I need to keep a better record of what I’ve been doing.
April:
French:
Dumas Les Trois Mousquetaires
Balzac La Peau de Chagrin
Stendhal : La Chartreuse de Parme
German :
Die Drei ??? Several radio dramas
Uh, something else that I cannot remember.
At least 100 hours of German.
Italian:
A couple of movies.
Russian: Nothing
Die drei ??? is about teenage detectives. I dislike the setting (Kalifornien) and the use of American names but otherwise it’s a pleasant way to spend time learning German.
I also have several TKKG radio dramas in a similar vein, and a few classics of world literature (adapted as radio dramas for young audiences).
Both above-mentioned series also appear in book form and are extremely popular in Germany. The audio dramas are published by Europa
Of course, this is not “literature,” it’s full of clichés and weak plot points. I would however highly recommend listening to radio dramas as a means to crack the spoken language.
One concern – I am more likely to repeatedly listen to an audiobook than a radio drama.
As a side note – all the language learning bloggers I’ve been following (and I’m an avid reader) frequently mention their brains. My brain this, my brain that. It’s hilarious.
Well, I've been following a couple of these blogs lately too and I couldn't find a single mention of the word "brain" for the last few days worth of entries in my feed reader (except your blog).
ReplyDeleteA coincidence, perhaps? :)
Lol, I wasn't referring to a particular (short) timeframe but the good old Steve Kaufmann mentioned his brain (and his readers') several times in April. Another four times in March including "brain massage". I am mentioning him since I'm certain he won't mind lol. Here's a link to his excellent blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://thelinguist.blogs.com/
The human brain is a fascinating organ, language learners often get into very heated discussions what it can or cannot do and how to "massage" it properly.
Another remark - language learners also like to talk in metaphores.
Language learning is like falling in love (Steve).
A foreign language is a castle. It is advisable to attack it on all fronts at once (K. Lomb).
Language learning is like riding a bike (anonymous).
"Brain" is frequently mentioned because it can be conveniently blamed for one's lack of progress.
ReplyDelete