate a particular point of grammar. I have also been amalgamating cards to create word groups e.g joint cards for adjectives and their corresponding adverbs and superlatives, verbs with their verbal nouns and participles. I spend too much time on it really, I tend to prettify and fuss with my cards forgetting that it's only a tool. Why over-elaborate the scaffolding and neglect to actually build the house? Why spend ages configuring and customising a camera and only take a handful of pictures with it? Or a car, and never drive it? I need to spend more time on building the language and less time fiddling with the scaffolding. Get my hands dirty with the language - get active, get immersed. Sooner or later Anki has to make itself redundant. Thank you very much Anki, the house is stable enough to stand on its own, we don't need you now. Goodbye. I am reading more. I used to think I read quite a bit, that I was reading enough, well done Mooby, pat yourself on the back. But since recording how much I read, I realise that it's no much at all - just 6 pages (1500 words) a day. I really enjoyed reading through Bakunin's Log again. It's inspired me to read more, read extensively and at the appropriate level. If you're out there, Bakunin, thanks again. As part of my final homework for Polish Class, I had to write an essay about myself. I managed 376 words. I expect to get feedback from the tutor soon. Words of the Week tarapaty plural - 'difficulties', 'dire straights', 'trouble'. He got into finacial difficulties ('wpadł w tarapaty finansowe'). rygiel - 'bolt', 'deadbolt', 'locking bar'. stojak - 'rack', 'stand'. A set of cups on a stand ('zestaw filiżanek na stojaku'). zużywać imper. - 'to consume', 'to use (up)', 'to expend'. How much current does a kettle use? ('ile prądu zużywa czajnik elektryczny?'). orlica - 'bracken' bot. March's Track Biegnij przed siebie ('Run ahead') by Ania Wyszkoni. Edited by Mooby on 18 March 2015 at 1:08pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| OCCASVS Tetraglot Senior Member Poland Joined 6642 days ago 134 posts - 140 votes 1 sounds Speaks: Italian*, English, French, Polish | Message 71 of 95 17 April 2015 at 11:48pm | IP Logged |
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Cześć Mooby. Czy uczysz się dalej polskiego?
Pamiętam, że kiedyś był wątek "TAC" dla uczniów tego języka. Wróciłem tutaj dopiero dzisiaj (po kilkumiesięcznej przerwie), ale wydaje mi się, że polski staje się coraz mniej popularny na tym forumie. Zrobiłeś ciekawe zdjęcia we Wrocławiu. Tam mieszkałem przez trzy lata. Jest wiele rzeczy o których mogę napisać. Na przykład, wiesz, że będzie Europejską Stolicą Kultury w 2016 r.? To nie jest przez przypadek. Wrocław to znak nowoczesnej Polski, która rozwija się i jest już poważnym graczem we współczesnej Europy. Pozdrowienia i powodzenia z Krakowa! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6104 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 72 of 95 21 April 2015 at 10:13pm | IP Logged |
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Cześć Francesco,
Jestem bardzo zadowolony, aby usłyszeć od ciebie. Tak, jeszcze uczę się polskiego, ale postęp jest boleśnie powolny. Mam nadzieję, że w tym roku odwiedzić Kraków z bratem, prawdopodobnie we wrześniu. Pozdrowienia! Anki = 5389 Hours studied = 123 (Total this year : 394) Pages read so far this year = 808 I've been reading 'Połacana Dżungla' by Olgierd Budrewicz, a book that was in a job lot of 48 I recently bought online for £18. It's an account of the author's travels around South America in the 1960's. My habit for every reading session is to read the first 2 pages out loud and re-read intensively, noting unknown words and grammar useage. Thereafter, I read quietly and extensively, about 15 pages a session is my comfortable limit but this is increasing every week and I have begun to get into a flow and stay there. Vocabulary acquistion, Anki and reading have been my main activities, with an occasional dip into a grammar book. I've not listened to much this month. Words of the Month trącać imper. - 'to nudge', 'jostle', 'knock'. Someone is nudging me with their elbow ('ktoś mnie trąca łokciem') mściwy - 'vindictive'. strzęp - 'shred' tatter. A reputation in shreds ('reputacja w strzępach') dogodzić per. - 'to please someone', 'indulge', 'suit'. Nothing will please him ('nikt mu nie dogodzi') szum - 'hum', 'humming' noise. The humming of the wind ('szum wiatru') April's Track Paweł Kukiz - Miasto budzi się - The city wakes up. Edited by Mooby on 21 April 2015 at 10:21pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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