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TAC 2010, Team K, Teango - GE SP SW RU | ||
Tags: Kanji | Turkish | Listening-Reading (L-R) | Swedish | Total Annihilation Challenge (TAC) | Russian | German | French | Spanish | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 33 of 185 01 February 2010 at 10:19am | IP Logged | ||
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I have a German question and was hoping someone out there could help. I was just listening to "Der Tannenbaum" by Hans Christian Andersen in the background and heard this hilarious word "Klumpe-Dumpe". Who is this funny-sounding fellow - is it Humpty Dumpty?
edit: it seems Klumpe-Dumpe also fell, this time down some stairs, but he also managed to get a princess to marry him as a result...it's all still a bit vague really - here's an answer in German :) Edited by Teango on 19 February 2010 at 3:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 34 of 185 02 February 2010 at 10:48am | IP Logged | ||
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I've felt myself slacking off a little lately...it's so easy to start the new year bright and bushy-tailed, full of energy and vision; but it's another thing to keep it altogether and keep going, especially after the predicatable initial third week slump. As one of our forum members Cainntear once said, "motivation waxes and wanes like a very irregular moon". Tough work and college commitments or catching an odd cold I guess doesn't help either. I think we've got a terrific team, great methods, and plenty in common. If we all pull together, we might just achieve something amazing by the end of this year...keep on rockin' Team K! :D Edited by Teango on 03 February 2010 at 9:56am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| M. Medialis Diglot TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Sweden Joined 6168 days ago 397 posts - 508 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Russian, Japanese, French | Message 35 of 185 03 February 2010 at 11:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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Teango: Yeah, it's been 5 weeks, so it's time to reload.
Just thought I could ask you if you've been able to detect any improvements from LR yet. As for me, I'm definitely better at following japanese, and I actually got used to the Subject-Object-Verb order -a thing that's seemed impossible before, and became a non-issue with LR. The basic grammar seems to slowly take care of itself, but I still have quite a bit left before I reach the Natural Listening Jewel. Right. I'll end with one single word that may help your motivation: Fluency ;) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kubelek Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland chomikuj.pl/Kuba_wal Joined 6663 days ago 415 posts - 528 votes Speaks: Polish*, EnglishC2, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 36 of 185 03 February 2010 at 11:53pm | IP Logged | ||
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keep up the good work guys. I find your posts motivating, so don't feel shy ;) I use my log to brag all the time.
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| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 37 of 185 05 February 2010 at 8:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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PROGRESS IN German, WEEK 5/52 OF THE 2010 TAC CHALLENGE
SUMMARY L-R: 15.6 hours (Das Parfum*** by Patrick Süskind) Music: 6.6 hours (106 modern German songs in playlist) Passive Listening: 4.6 hours (wide variety of podcasts and audiobooks) Movies: 1.8 hours (Constantine [dub]) ———————————— Week Total: 30 hours LR Total: 58.2 hours Year Total: 175.4 hours WANDERLUST CONFESSION BOX 261/1900 BSL signs (Communication Link + reviews) 7/10 lessons (Pimsleur Basic Turkish) I've decided to take up Latin on Sundays as a little extra treat, beginning next week time permitting. Amazing stories and thinkers, wonderful histories and culture, and a major philological key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of my own language. I've wanted to do this for ages, and now I will. It should also come in very handy when learning new European languages (especially French later on this year), and help me understand previously unseen words in English too. A "dead useless language" - I don't think so, it lives on in the very words I'm typing now... Wanderlust phrase of the week: Lugha moja haitoshi! (Swahili: "One language is never enough!") TEANGO’S WORD/PHRASE OF THE WEEK "sommersprossenübersprenkeltes" (sprinkled with freckles), wow...and believe it or not, it's not that unusual to see 29-letter words during an average day of German LR either...don't you just dig cool concatenation?! NOTES:
Well it's still early days I guess, but you're absolutely right...it's about time to check on progress in this week's TAC German language log... Basic Reading Test Table: (How many words do I understand both independently and as part of a phrase for a small section of a German novel?): Date.........Total LR.....Q1......Q2.......Q3......V1......V2......V3 31/12/09...0 hrs.......*87%.......................*87% 14/01/10...c. 25 hrs...97%..*94%..............93%..*88% 04/02/10...c. 50 hrs...100%..96%..*93%....96%...92%..*91% Key for Table: Q = 100 words of "Qual" (followed by chapter number). V = 100 words of "Der Vorleser" (followed by chapter number). * = 100 words of a NEW chapter, using previously unseen text as a control to avoid earlier priming or subconscious look-up afterwards. [Apologies in advance for the wonky table above, it took me ages to do this in the HTLAL editor and although it looks ok-ish now in my browser, I'm well aware that it may not look quite so pretty in others. Please could you add a table function FX?:) ] General notes on progress with LR: It's a fair bit easier to grasp the gist of a passage on the whole now, but the details can still be quite elusive. Sometimes I understand several sentences in a row 100% and feel very bright and cheery; other times I'm close to clueless, just waiting till I can get back on stage and follow what's going on with the rest of the troupe. As I don't engage in anything but Listening-Reading and occasional background passive listening during this stage of my language learning programme, it's hard to comment on progress in any active or interactive skills. However, when I spoke with my neighbour recently, I must confess I did feel more at ease and fluid whilst listening and speaking. I've also noticed a few unusual things this week... 1. I usually learn new words during the core listening-reading cycles or right at the end. This happens during steps 3-4 where I just listen to German and read English, or far more often, during the final 5th step, where I read and listen in German but remember the story previously in English and therefore the corresponding words or context. Lately this association between English and German words has occured even earlier. For example, I read the word "Leuchter" but don't understand what it means on my first cycle through a section, where I read German and listen to German. Then whilst reading the English translation afterwards with no audio at all (2nd step), I consciously translate "candlestick" as "Leuchter". It's as though the word just pops into my head from out of nowhere. Not sure what this means, but it looks like a good sign... 2. Sometimes when I'm listening-reading I completely forget whether I'm reading the English or German text. This is an odd feeling, as I still get the gist of the passage but simply don't know what language it is in for a few seconds. 3. Words seem to become more rooted in my mind every day. I saw a picture of an egg the other day and the first thing I thought was "gekochtes Ei", I had to think for a second before I remembered the English. 4. I understand song lyrics much more clearly (must be because I've heard the same songs so MANY times now haha). 5. I've had a couple of dreams this week in German and even wake up speaking some phrases on occasion. Disturbed sleep or positive progress in language learning, you decide?! Edited by Teango on 12 February 2010 at 1:53pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 38 of 185 12 February 2010 at 1:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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PROGRESS IN German, WEEK 6/52 OF THE 2010 TAC CHALLENGE
SUMMARY L-R: 2.9 hours (Das Parfum*** by Patrick Süskind) Grammar: 4.5 hours (research and review) Music: 4.3 hours (106 modern German songs in playlist) Passive Listening: 1 hour (podcasts and audiobooks) Movies: 1.4 hours (Zoolander [dub]) ———————————— Week Total: 14.1 hours LR Total: 61.1 hours Year Total: 189.5 hours WANDERLUST CONFESSION BOX No change since last week. TEANGO’S WORD/PHRASE OF THE WEEK "das Kuddelmuddel" (muddle), this one reminds me of Enid Blyton's classic bedtime storybook "Mr Meddle's Muddles"...but more cuddly of course! NOTES: I fell a bit ill at the weekend and took out time to recuperate over the rest of the week. This means I was only able to get a bare minimum of German LR done and keep up-to-date with posts on the forum. I also spent some time doing a little grammar research from bed. I feel bad that I couldn't fit in more study, but I really needed the rest. I'll try to make up for it next week... ;) Edited by Teango on 12 February 2010 at 1:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 39 of 185 19 February 2010 at 2:57pm | IP Logged | ||
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PROGRESS IN German, WEEK 7/52 OF THE 2010 TAC CHALLENGE
SUMMARY L-R: 1 hour (Das Parfum*** by Patrick Süskind) Music: 12.2 hours (131 songs in playlist) Passive Listening: 2 hours (podcasts and audiobooks) Movies: 2 hours (Interview with the Vampire [dub]) Speaking: 0.6 hours (chatted with hairdresser and neighbour) ———————————— Week Total: 17.7 hours LR Total: 62.2 hours Year Total: 207.3 hours WANDERLUST CONFESSION BOX 10/10 lessons (Pimsleur Basic Turkish completed - biraz türkçe konuşuyorum!) I was thrilled to actually understand a few simple phrases on a Turkish thread this week. It's really quite a fascinating language and very different to the others I'm currently learning. Sadly I still lacked the confidence and vocabulary to speak with the vendor at my local döner kiosk yesterday, and reverted back to German. So I aim to follow this brief flirtation with an easy basic course (Linguaphone PDQ Turkish) and perhaps I'll have better luck in the near future. TEANGO’S WORD/PHRASE OF THE WEEK I've got 2 "Schn-" words for you this week: der Schnabelhals (spout-neck) which I picked up in "Das Parfum", and der Schnürsenkel (shoelace) which I learned in a shoe shop after pestering the poor assistant several times. I also used one of my phrases at the hairdresser's this week. Having been brought a tasty cappuccino, I mentioned how it helps wake me up in the morning and called it my "Leckerschmeckerwecker". This was received with a peal of assenting laughter and "genau"s. I always enjoy playing with words, and it so often pays to be creative... ;) NOTES: I was still in recovery this week, but I'm feeling much better now. LR hit an all-time low during this time, as work that had piled up during last week urgently needed doing, but I still managed to keep above water level with a little German music and multimedia in the background. I also realised a fortnight ago that I can now sustain a general reading comprehsion level above 90% for new text (see previous basic reading test table), which I think places my reading skills in the higher B2 range. This is very welcome news and shows that LR is really working, my basic reading level having risen from B1 to B2 after 5 weeks and 50 hours of LR! :) Edited by Teango on 20 February 2010 at 9:11am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5367 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 40 of 185 26 February 2010 at 4:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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PROGRESS IN German, WEEK 8/52 OF THE 2010 TAC CHALLENGE
SUMMARY L-R: 3.5 hours (Das Parfum*** by Patrick Süskind) Music: 6.9 hours (131 songs in playlist) Movies: 1.8 hours (Alfie [dub]) Emails: 0.5 hours ———————————— Week Total: 12.7 hours LR Total: 65.7 hours Year Total: 220.1 hours WANDERLUST CONFESSION BOX I've discovered a few fun flashcard-type resources this week: smart.fm, Reviewing the Kanji and Skriter - all great online apps - some useful, others just plain addictive! TEANGO’S WORD/PHRASE OF THE WEEK Here's something you may not have seen since high school maths, die Winkelmesser (a set of protractors), and maybe someone can help me with this next one..."die Betonknacker"...I saw it emblazed on a big red van parked outside my bedroom window last week... 
(it sounds rude, but I think it means the "concrete geezers" lol)..? NOTES: I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, much like a dazed toroise who only just recently managed to rock himself back onto his slow stumpy feet. Das Parfum is really an engaging and interesting read, and I'm already noticing new words I've acquired through listening-reading creeping into my understanding of films in German. I'm still light years away from fluent when listening to films in German of course, but every little step helps. All in all I'm hoping to get back on track real soon and break away from all this recent plodding and lazy lettuce-munching... Edited by Teango on 26 February 2010 at 5:26pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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