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Sh’Naya’s TAC’14 log: Triomphe and 旅立ち

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Sh'Naya
Diglot
Groupie
Germany
Joined 6518 days ago

48 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: German*, English
Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French

 
 Message 1 of 9
02 January 2014 at 9:16pm | IP Logged 
Hello everyone and especially teammates. This is my first year participating in TAC and
I try to see the challenge through. My main focus this year is French. I chose it over
Latin in seventh grade, but failed miserably. Well, I did not like the methods of the
teachers and the texts we had to read were completely boring. After I quit school I
started countless times to really learn the language. Up to now I have not - but I have
learnt Spanish instead.
This year I really want to learn enough French to be able to read books and understand
films. My method so far: Using Assimil 1 and playing Skyrim in French. Assimil I
started about 2 years ago - Skryim only last week.

Japanese is a language I learn for fun. So far I have successfully taken the JLPT N5
and sit the JLPT N4 last december.

Teams:
Triomphe/French
旅立ち/Japanese
1 person has voted this message useful



Sh'Naya
Diglot
Groupie
Germany
Joined 6518 days ago

48 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: German*, English
Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French

 
 Message 2 of 9
06 January 2014 at 12:26pm | IP Logged 
Triomphe

Today I am doing Assimil lesson 109 in French. I could have finished Assimil ages ago
and when I decided to continue with it, I did not remember, why I have not done so
already. Now I know (again). The last lessons are absolutely boring. I do not need the
vocabulary they offer - and will not need it in the next say 10 years or even more.
However, I do not want to stop again. Only 5 lessons are left, which means I should be
done with it on Friday, but I give myself time for it until Sunday. After that, I want
to continue with the second volume, which I already bought while still in school (ages
ago...). I have never used it.
Additionally, I will continue with audiobooks. I have listented to some on my way to
work in November, but then I got ill and afterwards I had only to go to work for two
days before my christmas holidays started. As today is public holiday in the
Bundesland I work in, work starts tomorrow, which means about one hour time for
listening to audiobooks on each work day. I cannot do it at home, because my boyfriend
hates the sound of french and is already annoyed by my playing Skyrim in French. He
rather had me play it in English like him or in Spanish (which he, just like French,
does not understand).

旅立ち

I still have a bad feeling learning Japanese. That started one week before I went to
take the JLPT N4. I did not receive my test voucher and had to write e-mails and
arrange for me to participate without the test voucher (it arrived one day after the
test - it was send to me more than two weeks before the test day! It still have no clue
why the deutsche Post did not deliver it on time.) I also got really ill two
days before the test. As I already had paid the fee and had to spent some time and
nerves to arrange to sit the test without the voucher, I decided to take it anyway. Bad
decision. I only wished to be at home in my bed and could not concentrate at all. I am
sure I failed - miserably. Since then I feel like I wasted my time preparing for the
test and regard learning the language as a waste of time. I know it is silly, but I
just cannot stop this feeling. I think I have to search for something in Japanese I can
enjoy. Problem is, I am not good enough to enjoy a book or film yet. Anyhow, I get
myself to at least start a Assimil lesson each day since the TAC started. I am now on
lesson 52. Later, when I am more motivated, I want to continue with Genki 2. I have
already finished half of it or something like that.
I also get regularly annoyed when I encounter a word I did not know before, tell my
boyfriend about it and he DOES know what it means - just because he heard it ages ago
in an anime. He acquired quite some Japanese vocabulary simply by watching anime - way
more than I did and I watched more than he. Well, he has a talent for languages (his
English is awesome, his German writing skills as well) whereas I am more talented in
maths and stuff like that.



Enough babbling, time to "work":

- Assimil lesson 109, French
- Assimil lesson 52, Japanese


Edited by Sh'Naya on 06 January 2014 at 12:28pm

1 person has voted this message useful



Sizen
Diglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4099 days ago

165 posts - 347 votes 
Speaks: English*, French
Studies: Catalan, Spanish, Japanese, Ukrainian, German

 
 Message 4 of 9
07 January 2014 at 3:02pm | IP Logged 
Hey there.

I have to say that the last lessons of Assimil also got to me. When I did Spanish with
Ease I stopped somewhere around lesson 75. I don't feel that it really hurt my learning
though. In fact, by that point I was able to start looking at LR and watching dubbed TV
of a series I've already watched twice before (I barely understood anything, but 60
episodes later things had improved). I feel that I got a lot more accomplished that way,
but there's a part of me that wonders what would have happened if I finished Assimil.

Anyway, I'll be following your log!
1 person has voted this message useful



Sh'Naya
Diglot
Groupie
Germany
Joined 6518 days ago

48 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: German*, English
Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French

 
 Message 5 of 9
13 January 2014 at 9:29pm | IP Logged 
Hello you two!

Triomphe
I am really surprised that I indeed finished Assimil book 1 on Saturday. I did not
learn much, but I nevertheless think it was worth the time. I took me about 15 to 20
minutes to complete a lesson. I am quite sure that I will forget or have already
forgotten most of the new vocab in those lessons. I cannot get my brain to retain that
stuff, because I am to sure that I won't have a job interview in French during the next
couple of years. However, it is always a good thing to see words you already know used
in different sentences.

I also stopped Spanish with Ease around lesson 75 and switched to other materials. Back
then I chose to read a monthly journal for Spanish learners with lots of texts for
several levels and lots of vocabulary translations. That was way more efficient than
Assimil and my reading comprehension increased by leaps and bounds. After a few months
I watched Charmed in Spanish. It took me about two episodes until I could unterstand it
really good. But - I also wondered would could have happened, if I finished Assimil and
that is why I continued and some time later finished book 1. Amazingly, there was still
lots of stuff I did not know back then.

I have not heard of Duolingo before. I will have a look at it. Thank you for your
recommendation.

旅立ち
Everyday I took out my Assimil Japanese book and had a look at a lesson, listened to
the dialogue and read some grammar explanations. I am no longer so depressed. I really
feel like learning Japanese again. I will not make any plans for this week. Rather I
will just do whatever comes to my mind. Maybe next week I will approach it more
seriously.
1 person has voted this message useful



Sh'Naya
Diglot
Groupie
Germany
Joined 6518 days ago

48 posts - 65 votes 
Speaks: German*, English
Studies: Spanish, Japanese, French

 
 Message 6 of 9
21 January 2014 at 11:46pm | IP Logged 
Triomphe
Today I finished lesson 7 of the second Assimil volume. More importantly: I am trying
to read my first french book. It is not written for language leaners. Right at the
first few passages I encountered a lot - really a lot! - of unkown words. Well, I read
the book (it is "Les Rivières pourpres" by the way) on a kindle so I can look up unkown
words quite fast. I am not sure that it is the right decision to start reading a normal
book at this point, but I will give it a try anyhow.
Is there a right time for reading one's first book in a foreign language? I really
doubt it.

旅立ち
I did some Assimil lessons and that is basically it. I also checked the JLPT website.
Results from the December JLPT may be available on January 30th. I will post my results
here as soon as I get them. (However, I am still sure that I failed due to illnes.)
1 person has voted this message useful



Mohave
Senior Member
United States
justpaste.it/Mohave1
Joined 3767 days ago

291 posts - 444 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 7 of 9
22 January 2014 at 12:30am | IP Logged 
Sh'Naya, Congrats on finishing Assimil, and starting to read your first book in French! I am really looking
forward to finishing the passive wave in Assimil (French without Toil) in about 30 days -- can't wait!
1 person has voted this message useful



Eagle32
Groupie
New Zealand
Joined 6261 days ago

56 posts - 83 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 8 of 9
27 January 2014 at 12:16am | IP Logged 
Sh'Naya wrote:
I am not sure that it is the right decision to start reading a normal
book at this point, but I will give it a try anyhow.
Is there a right time for reading one's first book in a foreign language? I really
doubt it.


I wouldn't worry about a "right" or "wrong" time/way to do things. Whatever works for you is the right way.


1 person has voted this message useful



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