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LanguageSponge’s TAC 2011, Team ÇÜ | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| LanguageSponge Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5766 days ago 1197 posts - 1487 votes  Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Welsh, Russian, Japanese, Slovenian, Greek, Italian | Message 1 of 128 22 December 2010 at 11:55am | IP Logged |
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So, I'll be starting my log off a little early for TAC 2011; since I have never made a log on this forum before, I warn you all right from the start that this may be a little messy to begin with! My semester is over, just as it should be as late as December 22nd, and from now until the end of 2011 I will be concentrating predominantly on French and German. This is a calculated choice made for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I will be graduating in Russian at the end of this academic year and after that I will be going to either Germany or Austria to work and if I'm lucky, to do some travelling with my girlfriend when she gets to Austria on the German part of her year out. My German is at present not all that bad but I've never really been able to match my level to anything on CEFR scale - probably because I don't want to overestimate my abilities.
My main reasons for having a go at French in this year's TAC are because my girlfriend is Belgian, from Brussels, and when you have a loved one who has a different native language to you, it's just rude not to learn their language, plus it's a whole lot of fun. Secondly we're going to Brussels at some point so that I can get to know her family better. She wants to go in February but I've told her if I need to speak French all the time, which I will have to, then I may need a couple more months than that. I am the kind of person, as many of us here probably are, who will not throw himself into an immersion setting unless he is very confident in his own abilities - and right now with French, I am not, and if truth be told, I wasn't ever in the seven years I did it in school either. All that is about to change, however, finally, as my incompetence in French is one of my big demons in life. Which also happens to be my last reason for studying it - I was told all the way through school I was bad at it and it's time to prove those people wrong. Goals - German - Write something in German every day. I have been severely neglecting Lang-8 for a long time now and it's time to change that. In terms of writing, my girlfriend and I usually text each other in German - and we text a lot - so we're basically writing German to each other on and odd all day long, which for my purposes here is good. On the other hand though, that massive amount of texting should probably be in French! - Listen to something in German every day. There was a time when all the music I listened to was in German, and that, I maintain, is the reason my listening comprehension is at the level it's at. I am going to make a habit of listening to the German news more often - I'm in the habit of using ZDF when I do listen. I don't find it difficult so it shouldn't kill my motivation. Also, when we're at home, as my girlfriend and I live together at uni, we speak German most of the time. Again, this should probably be in French but I am so nervous that we stick to a language we're both comfortable with that. -Reading is something I don't do enough of in German and I know that. My reading ability is fine, possibly a little too hesitant for my liking when reading aloud, but that's probably because I'm not used to hearing my own voice while reading. I don't hesitate half as much when actually conducting a conversation. I also usually read just formal German - newspaper reports and the occasional scientific article - so I should get back into reading fiction. My favourite things to read are fairy tales but I am way past the point of their being to raise my level really, so as much as it pains me to say it, I'll keep away from them. Any suggestions for something interesting to read fiction-wise would be fantastic and are very welcome. Preferably not translations though, they drive me nuts. Speaking - Okay, I speak German every day and it's not something that phases me in any significant way. I speak German with my girlfriend as I've already mentioned and speak nothing but German in my German language and literature classes. There is also the odd occasion when I have a conversation with my Russian literature lecturer in German, as she is a German national - have never asked her where she's from exactly though, she's got a very interesting accent. My goals with speaking are just to carry it on and prepare as much as possible for when I go travelling. I have trouble with some accents in German, albeit not many, although I am never able to work out where those accents originate from so can't have much intentional repeat exposure to them. Grammar - my grammar is pretty good; there's the occasional construction I mess up but my main problems I think are register and "sounding natural". I don't drill grammar anymore as I don't really think I need to. Vocabulary - I don't often need to use a dictionary when communicating in German anymore and when I do look up a word, I generally don't have any trouble remembering it. The two most common reasons I ever use a dictionary is firstly that sometimes I'm dissatisfied with the way I've expressed something and want to find a "better" way of saying it, or there are some fairly uncommon words that I don't know and need for a specific situation. For example yesterday I was writing about the snow crisis here and felt the need to look up the word for "anti-skid chains" - Gleitschutzketten. The only way I can think of effectively raising the vocabulary bar now is reading. If at all possible, I would be very grateful if, when anyone comments on my German here, you would please write in German as far as possible. Also I'd love corrections or notes about any stylistic pecularities when I do write in German, if you are able to provide them at all. Danke schön. Now for the difficult one. French Writing - Now, I don't consider my French writing to be that bad. My school teachers begged to differ, so there must be something there which is causing my French to look bad. I would be grateful for any help that anyone reading this can give me regarding this in the form of advice or corrections when I decide to slaughter French. I will use Lang-8 as regularly as I can and now that I have a correction, finally, to my latest post, I can write another one. It doesn't seem to have gone too badly - most of the mistakes I've made have just confirmed some things I was in two minds about. Reading - Reading is something I enjoy but find difficult. I am reading The Prisoner of Azkaban in French and not finding it very difficult beside the discovery of the past historic. I am still in the habit of looking at a page of French and thinking "wow, there's got to be loads in there I don't understand". My main concern with French is informal language because I'll mostly be writing informal French and speaking informally with my girlfriend, our mutual French and Belgians friends and her family. So I will be reading kids books and not so many news articles. I get enough of the formal language from the things my dad asks me to translate from French for his work. Listening - Listening doesn't phase me anymore. I may not understand everything, sometimes I don't understand anything, but because I am so used to hearing French spoken around me from my girlfriend, her French-speaking family in England and our French and Belgian friends, it doesn't phase me anymore. And I find that's half the battle. So bring it on, French! When I go to my girlfriend's house, the TV or the car radio is always on in French so I will be getting plenty of exposure. Speaking - the big problem. This is not only the one I need to do the most, it's also the one I'm most afraid of. My girlfriend and our friends are very supportive and try to encourage me to say absolutely anything in response to their conversations of which I often understand quite a bit, but I just can't. I will chat to them about it when we're all together for New Year and I'll attempt something then. This is the one I need to conquer at the latest by the end of this challenge, as I have promised to go to Belgium next year for Christmas. Oh dear. Vocabulary Over the coming months I am going to sit down every day and learn X amount of words. I don't find learning French vocabulary difficult either so for the moment I think 100 words per day is definitely doable. I may however change my mind as that may be overly optimistic or too easy. Who knows? At the moment I am staying with my dad and I have to look after my five year old brother for a lot of the day. It's difficult to get much formal studying done until he goes to bed in the evening so that may change very soon up until right after new year when I go back to Nottingham for uni. If at all possible, I would be very grateful if, when anyone comments on my French here, you would please write in French as far as possible. Also I'd love corrections or notes about any stylistic pecularities when I do write in French, if you are able to provide them at all. Merci beaucoup Okay, so that's it, finally. Congratulations if you've made it to the end. I will probably post again later, probably in French and German, to explain what I've done today and a little about my non-language related day. Any comments or suggestions on absolutely any of this are very gratefully received. Thanks for reading. Jack 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| troglodyte Diglot Groupie BrazilRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5280 days ago 53 posts - 69 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishC2 Studies: Italian | Message 2 of 128 22 December 2010 at 1:03pm | IP Logged |
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Salut, Jack !
Je suis heureux de lire votre log. Je m'appelle Ricardo et je suis aussi de l'équipe ÇÜ. Je suis encore débutant en allemand, donc je vais vous écrire en français d'abord. Mais j'espère que je peux vous écrire en allemand bientôt. Je te demande, n'ayez pas peur de pratiquer votre français avec votre petite-amie. Vous avez de la chance pour avoir de locuteurs natifs pour pratiquer votre français. J'ai pratiqué mon français avec mon père, qui et aussi en train d'en apprendre et cela nous avait aidés beaucoup. Je n'ai rien pour pratiquer l'allemand avec moi et je me sens la différence. Et bien. Je vous souhaite une bonne chance avec votre étudies en 2011. J'ai hâte d'étudier avec l'équipe "ÇÜ". Je vais commencer mon log ce week-end. À bientôt . Ricardo. Edited by troglodyte on 22 December 2010 at 1:34pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5766 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 4 of 128 22 December 2010 at 1:43pm | IP Logged |
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加油！
Ich stehe immer für Fragen zur Verfügung, okay? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LittleBoy Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 5310 days ago 84 posts - 100 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Mandarin, Esperanto | Message 5 of 128 22 December 2010 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
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Salut.
Moi aussi, je lis "Prisoner of Azkaban" en français en ce moment, mais j'ai déjà appris le passé historique, ce qui m'aide beaucoup. A l'école je n'ai qu'étudié l'allemand pendant deux ans, donc je ne vais que vous écrire en français. Est-ce que nous pourrions avoir le lien pour lire votre Lang-8? Je suis assez jaloux des occasions que vous avez pour pratiquer la langue! Bonne chance! Oh, et est-ce que je peux vous demander ce que vous pensez de Nottingham comme universitaire, parce que j'ai cette décision difficile moi-même cette année. Merci! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| tomsawyer Senior Member Aruba Joined 5287 days ago 103 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English* Studies: GermanB1, French, Russian | Message 6 of 128 24 December 2010 at 1:14am | IP Logged |
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Hallo Jack,
Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. Hoffentlich können wir dieses Jahr zwischen uns reden versuchen. Mein Deutsch ist noch nicht ganz perfekt, wie man wahrscheinlich sehen kann. Zurzeit lerne ich auch Französisch, deshalb sind wir beide in der selber Mannschaft. Viel Glück, bis später (wenn wir endlich eine zweisprachige Unterhaltung in Deutsch und Französisch haben kann!) Rob. Edited by tomsawyer on 24 December 2010 at 1:15am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| LanguageSponge Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5766 days ago 1197 posts - 1487 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Welsh, Russian, Japanese, Slovenian, Greek, Italian | Message 7 of 128 25 December 2010 at 7:30pm | IP Logged |
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Deutsch
Hallo zusammen, In den vergangenen Tagen habe ich mich meistens auf Französisch konzentriert, also heute schreibe ich ein bisschen auf Deutsch. Vorgestern war ich den ganzen Tag bei meiner Freundin also habe ich viel Deutsch gesprochen. Zuerst, vor etwa einem Monat, hatten wir vor, uns möglichst oft auf Deutsch zu unterhalten, damit sie ihre Redeangst überwinden könnte, aber jetzt hat sie fast keine Probleme dabei. Ich habe die deutschen Nachrichten im Internet angesehen und danach haben wir "Dornröschen" auf YouTube angesehen. Am Abend haben wir "Mulan" auf Französisch angesehen. Ich musste ihn manchmal anhalten, um Wörter aufzuschreiben, die ich nicht gekannt habe. Einmal musste ich ihn auch zurückspulen, da ich etwas Wichtiges in der Szene nicht verstanden hatte. Diesen Film hatte ich auch vorher nicht gesehen also hat das einen großen Unterschied gemacht. Gestern Abend sind wir ausgegangen und wir haben auf Französisch gesprochen. Ich war sehr nervös aber ich beginne, meine Nerven zu überwinden. Meine Freundin ist sehr verständnisvoll und begeistert sich dafür, dass ich ihre Sprache zu lernen versuche. Heute Morgen bin ich in aller Frühe aufgestanden, um Geschenke einzupacken. Mein fünfjähriger Bruder hat sich darauf gefreut, den massiven Haufen Geschenke unter dem Tannenbaum zu öffnen :] In den vergangenen drei Tagen habe ich fast 400 neue französische Wörter gelernt und die französischen Nachrichten im Internet gehört. Ich weiß aber nicht, ob ich alle Wörter sofort verwenden könnte. Ich verwende Wortlisten, da ich SRS-Programme für eine Zeitverschwendung halte, weil man viel Zeit verbringen muss, Wörter einzutippen, bevor man sie eigentlich lernen kann. Bao – Lange nichts von dir gehört! Danke für deine Nachricht. Ich wäre dankbar, wenn du meine Fehler korrigieren und Vorschläge zu stylistischen... Sachen, geben könntest. Wie geht es dir und deinen Sprachen? Frage - Gibt es einen (vielleicht stylistischen?) Unterschied zwischen diesen Sätzen? 1/ Sie ist froh, dass ich versuche, ihre Sprache zu lernen. 2/ Sie ist froh, dass ich ihre Sprache zu lernen versuche. Ich glaube, beide Sätze sind korrekt aber ich bin mir nicht sicher, ob ich die zweite Variante je *gehört* habe. Ich habe es nur im geschriebenen Deutsch gesehen. Danke :] tomsawyer – Hallo Rob. Dein Deutsch scheint sehr gut – es gibt einige Fehler aber nur ganz kleine :] Es ist aber nicht bei mir, sie zu korrigieren - das kann ich aber tun wenn du willst. Es wäre toll, wenn wir zweisprachige Gespräche führen könnten, ja! Seit wie langem lernst du Deutsch? Und woher kommt dein Interesse daran? Kuikentje – Danke für deine Nachricht, ich freue mich darüber, dass du mein Log folgst. Dein Log folge ich auch :] Français Bonjour tout le monde, Pendant ces derniers jours je me suis concentré sur le français parce que je dois me préparer à un voyage en Belgique. Ma petite amie ne l'a toujours pas organisé mais je lui ai dit que j'avais besoin de quelques mois pour me dérouiller la mémoire. Peut-être qu’on va lui téléfoner pour organiser des dates. J’ai recommencé à apprendre le français il y a environ une semaine et je suis sûr que j’ai oublié beaucoup de mots, même si je connais toujours la grammaire assez bien. En fait, c’est très bizarre de lire des mots que je connaissais il y a trois années mais dont je ne me rappelle plus. J'ai depuis longtemps peur d'utiliser le français parce que mes profs n'étaient pas très encourageants et mes camarades de classe se sont moqués de tout ce que je disais. Je ne comprends pas pourquoi tels gens sont profs. C’est tout à fait bizarre, je crois. Hier j’ai écouté de la musique en français – la groupe est du Québec et s’appelle « Les Cowboys Fringants ». Ma chanson préférée est « les étoiles filantes ». Je l’avais écoutée juste avant de passer mon examen oral à la fin de l’année dernière de l’école. Hier soir on est sortis pour manger chez un restaurant grec et ma petite amie et moi avons parlé en français. J’avais très peur parce que je ne voulais pas passer pour un idiot – mais je suis souvent trop dur environ moi-même. J’ai fait beaucoup d’erreurs et j’ai hésité beaucoup – j’étais si nerveux que je tremblais en fait, mais je fais du progrès. Peut-être que mes amis devraient me traîner au pub. J’ai tendance à me dégeler un peu après avoir bu de l’alcool :] Qu’est-ce que vous pensez? Vous avez reçu quoi comme cadeaux? Ma petite amie m’a acheté un livre qui s’appelle “Comment parler le belge (et le comprendre, ce qui est moins simple)”. C'est trop génial! LittleBoy – Bonjour LittleBoy. Merci pour votre message. Pour répondre convenablement à votre question, je voudrais savoir si vous voulez étudier les langues? Lesquelles? Vous voulez apprendre une langue ab initio? A quelles autres universités est-ce que vous avez fait une demande d’inscription? J’aime beaucoup les campus de Nottingham, ils sont génials, très beaux. Depuis quand tu apprends le français? troglodyte – Merci pour votre message et vos mots gentils. J’ai commencé à écrire à ma petite amie en français aujourd’hui – mais seulement par SMS parce que j’ai toujours peur de parler. Elle tente de me redonner la confiance. Tu devrais tenter de m’écrire un petit peu en allemand, même si tu dis seulement de petites remarques. Mon ex est allemande alors sa famille m’a enseigné l’allemand au début. Moi et ma petite amie, on a décidé de parler seulement en français après le nouvel an. Je m’en inquiète beaucoup. Jack 1 person has voted this message useful |
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