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Hidden’s TAC 2012 Log: Teams 德 & German | ||
Tags: German | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Hidden Groupie Joined 4690 days ago 42 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 1 of 47 19 December 2011 at 7:09pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Edited to change the title for team TAC challenge
About me I don't travel, and the area I live in is probably as monolingual as you can get (I can't remember the last time I heard another language being spoken). This means that I will probably have very little use for any second language that I learn. Despite this I still have the desire to learn them, so now I will! :P I have a list of languages that I want to learn, but I've decided to focus on German first. It seems to be among the easiest of languages to find materials for here (though even if that wasn't the case, German would still be my first choice). I'm making this log mainly as a way to keep myself focused. I have a terrible habit of putting things off until 'later' or 'tomorrow', and it seems to be no different where languages are concerned. :( I've spent more time on here reading about learning languages than I have on actually learning German. *hangs head in shame* German Started learning: Beginning of July this year. Why German? Mostly because I love the way it sounds (shallow reason I know). Currently using: BBC materials and the Michel Thomas CD's that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. I also have a grammar book that I'm working through...slowly. I've enrolled on a German course as well, though I'm not sure this was the best idea. It's nice to have the feedback, but it's not the most challenging environment. Goals: No 'real' goals, I just want to learn German as well as I possibly can. Additional I'd appreciate any tips on learning German (or languages in general), as well as any suggestions on other materials I could use. PS: Guess this means I'm no longer a lurker here. o.O ____________________________________________________________ Added Mandarin to my active list: End of June 2012 My practice for Mandarin at the moment is sporadic to say the least, but I intend to change that. I'm hoping that the course I've enrolled on will get me into a good practice routine, as it did with German (which is still going strong now without a course). I know that, once I really get started with Mandarin, I wont want to put it down. :) ____________________________________________________________ Spanish is effectively on hold for now. Hopefully I can pick it up again later when I have more time. Edited by Hidden on 12 December 2012 at 9:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5648 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes  1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 47 19 December 2011 at 7:16pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The title of a log has to indicate the topics of a log, therefore I added some meaning to it. "Why? Why not?" in itself doesn't indicate the topics of your log.
Fasulye 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hidden Groupie Joined 4690 days ago 42 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 3 of 47 19 December 2011 at 7:30pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Oops, sorry about that.
Thanks for fixing it. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brun Ugle Diglot Senior Member Norway brunugle.wordpress.c Joined 6421 days ago 1292 posts - 1766 votes Speaks: English*, NorwegianC1 Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, Spanish, Finnish | Message 4 of 47 20 December 2011 at 7:09pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
Most of us here learn languages simply because we love them. Some people learn languages because they like to travel, but around here, you will probably find more people who travel because they like languages. Personally, I study Japanese, and there are as many Japanese in my town as there are Klingons.
I find it's best to focus on one at a time too. Sometimes you might have three or four free hours every day and think you can learn several languages, but then suddenly that free time dwindles to only an hour or half an hour, and then it's hard to keep up with several languages at once.
Join the club :-)
There are no bad reasons to learn a language.
Courses can be fine as long as you don't just sit back and expect that being in the class is going to turn you into a fluent speaker. You have to do most of that yourself. My suggestion is that you use the class for speaking practice, (if it is the kind of class where they let you speak), and for getting feedback from the teacher on your mistakes. You can also ask questions about things you've come across in your own study, like confusing grammar points for example. And speak German as much as possible when asking these questions. That's probably a bit difficult yet, but it will get better with time.
It's good to have some goals (long term and short term) to keep yourself on track. Some people like to aim for the next level (A2, B1, etc) within a certain period. It's also sometimes nice to have goals like "finishing xx language course by xx date" -- but give yourself a little more time than you think you need because something is bound to come up.
I can't give you any tips for German, but there are plenty of others here who can. For languages in general, I would say: Remember that it takes a lot of time and effort, so don't let yourself get too frustrated. There is also no point when you "know" a language. Even after twelve years in Norway, using Norwegian in my daily life and work, there are still days when I feel like nothing comes out right. (Sometimes that happens in English too...) Don't be afraid to dive in at the deep end. Right now I'm using the Listening-Reading technique in Japanese. Before starting, only a few weeks ago, I could hardly understand any spoken Japanese. Now suddenly it is becoming so clear. I still need to improve my vocabulary to understand everything, but it has really increased my listening, reading and writing exponentially. (I haven't tried speaking, but thinking in Japanese is getting easier too.) 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hidden Groupie Joined 4690 days ago 42 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 5 of 47 20 December 2011 at 7:56pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Thanks for the response Brun Ugle.
I see what you mean about the course, and I think that's pretty much how I've come to view it. Good for feedback and questions, but I'll be doing most of the work at home on my own. I'm very nervous about speaking German in class (the little that I know anyway). I know the world wont end if I say it wrong, but still... o.O German I recently realised that some of my dvd's have a German language option, so I've been listening to them with the German dub on. It's mostly as background noise, and to get used to hearing the language. The majority of what's said goes right over my head, but it's a great feeling to catch the odd word/sentence here and there and know what it means. :) So far today I've managed half an hour of Michel Thomas, and I'll be sitting down with my grammar book this evening (aiming for at least 15 minutes). I've also been toying with the idea of looking into the TAC challenge. It looks like a great way to keep yourself motivated. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Brun Ugle Diglot Senior Member Norway brunugle.wordpress.c Joined 6421 days ago 1292 posts - 1766 votes Speaks: English*, NorwegianC1 Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, Spanish, Finnish | Message 6 of 47 21 December 2011 at 8:55am | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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I also tend to be shy about speaking. Except for the occasional one-word answer, I waited until I was at about low B2 level to speak Norwegian. It kind of shocked people, giving them the impression that I'd learned the language over night.
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| Hidden Groupie Joined 4690 days ago 42 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 7 of 47 22 December 2011 at 7:52pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Ok. I've had a think about this, and I've decided to add some goals.
Main Goal I was reading the CEFR thing that Brun Ugle mentioned (thank you Brun Ugle) and I think a solid A2/low B1 seems like a good aim to start with. Other little goals To be able to hold a (short) conversation in German. To pass the tests at the end of my German course. This will mean actually getting over my fear of speaking the language in front of people. German Nothing so far today. :( But then I remembered this thread, and started feeling a little guilty. So I'm about to sit down with my grammar book and do some reading/exercises. I've found that I enjoy studying once I've started, it's just the initial push to get started that I struggle with. On a plus note: The 15 minutes of grammar the other day turned into an hour before I even realised it. o.O Where does time go? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hidden Groupie Joined 4690 days ago 42 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 8 of 47 22 December 2011 at 7:57pm | IP Logged | ||||||||||||||||||||
lol. The way things are going at the moment, it could end up the same for me. I'm nervous in English speaking group situations (just the way I am I guess), let alone a foreign language that I'm just learning. o.O At least with the classes there are times when I will actually have to speak. Another good point about taking the course I guess. :) 1 person has voted this message useful |
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