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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes  Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 1 of 25 01 June 2008 at 3:47pm | IP Logged |
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I've been planning to study Spanish for quite a while and this week I finally started.
I'm in the Czech Republic right now, so I'm also learning Czech. I was in Norway last year for about six months and reached a good intermediate level in Norwegian, but right now it's more about maintaning this level, as I focus on Czech and Spanish now. I started Spanish on Tuesday and since then I've done Pimsleur lesson 1-14. I know you're supposed to do one lesson a day, but I was quite eager. I think I'll do them slower from now on as I have also other material to work with. It's the best material to use on my daily 90 minutes commute though. I've also completed FSI Spanish Basic lesson 1 and 2. I've started lesson 3, but need to learn the vocabulary in order to be able to do the drills easily. Apart from that I've read a bit about grammar and started to make flashcards. For Czech I mainly listen to people and try to speak (I'm very insecure there), as I'm in Prague right now. I also read newspaper articles etc. for work, so I learn some new vocabulary. Edited by Kegel on 03 August 2011 at 12:30pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 2 of 25 02 June 2008 at 3:16pm | IP Logged |
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Today I listened to Pimsleur lesson 15. I'm a bit bored with Pimsleur, as it's going so slowly and because it's always the same... prompt-answer-prompt-answer.
I finished FSI Basic lesson 3. As I noticed that the Programmic course is a beginner's course as well (I had thought it was a continuation of the basic course), I looked into it, too. I'm in the middle of lesson 1, and don't seem to have any trouble recognizing the stressed syllable. As I've seen it mentioned in this forum, I listened to the first three podcasts of "Coffee Break Spanish". It's nice and also something that I could listen to when I'm on the go. As one can see, I'm still testing out what material to use for Spanish. I read some Norwegian articles which can't really be called studying as reading is really my smallest problem. For Czech I watched some TV. I still do not understand a lot. It seems to be easier to understand people "in real", as I'm doing better understanding my Czech co-workers. Edited by Kegel on 02 June 2008 at 3:17pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 3 of 25 03 June 2008 at 2:57pm | IP Logged |
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No Pimsleur for me today. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue using it at all. I prefer FSI right now.
I finished FSI Programmic course lesson 1 and reviewed lesson 3 of the Basic course. I noticed that they use both forms of "ser" and "estar", but haven't explained the usage yet. I also listened to "Coffee Break Spanish" 4 and 5. What I don't like so much about it is that much of the Spanish speaking is done by a girl who's just learning Spanish and so you hear a non-native accent all the time. I'm only a beginner myself but even I can hear that her sounds are often very bad. I'm not sure if it's really helpful to listen to her. Apart from that it's still nice to listen to the podcast. I had my first, very simple conversation in Spanish with a friend from Argentina. I was happy that she understood my very simple phrases and that I understood her very simple answers. My Spanish speaking friends are my main motivation to learn Spanish after all. At work I listened to my co-workers talking in Czech and tried to participate myself. My active Czech isn't developed well though. For Norwegian I still try to read at least one or two newspaper articles a day. I think I should resume listening to Norwegian radio. Edited by Kegel on 03 June 2008 at 2:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 4 of 25 05 June 2008 at 3:40pm | IP Logged |
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I worked until late night yesterday so I didn't have much time for studying. I listened to CBS 6 and reviewed parts of FSI lesson 3.
Today I reviewed the rest of FSI lesson 3 and started on lesson 4. Czech... oh, Czech. I'm still trying hard to communicate with my co-workers. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I bought a Czech movie today. Watching English movies helped me a lot with English, so I guess I should start watching Czech movies. Edited by Kegel on 05 June 2008 at 3:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 5 of 25 07 June 2008 at 4:16pm | IP Logged |
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I've listened to CBS 7-9 and finished FSI lesson 4. I'll review that lesson, but I'll also start on number 5. I don't review until I get all drills 100 % right, but about 90 % is enough for me, as I think more understanding will come later.
I won't listen to any more Pimsleur lessons for now. They're just too boring. Maybe I'll listen to a more advanced lesson later on (I've come until lesson 15). Spanish is really a breeze grammar-wise compared to Czech. Edited by Kegel on 07 June 2008 at 4:17pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 6 of 25 10 June 2008 at 3:35pm | IP Logged |
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Ah, it's football time now. It means more watching Czech TV, but a bit less studying Spanish.
I listened to CBS 10 and 11, finished FSI lesson 5 and started lesson 6. Right now I am going through those lessons pretty fast, doing all the drills, but hardly reviewing a lesson once I've finished it. I know this is typical for me - I am craving for more, for more words, more structures... so far I'm not in trouble because of not reviewing a lot, but I think I might be in trouble soon... when the day comes on that the next FSI lesson overwhelmes me... 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 7 of 25 14 June 2008 at 5:13am | IP Logged |
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I noticed a definite problem I have with understanding Czech lately. When I listen to somebody I usually "understand" the words they're saying, that means I hear the words, realize I know their meaning, but understand the meaning of them only unconnected. It feels like I have to listen so hard that I understand the words but can't make out the meaning of a whole sentence because I'm so focused on the individual words. On the other hand, when I don't listen so hard to the individual words, I can at least make out the meaning of what is said, but miss details.
As for Spanish, I've finished FSI lesson 6 and am reviewing the earlier lessons now. I've listened to some Spanish tourists around here lately and I was at least able to catch some simple words and phrases. I was glad that I understood those also "in real" and not only in audio clips. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kegel Diglot Groupie Germany Joined 6430 days ago 67 posts - 70 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: Arabic (Written) | Message 8 of 25 18 June 2008 at 6:44am | IP Logged |
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My time in Prague is coming to an end. Once I'm back in Germany studying Czech will probably be on the back-burner. I do not feel like I have made a lot of progress, at least not in speaking Czech. I have heard and read a lot of Czech, but speaking is always very difficult for me.
In Germany I will focus on studying Spanish, but I take Czech material (DVDs, books) with me from Prague so that I'll have some exposure to Czech as well. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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