Language Learning Database (LLDB)
Posted on | June 4, 2012 | No Comments
Hi.
I’ve gone ahead and added a link to the top right side of the website (LLDB) linking to a very simple database of language resources. The database can be filtered using language level (from A1 to C6), category, language and/or title and it’s useful to find media in your target language that’s appropriate to your current skill level.
The database is empty and relies on user contribution to get content. Affiliate links are permitted but subject to modification. The database is not meant to be used to look for language learning resources (e.g: “Grammar guide”, etc), but instead it’s a way to quickly find media (music, movies, books) that one can enjoy in their target language.
Please check it out and let me know what you think in the comments!
Tag 426
Posted on | May 18, 2012 | No Comments
I’m almost done with RTK3 & I’ve started to do sentences, which I add from here, to my flashcards. I currently have 42 sentences! What’s working for me is having sentences where there’s one term that I don’t understand.
Back to learning!
Jahr 1
Posted on | March 19, 2012 | No Comments
One year completed. About a hundred kanji left to finish RTK1. I’m thinking about just going directly to RTK 3. I’m eager, however, to begin with sentences!
Beta testers needed
Posted on | March 8, 2012 | No Comments
Remember my idea about an online database of language learning resources? I’ve been working on it. It’s still far from being done, but it’s reached a state where it’s usable.
If you are interested and willing to provide feedback, drop me a note.
Beliefs are opinions that you refuse to change
Posted on | February 28, 2012 | 2 Comments
Believing that you have to finish a book out of some sense of duty.
Believing that the methods you choose are the only good ones.
Believing that learning is associated with suffering.
Believing in listening to the same material over and over.
Beliefs can be dangerous. Experiment, mix, be irrational, do what you feel like doing and most importantly, keep changing 
.
Tag 330
Posted on | February 12, 2012 | No Comments
What have I been doing lately?
– I spent more than two hours on Saturday speaking to a girl who, while not a native German speaker, has lived in Berlin for 15 years. That was fun!
– Watched “Ziemlich beste Freunde” in German.
– Watched lots of episodes of “Eine schrecklich nette Familie”.
– I’ve been listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks and I’ve recently acquired the Harry Potter movies in German.
In the 330 days I’ve been studying German I’ve only talked the language in two different occasions. My level of understanding in these kind of interactions has been very high. While I’m not too much of a social person, I do like knowing that I can carry out a conversation in German without difficulty. I do make grammar mistakes due to my brain not having enough time to formulate perfect sentences, but I notice most if not all of them.
I’m using the book “Using German Synonyms” to get new sentences. By the way, I lost many of my old ones on my flashcards, so my count went down a bit ^_^. No biggie!
Thinking in German becomes so much easier after having spoken in German for a while!
Tag 321
Posted on | February 3, 2012 | No Comments
Listening to Harry Potter in German. I’m loving the voice of Rufus Beck!
The Game
Posted on | January 28, 2012 | No Comments
Imagine, if you will, a game (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase 
). There’s only one rule.
1. Always think in your target language.
If you start thinking in a language that you are not learning, then you lose. Luckily for you there’s infinite continues 
.
And now let’s play!
Tag 310
Posted on | January 23, 2012 | No Comments
So I’ve been getting things done as usual. Also, I’ve started watching this new series called “Sherlock”, based on the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but based on the 21st century. It’s really cool and the first season (3 episodes of 90 minutes) can be found in German!
I also wrote a bunch of short stories on lang-8. I just LOVE putting the corrected sentences on my flashcards and learning from them. Also, I feel like my German writing ability has increased considerably .
I ran out of Animorphs books 
. There’s two reasons why I will probably not order more:
1. It’s only translated until the 30th, so I won’t be able to read the whole series (in German anyway).
2. Some of the books are considered rare, and therefore are quite expensive.
I’ve managed to get some German books on my iPhone about the adventures of a barbarian called Conan. I’ve read a little bit and the level might be slightly higher than what I’m used to, but it’s not that high 
. So that’s what I’m planning to read next unless I find something else (I’m also thinking about reading Kafka).
By the way, I’ve gotten the first review on my LangUp app. It’s a 5-star review from a russian person, who says he would recommend (at least according to google translate… ^_^). So cool!
To finalize this post, I want to share an extensive list of resources to learn German & Japanese that I found today. LOTS of stuff there:
German -> link
Japanese -> link
Time
Posted on | January 21, 2012 | No Comments
To learn a language (whatever “learning a language” means to you) you need to spend a specific amount of seconds in that language. Every day we get 86400 seconds. We spend about 28800 sleeping, so that leaves us with 57600 seconds (16 hours). IF it takes a year to learn a language (and I mean a TOTAL of one year of learning, not 365 days in which you sleep and eat and learn), you’ll have achieved your particular flavor of fluency in 1 year, 6 months, 15 days, 15 hours and 25 minutes if you spend every waking hour exposed to your target language. Now here’s some nicely formatted data:
[Assuming a year of learning/exposure to acquire fluency in a language]
16 hours a day exposed to your target language:: Takes 1 year and 6 months to learn it.
15 hours a day exposed to your target language: Takes 1 year, 7 months and 6 days to learn it.
14 hours a day exposed to your target language: Takes 1 year, 8 months and 17 days to learn it.
13 hours a day exposed to your target language: Takes 1 year, 10 months and 4 days to learn it.
12 hours a day exposed to your target language: Takes 2 years.
So one hour of learning less every day can increase the time until we learn our language for a bit more than a month. I can’t stress the importance of daily exposure enough! Dust off your headphones and get that sweet tune into your head. Make sure you’ve always got some foreign language exposure going on. If you’re reading English stuff, listen to your target language. If you’re listening to English stuff, read in your target language! Preferably listen and read your target language at the same time . And if you can’t live without that English-speaking tv show, do flashcards reviews while you watch it!
Das Ende