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Tarvos - TAC 2015 Pushkin/Scan

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tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1017 of 1511
23 December 2013 at 2:37pm | IP Logged 
Am citit Jocul lui Ender în ultime trei zile, și îmi place foarte mult să mă duc la
citirea încă în română, pentru că n-am făcut așa înainte. Și în plus am scris și gândit
foarte mult în română. Mai mult decât atât, am descoperit că a citi este cea mai bună
metoda pentru a reuși la limbi străine, în particular cele limbi cu care ai puțin
experiență deja (în cazul meu, română a făcut parte din viața mea de cam patru ani,
chiar totuși n-am vorbit foarte mult).

De asemenea, am remarcat că mă lipsesc niște cuvinte din origine turcă sau maghiară,
care sunt comun în română, dar nu vorbesc acele limbi (n-am chiar încercat să le
învăț). Totuși mi-e clar că am făcut progres în română în 2013 - am început ca un
băiețel, dar acuma vorbesc ca un adult, cel puțin uneori, când am timp să mă gândesc
înainte de-a vorbi. În cazuri când trebuie să mă descurc mai repede, am ajuns la
concluzie că totul merge suficient de bine (se poate spui chiar destul de bine) și am o
pronunție destul de clar și înțeles, și un vocabular destul de bogat pentru a-mi
exprima fără prea multe greșeli. Mă păcălesc încă din când în când, și am nevoie de un
context practic pentru a dezvolta. Dar am cunoscut pe niște români aici sau pe Internet
și în acest mod o să mă descurc și cu limba cotidiană.

Într-o săptămână, speriați că o să fiu aici un rezumat (în engleză, fără îndoială)
despre învățarea mea limbilor străine, și care sunt țelurile programate pentru 2014.

Crăciun și Revelion fericit din Țările de Jos, și sper că o să revăd pe dvs. curând.

Edited by tarvos on 25 December 2013 at 11:55am

1 person has voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1018 of 1511
24 December 2013 at 1:40pm | IP Logged 
2013: A Summary of the TAC

I've taken part in two TAC teams, namely MIR and Lugus, this year. In their interest, I
shall provide a summary and overview not only of my results in my TAC target languages
in 2013, namely Russian and Breton, but I will give a general overview of how my skills
have changed, which languages I have worked intensively with, what my results and flaws
have been, and so on. Scroll down and you will find Russian or Breton if you are my
former team-mate - and if you're interested in another language of mine, like Swedish,
it's also down below - in the order of when I started to learn them. I am leaving out
Dutch and English for obvious reasons, so I'll start with French.

French

I think this is a language which I haven't progressed much in in terms of abilities,
but what I lack in raw vocabulary input I have made up for in precision. My focus here
was on style. You see, French in terms of vocabulary isn't the biggest hurdle - if you
have somewhat of a linguistic background most of the words come quickly, and with
French it was no different over this past year. I had already achieved something like a
B2 level and I am now working on developing C1 skills, especially in writing, which is
doing wonders for my accuracy and vocabulary use - and what I've noticed is that
understanding is easy, but that accuracy is hard. And my accuracy is what is lacking -
elegance is now my key attribute to work on. It's about not making it half-right, but
right.

I am working once every two weeks with a tutor, vulgarising complex scientific subjects
into simplified texts, and the past two times it has gone quite well - I already have
style and writing experience, so all I have had to do is to transform this into French
using the correct grammatical structures. I occasionally blunder with those, but with
some training, I can become a quite experienced and good writer in French - especially
on scientific topics which is my degree!

I would say that I have a solid B2 actively and C1 passively, especially in reading. I
am content with my level, but I really need to push it up another notch.

Current level: B2
Goal: turn it into a solid C1 by the end of 2014.

German

German is a constant parameter in my life. It's not bad, it's not particularly good,
but it works and has worked for ages. Nothing's really changed. After immersion I get
better, after reading I become more accurate. It's not 100% mistake-free and sometimes
it's easy to see that I'm Dutch, but it's a language that works.

Current level: B2
Goal for 2014: B2 (maintenance)

Russian

Russian is one of the languages which transformed itself from an ugly duckling into
something resembling a teenage duck. It goes off on random tangents but it usually gets
the idea across well and is capable of understanding the larger part of what you say.
The really big success here has been in speaking and oral comprehension which has
skyrocketed in the first part of 2013, especially thanks to immersion in Russia and
lots of practice with native speakers. If anything proves the success of immersion
techniques and speaking/writing practice, this language is it. My biggest hole is still
the literary vocabulary, and I need to read more Russian - but I have completed a few
novels in 2013, so it's definitely possible - though tough going.

Current level: B2
Goal for 2014: No CEFR goals, but improve in literary and formal register.

Swedish

My Swedish hasn't changed so much. I really lack listening practice in Swedish, but
once I practice a bit it goes up and I don't have problems in 1-to-1 conversations. I
can write and read the language well.

Current level: B2
Goals for 2014: Obtain a certificate for Swedish B2

Breton

I never speak Breton (I've done so once this year) but I've written and read it more
regularly, however my skills in Breton are nothing to write home about. I was on the
radio, though! That is a highlight of 2013 and a victory for Clan Lugus in my opinion.
The idea was to show that Breton is an international language that can have more
accents, cultural influences and international relationships than just one with French.
As a Dutch person, I am happy to be an ambassador for Breton in this way and show that
a pithy Dutch person who's never been to Brittany can also learn Breton. Not that I
speak it well, mind. Please don't think I'm a fluent speaker. I'm not.

Current level: A2-B1 writing, A1 speaking
Goal for 2014: Try and see if I can do some speaking immersion in Britanny in 2014 or
2015., in order for a solid B1

Hebrew

Hebrew is an old love of mine. I've been able to cover the basics and I can read albeit
slowly, but here my oral skills are much better than my written ones. I haven't studied
it in the latter half of 2013 to focus on other things, but the first half of 2014
should mean a return to my beloved Hebrew. I really want to become a fluent Hebrew
speaker and 2014 should make this dream come true.

Current level: A2 reading, B1 speaking
Goal for 2014: B2

Romanian

This is the other success story of this year. In 2013, I have learned Romanian to the
level where I can converse and read books and literature. I still lack quite a bit of
accuracy, but I can write and speak without too much trouble and I am very happy that I
have achieved such a level in Romanian. I was originally planning to go to Romania, but
I don't know since I haven't heard from the company in a week what is going to happen,
and I have other applications going. Even if I don't go, I will continue to improve my
Romanian, because it has rapidly become my favourite language lately.

Current level: B1-B2
Goal for 2014: solid B2 and fluency

Icelandic

I have done some introductory lessons of Colloquial, but was unable to retain much
except some elementary notions. They will come back in the second half of 2014, because
I can't imagine not completing Icelandic - but this language, like Breton, is one where
a B1 is good enough if I get there.

Current level: A1
Goal for 2014: B1

Korean

The newest addition to my ranks and my TAC 2014 language. I have gotten some elementary
grammatical notions down, even said a few words, but now it's time to develop
automaticity and widen my vocabulary (which is really poor). I don't have to become
fluent (but if I do then all the better). It will be a constant in 2014, although I
might mix in some other 6WC languages (Hebrew and Icelandic will have one each).

Current level: A1-A2
Goal for 2014: a solid B1.

Ancient Egyptian

I have never studied this. I am planning to dabble in Egyptian over the Christmas
holidays and teach myself some hieroglyphs in order to be a good part of team Egyptian.
No specific goals, just dabbling

Latin

Current level: A1
Goals for 2014: Stay dead!

Ok, maybe not stay dead, but I won't revive it this year.

Spanish

A surprise I had this year was that I could construct elementary sentences in Spanish
without having formally studied it. Not that I speak it beyond some simple phrases, but
I can understand quite a bit (not more than 30% or so though). But I will continue to
dabble in speaking it here and there I think.

Current level: A1
Goals for 2014: A1 (so that I keep my knowledge)

Other Languages

Do not be surprised if another language shows up in 2014 out of nowhere.
3 persons have voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1019 of 1511
24 December 2013 at 11:40pm | IP Logged 
Am terminat cu Jocul lui Ender. Mai caut cărți români (originale sau traduse). Dacă
puteți să-mi recomandați ceva, vă rog scrieți aici, am nevoie de mai mult.
1 person has voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1020 of 1511
25 December 2013 at 11:58am | IP Logged 
Before the year ends, I'll probably start Vorbitor in numele morților (Speaker for the
Dead), which is, again, the Romanian translation of an Orson Scott Card novel. The more
experience you have with a language, the better, and Romanian is beginning to feel more
comfortable in reading.

Now in speaking.

I also bought Péplum, by Nothomb, in French, because a student was so kind to give me a
voucher for Christmas (because I answered his questions outside of class hours all the
time). I don't know when that will arrive, but I also have some French to read.

I also have some Science et Vie magazines left to read in French, but I'm thinking of
saving them for a Tadoku or a 6WCbot spurt.

Actually, I just signed up for a Tadoku with French. I wanted Romanian, but Tadoku does
not offer it, so I'll do French instead (because I can track that).

Edited by tarvos on 25 December 2013 at 12:03pm

1 person has voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1021 of 1511
28 December 2013 at 12:41am | IP Logged 
Not been able to study much, sadly, job and life getting in the way...I will restart
Hebrew on January 1st, so stay tuned for more! While I finish Assimil and things.

Edited by tarvos on 28 December 2013 at 12:41am

1 person has voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1022 of 1511
30 December 2013 at 5:15pm | IP Logged 
My Egyptian book has not come in yet, sadly, so no experimenting over the holidays has
taken place. Instead, I've gone back to L'hébreu today. I haven't used this book since
July, so here are some of my observations that I have found while working through three
lessons (that I have covered before, namely lessons 50-52) in passive wave format.

1. My grammar is intact

Clearly I know the grammar very well, because none of the grammatical structures or
tendencies surprise me at all. I know all of these endings and can place them
immediately. I have some trouble with Hebrew's future tense, but I had that before I
quit Hebrew for a while (I know the principle, but I forget the suffixes/prefixes in
2nd/3rd person). But I haven't forgotten my conjugations or prepositionak conjugations
or word order rules, and I remember all the prepositions and the other little things
that make Hebrew Hebrew. In other words, given a bit of study on some of my weak points
(future tense mostly), I could be up to speed on this within a week. If I make some
green sheets sometime then I will certainly be fine,

2. My vocabulary has gone downhill

There are plenty of words I do not remember. One word was "post office" which is
usually like the first word in textbooks (doar in Hebrew), but I totally forgot it. The
bigger problem isn't my actual vocabulary (it's okay) but the active usage of my
vocabulary. If I read these words, then it makes a lot of sense - I have forgotten some
of them but in general 80-90% is known words. The question is whether I could use them
in speech. It is clear that I have forgotten some things, but not enough to say "I
don't speak any Hebrew at all", just to say that it's gotten a little worse. This means
that my level when I quit must have been pretty okay (and I did a 30-minute check
during the mini-marathon - my Hebrew was functional).

3. Active skills

My active skills are slow and the fill-in-the-blanks exercises take forever because I
keep forgetting how words are spelled in Hebrew. This clearly shows another flaw that I
have, which is to prioritize oral conversation over writing in Hebrew. I can speak
okay, but if I have to read texts containing more than a few sentences I have to give
up and shake my head in disbelief. Reading in Hebrew is still slow and writing is even
slower. Which means that in Hebrew, I need to pay a bit of attention to the spoken word
(I don't understand everything on the recordings, especially if I don't know the
vocabulary) but in general I need to pay attention to my vocabulary in written form and
read everything in Hebrew script (one reason I don't like the Assimil so much is it
keeps transliterating, which the Routledge course doesn't do).
1 person has voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1023 of 1511
01 January 2014 at 7:03pm | IP Logged 
Well. 2014 is here, and welcome to this year's edition of Tarvos brutally slaughtering
languages like it's Odin's backyard. The hacking block contains Korean, Hebrew and
Icelandic this year (the languages I want to make the most progress in), whereas I am
currently slowly improving French and Romanian as well and maintaining everything else.

I've already described my goals, look up a bit, will you?

I finally got my copy of L'égyptien hiéroglyphique, c'est parti!


2 persons have voted this message useful



tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4457 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 1024 of 1511
02 January 2014 at 12:04am | IP Logged 
Here you can see an example again of me studying Hebrew. The translations in Latin script
are obviously in French. The script you probably do not recognise is Hebrew cursive
(which is never written joined-up!). This is actually legible, thankfully - taking care
to write a bit more slowly helps in my case.




Edited by tarvos on 02 January 2014 at 12:07am



3 persons have voted this message useful



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