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Super Challenge discussion thread 2014

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hjordis
Senior Member
United States
snapshotsoftheworld.
Joined 5170 days ago

209 posts - 264 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French, German, Spanish, Japanese

 
 Message 265 of 432
13 April 2014 at 11:51pm | IP Logged 
Jeffers wrote:
hjordis wrote:
Just writing this out to organize my thoughts and
have
my opinion on record.


That's actually exactly why I made my posts. I am itching to get started, and being a
geek, I have made a spreadsheet of the books I have, including paper books, kindle
books, children's books and BD's.

Too much time on my hands? Not really, I just can't help myself. ;)
Also, Excel is to geeks what duct tape is to regular men (i.e. there's nothing it can't
do).
Haha, that's funny. When I first decided to come back here and try again
with the super challenge i spent at least a good hour going through my books and
organizing them in a vague order I'd like to read them in based on their difficulty and
how interested I am(more interested is sooner than a similarly difficult book I'm not
so interested in, unless I'm super super interested and I want to save it until I know
I have the level to appreciate it.) I don't have many ebooks yet, although I'm trying
to switch over completely. Right now my ereader is broken, so I'd have to read any
ebooks I own on my computer. I think I have Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in
Japanese though... And I know I have a few in French.

Edited by hjordis on 13 April 2014 at 11:52pm

1 person has voted this message useful



csidler
Diglot
Pro Member
Australia
chadsidler.com
Joined 4807 days ago

51 posts - 59 votes 
Speaks: English*, German
Studies: Italian, French
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 266 of 432
14 April 2014 at 10:23am | IP Logged 
Can we declare the 15th of April the 1st of May and start?

Two and a bit more weeks... so long...
1 person has voted this message useful



Solfrid Cristin
Heptaglot
Winner TAC 2011 & 2012
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 5318 days ago

4143 posts - 8864 votes 
Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian
Studies: Russian

 
 Message 267 of 432
14 April 2014 at 10:36am | IP Logged 
csidler wrote:
Can we declare the 15th of April the 1st of May and start?

Two and a bit more weeks... so long...


That's the spirit :-)

Start warming up!

In addition to finding material, start reading one of the books you want to cover, and take your time looking up the words you do not understand. When May 1st starts, you can then get off to a phenomenal start, by reading something you have just been through, and where you know some of the difficult or most relevant vocabulary. Also this is a great time to focus on grammar points or general vocabulary you know you need. The last time over I felt guilty for studying grammar, because I should have been reading, and I ended up doing neither, so hit those grammar books/ Anki decks and get prepared to hit the ground running!

Just two weeks before the starting pistol goes off!
4 persons have voted this message useful



Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4893 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 268 of 432
14 April 2014 at 10:57am | IP Logged 
Solfrid Cristin wrote:
csidler wrote:
Can we declare the 15th of April the 1st of May and start?

Two and a bit more weeks... so long...


That's the spirit :-)

Start warming up!

In addition to finding material, start reading one of the books you want to cover, and take your time looking up the words you do not understand. When May 1st starts, you can then get off to a phenomenal start, by reading something you have just been through, and where you know some of the difficult or most relevant vocabulary. Also this is a great time to focus on grammar points or general vocabulary you know you need. The last time over I felt guilty for studying grammar, because I should have been reading, and I ended up doing neither, so hit those grammar books/ Anki decks and get prepared to hit the ground running!

Just two weeks before the starting pistol goes off!



That's a good idea. The other day I thought of a similar idea (although I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this one):
For any book you want to read, read the first 5-10% intensively (looking up every unknown word, checking points of grammar, etc.). Then when you read the rest of the book extensively it should be easier to manage.

Edited by Jeffers on 14 April 2014 at 10:58am

1 person has voted this message useful



rdearman
Senior Member
United Kingdom
rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5220 days ago

881 posts - 1812 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin

 
 Message 269 of 432
14 April 2014 at 11:32am | IP Logged 
Organising material from easiest to hardest is a great idea! I should have thought of that, but I still can't decide to do Italian or French... This is the really frustrating thing! So let me put the question out there to those who have done this before.

My Italian is much further along than French, it would be easier for me to consume a lot of material quicker, and I've just returned from Rome with a ton of books to read. (Also, do crossword puzzles count? I have bought 5 puzzle books while I was in Rome.)

My French NEEDS more work, and I would like to make a "great leap forward", 大躍進, as Chairman Mao would say, but because I'm starting at a lower level, it will take longer to ramp up the consumption. But I actually have more content in French available to me.

Any suggestions? I don't think both would be possible for me right now, although I'm toying with the idea.

Also any tips, tricks, or suggestions for a first-timer who wants to complete the challenge? The ones I know, I plan to do, or I've gleaned so far are:

1) Find stuff you WANT to read or watch.
2) Organise it from easier to harder so you read/watch progressively more advanced stuff.
3) Make sure to allocate time EVERY DAY for the challenge.
4) Log/monitor your progress somehow. (I am thinking about a video diary as well as a log. (but I'm sad))
5) "Interested in" is more important than "easier than".
6) Check Youtube, Internet, Ted Talks and Sky TV for media. (e.g. Doesn't have to be a film).


2 persons have voted this message useful



Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4893 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 270 of 432
14 April 2014 at 11:40am | IP Logged 
Interesting post, rdearman. I especially think point 5 ("Interested in" is more important than "easier than") is really important. And relevant to your question. Italian will be easier than French, but which one are you more interested in? But remember, this isn't a summer romance, you're joining a 20 month challenge.

My advice would be to sign up for both. You probably won't finish both, but then you can do what you want on any given day. Even if you only finish half on both languages, you will have made more progress than if you didn't sign up.
3 persons have voted this message useful



Serpent
Octoglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
serpent-849.livejour
Joined 6581 days ago

9753 posts - 15779 votes 
4 sounds
Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish

 
 Message 271 of 432
14 April 2014 at 11:53am | IP Logged 
Since half-challenges are allowed again, you can definitely finish both. Or even a full challenge+half challenge combination - it can also be decided later!
2 persons have voted this message useful



rdearman
Senior Member
United Kingdom
rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5220 days ago

881 posts - 1812 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin

 
 Message 272 of 432
14 April 2014 at 12:51pm | IP Logged 
Now that is a stroke of brilliance. Full French, 1/2 Italian. I think I might do that. Cheers!


1 person has voted this message useful



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