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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| diplomaticus Newbie United States Joined 3966 days ago 23 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 1 of 8 26 July 2015 at 4:26am | IP Logged |
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After having a positive start with French before stopping a few months ago due to
losing my job, I have to say, I feel much better about this whole "learning a language as an adult" thing. It is possible! You just need to put in the time, regularly. I decided to learn German. For many reasons that don't need listed. I have quite a few goals. I've already purchased a few books I want to be able to read: Schachnovelle by Stefan Zweig Transit by Anna Seghers Siddhartha by Herman Hesse I have Siddhartha in a Dover Dual Language version with German on the left page and English on the right. The other two are entirely in German! In addition to novels, I'd like to eventually be able to read a German newspaper. In terms of non-written media, I am more interested in being able to eventually watch German movies or TV without subtitles. I know this is a long, long-term goal since that seems like it'd be one of the hardest skills to pick up. Speaking wise, I am less set on goals. I'd like to be able to converse freely. No imminent trip to a German-speaking country. So, no rush. What am I studying with? Today was Day 13 of the newest English-base Assimil course for German entitled simply, "German." I really like it! The voices are so clear. They aren't insanely slow, and the lack of English prompts is nice. It feels like a natural speed, but isn't so fast that I can't read along with it by the time I finish a lesson. I will say that I don't always have the vocab memorized by the time I get to the exercises. So I generally just use the first set of exercises to practice listening- and-repeating again and the second just to read aloud and see new sentences. I was annoyed at the end of Lesson 13 today when it said I could note down new vocabulary. I thought this was supposed to be one where you just practiced, reviewed often, and didn't actively write stuff down until the review phase? Anyway, I am enjoying it, though it is a bit crazy how long all the grammar explanations are. I am not sweating it. I figure if I see stuff enough in different contexts, it will come together. Or at least be easier to tackle if I do need explicit grammar study. I have finished the first 3 cds of Paul Noble German. I tried searching for more information on his courses, but it seems any discussion of him turns into a talk of Michel Thomas. My library only has the Noble course. It is what it is. I like it quite a bit. Lots of revision, it has me building complex sentences, and I like the voice of the native speaker. There are 12 cds. Looks like the 12th is just review, so I have 8 more to go. I will definitely report back on how I feel about it all when done. My plan is to finish the Noble course in the next few days, and then complete a German pronunciation course since a few of the sounds are tricky for me. Maybe just repeating and reading along with Assimil lessons is a better way to go, but I figure explicit pronunciation focus can't hurt. After I finish those two courses, I plan to chug along with Assimil. I unfortunately will have very intermittent internet access the next few months, so my posts on here, and ability to use online resources, will be quite limited. To supplement Assimil, I picked up a few cheap old courses. I think I will work through this old Teach Yourself German by John Adams since it has lots of short, explicit grammar instruction and exercises. After that, I just got a copy of German: How to Speak and Write It by Joseph Rosenberg, which I will work through in tandem with my Assimil course during my couple months of irregular study/internet time. Once I will update you all along the way when I can, and will probably need some ideas on how to move forward by the time I am back! In the meantime, any ideas on how to work up to reading the books I mentioned would be great. Do I just need to wait until I am done with Assimil and have a bigger vocab before even attempting it? I'd like the process to be at least somewhat enjoyable, if possible, haha. Also, I read a lot of posts by a guy named emk. He has some cool ideas on learning French using the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show. Does anyone know if it is possible to get German subtitles and whatnot for that? I've never watched it, but I hear it is a good show. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| diplomaticus Newbie United States Joined 3966 days ago 23 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 2 of 8 27 July 2015 at 2:30am | IP Logged |
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I have gone through the end of CD 9 of Paul Noble German today. Yes, that is 9+ hours
between yesterday and today. I really like this course! Being a beginner who knows so little of German, I can't really say how much good it is really doing me. But I am building complex sentences, I have repeated a native speaker countless times on basic words (Ich, etc....), and I feel good about it. I guess that is the sign of good things, no? Two more cds to go. I wanted to finish today, but I think my mind may have hit a wall, haha. So I will take a break, do Lesson 14 of Assimil, and call it a day. Then finish Paul Noble tomorrow and figure out what to do with the Review cd then. Anyone else here have experience with the Paul Noble course? Part of me thinks maybe I am not really learning much since as a true beginner I can hang with it, but I am hoping that just means it is a well-done course! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Via Diva Diglot Senior Member Russian Federation last.fm/user/viadivaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4235 days ago 1109 posts - 1427 votes  Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German, Italian, French, Swedish, Esperanto, Czech, Greek | Message 3 of 8 27 July 2015 at 5:25am | IP Logged |
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I tried Michel Thomas instead of Paul Noble, and found it very helpful. I needed to maintain the things I've
learned with a grammar course, but if you want to start to speak ASAP and need some help with it, such a course should help. I think you don't even have to buy MT instead of PN (unless you're a pirate like me, haha). And, well, if you like the course so much, why do you even ask? :) As for watching series I'd recommend to look at something you've seen already. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Elenia Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom lilyonlife.blog Joined 3857 days ago 239 posts - 327 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Swedish, Esperanto | Message 4 of 8 27 July 2015 at 2:01pm | IP Logged |
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Don't know if you know about LR (you've been a forum member for a longer time than I, so you probably do). If you can track down the audio, your bilingual Siddharta would be perfect for LR :) good luck!
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| diplomaticus Newbie United States Joined 3966 days ago 23 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 5 of 8 28 July 2015 at 2:03am | IP Logged |
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All done with the Paul Noble course! I have to say, I enjoyed it. I never thought I'd
power through 11+ hours in just a few days. It was a slow enough progression that I made probably only 7 or 8 errors the whole course, and made two in a row only once. It felt nice, and I was able to make some rather complex sentences by the end. The pros: Easy gradation Clear German pronunciation Lots of revision built in Cons: I found the end a tad rushed. All that slow build-up and then it was "here is past and future tense and goodbye!" it felt like. Also, the track of counting was very much tacked on. I also disliked how he seemed to fear to use real grammar terms. I take it this "victim of the verb" thing has something to do with cases? I honestly have no idea what it means grammatically, and wish he had just said what it was. Does the victim of the verb thing equate to being the diret object of the sentence? All in all, a worthwhile course I think. If anyone has done Michel Thomas and Paul Noble for German, I'd welcome a comparison to know what I am missing. The impression I have from reading many MT threads is that I likely got a bit more grammar and a bit less vocabulary. What I will likely do is give the pamphlet a solid read over on Wednesday, and then listen to the 25-minute review cd next Saturday. Hopefully the break and review will help things stick in my mind! To Via Diva, Interesting question. I did like the course, so why ask? I also like eating ice cream, but outside advice may well educate me to know that it isn't good for me, haha. Plus it is just nice to know how other people faired with things. Oh, and if anyone wants to see what the course covers, here is a link to the PDF for the booklet. It is direct from the publisher's site, so I think it is fair game: German pamphlet To Elenia, I have tried to read up on LR. I seem to only find threads of people saying they aren't exactly sure what it is, or links to what seem to be impossibly long threads, haha. Is it possible to explain LR in a nutshell? My current understanding is that I: 1. Read a chapter/paragraph/whatever in English 2. Read the section again in English while listening to the German. 3. Read the German while listening to the German. Is that it? Or am I missing something? Anyway, now time for a break and then today's Assimil lesson! Edited by diplomaticus on 28 July 2015 at 2:10am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Via Diva Diglot Senior Member Russian Federation last.fm/user/viadivaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4235 days ago 1109 posts - 1427 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German, Italian, French, Swedish, Esperanto, Czech, Greek | Message 6 of 8 28 July 2015 at 4:52am | IP Logged |
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MT also offers a vocabulary builder course. Never tried it though.
As for LR: pick up a book you really like, the bigger - the better. Take its English version and German audio and combine them (I read from my phone, it's very convenient, but it doesn't really matter how do you read as long as you're able to follow and correctly match text and audio (it's easier than you'd think). If bored, switch to German book and German audio. If really really bored - German book and English audio (might not be really useful, yet funny). Basically the method goes like this: L1 book + L2 audio L2 book + L1 book for the reference + L2 audio L2 book + L2 audio with some other stages inbetween, but you have to be really consistent for that. Can't offer a comparison of MT and PN, but my log begins with MT, and MT worked really great by me, especially in throwing German verbs in their correct places. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Elenia Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom lilyonlife.blog Joined 3857 days ago 239 posts - 327 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Swedish, Esperanto | Message 7 of 8 28 July 2015 at 3:03pm | IP Logged |
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I see Via Diva has beaten me to the chase! I tend to switch between reading with L1 and L2 first depending on how hard the book is. L1 first if it is harder, L2 if it is easier. But my comprehension of German
is close to nothing... 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| diplomaticus Newbie United States Joined 3966 days ago 23 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 8 of 8 29 July 2015 at 1:29am | IP Logged |
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Thanks to both of you. I decided to move my log to the new site:
http://how-to-learn-any-language.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=86 5 Come join us! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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