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TAC 2013 - TheGreaterFool - (RU/HE/DE/FR) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
 TheGreaterFool Pro Member Canada Joined 4370 days ago 65 posts - 78 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Russian, Modern Hebrew, French Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 24 20 December 2012 at 12:19am | IP Logged | ||
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My name is Niels and I'm from Canada and this is my first foray into serious language learning and also my first TAC. A true newbie if there ever was one.
Being an embarrassed Canadian monolingual, I have always been interested in languages dabbling with a few of them, taking a course here or a course there but it all not amounting to anything. I had taken German and French in high school but after years of torture and frustration couldn't really put together a coherent sentence in either language. I tried an evening course in Russian but didn't have much better luck. I had always thought that I wasn't talented enough for languages and had given up for a long while. I recently finished Babel No More by Michael Erard and then went on YouTube where I discovered the polyglots that were posting: Tim Doner, Richard Simcott, Luca, Alexander Arguelles and Steve Kaufmann. I was humbled and inspired by what these people had been able to accomplish with languages. I found this website and the wonderful community that supports each other in language learning, so I decided to try it again but this time with a more dedicated focus. I know that I am probably way over my head in terms of this challenge but I am going to give it a try anyway and see how far I get with each language. Surely needing my head examined, I have thrown caution to the wind and signed up for 4 languages and found myself to be very lucky and have ended up on 4 amazing teams. Part of my motivation will be personal, I do want to learn these languages but another part of the motivation will not to disappoint each team I am on. Russian - TEAM Mir I have always loved things Russian. Being a huge fan of the Russian space program and also an avid hockey fan when the Russians used to play the Canadians in hockey. It was a magical time back then when we pitted our best hockey players against the Russians in a battle for bragging rights and for supremacy of the game. There was a magic and mystery about Russians that for me was encapsulated in the language. So exotic and mysterious! I knew no one who spoke the language but when I heard it on the radio or television there was something that captured the imagination! Oh, to be able to speak a language so exciting. I did end up finally studying Russian in 1992 when I took an evening class at the University of Toronto. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience but over the years I have let it slide to the point where I have to start from scratch, I am using this TAC to restart the engine of Russian language learning. My Goal: A0 to the start of B1 My Focus: Initially on speaking, then moving to reading and writing. Resources: Assimil, Penguin Russian Course, Michel Thomas German - TEAM Schnitzel I took German in high school for a credit but honestly didn't enjoy the experience at all. German grammar is my personal nemesis and we have hated each other for years. I have a better handle on some vocabulary and I understand more than I can speak or read. I would most definitely say that I am still in the 'A1' level due to my almost complete lack of understanding of German grammar. I am going to use this TAC to slay the Grammar Beast (or die trying) and work on relearning all of the German that I have forgotten years ago. And how can anyone not expect to have a great time on a team with the name "Schnitzel", seriously...this is going to be another amazing team! My Goal: A1 to B1/2 My Focus: Initially on speaking, then attacking grammar, then moving to reading and writing. Resources: Assimil, Pimsleur, Michel Thomas, Goethe Institute workbooks French - Romance Team Living in a country where French is the second official language of Canada and the way we butcher French language instruction in this country, this is one of those languages that I have a personal obligation and ambition to learn. What the school system has managed to destroy, I want build it up on my own, for myself. The TAC challenge will hopefully help me to stay motivated to learn as much as I can during 2013. My Goal: A1 to B1 My Focus: Initially on speaking, then reading and writing. Resources: Assimil, Pimsleur, Michel Thomas, French in Action series Modern Hebrew - TEAM Alef Hebrew is a language that has come out of left field for me. I have no prior background in this language but I have to say that I am completely enchanted and fallen in love with it. I love the sounds, the rhythm, the accent and intonations. I have no explanation for this! For years I thought I would fall in love with Italian, but nope, it is Hebrew. I started to watch the Israeli show Hatufim (on which the American TV show HOMELAND is based), Hebrew with English subtitles and have become obsessed with it. Hebrew is so far removed from any previous language learning experiences that I have ever had that I am not sure how far my passion for the language will take me. A language that is based on consonants and written from right to left will surely challenge me in 2013. I am hopefully optimistic that with hard and consistent work I will make some progress with my favorite language in the group. My Goal: A0 to A2 My Focus: Initially on speaking, then moving to reading and writing. Resources: Assimil, Pimsleur, still looking for workbooks/textbook So there you have an introduction and overview of my TAC 2013. I have to say that I am most certainly humbled and in awe of the talents that I have been witness to on this website. So many incredible language learners from all over the world. It is truly a privilege to be able to be inspired and motivated by each of you. cheers and good luck to all in the TAC2013! niels Edited by TheGreaterFool on 20 December 2012 at 1:40am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| JohannaNYC Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4450 days ago 251 posts - 361 votes Speaks: Spanish*, English*, Italian Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 2 of 24 20 December 2012 at 4:02am | IP Logged | ||
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Those are some difficult languages you've chosen to study, so any progress you make will
be a cause for celebration. Good luck! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| druckfehler Triglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4866 days ago 1181 posts - 1912 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Korean Studies: Persian | Message 3 of 24 20 December 2012 at 10:05pm | IP Logged | ||
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That's quite a plan! I'm looking forward to reading about your Hebrew journey. I studied the language for 2 years (very casually), so I know a bit. I also want to take it up again someday, but other languages keep diverting my attention :)
Do you have a plan on how you're going to divide your time to study those four languages? It might be confusing to sutdy all of them everyday. I'm going to study Persian in months with an uneven number and Mandarin in months with an even one. I got the idea by reading the logs of some accomplished polyglots on the forum who have focus languages for a specific time frame and then change them. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5332 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 4 of 24 20 December 2012 at 11:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi! Happy to have you on our team MIR! Enthusiastic newbies are the backbone and engine of the teams! I
study three of your languages and I love the fourth (Hebrew) so this is a log I will read with pleasure. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| PistolPete Newbie Scotland Joined 4380 days ago 28 posts - 33 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Latin, Italian | Message 5 of 24 20 December 2012 at 11:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi fellow Romulan!
Like druckfehler I'm interested in how you're going to divide up your time to study all 4 languages. Is it a case of assigning specific months to focus on particular languages whilst devoting less time to the others - or do you plan on studying all simultaneously? Btw I'd suggest having a look at Duolingo for your French and German studies. I've been using the Italian Beta and it's a very useful, and fun resource. Good luck! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5345 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French | Message 6 of 24 21 December 2012 at 12:41am | IP Logged | ||
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Hi!
I’m a fellow Team MIR member and another one of the few newbies in Russian there. It will be nice to be able to follow your progress in the language as we both struggle with the basics, though you probably just need to brush up your half-forgotten Russian rather than start from scratch like myself. Anyway, I’m happy that we seem to have a lot of advanced learners in the team, so hopefully we’ll be able to profit from their experience. Good luck with all your languages in TAC 2013! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sunja Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6083 days ago 2020 posts - 2295 votes 1 sounds Speaks: English*, German Studies: French, Mandarin | Message 7 of 24 30 December 2012 at 8:41pm | IP Logged | ||
When you get ready to tackle the Grammar Beast, how do you feel about grammar worksheets? The site there seems to have quite a few downloads, unfortunately I think you have to register, but other than that there's no other obligation. Maybe you might find some of the site useful. What helps me with grammar is to keep a sentence notebook and build small subject-verb-object sentences of 2-3 words and to color code the parts of the sentence (red-subject, blue-verb, green-object). If your reading is already good, be careful not to use long, complicated sentences to learn with. The Beast can get pretty nasty^^ 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zecchino1991 Senior Member United States facebook.com/amyybur Joined 5256 days ago 778 posts - 885 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew, Russian, Arabic (Written), Romanian, Icelandic, Georgian | Message 8 of 24 01 January 2013 at 5:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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שלום! I just want to say I am also learning Hebrew on the Middle-Eastern team, and I look
forward to reading your log this year! Good luck and happy new year! :) Edit: Somehow I just realized you are studying Russian like me! Now I'm extra excited to read your log. :) Edited by zecchino1991 on 01 January 2013 at 5:58pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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