So as I mentioned in the last vlog, I did unit 5.2 - 6.2 and it turned out better than I had expected. So today I was getting ready to privately practice 6.2 and then realized, by having shared my experience live on the fly, I had actually really make some progress in pronouncing the sentence Wir ko**nnen die Rechnung nicht bezahlen.
This has me now wanting to attempt something different. Having you hear me start the Unit without practice, and then doing a follow up with progress. So this means, doing the last section of the unit (5.2, 6.2, etc), then moving on to do the whole unit. In this case, I will be reviewing Unit 6.2, then I will start also recording Unit 7.1 - 7.2. Then when I've practised enough on my own, I will return and record the 7.2 Unit, and then start on 8.1-8.2.
This does not mean I won't have a look at the unit. I have to so that I can get an idea of how long it may be, and what I will be walking into. But speaking will be raw, and I will also read the sections.
Soon I will also contact the website owner who has been gracious enough to host these files.
Let's see how this goes!
Happy Learning Everybody!
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Unit 5.2 - 6.2 Recorded and Show of Progress
A few days ago, I was finally able to record Unit 5.2 - 6.2 and the progress through them. I took a break yesterday, to give myself some much needed rest and will continue practising today.
So the link to this is here :
It's 2hours long, but it's an on the spot review of Unit 5.2 and the Beginning of Unit 6 all the way through. I started unit 6 before, but this time around there is a lot of progress.
One of the words I mentioned in this clip was featured in a past blog, was ko**nnen = kuhn'n. That's the closest I can get to the sound in a transliterated way. Here's the link to that blog. Its talks about the beginning progress for learning unit 6.
This is all for this blog. I'm going to be practising today, and if anything new comes up, you'll know I'll return!
That's all for now, Happy Learning!
So the link to this is here :
It's 2hours long, but it's an on the spot review of Unit 5.2 and the Beginning of Unit 6 all the way through. I started unit 6 before, but this time around there is a lot of progress.
One of the words I mentioned in this clip was featured in a past blog, was ko**nnen = kuhn'n. That's the closest I can get to the sound in a transliterated way. Here's the link to that blog. Its talks about the beginning progress for learning unit 6.
This is all for this blog. I'm going to be practising today, and if anything new comes up, you'll know I'll return!
That's all for now, Happy Learning!
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
NEW~ Codename: Ralph's Languages Vlogs
Codename: Ralph's Languages Vlogs:
It's finally come about that I have the courage to take my practise journey to youtube. This blog will still be used for the intricasies, but the youtube Vlog will be the portend of the more structured non structured sharing of each unit as I practise them.
This blog will still feature the shorter practises, but now you can travel along with me on the longer and necessary portion of the journey. I have the first introduction video up now on youtube. So check it out!
Here's to a New Journey!
Happy Learning Everyone!
Monday, April 11, 2016
Unit 6 Delving and Progress
The time had finally come yesterday. The final edging away from Unit 4.1-4.2 and Unit 5.1. Today, I've actually gotten extremely close to phasing out Unit 5. I have a few speaking hiccups, that I will share in another blog later today. But I felt that, I was ready to move on to Unit 6 fully. So thus, I did so.
Unit 6 as always, they start with a review and a writing exercise. I have not done the writing exercise for this yet, I will do that before I start my grammar reading later on. I focused on reading, listening and speaking.
6 is richer. In fact, sechs ist richer. I've got some new words, and some are definitely familiar.
Bratwurst = Br-aht - vourst
Mark = Mahk
Acht = Ahct
Wieviel = Vee - Fi-ehl
ko**nnen = kuhn'en (en is a taper, like ... Lighten up)
One of the things I liked about Unit 6 is it helped me clarify some speaking issues (I believe this is done purposefully for the whole book to be honest)
I clarified my pronunciation of verstehen (fer-stee-en), which makes saying the sentence "Verstehen Sie Frau Kunze?" "Ja. Ich verstehe Frau Kunze."
Also the ending sound of "en", even though I knew it inherently, I didn't know for sure if that it's how it's pronounced in Germen. That softness of "en", versus "eh-n". The "en" is said with a closed mouth towards the end to stop the outward sound.
The phrases in this chapter will take some serious practice to say at normal speed, but I'm getting there. The hardest phrase is "Wir ko**nnen die Rechnung nicht bezahlen!" Now, of course, saying the phrase slowly isn't an issue, it's just like I mentioned in the last blog, that there is a lot of "bite" in this phrase. Meaning, there rhythm is rapid and easy to trip over. The mind knows what to say, it's getting the tongue to cooperate that's the problem. You'll get to hear that soon.
I have lots to do. Practise is done for the moment, and the day needs me.
Happy Learning Everyone!
Unit 6 as always, they start with a review and a writing exercise. I have not done the writing exercise for this yet, I will do that before I start my grammar reading later on. I focused on reading, listening and speaking.
6 is richer. In fact, sechs ist richer. I've got some new words, and some are definitely familiar.
Bratwurst = Br-aht - vourst
Mark = Mahk
Acht = Ahct
Wieviel = Vee - Fi-ehl
ko**nnen = kuhn'en (en is a taper, like ... Lighten up)
One of the things I liked about Unit 6 is it helped me clarify some speaking issues (I believe this is done purposefully for the whole book to be honest)
I clarified my pronunciation of verstehen (fer-stee-en), which makes saying the sentence "Verstehen Sie Frau Kunze?" "Ja. Ich verstehe Frau Kunze."
Also the ending sound of "en", even though I knew it inherently, I didn't know for sure if that it's how it's pronounced in Germen. That softness of "en", versus "eh-n". The "en" is said with a closed mouth towards the end to stop the outward sound.
The phrases in this chapter will take some serious practice to say at normal speed, but I'm getting there. The hardest phrase is "Wir ko**nnen die Rechnung nicht bezahlen!" Now, of course, saying the phrase slowly isn't an issue, it's just like I mentioned in the last blog, that there is a lot of "bite" in this phrase. Meaning, there rhythm is rapid and easy to trip over. The mind knows what to say, it's getting the tongue to cooperate that's the problem. You'll get to hear that soon.
I have lots to do. Practise is done for the moment, and the day needs me.
Happy Learning Everyone!
Practice, Progress, Vocal fry and Mild Dehydration Effects
This post is actually going to be into some parts. I started this topic yesterday (4-10-2016) and now I am working on filling in more information.
First, with perseverance I am finally almost ready to leave Unit 5.2 behind. I'm starting to memorise the phrases and news words in this unit. I'm also starting to handling the speaking shift when saying phrases like: "Ich fahre zum Bahnhof" or "Ich fahre zum Flughafen" . Phrases like these, I say have a lot of "bite" There is a constant sharp rhythm. As my tongue slowly works it's way through this language, those types of combinations are slowly starting to settle in my muscle memory. I'll include a clip of that in another blog post.
And speaking of clip, I actually want to post a on the spot learning practise. Meaning, a clip of me navigating the language and recording it. Now, when I do that, you will hear some "colourful" english words..... I'm human, and more, I'm having a blast. Learning languages is something I can laugh at sometimes, so you'll get an opportunity to hopefully witness that. Whatever you hear, it's not going to be forced or manipulated. It will be in real-time and pretty raw.
And lastly, that's where you will hear my voice wake up, (i'm practicing in the early morning for speaking, even or so for grammar reading), you'll hear my voice crack, my tongue get stuck, and my voice possibly dying away. Of course you'll also hear a chug of water. Talking dries the throat, but constant practice can sometimes tire the voice. Perseverance is my goal at that point, though. If I ever have the opportunity to travel overseas and visit the places, I'm learning my languages in, then talking everyday is a high possibility and necessity. I'm working to build that endurance as much as I can by practising through to voice breaks. We'll see what happens.
So look forward to the first bit of progress video clip in a blog coming today. It will be showing the "zum" trip ups of Unit 5 and I'll also add in a few minutes of practice in Unit 6.
And saying that. Unit 6 blog is up next!
Happy learning!
First, with perseverance I am finally almost ready to leave Unit 5.2 behind. I'm starting to memorise the phrases and news words in this unit. I'm also starting to handling the speaking shift when saying phrases like: "Ich fahre zum Bahnhof" or "Ich fahre zum Flughafen" . Phrases like these, I say have a lot of "bite" There is a constant sharp rhythm. As my tongue slowly works it's way through this language, those types of combinations are slowly starting to settle in my muscle memory. I'll include a clip of that in another blog post.
And speaking of clip, I actually want to post a on the spot learning practise. Meaning, a clip of me navigating the language and recording it. Now, when I do that, you will hear some "colourful" english words..... I'm human, and more, I'm having a blast. Learning languages is something I can laugh at sometimes, so you'll get an opportunity to hopefully witness that. Whatever you hear, it's not going to be forced or manipulated. It will be in real-time and pretty raw.
And lastly, that's where you will hear my voice wake up, (i'm practicing in the early morning for speaking, even or so for grammar reading), you'll hear my voice crack, my tongue get stuck, and my voice possibly dying away. Of course you'll also hear a chug of water. Talking dries the throat, but constant practice can sometimes tire the voice. Perseverance is my goal at that point, though. If I ever have the opportunity to travel overseas and visit the places, I'm learning my languages in, then talking everyday is a high possibility and necessity. I'm working to build that endurance as much as I can by practising through to voice breaks. We'll see what happens.
So look forward to the first bit of progress video clip in a blog coming today. It will be showing the "zum" trip ups of Unit 5 and I'll also add in a few minutes of practice in Unit 6.
And saying that. Unit 6 blog is up next!
Happy learning!
Friday, April 8, 2016
Tonight's the Night! Phasing out Unit 1- 4
I feel I have finally reached a mastery over these units, and again with the help of Unit 6, I was able to correct a few mispronunciations and clean up some mistakes. Now that I've reached that level of confidence, I'm finally phasing those units out. Tonight is my last night to finish Unit 4 and bon voyage to it I say! It's amazing to see the progress, but I have a very long way to go and intend to meet my goal of mastering the introductory course in 3 months or so. As long as I actually complete it, I've achieved the goal I set out for, and will make some room for other languages to learn, and to bring this to maintaining level.
Now recently I found a pdf for grammar for German, both basic and intermediate. With a little glance at basic, I realise just how beneficial it will be and how it immediately helped me understand another mistake I've been making. German has a lot of capitals in their sentence. Sense the FSI pdf I'm using is a scan, I assumed the random capitals were a faulty typewriter. However my quick glance in the grammar book, has alerted me that, those were in fact intentional. It was correct grammar and writing, and thus you will notice the uniformity in older posts. So be prepared for that to change going forward. I've got a lot to study, and yoga to do before it!
Happy Learning!
Now recently I found a pdf for grammar for German, both basic and intermediate. With a little glance at basic, I realise just how beneficial it will be and how it immediately helped me understand another mistake I've been making. German has a lot of capitals in their sentence. Sense the FSI pdf I'm using is a scan, I assumed the random capitals were a faulty typewriter. However my quick glance in the grammar book, has alerted me that, those were in fact intentional. It was correct grammar and writing, and thus you will notice the uniformity in older posts. So be prepared for that to change going forward. I've got a lot to study, and yoga to do before it!
Happy Learning!
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Current List of Languages Learning and Wanting to Learn
List of Languages Wanting to Learn
German
Russian
Italian
Czechoslovakian
Vietnamese
Currently Learning
German
Possibly Next
Italian
Russian
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