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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5016 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 40 11 March 2011 at 10:51pm | IP Logged |
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I am using this log to track my progress in Spanish. I feel like I have "begun" many times before but never truly committed to investing the time needed. I only joined this site a few days ago and have been soaking up as much information as I can! It's really been a wealth of information.
I am completely floored by the knowledge and experience of some of the people on this site. Not sure if I fit in here, as I only know English :( but I am highly motivated and willing to put in the work! I recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico which completely renewed my inspiration to continue learning Spanish. I have mainly been using Pimsleur as well as any Spanish materials I can get my hands on... reading online news has been helpful but also frustrating since I am such a beginner. I'll be updating this log every couple days in order to stay accountable and hopefully receive some feedback! Un nuevo comienzo! :-) 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Fabrizio Pentaglot Senior Member BelgiumRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5190 days ago 103 posts - 157 votes Speaks: Italian*, EnglishC2, French, SpanishB2, Portuguese | Message 2 of 40 12 March 2011 at 11:28am | IP Logged |
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Hey vanillabean, welcome on board!
Don't worry about the number of languages you speak, there's always room for improvements :) I'm more or less in your same situation, I know how it feels eheheh Please, keep track of your progress and make sure that everybody can read them regularly here on your log :) Good luck, I'll keep an eye on your log :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5383 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 3 of 40 12 March 2011 at 8:30pm | IP Logged |
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Good luck, Vanillabean. I was in your same exact situation a little over a year ago. Stick with it.
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| Jinx Triglot Senior Member Germany reverbnation.co Joined 5701 days ago 1085 posts - 1879 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Catalan, Dutch, Esperanto, Croatian, Serbian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Yiddish | Message 4 of 40 13 March 2011 at 2:02am | IP Logged |
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Welcome to the forum, vanillabean! I agree, this place is really a wonderful resource. Don't worry, there are plenty of other monolinguals here. The goal is what counts, and we're all working toward the same thing: knowing more than one language. :) Best of luck with your studies!
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| mr_chinnery Senior Member England Joined 5765 days ago 202 posts - 297 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 5 of 40 13 March 2011 at 2:22am | IP Logged |
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"Hi, my name's Matt, and I'm a mono-lingual".
I think there are lots of people here who only speak one language and just learn from the more proficient members, but that's what it's all about. I sometimes just wade in to discussions based on my very limited experience, and people don't disagree, and sometimes even find it useful. So you as a beginner can actually help other people by logging what resources etc have helped you. Anyway...I know what you mean about the news. As you're using Pimsleur, try listening or watching it instead...It's pretty satisfying when a phrase or utterance you've had drilled in by the good Doctor translates itself in your head without you even thinking about it. Even if, in my experience as a beginner, it's only one in a thousand phrases or utterances :D It still is for me, but that's where sticking at it comes in I suppose...'To fluency...AND BEYOND', as the robot from Home Improvements used to say... 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| vanillabean Groupie Canada Joined 5016 days ago 53 posts - 63 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 6 of 40 14 March 2011 at 3:55am | IP Logged |
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Thanks Fabrizio, James, Jinx and Matt! The encouragement is appreciated!
I finished lessons 1-6 with Pimsleur this week and I'm pretty comfortable with those, but I also have so many questions. I need to keep reminding myself that this will be a slow process and will be frustrating at times... I definitely need to work on my patience. :) I guess I just get ahead of myself and am so excited to understand more, but I'm not there yet. I think grammar will be the greatest challenge since I haven't even had to think about the elements of English grammar in a long time. One of my good friends is from Ecuador and she'll be helping me as I learn. I met her for coffee tonight and we talked about some of the questions I had. Her boyfriend speaks Spanish as a second language so offered to lend me a bunch of books he has - not sure what they are but I said I'd be interested. Does anyone have any suggestions as to particular resources they found helpful? Question for those more experienced: is there any harm in listening to/reading Spanish materials that are beyond my comprehension/skill level? For example, if I watched a TV show or movie in Spanish, would this have ANY value or would it be better to use more basic materials and wait until I know more? Hope everyone had a great weekend. Goals for this week are to get through another 10-12 lessons (I'm finding 2 per day totally manageable). I'll update again soon... 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| tibbles Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5199 days ago 245 posts - 422 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Korean | Message 7 of 40 14 March 2011 at 7:27am | IP Logged |
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I don't think it hurts to watch a Spanish video/movie beyond your level from time to time. If you space this out a bit while learning through other methods, it can serve as a rough gauge of your progress, say understanding 30% of a show today vs 50% of a show a month from now. Also, perhaps consider Destinos which is a very basic level but plot based show that might help bridge the gap between purely educational materials and difficult tv shows. Edited by tibbles on 14 March 2011 at 7:28am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5342 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 8 of 40 14 March 2011 at 8:59am | IP Logged |
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Welcome, and do not worry about learning only your first foreign language. I have learned several, but I am now learning Russian, which I find so difficult that it is as if I had no previous language learning knowledge at all.
Just stick with it, and you will reach your goal. Spanish is a wonderful language, and it opens a whole new culture. Coming from a "cold" culture in more ways than one, being with people from Spain or Latin-America always seems like a blood transfusion to me, or having an extra sun around. And go ahead watching film in Spanish even if you do not understand, I regularly watch Russian films, even if I only understand the occasional word, and understanding a full sentence feels like hitting the jack pot. Good luck!! Edited by Solfrid Cristin on 14 March 2011 at 9:01am 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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