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Dreams of Valhalla, study-and-click | ||
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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 5343 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 1 of 30 30 September 2010 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | |||||
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"Dreams of Valhalla", Intro
(An experiment in learning Swedish) 
Starting level: A0 (beginner) Initial reading score: 31% (Stieg Larsson's "Män som hatar kvinnor", Kapitel 1, 100 words) Primary goal: B2 level in reading (approx. 90%) Extended goal: C1 level in reading (approx. 95%) Method: Study-and-click programme Selected text/audio: J K Rowling, "Harry Potter och de vises sten" (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) PREAMBLE I've always had a thing for the Swedish language, for as far back as I can remember. So I'd love to be able to finally watch classic films one day and leaf through paperbacks in the original. My cousin is also a music promoter over in Stockholm, and it would be the icing on the cake to be able to chat away comfortably in the language when I next get the chance to visit. In essence, I've been putting this off for far too long, and now it's time to make amends. Apart from listening to a few Pimsleurs on a short flight over to Stockholm five years ago, this language presents a fresh new challenge before me. I'll be focusing solely on listening and reading for the purposes of this experiment, but would of course also like to develop some half-decent speaking and writing skills at a later stage too. I'm hoping some knowledge of German (and having surprisingly learnt several words whilst aligning texts today), will give me a keen head-start, but to be honest, when I look at my test book right now, it's all still...well...Swedish to me. Unlike my other language projects this year, I'll be jumping straight into some Harry Potter and will be neither assisted by that keen Little Prince nor any additional study aids (apart from Google Translate to double-check end-of-day reading scores). I had initially hoped to work full-on with Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, having spent a stack of money on all the resources, but unfortunately the English translations were so disappointing that they proved almost impossible to align in the end. So I think the best way forward will be to listen and read in Swedish with these when I hopefully reach a more advanced stage, and just use them as independent reading test material for the time being. There are so many obstacles and pitfalls lined up in front of me this time round, that I certainly question my sanity in attempting this epic journey right now. These range from current poor health issues to relocating back to UK and finding a new home in a few weeks' time (along with all the inevitable mountains of German bureaucracy that need sorting out first, removals and cancellations, and repainting and redecorating the flat for new tenants, etc). Even my Macbook is back on the blink again since being fixed only months ago (what great timing!) and probably in her final 3rd year laptop death throes. I currently have to emergency reboot half a dozen times before I'm able to bypass the narcoleptic black screen of nothingness that has been conjured up from the depths of App-hell. So, all in all, it's going to be a pretty tough ride to reach my goals in Swedish swiftly, if at all. But as the name of this log implies (inspired in part by the Skaldic 10th century poem "Eiríksmál"), I'm in fighting spirits and have high hopes of glory all the same, and will look forward to a flagon of well-deserved mead by the end of it all, whatever the results. Looking forward to starting tomorrow... Hey, hey, Vicky! Hey, Vicky, hey! ;) Edited by Teango on 07 October 2010 at 6:16pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6490 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 30 30 September 2010 at 7:48pm | IP Logged | |||||
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backup backup backup.....
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 5343 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 3 of 30 30 September 2010 at 8:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks, Iversen. You're completely right and I'm in the process of backing up TWICE tonight (2 different external hard disks, just in case). ;)
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| M. Medialis Diglot TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member Sweden Joined 6144 days ago 397 posts - 508 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: Russian, Japanese, French | Message 4 of 30 01 October 2010 at 12:44am | IP Logged | |||||
YES!! Reading this was pure delight. :) Always remember you have support from us.
Now, let's summon Skidbladner, And eternally sail before the wind! To the far away land, where adventures awaits; It is cold in the North, but you'll get your reward: -You'll erase every trace of your monoglot life! ;) Edited by M. Medialis on 01 October 2010 at 12:44am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5754 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 30 01 October 2010 at 1:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Good luck with your new project! I think that it's a good thing, when life is getting difficult with health problems, relocation, and the evil of computer malfunctions, to have a study project to work on. It helps to keep your mind from dwelling too often on negative things. I know this has helped me a lot in the past year. Edited by meramarina on 01 October 2010 at 1:52pm 3 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 5343 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 6 of 30 01 October 2010 at 6:17pm | IP Logged | |||||
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"Dreams of Valhalla", Day 1
(An experiment in learning Swedish) Study-and-click: 6 hours (6 total) New passive words: 571 (571 total) Today's reading score: 73% (+42%, "Män som hatar kvinnor", Kapitel 2, 100 words) Thanks Medialis and Meramarina! So far I absolutely love the way Swedish is spoken, and am enjoying my first day of breaking the waves in this new language. The intonation and flow, in particular, is simply an undulating joy to my otherwise landlocked ears. The hardest thing really is just getting back into a good routine and pacing myself sensibly throughout. If I can manage this over the next couple of weeks, then the battle's half won. So Harry Potter to the masts and all grog-worthy hands to the oars...Skidbladner is setting sail for new linguistic shores! :D  Edited by Teango on 01 October 2010 at 6:22pm 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 5343 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 8 of 30 02 October 2010 at 8:31pm | IP Logged | |||||
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"Dreams of Valhalla", Day 2
(An experiment in learning Swedish) Study-and-click: 6 hours (12 total) New passive words: 541 (1112 total) Today's reading score: 74% (+1%, "Män som hatar kvinnor", Kapitel 3, 100 words) Tack (thanks), Buttons! Knowing a bit of German certainly does lend a helping hand here, although I still find the two languages much more different than I anticipated, even at the best of times. I often wonder, for example, how other beginners deal with the correspondence between written and spoken. I'm still confused over so many combinations, but am starting to get the hang of it a bit more now. As soon as I hit the weekend, I automatically want to go off and do something special or just spend quality time chilling out at home. So fitting in another 6 hours today was my first major hurdle, over which I'm glad to report I successfully leaped without knocking anything over. Hence I'm rewarding myself with a tasty wasabröd och lax (Swedish cracker bread and salmon) snack this evening. :P 1 person has voted this message useful |
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