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TAC 2013 Chav’s Polish Log - Team Żubr

 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log Post Reply
31 messages over 4 pages: 1 2 3 4  Next >>
Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 1 of 31
08 January 2013 at 10:36pm | IP Logged 
So this is me signing up for TAC 2013. I was a bit nervous about doing so, but I have made the leap and here we are. I hope to join Team Zubr (Bisons).

I'm... well, "false beginner" suggests I learned anything beyond "excuse me" and "hello," but this is my third or fourth time starting over with Polish. I have no pressing external reason to learn it, so it's quite easy to give up. I'm hoping this log will help me keep going, as I have resolved to actually keep it going this year to see how much I can learn. I just think it's a nice-sounding language, and there's a lot of Poles in Scotland these days so maybe there's a chance to use it at some point. I have a lot of time because I have health problems so I can't work at the moment. In February I start my second year of (beginner's) Spanish and German with the Open University, so that's the main thing that will compete with Polish for my time. Apart from procrastination, of course.

I'm using "First Year Polish" from the internet and I have a Polish-English dictionary if I need to refer to one. I also have TY Beginner's Polish but I found the topics a bit dull and some of the phrases a bit strange. (Do I really need to know how to ask about contacts at the archives before I can ask where the bathroom is?) So FYP is on my Kindle and I've made it to about page 25. In other words, I know almost nothing. I am using Anki for what Anki does.

My goal is just to see how much I can learn. It'd be nice to get to be conversational. But I'm not putting pressure on myself to do anything other than get a bit done every day.



Edited by Chav on 09 January 2013 at 3:01am

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Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 2 of 31
09 January 2013 at 1:32am | IP Logged 
I went a bit mad in the Amazon Kindle store and I now have five ebooks that might possibly help me along my way:

- Bilingual Tale in English and Polish - Frog (Animals and Flowerpots Series)
- Czy Wiesz, Co Widz?? [Do You Know What I Can See?] [Polish & English Edition]
- First Polish Reader for beginners bilingual for speakers of English
- Polish is EASY!
- English Polish Joke Book

I don't know how much use they will be to me at this very early stage, but I hope they're useful to have for later on or whatever.

I forgot to mention that I'm also using the Michel Thomas Method Introductory Course, mostly listening on my mp3 player before I go to sleep. It seems good but I have to admit it does send me to sleep quite often.

I'm also using various videos on YouTube that teach basic phrases or which are simply music to listen to and to see how many words I can recognise. I need to get quite a bit of exposure to the sounds because it's so different from English.


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Mooby
Senior Member
Scotland
Joined 6107 days ago

707 posts - 1220 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Polish

 
 Message 3 of 31
09 January 2013 at 1:37am | IP Logged 
Witaj Chav!
Great to see another Polish learner from Scotland.
I've admitted you to Team Żubr so you can officially consider yourself a bison - welcome!

As a TAC member you will need to add 'Team Żubr' to the title of your log, so I'd ask you to amend it please. Just use the edit.

I'm really looking forward to your Polish adventure. I've been studying it seriously for 2 years and I've met and made friends with a lot of Poles. They turn up everywhere! There are loads of opportunities in the UK to put this language to good use - that's really the main reason why I'm learning it.

There are lots of resources here which you can refer to.

Thanks for making contact
Do zobaczenia
1 person has voted this message useful



Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 4 of 31
09 January 2013 at 3:10am | IP Logged 
Dziękuję! I have edited the thread title to add the team name.

I'm a bit scared of all the cases I will need to deal with, but I've done enough German to at least know what cases are which is something.

One thing I hope is that someday I will be able to read and partly understand the signs in Polish that occasionally appear in the building's laundrette. Those mean there have to be at least a couple of Poles in my building, but while I *think* a woman two floors up is Polish (she's definitely Eastern European) I don't really know her to talk to. Maybe that will change!
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pesahson
Diglot
Senior Member
Poland
Joined 5730 days ago

448 posts - 840 votes 
Speaks: Polish*, English
Studies: French, Portuguese, Norwegian

 
 Message 5 of 31
09 January 2013 at 4:51pm | IP Logged 
Chav wrote:

I forgot to mention that I'm also using the Michel Thomas Method Introductory Course, mostly listening on my mp3 player before I go to sleep. It seems good but I have to admit it does send me to sleep quite often.


I recommend you concentrate more on it. The first time I used MT (for French) I only listened to it while commuting therefore missing out on the speaking part. It wasn't of much use that way. If it bores you, maybe just do it for short periods of time but more often.

Good luck with your studies.
1 person has voted this message useful



Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 6 of 31
09 January 2013 at 6:56pm | IP Logged 
It's not boring, it's a combination of the calming voice of the teacher and the effort of remembering the words. I think. But yes I shall try it when I am less sleepy in future.
1 person has voted this message useful



Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 7 of 31
09 January 2013 at 10:03pm | IP Logged 
Today I've done some Anki and read a bit about grammar on the internet. I'm starting to feel the lack of any knowledge of the declensions, but I suppose they can't be far off in the course I am following.

I read the first wee chapter of "First Polish Reader for beginners bilingual for speakers of English" and it was great! It's very "See Spot run!" in that it introduces about 50 words and then makes simple sentences with them. I put the words into Anki to get to know them and I really like the book because it's aimed at people as newbie as I am to the language. In that spirit I searched YouTube and watched some cartoons with hardly any words in, and a bit of Teletubbies dubbed into Polish. I didn't learn anything new, but it was fun and relaxing. I don't want this to turn into a chore.


In other news my Open University course books arrived today and I'm starting on them this week, so I'll be juggling three languages. Or at least trying to.

1 person has voted this message useful



Chav
Diglot
Groupie
United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4491 days ago

43 posts - 45 votes
Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*
Studies: Dutch, Polish

 
 Message 8 of 31
12 January 2013 at 2:20am | IP Logged 
I've got to the end of Lesson 1 in First Year Polish. Still no cases, but it looks like tenses may be introduced in the next Lesson. Also I have been listening to the BloggyPolish podcast, I don't really pick up words without seeing them but it's good to hear words I know already and I'm finding I can mostly follow the simple introductory chat on each one.




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