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Splog at University | ||
Tags: Czech | College/University | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5458 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes  Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 25 of 72 03 November 2010 at 7:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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Today, I took another exam at the University, and it was a greater disaster than even
the previous one. Part of the problem is that I was a bundle of nerves (it has been decades since I had to sit an exam). To be honest, though, the main problem was the test was simply too difficult for me. So, most likely, my time in the conversation class will come to a premature end, and I will be relegated to one of the "heavy focus on grammar" groups below. Not that this matters, since I have learned that at the end of next month, the other three students in my class are dropping out. Understandably, having just me as the only student in the conversation class makes no sense (who would I talk with?), plus it will not be financially viable for the university. Others have applied to join, so there is a glimmer of hope, but so far none have passed the entrance exam. At this point, I am crossing my fingers that I am allowed to stay, and that others will manage to pass the entrance exam and join the group. Otherwise, it will simply cease to exist, which would be a great shame. On a more positive note, the past two months have been an incredible experience, and I have learned a great deal. So, I am satisfied no matter what happens next. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5458 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 26 of 72 09 November 2010 at 3:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well, to my astonishment, I actually passed the exam. I hardly slept the night before
the exam (due to nerves), and didn't sleep at all on the day of the exam (due to terror because of how hard the exam had been). Straight after the exam the examiners told me I had done badly. I took this to mean a failure. Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out they meant I had passed, but only just. Well, a pass is a pass - so I celebrated with a bottle of wine :-) Additionally, I made it through several rounds of the national speech competition, and in two weeks am competing in the finals. After initially thinking it was a waste of time, I found I actually enjoyed the earlier rounds, and am now looking forward to the finals. At the very least it will be a good opportunity to see the abilities of the finalists from other parts of the country. Finally, I promised to focus this log on "lessons learned", so here goes: I have learned that I have almost no natural talent for languages. Two of my classmates claim they do no work outside of the classroom, whereas I am having to put in several hours a day of independent study just to keep pace with them. This shows that hard work can indeed compensate for lack of talent, which is very handy for me. Still, I wish I had a better memory and that I didn't need to lie down sweating at the end of each day of lessons. The second realisation I am having is that the more you learn of a languagae, the more you realise there remains ahead of you. I used to think my first goal would be to "break the spine" of a language, whereas now I feel I have just clipped its toenails. The immensity of what lies ahead is almost overwhelming. So, language learning really can be (and maybe has to be) a journey of continuous and never-ending improvement. It is a good job I enjoy it, otherwise that could be pretty depressing. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5349 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 27 of 72 09 November 2010 at 3:55pm | IP Logged | ||
Brilliant. You definitely deserve to pass all your exams and/or win the competition for that alone. I'm still trying to wrestle language into the chair, and getting badly scratched. Edited by schoenewaelder on 09 November 2010 at 3:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5458 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 28 of 72 18 November 2010 at 9:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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I always thought I had a pretty good grasp on numbers in Czech. Yet, for three full
days this week, we have focused almost exclusively on numbers at University. It is mind boggling how immense and how complicated the whole area is. Whole books could be written on the subject. The professors are pretty smart, and every time we students thought we had a good handle on the intricacies of things they would throw some new complication at us. One good side effect it that rather than words buzzing around in my head all day, for most of this week it has been numbers buzzing around - in all sorts of complicated forms. The result is that I can now do quite complicated juggling with numbers in Czech about as quickly as I can in English. I just hope this ability doesn't fade too quickly. On a completely different topic, I am (at long last) figuring out the way I learn best. The high demands at the university have focused my mind on pinning down what works for me. I have slowly refined things down to a combination of methods which fit well together, and really suit my very few strengths, whilst working around my very many weaknesses. This means I am much more efficient at language learning than even, just, six months ago. It does feel like there has been a "breakthrough" in my brain, and now there is sort of a well oiled machine, rather than a brain full of quicksand that was dragging me down. It sense of efficiency has filled me with greater energy and greater optimism. Of course, pride comes before a fall, and every day I am still humbled by the other students in the class. I would say I am now keeping pace with them, but as mentioned above I am having to put in many hours per day to do so, whereas they claim they don't do any study outside of the university. Still, now that my "language learning machine" is pretty well oiled, the long hours are less of a chore, and are actually producing visible results. All in all, when I first started learning, I was crawling up a hill. Until about six months ago, I was walking at a moderate pace. Nowadays, I am jogging comfortably. Not running at breakneck speed, but then, as people often say, language learning is a marathon and not a sprint. So, I am in the for the longhaul, and am now happy with the sustainability of my current pace. Edited by Splog on 18 November 2010 at 9:53pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5458 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 29 of 72 23 November 2010 at 8:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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On Thursday, I participate in the public speaking finals mentioned above.
Having seen me in earlier rounds of the competition, one of the more senior professors at my University complained "You are not using many cultivated words in the presentation" I replied "If you mean 'fancy' and 'rare' and 'complicated' words then I have deliberately omitted them, since I want the audience to understand what I am saying rather than show off that I know words they do not know" Her reply "You are representing our University, and I want the other Universities to see that our students are highly cultivated" As a result, and somewhat against my wishes, I have changed my presentation so that instead of using the Czech equivalents of words like "and then" I will now be saying things like "whereupon". Knowing "fancy" words is certainly useful, but actually using those words to "impress" others isn't going to impress at all. Although this may make the folks from my university beam with pride, I feel it will alienate the audience. Alas, University professors (at least at my University) do not seem to accept George Orwell's advice to "Never use a long word where a short one will do" 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5345 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 30 of 72 23 November 2010 at 10:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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Trust your instincts, Splog, and go with that! You've managed to make it to the finals under your own steam so far, which is really fantastic, so take what this disgruntled station master says with a pinch of coaldust. We're all proud of you here!
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5458 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 31 of 72 27 November 2010 at 1:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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I did not win in the public speaking finals. Alas, I came fourth. There was one
finalist (a woman from the Ukraine) who was certainly better than me, and I believe she should have won. Strangely, she received a lower placing than I. The person who won, on the other hand, did not speak Czech well, and was reading from a script. I was pleased for her that she won, but puzzled by how the judges made their decision. Particularly irritating was that after the competition, I was asked to translate between Czech and English for the winner, since the professors could not speak English well, and the winner had limited Czech abilities. Despite those irritations, the event itself was quite enjoyable, and it was held in a rather attractive town, with a pleasant castle, which I visited in the afternoon. Now that the competition is behind me, I can focus completely on my university studies. We spent an interesting afternoon yesterday at the University discussing religion. As mentioned earlier, one of my classmates is a catholic priest, and it was most enjoyable explaining to him the principles of my own religion (buddhism). Furthermore, the Japanese lady in the group is a Zen buddhist, so we had a lively discussion on how that differers from my own branch of buddhism. Trying to explain the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and then debating the reality of experiences, certainly exercised my linguistic abilities. It is fun days like those that remind me why I returned to university. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| schoenewaelder Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5349 days ago 759 posts - 1197 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: German, Spanish, Dutch | Message 32 of 72 27 November 2010 at 3:14pm | IP Logged | ||
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A bit late I'm afraid (actually I'm sure I mentioned it on this forum somewhere previously) but there used to be a Polish academic who wrote in the Guardian blogs the most horrible tortuous English, and was roundly criticised by the commentators. She explained that in Polish, it is normal to show the level of your skill in a language by making it (I probably misparaphrase) as complicated as you are capable. Maybe the same applies in Czech.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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