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Amerykanka’s TAC 2013, Teams Żubr & Nebun

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Amerykanka
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4930 days ago

657 posts - 890 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian

 
 Message 1 of 176
26 December 2012 at 5:53pm | IP Logged 
Hi, everyone! This will be my second year participating in the TAC, and I am very excited about it. First, a little
information about me that is pertinent to language-learning.

I taught myself to read when I was four and I became a voracious reader. I was the kind of girl who never
went anywhere without a book, who made up secret codes and alphabets for fun and  sent messages in
them, and who invented languages and went around speaking in them. It was no wonder, really, that I ended
up enchanted with languages. Around 7 years ago, all things Polish began to fascinate me due to my Polish
heritage. I soon proceeded from liking Polish to liking all languages, although I didn't start seriously studying
until 3 or 4 years after that. This is an abbreviated version of my history with languages - I'll include more
details in my list of languages, which is coming soon! (There is a new addition to my languages that I am
thrilled to be able to announce!)

This year I am on two teams - Team Żubr and Team Nebun. I am looking forward to a year of study with
these two awesome teams!

Edited by Amerykanka on 26 December 2012 at 5:57pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Amerykanka
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4930 days ago

657 posts - 890 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian

 
 Message 2 of 176
26 December 2012 at 5:59pm | IP Logged 
My exciting language list has arrived!!!

ENGLISH
English is my native language. However, I believe that you never stop learning a language, not even your
native one. There are still thousands of words I don't know, and my writing can always improve - and so I
make a conscious effort to read good, challenging books in English. Currently I am reading Vanity Fair by
William Makepeace Thackeray. I also want to add that I truly love English. If I could choose, I would pick
English as my native language.


POLISH
It was Polish that first kindled my language passion. I have been learning Polish for around 7 years, but with
varying degrees of intensity. When I was in my preteens and early teens, I was determined, but clueless,
when it came to languages. Several years into my quest to learn Polish, I had acquired much better learning
habits and then I began to study in earnest. I attended three-hour classes on Saturdays, which then changed
to private lessons during the week, where I tried not to mangle the beautiful Polish language with my
imperfect grasp of grammar and my often insufficient vocabulary. I studied grammar eagerly on my own; read
6 books in Polish, learning thousands of new words; and wrote long essays which my Polish tutor corrected.
This went on for almost four years, until last year my busy schedule and the necessity of focusing on Spanish
and Latin took a serious toll on my time. 2013 is going to be different. Polish is my favorite language, and
near-native fluency is my ultimate goal, so I will make time to study. Right now I am at basic fluency. The one
aspect of my Polish skills that I am satisfied with is my pronunciation - starting a language at an early age has
some advantages. :)

GOALS
- Refresh my vocabulary. I have learned around 8,000 words, but over the last year my memory began to fail
me. A few weeks ago I started typing my paper flashcards into Anki, and this should help to reactivate those
seldom-used words.
- Learn at least 1,000 new words by August. This is not a very large number (about 35 words per week), but I
am trying to be realistic: I will still have to dedicate much of my time to Spanish and Latin. I would rather
surpass a modest goal than fall short of an extravagant one.
- Listen to Drużyna Pierścienia and other audiobooks to improve my listening comprehension.
- Finish reading Kamienie na szaniec and read Krzyżacy by August. Also, read some Polish poetry
and short stories.


SPANISH
When I was six, my mother wanted me to be exposed to a foreign language, so she bought a program for me
to start Spanish. I finished it and later worked through three levels of Rosetta Stone, supplementing these
programs with sporadic forays into Colloquial Spanish and other grammar books. Needless to say, this
did not produce very impressive results. Two years ago, faced with a mission trip to Nicaragua, I decided it
was time to crack down and learn Spanish properly. Since then, I have worked through Ultimate Spanish
Beginner-Intermediate
, three levels of Pimsleur, a Spanish AP prep book, and multiple exercises in my
Practice Makes Perfect review books. I have also read three books (La Ciudad de las Bestias and El
Reino del Dragón de Oro
by Isabel Allende, and El Aprendiz by Mario Méndez), learned 5,000
vocabulary words, written 6 or 7 essays, and listened to hours upon hours of podcasts, telenovelas, and
news videos. Currently I am around basic fluency.  Even though I do not feel the same attachment to Spanish
as I do to Polish, I will not be satisfied with anything less than near-native fluency. I must admit that at first I
really disliked Spanish (as much as I can possibly dislike a language, anyway), but as I progress in my
studies my love for the language grows. Spanish will be, along with Latin, one of my main focus languages in
2013.

GOALS
- Read lots of books, short stories, and poems. I mastered my native language by reading, and I intend to do
the same with Spanish. Next I plan to read La Emperatriz de Los Etéreos and Las Dos Marías.
These are both teen fiction; after I finish these two I probably need to move on to harder novels.
- Learn thousands of new words. I haven't picked a definite number for a goal yet.
- Improve my listening comprehension with at least 15 minutes per dayof podcasts, news videos, etc.
- Finish my exercise books to improve my grammar and probably find an additional grammar source.


LATIN
I've been learning Latin since I was nine, as it was a mandatory school subject from 4th grade to 10th grade. I
chose to continue learning Latin after that (and I am still learning Latin now) for several reasons. 1) As a
Catholic, Latin has a special significance for me as the language of the Church. 2) Latin has proved an
invaluable tool when it comes to perfecting my English and learning Spanish. 3) I really enjoy Latin and I am
interested in reading the original Latin texts of Vergil, Cicero, etc.  4) Can you imagine me turning down a
language? Anyway, I used Henle Latin and then switched to Wheelock's, which I really liked. Now I am
working through A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by John Collins, which I have mixed feelings about. I
also purchased Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar and it has become my favorite reference
book. In addition, I am currently tutoring someone in Latin 1 and Latin II (high school level) which is a great
way for me to review.

I would say my Latin skills rank as upper intermediate. My main weakness at this point is vocabulary. I know
at the very most around 1,000 words, which is pretty pathetic after 8+ years of study. My knowledge of
grammar, on the other hand, is very good.

GOALS
- Finish the exercises for the last four chapters of Wheelock's.
- Finish Collins and use Allen and Greenough's as a grammar supplement.
- Translate the Locī Immūtātī sections at the back of Wheelock's and also other original Latin texts.
- Learn more about scansion, figures of speech, etc.
- INCREASE MY VOCABULARY! I hope to learn at least 2,000 new words this year. (Once again, I am
setting modest goals for myself.)


ANCIENT GREEK
I will be returning to my Greek studies this August. There is nothing else to say for the time being in regards
to this fabulous language.


And now for my exciting new addition!!!


ITALIAN
About a year and a half from now, I will almost definitely be spending three months in Rome. I decided that I
had better start studying Italian now so I can at least be at basic fluency by the time I land in Italy. Italian is
the most confusing Romance language for me (besides Romanian). I can read Portuguese, Catalan, and
even French better than I can read Italian, so I am excited about finally penetrating its mysteries. Currently
my level is zero - I can say "andiamo", "famiglia", "signora", and "dov'è", but that is about all. This year Italian
will not be a primary focus language; however, I do want to reach a good intermediate level. My intent is to
lay a firm foundation so that I can study more effectively in the months leading up to my trip.

GOALS
- Start and finish Ultimate Italian Beginner-Intermediate.
- Start and finish Assimil Italian With Ease.
- Learn lots of words - I'd say at least 1,500 by August.

Well, I hope you made it through that post! I don't like really long posts, but there was nothing to be done. :)



Edited by Amerykanka on 27 December 2012 at 4:24pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Amerykanka
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4930 days ago

657 posts - 890 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian

 
 Message 3 of 176
26 December 2012 at 6:00pm | IP Logged 
SPANISH

WEBSITES
a good Spanish dictionary
RAE dictionary
RAE's guide to Spanish grammar
a good Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary

listening material (Radio ONU - never used this, but
it looks good)
listening and reading material (VeinteMundos)
more listening and reading material (BBC Noticias)

TEXTBOOKS & PROGRAMS
The asterisk indicates courses that I have used in the past, but do not use anymore.

*Ultimate Spanish Beginner-Intermediate by Irwin Stern, Ph.D. (this book was very good - I learned a lot
from it)
*Pimsleur's Spanish (Latin American), levels IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, and IIIB (this program helped my spoken
Spanish immensely - luckily for me, my library had all three levels so I didn't have to buy them)
*Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) levels 1, 2, and 3 (Second Edition, I think - I did learn some from this
program, but not enough to justify paying the price for it. I never plan to buy Rosetta Stone products again!)
*Colloquial Spanish of Latin America: The Complete Course for Beginners by Roberto Rodriguez-Saona
(I never actually finished this book - I honestly didn't like it very much)
MORE TO COME SOON . . .

READING MATERIAL
An asterisk indicates books that I have already read (in Spanish).

El Retorno del Rey by J. R. R. Tolkien
Harry Potter y la Cámara Secreta by J. K. Rowling
*La Ciudad de las Bestias by Isabel Allende
*El Reino del Dragón de Oro by Isabel Allende
*El Aprendiz by Mario Méndez
La Emperatriz de los Etéreos by Laura Gallego García
Las Dos Marías by Maria Inés Falconi

I have also found lots of short stories and poems online. See this
website
!

There is a lot more to come !

Edited by Amerykanka on 03 March 2013 at 4:41pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Marya
Diglot
Groupie
Poland
languagewanderer.com
Joined 4173 days ago

62 posts - 77 votes 
Speaks: Polish*, English
Studies: Russian, Norwegian

 
 Message 4 of 176
26 December 2012 at 8:05pm | IP Logged 
Hey!
Wish you good luck with Polish:) I'm always impressed when foreigners decide to learn the polish language
1 person has voted this message useful



Mooby
Senior Member
Scotland
Joined 5864 days ago

707 posts - 1219 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Polish

 
 Message 5 of 176
26 December 2012 at 8:11pm | IP Logged 
Wagons roll! [Can I say something like: 'No dalej!'?]
Good luck in 2013 Amerykanka.
1 person has voted this message useful



Amerykanka
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4930 days ago

657 posts - 890 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian

 
 Message 6 of 176
26 December 2012 at 8:19pm | IP Logged 
@Marya, Bardzo dziękuję za Twoją ofertę pomocy dla naszej drużyny - jestem pewna, że będę potrzebowała
dużo pomocy i rady! Powodzenia w Twoich studiach w 2013! :)

Jak zauważysz jakieś błędy w moim piśmie, proszę daj mi znać! Polski to mój ulubiony język, ale jeszcze
mam wiele problemów pisząc i mówiąc w tym przepięknym języku.

@Mooby, thank you! Życzę Ci powodzenia w 2013!

Edited by Amerykanka on 26 December 2012 at 8:21pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Kerrie
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Kerrie2
Joined 5154 days ago

1232 posts - 1740 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 7 of 176
27 December 2012 at 3:45am | IP Logged 

I am seriously afraid that your enthusiasm is going to convince me to "just spend half an hour a day" with my Assimil Polish book. LOL

I am glad to be on at least one of your teams again this year. It was fun to follow you last year, and I look forward to what 2013 brings for all of us. I hope 2013 is a great year for you. :)
2 persons have voted this message useful



Amerykanka
Hexaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4930 days ago

657 posts - 890 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian

 
 Message 8 of 176
27 December 2012 at 4:29pm | IP Logged 
Yay, I finally updated my second post to show my list of target languages!

Kerrie wrote:

I am seriously afraid that your enthusiasm is going to convince me to "just spend half an hour a day" with my
Assimil Polish book. LOL

I am glad to be on at least one of your teams again this year. It was fun to follow you last year, and I look
forward to what 2013 brings for all of us. I hope 2013 is a great year for you. :)


I am excited to be on one of your teams again, as well! Your list of languages is very exciting and I can't wait
to read your log! :)

By the way, you have been using Assimil Italian With Ease, right? What do you think of it? Since I am
starting Italian, I want to buy a good course, and Assimil is at the top of my list.

And about the Polish . . . well, what can I say? It's an awesome language! With all the languages you already
study and just the general business of life, I'm not sure how you can find that half hour, though. I know that I
can barely manage four languages! :)


Edited by Amerykanka on 27 December 2012 at 4:34pm



1 person has voted this message useful



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