Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Patlajan’s Log Ge, Sp, Chin, etc

 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log Post Reply
patlajan
Triglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 7092 days ago

59 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Turkish
Studies: German, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 1 of 7
26 March 2008 at 4:22pm | IP Logged 
I'm creating this log as a motivational tool. As of late I've really stepped up my language learning efforts. My focus is fairly broad, ranging from perfecting Spanish and German to starting Chinese, Italian and French. I am also dancing around the idea of adding Indonesian to the mix.

Spanish - reviewing specific grammar topics and reading. Actively practicing with local speakers. Collecting vocabulary.

French - Just starting trying to put several hours a week in on pronunciation.

Italian - Grammar and Vocabulary

German - Grammar and Vocabulary - some practice with local speakers

Chinese - 25 characters a week, listening to recordings and I have a class starting next week. Working through the material at MIT's OCW.

Yesterday - I spent 2 hours on Chinese, 1 hour on German, and had a twenty minute Spanish conversation.
1 person has voted this message useful



Marj
Senior Member
United States
Joined 6509 days ago

257 posts - 283 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 2 of 7
26 March 2008 at 5:21pm | IP Logged 
Sounds like you have a plan, and a good start on it. Good luck!
1 person has voted this message useful



patlajan
Triglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 7092 days ago

59 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Turkish
Studies: German, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 3 of 7
04 April 2008 at 2:39pm | IP Logged 
I've managed to keep up my study schedule most of the last week, house guests have cost me some time. But all in all it is going well. I think I'm making the most progress in German, but every new Spanish construction I learn seems to pop up in the media or conversation in the next day. I also mix in the study of Arabic script - I'm going to have to start adding in vocabulary as I pretty much have the script down. Although I might wait a few weeks until I have zero errors when I test myself.

Next week my house returns to something close to normal so I hope to put in 4-5 hours a day.

Rolf
1 person has voted this message useful



Makrasiroutioun
Quadrilingual Heptaglot
Senior Member
Canada
infowars.com
Joined 6049 days ago

210 posts - 236 votes 
Speaks: French*, English*, Armenian*, Romanian*, Latin, German, Italian
Studies: Dutch, Swedish, Turkish, Japanese, Russian, Arabic (Written)

 
 Message 4 of 7
05 April 2008 at 12:09am | IP Logged 
Patlajan, for Arabic, I HIGHLY recommend "Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Sounds and Letters" and its follow up three volumes "Al-Kitaab." Each book comes with several DVD's which are a joy to navigate.

For German, check out Assimil products... they are good, especially the older editions. Linguaphone too is good, albeit expensive.

Good luck in your studies! Just keep it at!
1 person has voted this message useful



patlajan
Triglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 7092 days ago

59 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Turkish
Studies: German, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 5 of 7
06 April 2008 at 2:44pm | IP Logged 
Thank you for the suggestions Makrasiroutioun. I've a trip to the book store planned so I will see if they have any of the titles you suggest. Failing that I can always acquire them sight unseen from Amazon.
1 person has voted this message useful



patlajan
Triglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 7092 days ago

59 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Turkish
Studies: German, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 6 of 7
12 April 2008 at 12:52pm | IP Logged 
This week went better than last. I've been able to devote quite abit of time to study -some days as much as 7 hours. I've also managed to have a number of Spanish conversations that have gone well. This is helped by the easy going nature of the Mexicans I deal with. Still more practice is needed: I can make my point, but still have to talk around missing words.

I spent a great deal of time on German - more than I intended. But my progress is such that I hate to lay off. I also spent quite a bit of time on Italian and made excellent progress adding lots of vocabulary.

Neglected French - perhap two hours total. Arabic script I think I have it - but I want it to be as natural as Roman.

Worked on Mandarin and the Hanzi - my conversational class starts next week.

All in All fairly positive.

Rolf


1 person has voted this message useful



patlajan
Triglot
Groupie
United States
Joined 7092 days ago

59 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Turkish
Studies: German, Mandarin, French

 
 Message 7 of 7
18 April 2008 at 3:05pm | IP Logged 
I had my first Mandarin class and the instructor went over the basics with which I was familiar. The big payoff was she spent considerable time on pronunciation. Pronunciation is why I took the class, although as a rule I believe in self directed study for most things. There is another student who has a masters in linguistics in the class. I expect this is the worst possible background for a language learner. So focused on the trees that the forest will never be found.

I've also continued with German, Italian and French. Not as much time as I intended, but I will be able to devote more time once my academic chore is complete.

Rolf


1 person has voted this message useful



If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 1.2676 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.