Español Estudiar Dia 13, 14 y 15

Otra vez, yo no escribaba por dias. Sin embargo, estudié. No me crees? Lee abajo.

So, although I let day 13 slip by because I was working until 11pm, I should have updated for day 14, buuuuut I got caught up in stuff. Trying to get used to my wife's new schedule, I have a few hours to do the stuff I want to do before I have to start getting dinner ready. It makes it weird and tough. For example, I'm writing now because I have to go get some money soon and take it to the leasing office of my complex before coming home to start prepping dinner. I have done 1 hour of study and 3 hours of my personal work, and I have about 3.5 hours until dinner needs to be made. We'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, I finished chapter 5 of Spanish Demystified and started chapter 6. Learned numbers and stuff (not really gonna stick right now) AND reviewed conjugations...again... because I keep messing them up. Sin embargo, they are coming along. Oh yeah, and that's happening. Like, I keep referring to my wife as "Mi Esposa" and for whatever reason keep saying "no quiero" whenever I'm asked if I want something or want to do something. Also "Uno Mas" but that's been a thing since I think Shanghai Noon (2000).

I have been killing the gold league on Duolingo and I really get into those little short stories. Had quiet a few mistakes on day 13... guess I was having a case of los jueves. It's definitely coming together.

MIDMONTH REPORT: At this point, I'm nowhere near where I was at the same point with Indonesian. According to DUOLINGO, I have only learned about 1k words (I was at something like 3k at this point with Indonesian) and my grammar knowledge is quite lacking. However, I'm also not reading Spanish newspapers, nor do I have a specific Spanish Grammar book. However, when it comes to my listening, I'd say I'm 10-20% which is about double or where I was in Indonesian. My confidence level is much higher and I've already spoken more Spanish than I did with Indonesian.

MIDMONTH DUOLINGO ASSESSMENT: Well, I've said a bunch of good things about Duolingo, so let's give my honest review.

Pro 1: Duolingo turns language study into a game that you feel like you can win. This breaks down the fear barrier usually associated with language learning. This is probably the best thing ANY language app can do, especially in our digital age.

Con 1: It doesnt actually teach you stuff. It's a game and it has tips, but if you wanted to explore some grammar principle or skipped past the stuff that you don't need or have down pat, you really can't. 15 days in and I'm still getting "Translate the Sentence: El hombre necesita dos boligrafos." Or other such thing. It destroy the fear barrier but then becomes a bike with training wheels that never come off.

Pro 2: It does have a structured study schedule. If you don't know how to study, it's got that figured out. There's a graduated structure that makes sure you learn things before moving on. That takes the work of determining a study schedule right out of your hands.

Con 2: Ads and Lingots. To really soar with Duolingo, you apparently need the paid version so you can skip ahead if you need. I skipped ahead a couple times because I have a couple hundred lingots from mostly testing out of the Japanese (I did that 2 years ago in front of my wife to prove I did actually know Japanese). If you can still a bunch of stuff without paying, but if you don't have lingots so you can skip ahead, you'll have to crawl through the free version.

Overall, I honestly give Duolingo a B+/A- because it does a great job and has podcasts to listen to. Now I just need time

Buenos Noches, mi amigx.

Español dia 12

Well, today was interesting. I didn't get as much done today as I hoped, but I read 1/2 chapter of "Spanish Demystified," listened to 2.5 of the Duolingo "Podcast en la español." I also gained 440xp via Duolingo.

2 cool things happened today: 1) I got to know my coworkers better through some broken spanish and broken english (one is from Cuba and the other is a joke writer for her husband, an amateur stand up comedian), and 2) Duolingo has stories that are actually pretty cool. I laughed at one so much, my coworker asked and I did it for her. That's when I found out that she writes jokes...

Oh, I'm also crushing my competition in my Duolingo challenge bracket. I'm not sure how many brownie points I score in the end, but I have enough lingots to last a while.

Anyway, studying Spanish has brought me and my coworkers together, so I would call this challenge a Success already, even if I am only on day 12...

Nosotros Americanos necesitamos aprender español. Buenas Noches, mi amigx. 

Spanish Days 8, 9, 10, and 11

WOW. Okay, so I knew that I was super busy on Saturday and while I managed to get my acceptable minimum requirement of study in, I did not realize that apparently Sunday and yesterday were the same. This just goes to show that sometimes life gets in the way and you need to accept that, but not in a way that makes it so that you accept failure, but that you regroup and come back strong.

For me, I know that the meeting I had on Friday with Rock Manor Games was definitely the reason that Sunday and Monday were heavily focused on Maximum Apocalypse RPG and not Spanish. I was trying to get somethings done so that we can be ready for bringing the game to reviewers. Admittedly, I only gained 700XP on Duolingo during those 3 days (Sat – Mon), which is sad because last Sunday, I got 600XP AND read 1.5 chapters of Spanish Demystified.

Because of this, I have to report that I have made very little progress. I can say that a did a review of everything I have learned so far yesterday, so I wouldn’t count Monday as a total loss of progression. Reviews are necessary to solidify things that you may have forgotten. For example, I forgot a number of verbs that I haven’t been using. This gets me to today’s focus point, BEST THINGS TO STUDY.

In my opinion, the best things to study are things that you would normally say every day already. Do you talk about cars on the regular? Learn car words and phrases. Do you eat a lot of different foods? Maybe learn the names of foods and then hit up a restaurant. Better, learn what different types of foods come from the culture of your language, go to a restaurant, and try them. The trick is, if you don’t often talk to people about their passports or how to find the corner market, then don’t start there. You can learn that stuff later when it becomes more necessary. Stick to your strengths in the beginning and you will remember those words.

Anyway, Today is going to be the day I get back on track, read a few chapters of Spanish Demystified, and reestablish my dominance on the Duolingo boards.

Buenas Dias, my amigx.