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Stelle’s Log (TAC15 Spanish and Rare) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4146 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes  Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 65 of 87 12 April 2015 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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I updated the second post in my log (Spanish resources) to add a podcast (Catástrofe Ultravioleta), a TV show (Casa
cerrado), links to resources for learners (GLOSS, Aveteca, FSI), and a list of the books that I've read so far in 2015. See post 2 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4146 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 66 of 87 18 April 2015 at 8:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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I feel good about this week! In the grand scheme of things, I didn't really get all that much done, but I did
something every day without having to force it into my schedule. Language learning has become such a part of me that I don't have to make time for it anymore. It just kind of...happens. The sun is shining, the days are longer, and things are starting to grow. Life is good! Spanish I walked to work three times this week (a 2.5 km trip each way), and took walks after work on the other two days, so there was lots of time for podcasts. I listened to two episodes of Futuro Abierto - one very interesting episode on Permaculture, and one less interesting episode on corruption and transparency in Spain; two episodes of Buenos Días América (which solidified my feeling that I no longer get much out of listening to this show every day); and a fascinating episode of Catástrofe ultravioleta about radio transmissions and interference. I cleared my anki Spanish deck every day. I'm so much more at peace with anki now that I've deleted all but my vocabulary decks, one for Spanish and one for Tagalog. I had a wonderful Skype conversation on Sunday morning with my perma-tutor about travel, tourism, sustainability, inequality and other such things. The topic is one that I'm very passionate about, and the conversation flowed beautifully - while still providing plenty of challenges with advanced sentence structures. At the end of the hour, we were both caught by surprise and had to scramble to say our good-byes so that she could answer her next student's call. I'm about halfway through El asesino de la Vía Láctea. Despite its flaws (some typos; head-jumping that can be a bit jarring at times), it's an engaging book that keeps me wondering what's going to happen next. It's a very easy, comfortable read, which means that I can read for longer and longer periods of time without feeling antsy. I feel that I'm very very close to being able to enter a state of flow when reading in Spanish! No TV, no formal study. Just lots of simple, everyday activities in Spanish that have seemed almost effortless. And with all of the controlled chaos at work, effortless is exactly what I need right now. Tagalog For the first time in months, I worked on Tagalog every single day this week! I'm now a little over halfway through unit 11. Since the program only goes up to unit 12, the end is in sight! Things are definitely getting more complex in terms of sentence structure, but I'm not overly worried. I'm just going with it, even if I'm not exactly sure. I figure that I'll eventually learn these structures more actively when I move into my next phase of Tagalog study. For now, I've suspended all live tutoring sessions. While they're extremely valuable, the schedule is such that I was taking lessons at 9PM. I've been tired lately. All I want to do at 9PM is make a cup of tea, talk to my family, and read a book. As soon as I started dreading my sessions, I stopped taking them. In the past, I would have powered through because I know how useful they are, but right now I'm staying true to my very casual approach to learning Tagalog. I refuse to burn out this year! When things settle down, I'll start up with tutoring again, although I might do it through italki rather than through RS. We'll see! I cleared my anki deck every day this week. Since I deleted all but one Tagalog deck, and I haven't added any new words in months, this is a very quick and easy task. Other thoughts I've been thinking about learning how to code. If nothing else, the past few years have reignited my passion for learning. Self-studying Spanish, then Tagalog and now guitar has made me realize just how much I can learn when I have access to the right balance of motivation, resources, and encouragement. Half a lifetime ago, I spent hours and hours teaching myself basic HTML so that I could customize the Tripod page where I posted my angsty teenaged poetry. I'd like to try again, as a grown-up this time, and possibly gain enough skills to eventually run an extracurricular at school for upper elementary kids who want to learn to make stuff. I'm thinking about starting out with some of the free online courses offered by Codecademy. As fellow self-directed language learners, I respect your feedback on resources for autodidacts. Has anyone tried any of the Codecademy courses? (Thanks for indulging my question about a very different kind of language learning!) Codecademy That will have to wait until summer, of course, since there simply are no more free minutes available in the day. But it's fun to think about all of the new things that I want to - and can - learn! Happy weekend, everyone! Edited by Stelle on 18 April 2015 at 8:21pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4624 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 67 of 87 18 April 2015 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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Brilliant! You are such an inspiration!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| anamsc2 Tetraglot Groupie United States Joined 4561 days ago 85 posts - 186 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Catalan, German Studies: French | Message 68 of 87 19 April 2015 at 3:43pm | IP Logged | ||
I have used Codecademy and found it to be hit or miss. Some of the courses were great (I remember liking JavaScript) but some were pretty much "type this and press enter" with no theory or background. This was years ago that I tried it, so it might have improved. I like the intro to programming courses they have from time to time on Coursera, EdX, etc. -- they're a mix of lectures and practical experience, and usually they are based on actual intro courses from universities. Also, there are usually some offered in Spanish, so you can kill two birds with one stone! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5011 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 69 of 87 19 April 2015 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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I totally agree with BAnna.
About codecademy: I tried and loved it. I stoped learning there due to lack of free time. I just have to choose my activities as I am already devoting myself to far too many that are not studying for my university exams. Codecademy is really well thought out, things are explained in quite a foolproof way and so on. If you've got time and interest, I wholeheartedly recommend it. I found a few similar projects last year but codecademy seems to be the best, at least for a beginner. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Clarity Groupie United States Joined 3524 days ago 85 posts - 107 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 70 of 87 19 April 2015 at 6:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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As my southern mama would say, "You've got the yearnin' for learnin'" She'd also say there are "no flies on you" because you are such a go-getter. It's wonderful to read and watch your progress!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tangleweeds Groupie United States Joined 3577 days ago 70 posts - 105 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Irish, French | Message 71 of 87 19 April 2015 at 10:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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Definitely learn to code! It's lots of fun, a cross between language and math, with
extremely regular and logical grammar. Plus it's always a thrill when you run your app, and it does exactly what you meant it to, just like real software. It feels like having your childhood toys come to life. I haven't tried Code Academy, but I've done EdX and Coursera, and they have some great classes that will definitely give back what you put into them. I also find the class discussion forums inspiring, with motivated learners from around the world. And congratulations on learning guitar. The best aspect of my "midlife crisis" was deciding to learn to play a musical instrument as an adult beginner. I'm now up to several instruments (it's the same musical system, just different tools and styles of sound). Learning stuff is fun. ETA: I was just chatting with a smart geeky friend, and she said that she enjoyed Code Academy's Javascript class. Thought I'd come back to throw that in. Edited by tangleweeds on 19 April 2015 at 10:46pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4146 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 72 of 87 20 April 2015 at 4:03am | IP Logged | ||
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@BAnna and @Clarity - thanks for the kind words and encouragement!
@anamsc2, @cavesa, @tangleweeds - thanks for the feedback on codecademy and learning code. I've found lots of other free "learn to code" resources, and I think that I'm going to try a few and see what I like best. I'm excited by the possibilities! @tangleweeds - guitar makes me so happy! I played piano as a child and flute as a teen, but I haven't made any music in decades. I'm trying to not do the exact same thing that I do when I start learning a language: "If only I'd started doing this 10 years ago, imagine where I'd be by now..." Ha! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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