Super Challenge discussion thread 2014 (Language Learning Log) Language Learning Forum

Super Challenge discussion thread 2014
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Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log

432 messages over 54 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 3 ... 53 54 Next >>

Serpent
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Russian Federation
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Speaks: Russian*, English, Finnish^C1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

Message 17 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:06pm | IP Logged

Oops, Patrick, your post was more, eh, "agreeable" when I voted for it.

Welcome back to 2012 when we were going to read 100 actual books and only count 500+ as more than one book... Eventually it was agreed that if one can run a half-marathon, it's also possible to do a half super challenge. Now we're back to square one.

Everyone seems to want to use stars as emk (or patrickwilken) suggested, but many don't want the flexibility that this can bring? Why? You say you compete only with yourself, but then you want other people to set the same goals as you do?..

Edited by Serpent on 18 January 2014 at 7:07pm
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VivianJ5
Diglot
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United States
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Speaks: English*, French

Message 18 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:07pm | IP Logged

Kerrie wrote:

patrickwilken wrote:

I agree with Serpent that anyone doing this challenge is going to count
pages not books.

Kerrie wrote:

I think (B) is the best option, keeping 100 pages = 1 book unit. I really think it will get too messy & confusing if we
try changing a book unit to something else.

I don't know anyone who would read 100 books in 20 months. That's more than a book a week for nearly 2 years,
which is simply not realistic, especially for those learning foreign languages.

That's why I said book unit. It's just a way to simplify counting pages - at least in my mind. And reading
10,000 pages in your target language is supposed to be a challenge. A SUPER challenge. That's the whole purpose of
this thing. There are lots of different challenges here (and on other sites), and everyone can go with what works best
for them and their situation and goals.

And, actually, not to be argumentative, but some of us can, and do, read (more than) 100 books in 20 months,
especially if the "books" are counted as 100 pages. And yes, even in foreign languages...

As I mentioned in a post above, I would have a much harder time with the film part of the challenge, since the only
time I ever really watch films/TV series is when I'm on planes, and I need a change from reading.

To each his own...
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Kerrie
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justpaste.it/Kerrie2
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Studies: Spanish

Message 19 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:11pm | IP Logged

Serpent wrote:

Kerrie, last time the majority of us signed up with at least two languages, and some a lot more *cough*. While this "Super Duper Mega" challenge is doable in one language, it's discouraging for those of us who feel burnout if we focus too much on one language.

But see, the whole point of the Super Challenge is to make great strides in one target language. There are other challenges that are more suited to someone who wants to make strides in 10 different languages. The 6WC, TAC, Tadoku - all of those are great, but they all serve different purposes for different goals.

I'm sorry, but there is nothing "super" (in the sense of this challenge) about aiming to read 1000 pages in one of your lesser-priority target languages. It's great to aim for something like that, if it suits your style and your goals, but that is NOT what the "super challenge" is about, and I think it diminishes the ultimate goal of making major strides in one or two languages. Which - I thought - was Cristina's original intention with this challenge.
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Serpent
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Message 20 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:14pm | IP Logged

Note that per the original rules, you had to be B1 or less in the language. for B2+ you'd have to read 200 books and watch 200 movies. Nobody completed this, I think, though some got close.
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Serpent
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Message 21 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:31pm | IP Logged

Kerrie wrote:

Serpent wrote:

The original intentions of challenges tend to change though. 6WC wasn't originally about studying as much as possible but about seeing how far you can get in such a short time and comparing the methods (in the first 2 challenges the maximum was 30 mins per day). Now it's more about pushing your limits, and your total time also counts. And 6WC/Tadoku have a reasonable duration for focusing on just one language (even Tadoku allows three). My consistency thread was originally meant for specific goals like read 10 pages or do 1 Assimil lesson, but many started setting more flexible goals like "do something for 30 mins". I may not think it's challenging enough, but if it's important enough for others I'm not going to tell them to pick a more concrete goal.

Not to mention how much the TAC has changed if you remember its chaotic beginning or have read these old threads.

I agree, reading 1000 pages in one language is not impressive on its own. But reading 2000 pages in each of your 5 languages is at least as impressive as reading 10000 in one. Not to mention that I'm definitely aiming for 4000-5000 (whatever is decided) in a few languages, maybe 7500 if it "counts" too.

Edited by Serpent on 18 January 2014 at 9:07pm
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patrickwilken
Senior Member
Germany
radiant-flux.net
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Studies: German

Message 22 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:35pm | IP Logged

Kerrie wrote:

That's why I said book unit. It's just a way to simplify counting pages - at least in my mind. And reading 10,000 pages in your target language is supposed to be a challenge. A SUPER challenge. That's the whole purpose of this thing. There are lots of different challenges here (and on other sites), and everyone can go with what works best for them and their situation and goals.

Sorry I missed the "unit" part. Saying a 100 book units works fine for me.

Just forget about me: some people care about grammar in posts and some care about "book units". I'm the 2nd sort of guy...

What I think really matters is that we all agree that about 10000 pages is about right, however you want to define this. Personally I would be happier with a 10000 page challenge as it's accurate as we want to do, and 10000 beats 100 anyday in terms of badassery, and as Serpent points out no actually counts "book units" when actually doing the challenge.

I liked the simplicity of Solfrid's original intention to count real books, but unfortunately 100 or even 50 real books is not realistic, and books unlike movies simply vary too much in length.

Serpent wrote:

Oops, Patrick, your post was more, eh, "agreeable" when I voted for it.

Sorry if I sounded less "agreeable", I certainly do agree more or less with what people are saying.

Edited by patrickwilken on 18 January 2014 at 7:50pm
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Serpent
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Message 23 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:41pm | IP Logged

Ahem, not all. I see about three people who agree. Why do you want the stars for smaller achievements then? One of emk's intentions was definitely for the more multilingual learners to have something achievable instead of setting them up for failure.

Edited by Serpent on 18 January 2014 at 7:54pm
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Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

Message 24 of 432

18 January 2014 at 7:47pm | IP Logged

Serpent wrote:

I agree, reading 1000 pages in one language is not impressive on its own. But reading 2000 pages in each of your 5 languages is at least as impressive as reading 10000 in one. Not to mention that I'm definitely aiming for 4000-5000 (whatever is decided) in a few languages, maybe 7500 if it "count.

See, I'm not aiming for impressive. I'm aiming for progress, But to each his/her own.

patrickwilken wrote:

What I think really matters is that we all agree that about 10000 pages is about right, however you want to define this. Personally I would be happier with a 10000 page challenge as it's accurate as we want to do, and 10000 beats 100 anyday in terms of badassery.

We're on the same page. LOL

I did not know badassery was a word. I like it. :D

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