Answering Benny's Call of Duty | My language mission and my log | Forum
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06:25
July 15, 2011
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Hey there 
In response to Benny's challenge, I decided to actually log my progress of a mission i'd decided to do a while ago.
Mission: Experiment
I want to do some experimenting … I can't decide on one language to persue, so I'm going to explore each of the following languages this summer to a low-conversational level initally, just to see how I like it. If i like the language, I will then probably continue beyond the two weeks I am dedicating to it. The languages are:
Esperanto
Cornish (re-learn)
German (re-learn)
Dutch
Portuguese
Arabic
Chinese (Mandarin)
Welsh
My criteria is, if I can have a satisfying conversation with someone in the language, then I feel I will have achieved. Again, it's less about ''Fluency in 3 months'' but dipping my toe in the water to decide which languages I'd like to carry on with
At the moment, I have French and Spanish exams to prepare for, so progress is slow at the moment, however in a few weeks I shall be free!
See you all soon
Shaun
Learning (conversational):
Learning (beginner):
09:33
July 5, 2011
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Ooh, best of luck with Dutch! I've also dreamed about Mandarin, German, and Arabic, so it looks like our language dabbling overlaps a bit.
Basic Fluency: 
Dutch -
11:19
May 13, 2012
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Esperanto is fairly straightforward. I'd be glad to practice it with you.
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11:48
July 15, 2011
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Ive had exams for the last few weeks as explained, so initial progress was meant to be slow However, the resources made available by the esperanto community has caused a much quicker progression than I expected Also helped by lack of motivation to study for exams, and esperanto is a nice escape
I listened to Moses McCormick's interview on the LHG, and it awakened within me I knew was true, but I hadn't acted on. Benny's impetus is on speaking, so when starting my recently new languages, I would try to voice chat … and fail. Not only was I way in over my head, but consistently, quality of the call was impeded. One guy had a chainsaw and a TV, plus traffic and a whole family behind him talking, and there I was trying to talk to him with very little Arabic. Much more comfortable, I found, to text chat, and it worked brilliantly leading up to my first Spanish exam two years ago. However, I kept telling myself to speak speak speak, then I'd give up. So, with new found permission to myself to use chat rooms, I went on the lernu.net chat rooms I was amazed at the substantial amount I learnt in just 30 minutes! I also have made several friends and am in the process of arranging more speaking! So, the tactic of using Esperanto to experiment with learning techniques is doing its bit!
Esperanto is seeming a more and more beautiful language. The ease of construction and the sheer beauty of the language It sort of sounds Italian too. The people are great, as it is (almost) noones first language, so everyone will speak it, and its a great way to learn about different people without learning that language. For example, I was speaking with a Kazakhstani – which would only usually be possible with either a knowledge of English or Kazakh, so Zamenhof's idea of the international language really shines through!
As you can see, im quickly falling in love with Esperanto
Very soon I will upload my first video on my first topic. I aim to do two videos per language, each on a different topic, which works out as one per week. I will probably expand on those though
Gxis revido!
Shaun
Learning (conversational):
Learning (beginner):
05:31
July 15, 2011
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Poste mi unuaj semajnoj ke mi lernas esperanton, mi trovis ke mi amas la lingvon! Mi estas sura ke mi dauxrigos lerni esperanton nun Amiko transnoktis al mia domo dom la lasta semajno, do mi lernis nur iomete Jen mia progreso:
Mi babilis probable cxirkaux 2 horoj en Esperanto, kaj pli kelkaj malsamaj temaj Mi fieraj aferoj estis paroli pli futbalo kaj kelkaj nekutimaj temaj Ankaux mi faris vokon en Skajpo kun Germanano kaj Usonano dom 30 minutoj, denove pli kelkaj malfacxilaj temaj.
Mi ankoraux uzas la vortaro en lernu.net, sed por multaj komunaj vortoj, mi povas skribi ilin sen problemo
There's my little piece in Esperanto
My progress thus far has been:
About 2 hours chatting in a chatroom in Esperanto about various topics, including Football and other unual topics that Im quite proud of I also did a Skype call with a German and American for 30 mins or so, and again talking about difficult topics. I am still using the dictionary on lernu.net, but for most common words, im starting to remember them naturally, through repetition of usage, not any SRS.
So, yesterday marks 20 weeks till the end of my project (I know its a bit more than summer, but thats the deadline )
As of yesterday, the challenge really starts for me. I have had a headstart in Esperanto, but not a lot Im very very very keen to learn as much as I can in the next two weeks though!
My success criteria is mostly how comfortable I feel about the language, but as a sort of guide I have come up with some topics about which I should be able to speak comfortably (each will be tested with a speaker) by the end of the two weeks. These are:
- Myself
- Where I live
- My work
- My hobbies
- My languages
- My past
- My future
- My family
The more eagle-eyed will have noticed there are just 8. That's fine with me, even though these are all of a basic level, im teaching myself how to speak the language, and the way I see it, if i can talk fine about those topics (without learning set phrases), its only a matter of vocabulary between those and the more advanced topics (Which is what I found through my French/Spanish A-level education. By the age of 16 I could speak about those topics in my GCSE exams, and I went to Spain and learnt how to ''speak'' spanish .. i.e. use Spanish to communicate an idea. Once I got that down, it really has been a matter of vocabulary between the two exams). More about my philosophy on languages later
These 8 topics will be the subject of videos. Each language will get 2 videos, entirely in that language, about 2 of the topics. This means that each topic will be spoken about in 2 languages, with me so far?
First video will come next Thursday (5th July) .. I promise (I definitely can't back out now -- The more of you that write a post here, the more inclined i will be to do it )
Gxis!
Shaun
Learning (conversational):
Learning (beginner):
11:24
January 14, 2012
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ShaunMcBride said
Ankaux mi faris vokon en Skajpo kun germano kaj **usonano** dum 30 minutoj, denove pli kelkaj malfacilaj temoj.
Hej! Mi estas tiu usonano pri kiu vi parolas! Cxu vi memoras min?
ShaunMcBride said
First video will come next Thursday (5th July) .. I promise (I definitely can't back out now -- The more of you that write a post here, the more inclined i will be to do it
Parenteze, kie estas tiu filmeto nun? Mi iru al lernu por memorigi vin per mesagxo!
Conversational (and trying to improve):
Dreaming of: 
19:45
July 15, 2011
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For your viewing pleasures Two Videos! Duaj Filmoj! One has esperanto subtitles, the other English, but still, its like making 2
About me – Esperanto – Mission 1
Subtitles: Esperanto
Subtitles: English
Due to workload in other areas of life, I am cutting down to a commitment of just 1 video per language, however, 2 will be made if possible
Please give feedback on anything and everything! Would love to hear from you!
Shaun
Learning (conversational):
Learning (beginner):
09:34
May 13, 2012
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Sorry, I may be missing something here – how to watch?
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17:33
July 15, 2011
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As the other videos need Windows Media plug ins to run, I've now uploaded them to beloved Youtube
English Subtitles:
Esperanto Subtitles:
Enjoy
My next post will be about my final thoughts on Esperanto, what I've learnt and how I'm going to approach my next, slightly different challenge
Shaun
Learning (conversational):
Learning (beginner):
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