Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5348 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French
| Message 225 of 360 20 November 2013 at 10:01am | IP Logged |
We’re almost at the half-way mark in the 6wc and I can happily report that it’s going great. I’m rather proud of the work I’m doing with Swedish and the consistency I’m showing right now. Let’s hope I’ll keep going for at least three more weeks.
For the longest time I’ve suffered from what I call “the 50-page curse”, i.e. I have the bad habit of beginning a new course only to drop it after a few chapters to move on to another textbook. Some time ago I checked my books to see where I had abandoned them and I noticed that the 50-page mark — or thereabout — was a recurring spot (even though some books were abandoned at page a hundred and something: it all depends on the structure of the book, actually). So that’s where the name of “the 50-page curse” comes from.
With a bit of luck and keeping my finger crossed, it seems that I’ve finally hit my stride and overcome “the 50-page curse”, at least where Swedish is concerned.
As for my other languages, I’m especially worried about German which I’m neglecting horribly. I had counted on the 6wc to spur me on with my mini-SuperChallenge so that I can reach my goal of 25 books read and 100 films watched by December 31, 2013. If nothing changes, I’m not going to make it, which is a pity.
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Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5167 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian
| Message 226 of 360 21 November 2013 at 3:32pm | IP Logged |
Congratulations, Emme! Hope that overcoming this 'curse' will help you progress even
further!
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Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5348 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French
| Message 227 of 360 21 November 2013 at 8:18pm | IP Logged |
Thanks Expugnator!
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Unusually for a weekday, today I was off all day so I could dedicate the entire morning to Swedish. What a wonderful experience. It’s been ages since I’ve had the chance to sit at my desk for four straight hours studying. This brings back memories of my university period.
If only it could happen more often: I had forgot how much one can do in a few hours of concentrated studying. Nowadays I usually have to squeeze my language-time into half an hour here and there.
I know what they say: Motivated people don’t need to find time for their projects, they make time for them. True! But life would be so much easier if one had a few more hours to themselves and a few less hours committed to other obligations.
Edited by Emme on 21 November 2013 at 8:19pm
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Mareike Senior Member Germany Joined 6225 days ago 267 posts - 323 votes Speaks: German* Studies: English, Swedish
| Message 228 of 360 02 December 2013 at 1:52pm | IP Logged |
It's not that bad to study only a half hour. I always learnt it’s better to study 30 minutes every day instead of 5 hours once a week.
For me it’s true for learning languages. It’s better for me to study every day a little. For my university studies I prefer a long time at once.
And it’s easier to find 30 minutes than hours.
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Kez Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 4358 days ago 181 posts - 212 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: Swedish
| Message 229 of 360 03 December 2013 at 1:07pm | IP Logged |
Hej Emme!
What sources are you using for learning Swedish at the moment? Just textbooks or do you
also watch series/movies and read books? I'm looking for new things to read/watch :)
If you want a break of books I would recommend watching Solsidan. It's hard to find
subtitles for the first 3 seasons but Season 4 comes with Swedish subtitles so I just
started there.
Great to see you're still so active!
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Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5348 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French
| Message 230 of 360 04 December 2013 at 11:08pm | IP Logged |
I’ve been absent for less than a fortnight from the forum and now that I’m back I find that quite a lot has been going on in the last few days. I’ve only given a cursory glance at the titles of the most recent threads and I still have to catch up with several topics but I’ve discovered that preparation for the TAC 2014 is already in full swing.
I’ve been enjoying the TAC 2013 so far and I’m positive that it’s helped me to stay on target with my languages despite the usual ebbs and flows in my enthusiasm. So I hope to take part in the TAC next year as well, even though I haven’t made any plan yet. I don’t think I will stop learning Swedish any time soon, but as far as other languages are concerned, I’m quite open minded at the moment.
@Mareike
Mareike wrote:
[…] I always learnt it’s better to study 30 minutes every day instead of 5 hours once a week. […]
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That’s absolutely true, but if you can add a 4-hour day to a week’s worth of half-hour/day, that’s a huge increment and you can really see the difference in terms of materials covered. If I had to choose I would pick a little every day, but if you can have both (a little every day + a long session just once a week) why not?
@Kez
Kez wrote:
[…] What sources are you using for learning Swedish at the moment? Just textbooks or do you also watch series/movies and read books? […] |
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I use both textbooks for intensive studying and native materials for extensive learning: I enjoy watching TV (especially with subtitles on: they really help!) and I read fairly frequently online (either Wikipedia or newspapers websites). Moreover I’ve got a few crime novels (deckare) and children’s books (mainly by Astrid Lindgren).
But I still focus on textbook studying if I can, because I need to work on my active skills which are lagging badly behind my passive ones and I know it will take me quite a long time to bring them up to par.
Kez wrote:
[…] I'm looking for new things to read/watch :) […] |
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I tend to watch programmes online on SVTPlay, because it’s legal and it’s free. When I find “scripted-programmes” (comedies, dramas, TV-films, series) that can be watched from abroad I usually post a note on the Viking Team thread. But if you now live in Sweden I guess you no longer have any problem in finding a wealth of materials since geolocation restrictions don’t affect you (Öppet arkiv for instance is only available from inside Sweden).
I’m wondering, can you borrow books and DVDs from the library in Sweden (maybe asking your girlfriend to borrow them for you)? If so, you should probably find a fairly rich reserve of materials. And DVDs are quite practical when it comes to watching a scene again and again until you fully understand what’s being said.
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Kez Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 4358 days ago 181 posts - 212 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: Swedish
| Message 231 of 360 05 December 2013 at 10:21am | IP Logged |
Ska titta om jag hittar någonting bra på öppet arkiv, tack!
Jag har flera böcker kvar så behöver inte (ännu) att låna nya böcker just nu men jag kan
fraga min flickvän eftersom jag tror att hon kan ta böcker från universitetet :)
Du måste också kolla på Säsong 4 av Solsidan. Jätteroligt! Och det har undertexter :)
Spelar ingen roll om du har inte sett Säsong 1, 2 och 3.
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Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5335 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian
| Message 232 of 360 05 December 2013 at 11:21am | IP Logged |
Impressive work, Emme! Do you have ani idea as to which level you are at in Swedish now?
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