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CarlyD’s German/Spanish Log | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| carlyd Groupie United States Joined 3991 days ago 94 posts - 138 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 9 of 63 13 December 2014 at 8:52am | IP Logged | ||
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I spent time with textbooks this morning, 3 sections of Duolingo and I think I'm giving up on the "First 1000 words in German" on Memrise. The words so far are just so off the wall. Maybe I'll go back to it later.
I finally got Rosetta Stone set up on my computer. I had to beat the microphone headset into submission--I think it was made for someone with a head the size of a mouse. I did Lesson 1 on Rosetta Stone--nearly identical to the old LiveMocha program, but checking my pronunciation was nice. I can see why people complain--there's no grammar or context. I think that's why when I was first using it on LiveMocha I gave up. Now it's an addition to the textbooks, so it will be fine. Goals for the weekend: 1. Listening to CD's for pronunciation practice 2. Rosetta Stone, 3 sessions 3. Duolingo--5 sections 4. textbooks--2 hours. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| carlyd Groupie United States Joined 3991 days ago 94 posts - 138 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 10 of 63 14 December 2014 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm trying to use all the resources I have so that by the end of December I will have weeded out the ones that aren't as usable. So far #3 (previous German class text) bit the dust.
Went to AbeBooks this morning and spent a scary amount on German fiction books. Mostly kids books, but not all. Got some of the Maxi-Pixi books, Shaun das Shaf, three of the Felix und Theo detective books and two of the Benny Blu books. Plus a Donald Duck comic book and some others I don't recall. Sad that no one has translated any Scooby Doo books into German--I have a bunch in Spanish. :) I've set up my study notebook for the TAC 2015--one page for each week to list goals in the various books, programs, etc. I am so far the lowest level person on the German team, so I hope I don't let anyone down. I will find out tomorrow if I can get into the local college German I class. There was only 5 spots left on Friday and they may be gone before my assigned registration time. Today--textbooks done this morning, Rosetta Stone and Duolingo when I get home from running errands. Vocabulary work and reading later tonight. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| carlyd Groupie United States Joined 3991 days ago 94 posts - 138 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 11 of 63 16 December 2014 at 1:08am | IP Logged | ||
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I am stunned. I am amazed.
Today I picked up a fiction book--"Cafe in Berlin" by Andre Klein. Super easy reader, but still, a real book. I read the first page (well, yes, it was just a paragraph, but still) and understood it!!!!!! There was only ONE word that I totally didn't know. After each chapter (two to four pages long) there's a full page of translations for phrases which is wonderful, then a small test. For my 2015 plan, I'm looking at going somewhat slower than I had originally imagined. I decided I could go fast and then forget everything, or go slow and make sure it really sticks before moving on. I'm using the Bilingual America method: Example: read and re-read item #1 8 to 12 times. Go on to item #2, review item #1. Go on to item #3, review item 2, review item 1. So the item (chapter, etc.) is done 8-12 times to begin with, then reviewed up to 6 times as you go on. The numbers might change, but I know this works for me. Tried to sign up for the German I class. Found that today is whether I can register, not when. Registration was accepted but my appointment to register for the class is actually tomorrow at 9 p.m. and there are only 4 spots left in the class. Looking iffy. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| carlyd Groupie United States Joined 3991 days ago 94 posts - 138 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish | Message 12 of 63 18 December 2014 at 1:42am | IP Logged | ||
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No German class. :( By the time my appointment came up, the class was full.
So now I'm working on: 4 store-bought German books (not college texts)--a few pages from each every day. 1 to 2 hours, sometimes more Assimil--20 minutes a day Rosetta Stone----20 minutes a day Duolingo--10 to 20 minutes a day Going over notes and flashcards--10 minutes a day Reading fiction books (super easy at this point) 10 minutes a day Pimsleur, 30 minutes several times a week, but I only have the 1st 10 lessons, and don't know if I will go farther since I have both Assimil and Rosetta Stone. So in reality it's working out to between 1 hour and 4 hours a day, depending on other commitments. I'm thinking that as long as I don't break my goal of 30 minutes a day for 365 days, I'm good. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4535 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 13 of 63 18 December 2014 at 6:06am | IP Logged | ||
Congratulations on making so much progress so quickly. Starting to read will really help your German, so it's great you have started so soon.
I think 30 minutes/day is OK - though if you I would aim for one hour - at which point you should see steady progress. Edited by patrickwilken on 19 December 2014 at 12:15am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5011 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 14 of 63 18 December 2014 at 8:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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Yes, count me among your admirers, I wish you to keep such a good pace as long as needed.
Truth be told, I was curious how you'd handle such a wide range of material, whether you wouldn't spread yourself too thin. But it looks like you are juggling all these balls without any trouble. And congrats on the first book. Even a graded reader is an accomplishment and I'm sure you'll soon find your way to the regular books. How are the German comic books, have you found nly translations or some original stuff as well? I'd like to get some as it proved to be an awesome step in the transition to native books. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| patrickwilken Senior Member Germany radiant-flux.net Joined 4535 days ago 1546 posts - 3200 votes Studies: German | Message 15 of 63 19 December 2014 at 12:19am | IP Logged | ||
You might want to check out: Modern Graphics for ideas. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5011 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 16 of 63 19 December 2014 at 1:03am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks!!!
1 person has voted this message useful |
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