TAC 2017-2018 dEhiN

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-04-12, 6:01

dEhiN wrote:
vijayjohn wrote:
dEhiN wrote:It's written in, which drives my somewhat OCD tendencies a little nuts! Oh well.

When I was in (middle) school, sometimes at least, we had to check our textbooks at the beginning of the year (even before our actual first day of classes) for writing in it and such and then report which pages had writing/dog-eared corners/whatever to convince them to give us a copy that didn't.

:rotfl: I was buying this used, so I don't quite think I can request a new copy. I just foolishly assumed everyone was like me in that if they were selling their used textbook, they had made sure not to write in it! If I write in a textbook, I keep the book.

I never write in a book of any kind unless I'm required to. I have no idea why my pompous-ass English teacher was all like "well, you should!!" (to his entire class, not just me).

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-12, 6:58

vijayjohn wrote:
dEhiN wrote:I just foolishly assumed everyone was like me in that if they were selling their used textbook, they had made sure not to write in it! If I write in a textbook, I keep the book.

I never write in a book of any kind unless I'm required to. I have no idea why my pompous-ass English teacher was all like "well, you should!!" (to his entire class, not just me).

Well this was really a text/workbook. There are exercises in it; this was also the case with my Korean course which had both a textbook and a workbook. Both books had exercises in them. So I naturally wrote in them to respond. But I know people (I used to be one of them) who would still not write in the text or workbook, but use a separate notebook.

As for your teacher, he probably incorrectly (or self-righteously!) assumed that a well-read textbook meant there were markings in it. But I think it all depends on a person's learning style. I know some who methodically highlight parts of a textbook, write in the margins, underline and otherwise mark up the text. I tend to now be more of the person who writes in a separate notebook or types on my tablet/laptop. I can still reference the pages and sections of the text, but this way I can organize my notes and thoughts, and the textbook stays clean and thus easy to read.
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Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-04-12, 12:04

dEhiN wrote:As for your teacher, he probably incorrectly (or self-righteously!) assumed that a well-read textbook meant there were markings in it.

Well, to be fair, he was talking about things like novels. He seems to feel that you can't really understand a novel without marking it up so you can make notes for yourself about it and write down questions you have while reading since you're not going to remember later what you were thinking while reading the book.
But I think it all depends on a person's learning style. I know some who methodically highlight parts of a textbook, write in the margins, underline and otherwise mark up the text. I tend to now be more of the person who writes in a separate notebook or types on my tablet/laptop. I can still reference the pages and sections of the text, but this way I can organize my notes and thoughts, and the textbook stays clean and thus easy to read.

Exactly!

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby księżycowy » 2017-04-12, 12:21

This reminds me of what one of my professors said in my one of my New Testament classes. He instructed us to write notes in our Bibles. When I heard that, I was like, "Write? In my Bible!?" It's taken a few years, but since then I've started marking up my textbooks (language and other), and other things I'm reading. I have yet to mark up any Bibles. :lol: (I imagine very shortly I will though.)

I know for me that it helps me to remember the points more quickly, and remember connections I've made while reading. I can't be bothered flipping between things when I can avoid it. And it doesn't reminish my book's readability, depending on what I've marked up, and how. But, as you say, dEhiN, to each their own.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-13, 5:45

So I realized* today that I suffer from clinical depression and that I might need to go on another medication. I've been on an SSRI since 2015 (so almost 2 years now) and perhaps my body has acclimatized to it. I think the depression combined with losing the job, working through childhood abuse, and getting hurt by the church I was attending all were the reasons why I've been feeling so unmotivated these past few weeks. That's also affected by language learning, including my TAC. I'm going to wait until I start to feel better, and until my classes start, before I decide what to do about my TAC. I'm also going to see my doctor about changing medication to maybe an SNRI or another SSRI.

*When I say realize, I mean I accepted it. Before I never wanted to accept I might have clinical depression.
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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-19, 7:16

Earlier today I was trying to study some Japanese using Tuttle's Mastering Conversational Japanese for Beginners. A few days ago I started watching an anime after a long time of not watching any; I stared with Kill La Kill.

I also suddenly wanted to enrol in Japanese at my college. I looked into it but unfortunately i don't have the funds for it. :( My Spanish textbook alone costs about $108 USD ($144 CAD) while my French and ASL texts cost about $75 USD ($100 CAD). I've bought my French and ASL texts but not the Spanish one. I'm somewhat entertaining the thought of holding off on Spanish, and switching the course to Japanese. I'd lose about $35 CAD (there's a penalty for dropping a part-time course so you don't get a full refund), but the Japanese textbook is only about $41 USD ($55 CAD). I want to do both actually. If I drop Spanish, I would have to get another assessment done for next year (i.e., Fall 2017) before being able to enrol in Spanish Level 3. I was planning to take Portuguese in the fall term. So basically I'm debating between:

1) Keep my current courses; buy the Spanish textbook; take Portuguese and Japanese in Fall 2017
2) Drop Spanish; pick up Japanese; get reassessed for Spanish; take Spanish and Portuguese in Fall 2017

On another note, earlier today I started thinking about starting personal language study again but mixing the way Vijay and księżycowy do it: write up a list of a few languages I want to study, decide what I'm going to use for each language, create goals and then go through each one at a time.
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby księżycowy » 2017-04-19, 10:59

Glad to see you're studying again. :)

And, IMO Kill la Kill is a great show.

I'm also glad to see another Japanese learner around here. There aren't to many of us anymore. It's a bit too quiet for my liking.

Out of curiosity, what book does your college use in it's Japanese course?

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-19, 12:03

księżycowy wrote:Glad to see you're studying again. :)

Thanks!

And, IMO Kill la Kill is a great show.

Yeah Meera said essentially the same thing. The fan service does bother me a little, but I like the premise a lot.

I'm also glad to see another Japanese learner around here. There aren't to many of us anymore. It's a bit too quiet for my liking.

Well I started learning Japanese several years ago, and have learned it on and off. But I've never progressed too far. I can still write/read Hiragana, but I'm still bad at Katakana. I remember a few nouns and particles, but apart from desu/masu I never really learned any other verbs or adjectives that can be used as verbs, nor how to conjugate verbs. I couldn't even classify myself as A1.

Out of curiosity, what book does your college use in it's Japanese course?

Japanese for Busy People I, Revised 3rd Edition: Kana Version
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-04-19, 12:10

I'm leaning towards the first option you listed where you stick with the courses you're already taking for now and then take Portuguese and Japanese later. :)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby księżycowy » 2017-04-19, 12:39

dEhiN wrote:Yeah Meera said essentially the same thing. The fan service does bother me a little, but I like the premise a lot.

Yeah, there's fan service, but it's fan service with a point (depending on your philosophical bend).

Well I started learning Japanese several years ago, and have learned it on and off. But I've never progressed too far. I can still write/read Hiragana, but I'm still bad at Katakana. I remember a few nouns and particles, but apart from desu/masu I never really learned any other verbs or adjectives that can be used as verbs, nor how to conjugate verbs. I couldn't even classify myself as A1.

It's a pretty similar tale for me.
I suppose the only difference is that I'm making it a big focus right now.
I guess the reason why I said that was because hardly anyone talks about Japanese on the forums (except for an occasional post, usually from Yasna, which is usually a one-shot and usually above my current comprehension anyway). And the Japanese forum is pretty dead ATM.
Japanese for Busy People I, Revised 3rd Edition: Kana Version

I'm surprised it's not Genki. :lol:

vijayjohn wrote:I'm leaning towards the first option you listed where you stick with the courses you're already taking for now and then take Portuguese and Japanese later. :)

Even with everything I just said, I agree. Stick with what you've made plans for. And, if you have the time, stick some Portuguese and Japanese into the mix in preparation for the fall.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby Aurinĭa » 2017-04-19, 12:43

Thirding sticking with Spanish for Summer. You'll end up having done the same courses at the end of the year either way, so you might as well stick with the option that means less hassle and less money. And I don't know if it's ever been a problem to you, but it might not be bad not to learn Spanish and Portuguese simultaneously.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-19, 16:56

Wow, 3 times the support for sticking with what I got, eh? And I was leaning toward the second option! I guess off the cuff I can think of 2 pros for option 2 and 1 pro for option 1.

(All amounts are in CAD, and tax in Ontario is 13%.)

With option 2, I'd save a bit of money. Apparently my college let students transfer from one course to another, but there's a $25 fee. So, the Spanish book is $144 + tax = $162.72. The Japanese book is $56 + tax = $63.28 + $25 = $88.28. So I would save $74.44 right now.

The second pro with option 2 is that I'd have time to go through the book that was used for Spanish 1 & 2, which I bought used for really cheap back in December. I haven't looked at it much, except for last week where I read through the introduction. The reason I would like to go through the first book before I do Spanish 3 is to learn any vocabulary or grammar rules that I don't actually know. My Spanish assessment was oral - I just talked with the assessor over the phone for a bit in Spanish. So my concern is I don't know all the vocabulary and grammar those who took Spanish 1 & 2 would know. For example, I don't know the Spanish indirect and direct object pronouns fully, nor the rules surrounding them.

The pro with option 1 is that I wouldn't be doing Spanish and Portuguese together. I have struggled with Portuñol in the past, and although I'm better with keeping the languages separate, I still mix them up sometimes.

Anyway, what do you guys think now after what I wrote?
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Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby księżycowy » 2017-04-19, 17:04

I don't much convincing to side with Japanese. :P :lol:

But, when you put it like that, it's not a bad option at all.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby Antea » 2017-04-19, 17:09

I don't know what's better. That depends on the goals you're aiming for. If you really want to improve your Spanish level, then I suppose it would be better to stick to it, till you reach the level you want. But it is also true, that sometimes it's really better to do what you really want to do (what you're more "passionate" about) and not only what you "should" do or what it's more reasonable. One can also be bored of doing always the same thing, and maybe needs a break.
And, it is also true that mixing Spanish and Portuguese is very easy.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby dEhiN » 2017-04-19, 17:22

Antea wrote:I don't know what's better. That depends on the goals you're aiming for. If you really want to improve your Spanish level, then I suppose it would be better to stick to it, till you reach the level you want. But it is also true, that sometimes it's really better to do what you really want to do (what you're more "passionate" about) and not only what you "should" do or what it's more reasonable. One can also be bored of doing always the same thing, and maybe needs a break.
And, it is also true that mixing Spanish and Portuguese is very easy.

Hola Antea, qué tal? La (el?) problema es quiero estudiar los dos, el español y el japonés. Comenzó el español antes el japonés y mi nivel es mejor en español. Pero no se las cosas básicas como el pretérito.
Native: (en-ca)
Active: (fr)(es)(pt-br)(ta-lk)(mi)(sq)(tl)
Inactive: (de)(ja)(yue)(oj)(id)(hu)(pl)(tr)(hi)(zh)(sv)(ko)(no)(it)(haw)(fy)(nl)(nah)(gl)(ro)(cy)(oc)(an)(sr)(en_old)(got)(sux)(grc)(la)(sgn-us)

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby księżycowy » 2017-04-19, 17:25

I don't know what's better. That depends on the goals you're aiming for. If you really want to improve your Spanish level, then I suppose it would be better to stick to it, till you reach the level you want. But it is also true, that sometimes it's really better to do what you really want to do (what you're more "passionate" about) and not only what you "should" do or what it's more reasonable. One can also be bored of doing always the same thing, and maybe needs a break.
And, it is also true that mixing Spanish and Portuguese is very easy.


That is true too.

Hmmmmmm. :hmm:

I'd say stick with what you have now though. In the end it's what you signed up for. Plus if "portuñol" is an issue, it may be better to spread those two out. As much as I would love to have a Japanese study buddy and all.

But it is a valid question to ask where your passions lie and what your intentions are with these languages. I know you've said you have an interest in linguistics, and I think you said something about translation work? Idk. I'm curious now. :P

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby Aurinĭa » 2017-04-19, 17:33

But if you're taking Spanish later this year, you'd have to buy the book anyway then, no? So you'd save some money right now, but in total you'd still lose more money, because of the transfer fee. So I don't think your pro 1 is actually a pro.

As for pro 2, you said the spring semester starts mid-May. That would still give you a few weeks to go through the Spanish 1&2 book and learn things like the pronouns. You could even continue with that while taking Spanish 3; getting more practice is always good!
Personal experience: I once took Icelandic 1 and 2 at the same time, and there was another student taking 2 and 3 at the same time. I also took all the Bachelor courses for German in one year (for a degree combining German and English, I had another English degree already at that time, so I could skip all the courses that didn't involve German, in total about a full year's worth of courses). I had had some German at secondary school four years earlier, but forgotten a lot in the meantime. It wasn't easy at the start of the year, but it was manageable.

According to your profile, your Spanish and Portuguese are at similar levels, which would make the danger of mixing them even greater.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby Antea » 2017-04-19, 20:31

dEhiN wrote:
Antea wrote:I don't know what's better. That depends on the goals you're aiming for. If you really want to improve your Spanish level, then I suppose it would be better to stick to it, till you reach the level you want. But it is also true, that sometimes it's really better to do what you really want to do (what you're more "passionate" about) and not only what you "should" do or what it's more reasonable. One can also be bored of doing always the same thing, and maybe needs a break.
And, it is also true that mixing Spanish and Portuguese is very easy.


Hola Antea, ¿qué tal? La (el?) problema es que quiero estudiar los dos, el español y el japonés. Empecé Comenzó el español antes que el japonés y mi nivel es mejor en español. Pero no sé las cosas básicas como el pretérito.


¡Hola Dehin! Estoy bien gracias. No te preocupes mucho por los tiempos verbales; pienso que es una cosa que viene sola, con la práctica. Francamente, yo tampoco recuerdo muy bien los nombres de los tiempos verbales. Si tienes cualquier pregunta, no dudes en plantearla e intentaré explicarlo lo mejor que pueda.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby Osias » 2017-04-20, 0:53

Antea wrote:And, it is also true that mixing Spanish and Portuguese is very easy.


Hasta los nativos lo hacemos a vegadas.
2017 est l'année du (fr) et de l'(de) pour moi. Parle avec moi en eux, s'il te plait.

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Re: TAC 2017 dEhiN

Postby reineke » 2017-04-20, 13:57

If you're soul-searching language wise don't do it to the tune of $100 per textbook. If you're determined to do a course, that's another matter.

My advice regarding Romance languages is to learn one language inside out. Learn to use your ears. Your potential to learn other languages will grow exponentially. With regards to Japanitis, it's a modern disease. I also suffer from it occasionally. It always passes before any serious learning can take root. However, if you are considering an enjoyable course to fulfill a requirement Japanese 1 may just fit the bill.

Good luck.


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