Language-learners' chat

CAFCGirl

Well I like to think I'm getting there with Spanish.
As per suggestions, I think I'll take a lot at BBC Bitesize for some grammar lessons.

OrkneyStar

CAFCGirl said:

Well I like to think I'm getting there with Spanish.
As per suggestions, I think I'll take a lot at BBC Bitesize for some grammar lessons.

I did a Spanish evening class when I was at Glasgow Uni, I enjoyed it but then I didn't keep it up. I did try a placement test on Duolingo, and it ended up putting me too high up and it felt far too hard. I feel like I am getting there with German too, though some days I feel much more able than others!

Cherryfudge

I've had that thing with placement tests too: how can I have a fairly high level of German when I've never studied it?! Something just doesn't add up there!  

I started back at the beginning on Duolingo with French though I have 'O' level. I needed a complete refresher and, while it's taken much longer, I have a lot more confidence as well as the things that a modern app gives like lessons when it suits me, lots of praise and some fun.

I've also found to my great surprise that I learn best about 11 in the morning and make most mistakes at night. I thought I was a natural night owl. Last night I left it till last thing and made so many mistakes I lost all my 'lives', which is very disheartening and has put me off doing a lesson today - but when I think back to school, that was the story of my life and at least I'm more in control these days.

Mistral001

I have discovered a series of books  called "Short Stories in German" by Olly Richards.  He has done similar books in several other languages as well. I have the beginners' book aimed at A2 to B1 level, but there are also more advanced books in the series.  The books use the context learning approach, which I have known about for a while and have tried on occasions, but I have never found any material that was at the right level or interesting enough to hold my attention. 

I thought I knew all the main language-learning gurus and sites on the internet, but I had never heard of Olly Richards until I saw his books in Waterstones a few weeks ago.  He actually has an online presence but his books seems to be his main interest.  Great to see someone still willing to write and get published some books like this.

Has anybody else come across these books? 

CAFCGirl

Well I got demoted a league in DuoLingo - oh the shame
How some people are generating 300-400 points a day astounds me! So it's probably just as well I've been knocked down as seeing people like that in the league will only put me off in general.

I'd like to say my comprehension is improving - I've been dabbling in the 'stories' section and for the most part can follow along, although some is guess work, with a subject, so I'm not always understanding each word but getting the gist of it...

I've not heard of the books @Mistral001 I'll take a look next time I'm in our Waterstones. 

We're planning on visiting the library this week so I'll be looking out for any language books in there. Might try the Childrens section first   

Cherryfudge

CAFCGirl said:

Well I got demoted a league in DuoLingo - oh the shame
How some people are generating 300-400 points a day astounds me! So it's probably just as well I've been knocked down as seeing people like that in the league will only put me off in general.

I'd like to say my comprehension is improving - I've been dabbling in the 'stories' section and for the most part can follow along, although some is guess work, with a subject, so I'm not always understanding each word but getting the gist of it...

Some people must sit there all day and half the night, LOL!

There are ways to maximise the score if you play Duolingo like a game. I do these when I'm not busy elsewhere but there's no time pressure for me suddenly to speak French so I don't treat them too seriously.

If you do a lesson before noon, you will get fifteen minutes after 6pm when you get extra points. I think it's double.

If you go onto the 'shop' icon, you can play an ad and that give you a random number of 'gems' which you can then use to buy extra access such as refilling hearts. This is now set to become available every twenty minutes  but whether it's worth logging on at twenty-minute intervals throughout the day...?   

After the first lesson of the day you also get some sort of bonus gems... more than usual but random numbers.

Then there are ways you can combine advantages (I will nudge you when I've finished because this is geeky and not for anyone but night-owl types like me): If you do a lesson at the very end of the day - say five to midnight - and it doesn't end till after midnight, Duo accredits it to the next day's morning lesson. So if I do a morning lesson on day 1, click in at ten to midnight that night to get my fifteen minutes of double points and play for fifteen minutes, I'll automatically qualify for double points after 6pm on day two.

Don't wake up yet... Once you have reached 'legendary' level on any given section, i.e. turned the icon purple for which you need 5x100 gems (I knew they'd come in useful somewhere), the app will automatically give you practices on these so you don't forget. These show up as broken purple icons. Personally I save these for evening practices because they are relatively easy wins but you still get more points towards those elusive leagues.

You can wake up now.

There are also 'rewards' for things like adding friends.

Quick guide: completing at least one lesson morning and evening will increase your chances of not going down a league but sometimes you will come across super-enthusiasts (or people who have have moved abroad on a whim and suddenly find they need to learn the language) and they are hard to get anywhere near.

If you get demoted it may just be an indication that you have a life outside of Duolingo.

I really like the stories: daft but useful. They do get more challenging and seeing idiom in context is good. They also speed up and the different voices aren't all equally easy to follow which is good practice even if I have to give in and slow it down.

I haven't been doing any YouTube or book learning recently and I have a job interview coming up so study will take a bit of a back seat for a while but I'll plod on with a daily minimum... though I admit I'm struggling with the vocabulary app 'Drops': I've got it set to Brazilian Portuguese and I'm not learning much. I think I need to read around it some time...

Cherryfudge

P.S. @CAFCGirl, did you try Bitesize? How was it?

OrkneyStar

I turned the leagues off, as I don't really care for them. I did manage to win a Diamond League one week (I ended up in an 'easy' DL one week and realised it could be won with around 10000 XP, and not the usual 30000 needed for it, and the thought of opening up legendary appealed to me!). I don't routinely do 10000 XP a week, but by combining XP double boosts (which you get on the app when you complete a level) with lightning rounds (timed), I was able to rack up a fair bit. Once you win DL it opens up legendary levels, which give more XP to do and more XP to repair, plus if you combine that with the XP boosts it is possible to get a lot of XP at once - for example if I practice some of my most basic legendary levels after an XP boost, I can get 90 XP in less than five minutes. If I wanted to gain XP, and didn't mind repeating stuff, I could easily get lots of XP quickly. As it is I want to learn, and that involves more than just racking up XP, and also using sources other than Duolingo!  I also prefer the web version to the app, and you don't get any of the boosts on that.

Cherryfudge

That's very impressive, @OrkneyStar! I've never won the Diamond League though once I got into it, it wasn't too difficult to stay there.

I studiously avoid the timed challenges: the only way I can pick up speed is by dictating my answers but sometimes that leads to stupid mistakes, not always where you'd expect them. For instance the app can't seem to hear 'jus d'orange' which is infuriating. I need to take my courage in my hands and hone my skills there.

I know what you mean about the XP vs actual learning. I think a bit of repetition is valuable but progress takes more thought and time.

CAFCGirl

I haven't made it to Bitesize yet.
I do feel as though a few masculine/feminine rules are starting to seep into my mind.

I've also made it to CheckPoint 1. I don't leaving a section until I've got it to 'Legendary' So I've got a couple more to go, but its starting to sink in, and I'm hopeful our visit to the library next week may have some foreign language books and I can attempt to read a couple. May even end up doing my home educated son's Spanish workbooks myself since he's gone off the idea of learning a language for now HAHAHA