|
 |
TAC2010 Italian, Spanish, Catalan, German | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes  Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 9 of 30 15 January 2010 at 1:53am | IP Logged |
|
-----06 January 2010 at 11:14pm-----
Today was my first class of Spanish for the second semester. I felt as if I had forgotten a lot of the words after being on vacation for one month. Today's class was all about review, and after about a half hour of talking with the guys beside me (mostly in Spanish but with some English and French added in if we didn't know the words) a lot of it came back to me. Surprisingly I didn't add in any Italian words. These are some review translations that I have to do for next class: She has to work this weekend. Ella tiene que trabajar este fin de semana. Is there an exam tomorrow? I'm going to study tonight. ¿Es un examen mañana? Voy a estudiar. They're having a party at their house but I'm not going. I'm sick. Dan una fiesta a su casa, pero yo no voy. Estoy enfermo. Do you know María? - Yes, but I don't know what she does on Fridays. ¿Conoces María? - Si, pero yo no sé qué ella hace los viernes The other language that I'm studying, Italian is going very well. I have completed the first CD of Let's Talk Italian series, the first lesson of the Barron's Self Study (which I am putting on hold for now however), and today I did lesson four of Pimsleur I. Today was also good because I received the novel Il compango don Camillo from a friend in Italy. Please don't tell me what it's about. :) I also held a minimal conversation in Italian with this same friend. I feel that one conversation with some mistakes moves me a lot further ahead that several lessons. A conversation forces you to think for yourself in the language, not just think what you are taught in a lesson. I'm going to attempt to write a short paragraph in Italian for practice. Please excuse that it is written in only present tense, but feel free to correct any other mistakes. Vado in Italia nel 2006. Vado a Venezia, Firenze e Pisa. Mi piace Venezia perché le strade sono d'acqua. Voglio andare in Sicilia, a Roma e Napoli. Sono contento perché parlo un po l'italiano. Voglio una casa in Toscana. Mi piace molto il caffè. Arrivederci! Edited by canada38 on 15 January 2010 at 1:57am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 10 of 30 25 January 2010 at 7:10pm | IP Logged |
|
For all those reading this, I would first like to thank you for following my progress.
Italian I feel that my progress with the study of Italian has thus far been more than satisfactory. As for absolute progress: Pimsleur Italian I: 15/30 Let's Talk Italian: half-way through CD 2 Barron's Self Study - Still on hold I mentioned in my last update that I received for Christmas an Italian novel from my Italian friend. I think it is just a little beyond my level right now to thoroughly enjoy the novel. It wouldn't be productive nor timely to flip to every second or third word in the dictionary. However, for my birthday I received a 12 language electronic translator from my girlfriend (English, Italian, Spanish, French, German which are useful for me now, or in the near future. It also includes Russian, Czech, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Hungarian and Turkish). After I finish a book I am reading with my Bible study group, and get through 3 chemistry midterm exams, I think I'll start the Italian novel with the help of my new efficient multilingual friend ;). While I have not completed a great number of lessons; I have been conversing in Italian at a level beyond where I had imagined myself reaching at this point. Last week I was able to hold an online conversation for about 45 minutes. I had to use the dictionary for some words, but most of these I was able to retain and not have to look them up again. I am also pleased that I am able to write successfully whereas Pimsleur only teaches oral/aural skills. Spanish I concede that I put more effort into Italian than I do for Spanish. On one hand I want to learn the language just as much as I want to learn Italian. On the other, I have to remember that I am learning in a university classroom setting. Sure, I can take the initiative to learn lots of grammar and vocabulary in addition to what is expected in class. However, if I don't know without fault the material covered in class, it will show on the test. To say we are on chapter 5 in the textbook is meaningless, so I will instead show you my writing assignment due on Wednesday. Anyone may feel free to correct any errors I have made. The objective was to write at least 3 sentences about a few of the countries described in detail in the text. Países de América Central Costa Rica es más pequeño que Nicaragua y Honduras, pero es más rico que ellos. No hay los militares en Costa Rica. Muchos de los bananos en Canada viven de Costa Rica. Su ciudad capital es San José. Panamá es muy famoso porque el Canal de Panamá. Él conecta el Océano Pacífico al Mar Caribe. Hay muchos de los barcos de carga en el Canal de Panamá. Su capital es la ciudad Panamá. There is a test on Wednesday, so hopefully it goes well! Some exciting news is that I might be going to Spain this summer with my girlfriend. I already have $550 saved and I think my parents are going to help me cover the costs of the flight. More specifically, we might be going to Barcelona. Therefore my direction for the TAC may potentially have some adjustments. If this trip does indeed occur, the changes will be as follows: - When the semester ends, I will have to immerse myself in the Spanish language as much as possible. My younger sister's boyfriend speaks Spanish, so I will have to spend lots of time with them (much to her disapproval I am sure!) - Learn vosotros!! (We only use Ustedes in class) - Begin studying Catalan earlier than I expected. It's hard to say what level I will try to reach in a short time. This plan I am sure will evolve over time as well. I don't want to start now though, because I think it would hurt my Spanish. Thanks for reading! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 11 of 30 29 January 2010 at 1:52am | IP Logged |
|
Just a minor but exciting update today.
Today's daily Italian lesson partially consisted of responding to simple mathematical addition questions posed by a speaker. It was great because it allowed me to process the numbers in Italian... "due più due sono... quattro!" At first I got all of the questions right (there are a few seconds before the correct answer is given). I did make one mistake however: Audio: "Tredici più venticinque." Me: "Tredici più venticinque sono... trentasette." Audio "Sono trentotto." Me: "No, non è vero!! ........ No, è vero.. naturalmente è trentotto! .... I just thought in Italian!" Significance: 1) Even though I do a lot of high level chemistry calculations every day for school, I still manage to make an idiot of myself. ;) 2) I thought in Italian unintentionally for the first time! This is really exciting because I feel that I am making great progress and also it is a moral boost! If anyone reading is familiar with Barcelona, I would be happy if you could please answer these questions. 1) Is Catalonia to Spain as Quebec is to Canada? More precisely worded, even though one could have a memorable time there having he only a basic to low-intermediate level of Spanish, is it highly recommended to pick-up some Catalan as well? By this I mean more than just words such as "hi, nice, how much, etc." 2) Say I do learn some Catalan, but it comes out in a mix with Spanish. Would this offended the Spanish speakers? Or the Catalans? 3) Would I be likely to encounter "Wow! You're a foreigner and speak Catalan! Here's 10% off"? Edited by canada38 on 29 January 2010 at 1:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 12 of 30 09 February 2010 at 5:13pm | IP Logged |
|
Spanish
Wow what a lucky day! Today after class I was going to the library to study, and on the way I noticed they had the free books cart out for scavenging. Usually most of the books seem to be very useless (from my perspective) such as books about taxes and very outdated science. I figured I'd check it out to see what treasures I could find, maybe an old CRC handbook of Chemistry and Physics or even an old language grammar book. Todays catch of Spanish books includes 3 about grammar and 5 full of short stories. Their titles are: Advanced Oral Skills in Spanish, Gramatica Esencial (which seems to be advanced grammar at first glance), Side-by-Side Spanish and English Grammar; Cuentos y Microcuentos: una antologia de la narrative breve, Lecturas periodisticas, Asi somos: Temas de hoy y de siempre, En primera persona, and Ocho Mundos. I'm sure I won't finish reading all these for quite a while, so that frees up any money I'd be spending on Spanish material. I don't really have much more to say about Spanish other than that the class is going well. I got a 73% on the last test, which was pretty good for not studying the night before! We had to do an improvised skit in front of the class too, which went well. I've also been spending a good amount of time preparing for my trip to Spain this summer. (Hopefully it all works out!) Italian I admit I've let Italian fall a bit behind where I should be right now. My excuses [sic] are that I was busy studying for midterms, going to 2 hockey games and a basketball game plus watching the Superbowl all in one weekend, catching a cold, getting a traffic ticket, and going to bed early. I did buy an interesting used book this week however. It is called Il Piemonte, with descriptions of lots places with colour photos. There are lots of regional recipes in the book as well. "Reading week," as they call it, is coming up soon (Equivalent to Spring or March Break) which in the past has been "Drinking and Party Week" for me, might by choice become "Language Week" this year. I definitely have a lot of catching up to do! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 13 of 30 20 February 2010 at 4:32am | IP Logged |
|
Spanish
I don't have much to say specifically, other than that class has been going well. There was supposed to be a midterm on Wednesday... but it was cancelled because there was a snow day! One thing I love about Canada is the snow (among other things of course). Class is now out for a week because of Winter Break. I've looked through the books I picked-up for free, and of the readers, Ocho Mundos is the most appropriate for me. The other readers are for an intermediate level. Italian I hate to say it, but since my last update I've only repeated a few Pimsleur lessons that I had previously completed. My progress so far is Level 1 18/30. School got a little tedious the past few weeks, and with several nights of four hours sleep, there was just no room for Italian. Things are slowing down now, and I have Winter Break to get caught up with school work, so I should be able to make some good progress with Italian again. One problem I have experienced is being able to actually do the Pimsleur lessons. Most of my free time is actually at school between lectures; I usually do homework at night. I can't do the oral exercises at school or on the bus, so I think for now Italian can't be a daily thing. Catalan Today I started the free course offered by www.parla.cat. It seems good so far. On first impression, the orthography of Catalan seems much harder than other languages I've studied. I won't be able to give it 100% effort until the summer, but the language seems interesting and it will be very useful when I travel to Barcelona. I think I need to make a schedule adjustment for my language study. If I pursue a realistic schedule, I can adhere to a strict regimen. However; if I make things too hard for myself, it's easier to become unproductive on potential study days by getting into a habit of procrastination. The is my tentative new weekly plan: Sunday: -Catchup day, Study any language if there is time. Monday: -Spanish: Lecture at school, homework in evening. Tuesday: -None Wednesday: -Spanish: Lecture at school, homework in evening. -Italian: Pimsleur (afternoon) Thursday: -Italian: Pimsleur (afternoon) Friday: -Italian: Pimsleur (evening or while driving to work) Saturday: -Italian: Pimsleur (anytime) -Catalan: Complete a lesson Edited by canada38 on 12 March 2010 at 11:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 14 of 30 25 February 2010 at 11:54pm | IP Logged |
|
It's been less than a week since my last update, but I feel a post is needed. Yesterday
I booked my flight... I'll be going to Barcelona this summer for a week. Of course it'll be a great travel experience, but perhaps even more importantly, it'll be an excellent chance for me to practice with Spanish and Catalan. I had to call the hotel to inquire about a few things; I greeted the receptionist with a "Bona tarda," instead of a "Buenas tardes." I choose Catalan over Spanish for the greeting, but Spanish was the only way I could express myself for the rest of the conversation. She seemed to have understood me, and began to respond in Spanish. I quickly got lost, and wanted to get the details right, so I had to continue in English. I had to call another place at which the guy did not speak any English. I managed to hold a conversation with him in Spanish, albeit I'm sure there were some interjected Italian words from me. He spoke slower than her too. I'll be in Iceland for a few days as well. I don't plan on putting any serious time into studying Icelandic, but I'll likely try to learn more than just the touristy words and basic greetings. If anyone is actually reading this, expect another update soon about my study progress while on winter break from school. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 15 of 30 11 March 2010 at 5:27pm | IP Logged |
|
Here's my update for anyone out there reading.
Italian Well school has been a little hectic, so I'm a bit behind where I want to be. I'm still making progress though; something is always better than nothing. I've just about finished Pimsleur Level 1, having recently completed lesson 25. I've repeated a few of the lessons to make sure I really understand them. I think that before I move onto Level 2, I should bring my reading/writing skills up a bit. Perhaps I'll read a few short stories, do some translation, and write a short composition. I can say that I am successfully remembering ~95% of what I learn on the oral exercises. Catalan I've done a bit with Catalan. Thus far I've only completed the first lesson of the Basic 1 course on parla.cat. I get most of the questions correct on the exercises, which is a good sign. Since I know how to study a Romance language, I might stray away from the path of the course from time to time to just learn grammar and vocabulary. I've memorized the conjugations of -ar verbs for the present, imperfect, and future simple tenses. I think these three tenses will suffice for my trip. Of course I'll have to learn the er/re and ir tenses as well. Spanish Well Spanish has been going great. I've recently decided to try to achieve the Continental Accent/Pronunciation as opposed to any Latin American variant. Of course my studies are still early, but I figure it is better to do this sooner than later. This requires a conscious effort, because the class generally emphasizes the way of speaking in the Americas. On my recent Spanish test I got a mark of 79%. Here's a composition I have to do for class. I haven't passed it in yet, so if anyone sees a fault you're welcome to tell me. We were to include 2 uses each of reflexive verbs and indirect object pronouns, and also conjugate verbs in the preterit. El fin de semana pasado fue bueno. Miré una película en español. ¡Es verdad! Se llama "James Bond - Casino Royal." Una noche yo fui con mi novia. Le compré la cena a ella. No fuimos a los restaurantes caros porque ahorramos dinero para visitar Cataluña este verano. Fui en Alemania, Francia, Mónaco y Italia pero no fui en España todavía. Pienso que le di el deseo de viajar a ella. Normalmente fuimos a la iglesia los domingos, pero este fin de semana fui solo. ¡Me gustas los fines de semana cuando no tengo las tareas! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| canada38 Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5314 days ago 304 posts - 417 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Japanese | Message 16 of 30 17 March 2010 at 11:06pm | IP Logged |
|
Here is some Italian that I wrote for fun. Feel free to correct any mistakes :)
A proposito di... io! Sono uno studente universitario. Studio la chimica e il spagnolo. È il mio anno terzo della università. Non sto studiando il Italiano a scuola, perché lo studio a casa. Ho iniziato studiarlo perché voglio vivere in Italia. Ho la visitato nel 2006. Ho visto Venezia, Firenze e Pisa. Questa estate andrò a Islanda, Spagna, Francia e Andorra. Vorrei andare in Italia, ma non la andrò questo tempo. Ho visitato gran parte del Canada e degli Stati Uniti. Mi piace molto viaggiare. Ecco dei altri fatti a proposito di io. Ho due animales alla mia casa: un cane e un pesce. Mi piace fare il hockey e il football canadese. Sono cristiano del tipo di battista. Mi piace la musica della campagna, ma mi piace anche ad altri tipi. Edited by canada38 on 17 March 2010 at 11:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
