slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 1 of 51 24 October 2014 at 11:28pm | IP Logged |
I have completed my initial goal of reaching the B1 level of Spanish by November 2014.
I would argue that I am at the very base level of B1. Although if asked, I would
rather say that I am an extremely confident A2. I now need a new goal.
My new goal: Finish FSI Basic Spanish by May 2015.
I am currently on Unit 36, and I don't want to make plans for any other major
course/goal, until I have finished this program. I'm too heavily invested to back out
now, and if I continue at my 1 unit per week pace, and then give 2 weeks for each unit
of the fourth book (45-55), I should complete this program as expected.
While Finishing the FSI Basic Spanish program is my main goal as seen in the title of
this journal, it is not my only tool for learning Spanish. I read/listen to the Bible
in Spanish (Reina Valera 1960) and also attend Bible studies in Spanish every other
week, translating into English for my wife. Additionally, I often listen to Spanish
music and listen to 20 minute audio programs on iTunes. I won't be using FSI
exclusively, but it will be the absolute meat and potatoes of my Spanish studies.
I would be interested to know if 2 weeks per unit would be suggested for the last 10
units of FSI Basic Spanish
I wish I could lock myself in a closet for a month with this program and tons of other
Spanish materials, but with work, family etc, I'll just be studying 4-5 hours per work
minimum. Perhaps that seems very small to some, but it's what I have to give at this
time.
Edited by slikew on 10 June 2015 at 8:52pm
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James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5376 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French
| Message 2 of 51 25 October 2014 at 1:55am | IP Logged |
I think you are doing exactly what you should be doing... focusing on one "backbone" of your studies (FSI) and having your goals focused on that. I really like your plan. This will work for you... definitely.
In terms of your question... two weeks per each of the last ten units. If you spend roughly an hour a day on FSI I think you can definitely do that. I'd give yourself a bit of flexibility for the last ten units. Some of the units are ridiculously hard and others are ridiculously simple. If I remember correctly I think 47 and 48 were simply out of control difficult, but 53 was super simple. You may never master some of the hard units (if you can master the dialogue build ups you are a better man than me... some of the phrases to repeat are almost paragraph length) and you may only need three or four days on the easier ones. Don't stress out over any of them... if you spend a week on each of them that would likely be plenty sufficient.
I'm not sure how particular you are with your Bible studies, but I've found the NIV/NVI version and the Dios Habla Hoy are better for learning Spanish. The bilingual version of the NIV/NVI is great and the DHH is the easiest reading of the "regular" Bibles. If you want something you can read without difficulty you can get the bilingual New Life version which is ridiculously simple to read (very basic Spanish).
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slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 3 of 51 30 October 2014 at 5:55pm | IP Logged |
Unit 36 complete
Yes the NVI is much easier to read, as it uses Latin American Spanish. No vosotros to
deal with or strange command forms. I may still use the Reina Valera at another time, but
perhaps a more recent one, like the 2005 edition. Thanks James.
Edited by slikew on 30 October 2014 at 5:57pm
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luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7206 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French
| Message 4 of 51 30 October 2014 at 10:43pm | IP Logged |
I agree with James29 on the last 10 units. They shift gears in that book. It sounds like you have a good plan.
Best of Luck!
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slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 5 of 51 31 October 2014 at 2:28am | IP Logged |
I appreciate your feedback on this. I'm looking forward to when I'm done with FSI and I'm able to move on to stage
two of my studies.
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slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 6 of 51 11 November 2014 at 3:38am | IP Logged |
Unit 37 complete. This unit took a bit more work. Trying to wire that subjunctive into
the brain.
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slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 7 of 51 17 November 2014 at 6:44pm | IP Logged |
Unit 38 complete.
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slikew Groupie United States Joined 4074 days ago 79 posts - 95 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish
| Message 8 of 51 26 November 2014 at 9:27pm | IP Logged |
Unit 39 complete. I wish I could drink through a straw every nuance from each lesson.
There are so many things to learn that cannot be completely memorized, even when
repeating out loud the audio 4-5 times. I haven't completed the reading portion since
Unit 34, so I believe that I'll take the readings from Units 35-39 and read over them
this weekend to drill the lessons further. I don't want to get too far behind with the
readings as I move towards the end of Book 3. Hoping to finish up with Book 3 by the end
of January.
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