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TAC 2010 Katie’s Hungarian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Katie Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6504 days ago 495 posts - 599 votes  Speaks: English*, Hungarian Studies: French, German | Message 49 of 100 17 February 2010 at 2:25am | IP Logged |
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Feb 16-17, 2010
Hungarian I began working through a grammar book lately called "Lépésenként Magyarul 2". It has a lot of good activities to help work through grammar, although I'm somewhat dismayed that there is no key to check the answers! The units are quite long, so I am still completing the first unit now. I've ordered my new Hungarian grammar book through Amazon, but I will have to wait 4-6 weeks for its arrival. I will probably continue with the above book aswell, just for fun, but I am really looking forward to getting this new book. I have had my eye on it for some time! I've had some time speaking in Hungarian today, which was great. And right now, I'm about to go and watch a DVD in Hungarian. German I'm currently working on Chapter 2 of Teach Yourself German. I will finish this chapter today. I have covered a little more in the grammar book aswell, although at this stage, I'm enjoying the more relaxed and lighter grammatical teachings in TY. My further plan for today is to finish CD2 of Michel Thomas. I haven't started working with FSI yet. I think I will start that once I have worked through Michel Thomas for now. By then, I should be a reasonable distance through Teach Yourself aswell. All in all, I feel I am managing the two languages reasonably well together so far. Hopefully I will see some good results. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kinan Diglot Senior Member Syrian Arab Republic Joined 5352 days ago 234 posts - 279 votes Speaks: Arabic (Written)*, English Studies: Russian, Spanish | Message 50 of 100 19 February 2010 at 12:32pm | IP Logged |
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So you added German to your study?
I was thinking serioulsy this week about starting to learn a new language along with Spanish, and i thought it should be German. Do you think it's good idea to do that? i have been always a supporter of learning one language but i think i can improve my Spanish faster if i start learning a new language somehow. What do you think? 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Katie Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6504 days ago 495 posts - 599 votes Speaks: English*, Hungarian Studies: French, German | Message 51 of 100 19 February 2010 at 11:19pm | IP Logged |
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Hi Kinan!
Well, I asked for a lot of advice aswell before I started German, because I was also of the opinion that I should just learn one language. Though, as time went on, I found that - given the level I had reached with my Hungarian studies - I felt a really strong desire to 'study'. What level are you at with your Spanish? I haven't found adding another language to be detrimental or disruptive at all yet. And I hope it remains to be the same. With some of the things I have learnt so far in German, I feel that it has somewhat 'cemented' the Hungarian equivalent - I hope this continues! And in some ways, I also feel better - you know, that I'm really learning again, and excited about finally starting my 3rd language... I'm enjoying it. Anyway, good luck with what you decide. So far I haven't regretted starting German, but hey, I'm only about 2 weeks into my studies! I'll be sure to keep reporting on how it's going. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Kinan Diglot Senior Member Syrian Arab Republic Joined 5352 days ago 234 posts - 279 votes Speaks: Arabic (Written)*, English Studies: Russian, Spanish | Message 52 of 100 19 February 2010 at 11:42pm | IP Logged |
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Thanks for your reply Katie.
I think i will start German soon, i will wait till i get some more free time as beginning is always hard and intensive. Till that time i will keep watching your log and see your updates, maybe i would change my mind :P 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Katie Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6504 days ago 495 posts - 599 votes Speaks: English*, Hungarian Studies: French, German | Message 53 of 100 20 February 2010 at 8:10am | IP Logged |
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18-20 February, 2010
Hungarian I bought a new DVD today called "Definitely, Maybe". It was very sweet. I watched it in Hungarian today. I decided not to use the subtitles today, to check on my listening skills. It wasn't too bad. I've had lots of practice with my speaking, including telephone conversations in Hungarian lately. My friend just gave birth to her 3rd child, so her mum & mother-in-law were both calling me on the phone (they don't speak English). I have to admit, I've been utterly terrified of speaking on the phone. I'm not sure why - it is just different to speaking in person. I guess because you can rely on body language etc to get the meaning of things in person, whereas on the phone, you have no clues! I survived it. It wasn't too bad. I would that I understood between 85 & 90% of what was said on the phone. But I definitely have some way to go in that respect! Tonight I would like to do a little more reading. I have some unfinished novels here that I'd like to continue. If I have time, I'd also like to do some further work on Lépésenként Magyarul 2 (the grammatical activities book). German Today I finished Chapter 3 of Teach Yourself, along with reviewing Chapters 1 & 2 audio. I have been having a little trouble distinguishing between the numbers 4 & 5 on the audio, so I'll have to keep listening for a while longer. So far, I think I'm doing okay with German. When I compare it to Hungarian, it seems so much easier to get a grasp of. Having said that, I am often finding myself comparing sentence structure and post-positions not to English, but to Hungarian?! That is surprising to me - but I'm finding it easier to compare to Hungarian than to English?! I am so glad I ordered Teach Yourself German. I almost didn't bother - but I just really enjoy the format for whatever reason. I am currently finding it just as interesting as I did Teach Yourself Hungarian. The grammar is introduced nice & slowly and is explained in a very understandable way. Whilst I was out today, I saw a Berlitz product called "German For Your Trip" with 50% off. I decided to purchase it. I realise it is just common phrases and not really for someone who genuinely wants to learn the language (more than enough to get by on a short holiday), but it advertises that it has native speakers - which is the true reason I bought it. I haven't listened to it yet, but I will do so in the next week or so. Currently I'm really happy plodding along between Michel Thomas & Teach Yourself. On the note of Michel Thomas - I haven't had a chance to listen to too much more of Michel Thomas. I'm still on CD2. I will try to do some more listening this afternoon. --- Sadly, I have a full day of work again tomorrow (on a Sunday! Boo!) as we have a compulsory Planning Day to attend. So, I won't be able to do too much tomorrow. That's why I'd like to get a fair bit done today. I'm happy with what I've been up to today - although, timing myself has not really been happening lately (and thus the reason I haven't been updating my hours). It was really motivational for me to see the hours rising whilst I was on holidays (I guess it made me feel like I was being constructive). But now, between work, helping my friends in preparation and now post-arrival of baby #3, family stuff.... I either forget about it completely (most often) or when I do remember, feel like it's a bit of a chore. I've said before that I won't do anything I feel is a chore. I learn languages because I love to learn languages and to learn about new cultures - not for any other reason, so I have stopped timing myself for the time being. Amazingly, so far I'm not finding it at all confusing or difficult to switch between the two languages. I started off doing some Teach Yourself German. When I tired of that, I decided to watch my Hungarian DVD. I wondered how I'd go, but I switched without a problem. And then after the DVD, I decided to go back and do some more Teach Yourself German. Another thing I have noticed is that I tend to think a lot more in Hungarian now, than before I commenced my German studies. Maybe it has switched my brain on to "foreign language mode" somewhat? Combined with the immersion experiences I am having? I'm not sure! But it's a good feeling! :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| ChristopherB Triglot Senior Member New Zealand Joined 6102 days ago 851 posts - 1074 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, German, French | Message 54 of 100 20 February 2010 at 8:40am | IP Logged |
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Man, every time I read one of your posts on Hungarian I'm tempted to start studying it myself! You appear to have made really great progress with this language, which is even more impressive given the real dearth of language materials for it. To be able to understand 85-90% of what was said on the phone is really impressive. Congratulations!
Good to see you're enjoying German, it's a really great language too. With your prior experience studying a more grammatically and lexically alien language, you should make progress in leaps and bounds, not to mention the abundance of resources for German helps make the learning process easier. I will be following this log more closely from now on! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Katie Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6504 days ago 495 posts - 599 votes Speaks: English*, Hungarian Studies: French, German | Message 55 of 100 20 February 2010 at 10:08am | IP Logged |
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Cheers & Thank You, ChristopherB! :) I appreciate your comments and find them very motivating!
In all honesty, I have been really lucky with Hungarian. You're right - there is close to nothing available out there to learn from, but I have been so lucky that I've had access to so many native speakers. I would consider at least 10 adult native speakers to be good friends of mine (7 of which live in Australia), and I have regular contact with them. And I have been lucky enough that every single one of them have been fully supportive of me learning the language. I couldn't really ask for more in that respect! Also, my contact with natives has allowed me to have access to so many native materials to help me along the way. I am definitely better in reading and writing and listening, than in speaking - but I have been able to 'hold my own' with my friends' family members whilst they've had their 3.5 month stay here in Australia - so it can't be that bad. I still wouldn't put myself past the intermediate stage, but I'm pushing this year to get over that hump and move into the advanced stage! More than anything, I really want to push my speaking skills, as I would like to be able to freely express myself in all situations. I think I could actually understand well enough on the telephone because I have spent quite a lot of time listening to the language. Not only when chatting with people, but with music, radio, movies etc. I think that has played a key role. Also, although it doesn't always seem like it to me, I know that the speak a little slower to me and use a little simpler language with me than they would if I was a native speaker. So, you have to take that into account I guess (although, there is a limit to how much simpler you can explain details of labour and mum's health, and to make necessary arrangements for the other 2 children while parents are in hospital!) But hey, I know now not to underestimate the value of listening to the language! German will be a little tougher for me to learn in some respects, given that I don't know many speakers of German. Actually, I don't know any native speakers at all. However, I have 3 Hungarian friends who are also fluent in German - so that will help. One of my friends gave me a bunch of books that are written in Hungarian for German language learning, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of trying to learn from these books (and thus exercising both languages). I thought it important to get a decent grounding in the language before I attempt that though! As for resources... I couldn't be happier! There is so much available! :) So far, I have found things really easy - but hey, we're talking about the first 3 chapters of Teach Yourself - I'm sure it gets a heck of a lot more difficult after this! LOL The good thing is that I now have a reasonably clear idea of what sort of programs/books/activities suit me, so I should be able to more efficiently progress than I did with Hungarian. I knew TY would suit me already, I knew I needed a good Grammar book asap. I will now hunt for a grammatical activity book like the one I have for Hungarian, and I am also trying to get a copy of a picture dictionary that I have for Hungarian and absolutely adore! With those few items, I'm confident I can make some decent progress. Listening items are quite easily accessible. I have the TY audio, plus this new Berlitz I bought, plus there seems to be quite a few podcasts available in German. The library has some audio books, etc... so there are quite a few choices out there. And it is relatively easy to come across DVDs here in Australia that have German on them - so I should be able to start on listening activities fairly quickly - I even had a few at home! I'm about to hunt on eBay etc for some children's books too... can't wait to start my collection! --- Kinan, Good Luck! :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Katie Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 6504 days ago 495 posts - 599 votes Speaks: English*, Hungarian Studies: French, German | Message 56 of 100 21 February 2010 at 8:22am | IP Logged |
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21 February, 2010
After a long day of work (we had a planning day that was compulsory to attend), I'm really looking forward to some relaxing time. Given that I worked almost all day (finished about 1 hour & 10 minutes ago), I don't feel much like studying at the moment. German I did however manage to finish CD2 of Michel Thomas - which apparently finishes what they consider to be the "Introductory Course". I dare say I will need to listen to it again, just to cement what I've been learning on it, but I think I will continue to push ahead to CD3 while listening to small portions of CDs 1 & 2 as reviews. I don't plan on doing anything more in German today. Hungarian I'm actually really feeling like doing some more work in Hungarian today, but I don't want to push too hard, as it will be a big week ahead of me and I want some relaxing time. I'm going to sift through the Level 1 FSI Hungarian book and look at some vocabulary and maybe some grammatical drills. After that, I may have a look at Level 2. If I'm still feeling enthusiastic I might do some Lépésenként activities, but most importantly, I would like to finish the day off with a movie. I honestly don't mind if I only look at Level 1 FSI and then watch the movie - whatever takes my fancy this afternoon! I really wanted to visit my friends, but I haven't heard from them, so I don't think it will happen this afternoon. Oh well! Another time! :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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