503

Much better. No need to rack my brains.

In my notebook I see I listened to some Italian with Steve. Reminded me of Breaking Away. I noted Lee Child’s name to remind myself to download One Shot to my Kindle. I have the Polish version there already. I read a little of Persoonlijk, also by Lee Child, in Dutch. I carried on with Steinbeck’s East of Eden in both French and English a la Heinrich. And I wondered whether Lee, like JK Rowling, had ever taught English as a foreign language.

I wouldn’t have remembered that without jotting it down.

Today: J5 D1 G1 F2 I1          

Total: J402 D170 G70 F40 P39 Sp25 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1 I1

502

I should rely on my notes not my memory for capturing and retaining. I’ve a pocket notebook for that, but I’ve got out of the habit. That’s today’s goal, then.

But I did note yesterday morning—on the computer—that recently I’ve listened to some Steve Kaufmann. He’s somewhat strident and opinionated, but he tries hard to be genial. There was a talk by him about listening comprehension that I noticed on Twitter. Quote of the day: “Reading is a form of listening”. 

Also, I reduced my list of kanji whose codes that I need to redo down to 172.

Today: J5 D1 G1 F1 Sp1          

Total: J397 D169 G69 P39 F38 Sp25 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

501

I’ve passed the half-century, no, half-millennium (is there such a word?) without fanfare. It’s supposed to take (supposed by who?) 2 years, thus—24 months, not 20. But twice 365 days seems odd (unless it includes a leap year). Why not 1000 days? And why 20 tongues. What’s the attraction?

Anyway. Anyway.

I’m keenly revising my kanji ID method. It’s going to be a cracker. I’m thinking of offering it as a free ‘gift’ once I forge ahead with my language fraternity. Dabbling, just dabbling, in pleasant company. With a little philosophizing on the side.

In the meantime, hang tight.

Today: J5           

Total: J392 D168 G68 P39 F37 Sp24 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

500

I can see myself spending an hour at a time once or twice a day doing a number of languages for a short period each—6 periods of 10 minutes, for example. That’s more or less what I did yesterday, and it was fun. I relocated midway through, so that’s another factor or variable that one can manipulate. And as I pointed out earlier, if you can have all the resources in the one place, or on the one device, that makes things convenient.

I’ve got a system going too for my next step with kanji. Tell you that tomorrow.

Today: J5 D1 G1 F1 Sp1          

Total: J387 D168 G68 P39 F37 Sp24 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

499

The milestone that I achieved today was to complete my list of 1598 kanji (give or take) from HP1. I found usage examples of each. I’m done with that.

Next up, I’ll revisit my kanji alphabeticization—a made-up word, so from now on ‘kanji I.D.’ There’s a sore need to be able to sort kanji into some sort of an order that one can quickly apply.

So I’ll add a column or two to the HP1 kanji excel file. I’ll bring in the Heisig keywords. With a wave of my wand, I’ll set this house in order!

It’ll be fun.

Today: J4 D1          

Total: J387 D168 G68 P39 F37 Sp24 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

498

Maori (Mo) has slipped in. That makes 11 tongues so far. (I did indicate 20 in 20 months, didn’t I?). That’s partly because at work staff have been requested to prepare individual mihi. Any excuse will do. So I went along to the Bill Robertson Library to see what I might use. 

In other news, in a search for Polish readers, I arrived at the Gutenberg Project website. They have books in a number of languages. Audiobooks are represented. I was interested to discover a version of Robinson Crusoe that is written—and narrated—in words of just one syllable.

Today: J2 F2 D1 G1 Sp1 P1          

Total: J383 D167 G68 P39 F37 Sp24 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

497

Have I mentioned The Story of Language, by Charles Laurence Barber, first published in 1964? Another cheapie that I picked up for a dollar, but interesting for all that.

I’m up to where it—he—demonstrates how English has changed over the years. To illustrate, he gives the same bit of the bible as it was written in 1961, 1611, 1350-ish and approximately 1000 A.D.

It becomes more ‘foreign’ the further back you go. You need to approach it the same way that I gloss over European languages. There’s progressively more and more that you need to get used to.

Today: J2 F2 D1 G1 Mo1          

Total: J381 D166 G67 P38 F35 Sp23 A8 M8 Da1 R1 Mo1

496

I used my Kindle well for 30 minutes of French. Recently I sorted out some of my computer files. I came across several ebooks that I’d forgotten about. I had East of Eden on my Kindle in French, but not in English. However, I’d downloaded that in English (for a Russian student) sometime in the past.

It’s a pdf file, which Kindle doesn’t usually handle well. However, this particular file it does. So I could switch back and forth between the versions. I set the font size to scan 50 to 100 words on the screen. More than a sentence.

Today: J4 D1 F2 P1 Sp1          

Total: J379 D165 G66 P38 F33 Sp23 A8 M8 Da1 R1

495

I stumbled upon a site that looks useful. There they have out-of-copyright classic books translated, sentence by sentence into different languages. You also get to read the text in two languages, side by side—in effect facilitating the Heinrich manoeuvre.

The site’s name is Weblitera. I’d like to make good use of it. The only thing is that I had a little problem registering for it. I contacted the owner and a person named Dmitry replied. We’ll see what happens.

There seem to be 12 languages represented, including English. No Japanese, Dutch or Polish as yet. Perhaps I can help.

Today: J5          

Total: J375 D164 G66 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M8 Da1 R1 

494

For me, the pathway I envisage for acquiring a new language depends on the language to some extent. But in general, I first want to get used to its visual representation of symbols. Arabic and Korean would take me the longest. Chinese I have some sense of via Japanese. Thai has utterly different letters. Greek, Russian and Polish have some degree of recognizability, so I’d would with their spoken form alongside the written text.

They are all similar, and yet all different. They require that you adhere to the same principles, yet you apply them on an individual case-by-case basis.  

Today: J4 D1 G1         

Total: J370 D164 G66 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M8 Da1 R1 

493

The idea that I’d like to discuss today—within 100 words—is a rule of thumb that sprang into my mind recently. It is: to deal with the largest language chunks possible. Whatever level you are at in any language, you refrain from breaking it down. You deal with the largest pieces of authentic, holistic text that you can manage.

For me, that’s Lee Child novels in Dutch. Harry Potter in German. Pippi Longstocking in Japanese. Heinrich maneuvering in French and Spanish (with an eye on i+1 sentences), Winnie the Pooh in Danish, phrases in Polish, whole words in Arabic.

Today: J4 M2 D1 G1        

Total: J366 D163 G65 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M8 Da1 R1

492

I hummed and hawed about 2 books at my favorite op shop. Neither was directly about language, and yet they had a bearing. Since they were only 50c each, I stopped deliberating. I got The Last Battle. The day before I’d scored The Magician’s Nephew. I love CS Lewis’s Narnian chronicles. One day I mean to write the 8^th book.

The second book is The Unschooling Handbook. I wasn’t sure whether to get it. But then I realized that unschooling’s philosophy is the same as the one that I promote with regard to language learning. Kick instruction out the window.

Today: J4        

Total: J362 D162 G64 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M6 Da1 R1

491

I browsed though the easiest Mandarin (or Taiwanese) kids book looking at the symbols. I thought first that they were derived from Japanese, but later realised that both bopomofo and katakana derive from Chinese characters.

I ended the day with a little each of German and Dutch (by Kindle). So I did a mix of ‘odd’ and ‘even’, basically.

I haven’t heard back yet from Stephen Krashen whom I twittered, asking why it is good to have a number of languages on the go at different stages. I’m sure that it is, but I’d just like to know his reasons.

Today: J4 D1 G1 M1       

Total: J358 D162 G64 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M6 Da1 R1

490

Some days I have a number of things to write about. Which one, or ones, do I choose?

That I picked up a free copy of Pierre Benoit’s L’Atlantide to browse through while eating out Indian? And that I later found electronic versions of the book online?

That When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit turned out to be autobiographical, and that the language-learning experiences described therein were real?

Do I mention listening to Steve Kaufmann talk about Arabic, or to an interview with Stephen Krashen where he says it’s good to be in different stages with different languages?

I can't choose.

Today: J3 F1       

Total: J354 D161 G63 P37 F31 Sp22 A8 M5 Da1 R1

489

I’ve only 300 kanji left to do (of the 1600 that are used in HP1). These final ones are mostly rare. They only occur once or twice. I’m copy and pasting the phrases in which they occur. It’s geek work.

I’m dying, though, to get onto my even geekier kanji identification project. It’s been a while since I worked on it. It will take me some time to identify where I left off, and how I ought to continue.

Okay, well, that’s Japanese—which I ought to do daily. Today’s the 18^th, an even day. So I’ll 'depthen' as well.

Today: J4       

Total: J351 D161 G63 P37 F30 Sp22 A8 M5 Da1 R1

488

The KISS concept comes up in many contexts. I’ve always been taught it as: Keep it simple, stupid! That’s a useful rule of thumb.

So here’s my application of the rule with regard to language practice. I alternate. On odd days, I work on a new language. On even days, I ‘depthen’ the ones that to some degree I already know. And because Japanese is my main challenge, I do some of that daily as well.

There—that’s all there is to it. Simple. Easy to remember. Foolproof. Not long before reaching my 500^th day, I discover the answer.

Today: J2 M1       

Total: J347 D161 G63 P37 F30 Sp22 A8 M5 Da1 R1

487

Sometimes you see something you think about buying, but don’t. Then you kick yourself afterward.

The other day I saw an 8-CD Michel Thomas Spanish course for sale at the Green Island recycling store. It was $3, and I passed it up. Then yesterday after class I made a day of it and cycled over in the heat. Hurray, it was still there. I treated myself to it, and to an all-day breakfast in a nearby cafe. 

I’ve tried out Michel Thomas before, I think. In Hindi and Japanese. Perhaps there’s a way of using them without pressing my off-buttons.

Today: J4 D1 G1 F1       

Total: J345 D161 G63 P37 F30 Sp22 A8 M4 Da1 R1

486

I completed my first book in German—Pearl Buck’s Drachenfisch—a ‘home run’ book in that language. Admittedly it is for children, but no matter. It has almost 100 pages (although there are illustrations). But it reminds me that I have about 80 German readers stored somewhere. And I believe that they come with the audio too.

Funnily, I read it while training. I’ve been doing 5000 metres worth of laps at the Caledonian, and I would read while walking, dog-earing before running.

I even saw Dave S there coaching. He even coached me a little over 25 years ago.

Today: J2 G2       

Total: J341 D160 G62 P37 F29 Sp22 A8 M4 Da1 R1

485

Say what you like about Dunedin, but where else can you pick up banana boxes full of great paperbacks for a couple of bucks, and all manner of pickings in the free basket?

I scored 10 Taiwanese children’s books there. I ranked them in order of difficulty, gleaning an understanding of the approach taken to Mandarin Chinese in that country. Bopomofo, anyone? They’ve a set of 37 symbols that they use as furigana. These look like a mutant form of katakana, hiragana and kanji—cute.

And that’s how I spent an hour’s worth of enjoyable exposure on a new language.

Today: J4 M4        

Total: J339 D160 G60 P37 F29 Sp22 A8 M4 Da1 R1

484

I don’t need more books. I’ve enough of them, and language resources. Nevertheless, yesterday I got it into my head to locate a copy of Shogun. I’ve an electronic version in French, so I wanted hard copy in English too.

No luck; good luck. I didn’t find one in the half-a-dozen or so op shops I visited. No matter. I have it anyway, on my computer. 

But at 50 cents or so each, I couldn’t resist a few other books. One claims to help Japanese speakers learn English via “pattern practice”. It has 2 accompanying CDs, so what the heck!

Today: J3        

Total: J335 D160 G60 P37 F29 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

483

Things go well when I do them playfully. They don’t when I do them with a sense of obligation. You’ll notice that I said ‘things’ generally—not just language play.

On a bad day I wake up already stressed. I feel the compulsion to get things done, and now! Doing one thing, I’m berating myself about all those other things that I ought to be getting on with.

When did that start happening? When I became a householder? Started a family? Began a career? 

So I visited an op shop and picked up C. L. Barber’s The Story of Language.

Today: J5 D4 F1       

Total: J332 D160 G60 P37 F29 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

482

As I read a little from the start of Shogun in the staffroom, I reflected.

Here’s a book set in Japan, translated into French, from, as the French say, de l’Americain with an Englishman as the main character, on a Dutch ship, with a German friend, seeking to outdo the Spanish and Portuguese in the Far East. Well, it’s a language fest to say the least.

Apart from that, things a changing. My blackbird guest Eks appears to have flown the coop. It’s been 24 hours since I saw it. And the Marsh centre has reopened after a month’s holiday.

Today: J2 G1 F1       

Total: J327 D156 G60 P37 F28 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

481

I did well, if I say so myself. I got in the usual morning Japanese—despite a little time pressure—and then a second stint later in the afternoon. I read another Ruth Ainsworth story about telepathic ‘twins’. And then in bed at night I even did some French before allowing myself my English bedtime reading.

On my Kindle, I’ve Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book—in French, but not English. I recognize the names of the characters, but I don’t know the story well enough. So I did a search and discovered that I once downloaded James Clavell’s Shogun from somewhere.

Today: J3 D2 F1       

Total: J325 D156 G59 P37 F27 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

480

Pearl Buck’s Dragonfish is at exactly the right level for me in German.

Ruth Ainsworth’s storybook in Dutch has stories just at the right length for me to be able to read one per day.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s) in Japanese has just the right selection of kanji for me to work with.

It’s important to find materials and activities to fit.

And then again, now that classes have started, it becomes a question of fitting everything in, time-wise and energy-wise. Still, it stimulates me too, being around other language learners.

Let’s do Arabic!

Today: J2 D2 G2       

Total: J322 D154 G59 P37 F26 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

479

On Calibre I have foreign language books too. It’s not just those on my shelves that I have access to. At the moment there’s 3352. Most are in English, but many are not. It states that there are 21. 

Several of those consist of only one copy of a book. And that book is Krishnamurti’s biography. That’s because I once downloaded a bunch of books from such a source.

I noticed that Russian was missing. So I went to Pirate Bay and discovered a trove of children’s books in that language. Now, Russian is the second-most represented language after English!

Today: J5 D2 G2       

Total: J320 D152 G57 P37 F26 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

478

My holidays are coming to an end. I had a potluck meal with my 3 grown-up children, plus Eks. We watched 2 Black Mirror episodes. Albany plans to visit her host family after 15 years. She uses Google translate to improve her Japanese—she writes sentences in English, automatically converts them, and then proofreads to see if they seem okay—and , and swears by watching TV with subtitles for passive learning.

I found language references in 2 stories: one in Der Drachenfisch by Pearl Buck, the other in Een takje rozemarijn by Ruth Ainsworth.

Now to prepare for school.

Today: J5 D2 S1 G1       

Total: J315 D150 G55 P37 F26 Sp22 A8 Da1 R1

477

In a blast from the past, I came across a short Youtube clip about kaizen. I haven’t thought about for ages. I first got to know about while I was researching about language learning while living in Japan.

Basically, it’s where you make small successive improvements or changes to what you do. These add up exponentially to effect a massive improvement. Also, they are small enough so that they don’t trigger your inner resistance.

The clip followed another about walking, and how its biomechanics changed in the middle ages when people started making another kind of shoe. (Nothing about language.)

Today: J3 G2       

Total: J310 D148 G54 P37 F26 Sp21 A8 Da1 R1

476

I was very comfortable yesterday in hitting all 3 language targets. My strategy is to do a little of an advanced, an intermediate and a beginning one. So I did that for Dutch, Japanese and Arabic.

In Dutch I sat reading from Coen Cornelissen’s De Ottema’s, a book that came out late in 2017 about my grandfather’s family.

In Japanese I’m down to kanji that occur 4 times in HP1. There are almost 90 of them.

And for Arabic I listened to Youtube videos doing stuff for kids and beginners. I created a playlist for the ones I found useful. 

Today: J4 D2 A2       

Total: J307 D148 G52 P37 F26 Sp21 A8 Da1 R1

475

Yesterday I picked up a copy of the book Maori, The Crisis and the Challenge by Alan Duff. He’s the author of Once Were Warriors. 

According to Alan, many of the problems of the Maori stem from the fact that they come from an oral culture. The didn’t write things down. As a result, they never learned to ask questions, challenge tradition or treat knowledge as the property of all.

That fascinates me. I’m going to enjoy reading the book.

In other news, I’ll go on now to listen to a 30-min video for children that introduces the Arabic alphabet.

Today: J3 G1       

Total: J303 D146 G52 P37 F26 Sp21 A6 Da1 R1

474

I’m currently on holiday, and as usual I had big plans. For a change, I’m actually carrying out one or two of them.

I decided to get myself organized by concentrating on the bigger picture. It’s working. I’ve put into place a loose routine. Just doing that gave me the impetus to get back to some Dutch and German.

For German, Harry Potter is ideal Kindle reading. I like to highlight the odd comical word. And for Dutch I read Een bijzondere draaimolen from Het verhalenboek voor nieuwsgierige kinderen by Ruth Ainsworth. Its original English title was The Phantom Roundabout.

Today: J4 D2 G1       

Total: J300 D146 G51 P37 F26 Sp21 A6 Da1 R1

473

Language learning is like life. Juggling 20 tongues is like keeping tabs on 50 projects at once. The way to keep those plates spinning is the same for one as is it the other.

I tend to fixate on one at a time. I’ll read all day, or spend all my time on Japanese and Spider Solitaire. I get into a groove not necessarily because it’s comfortable, but because it avoids the discomfort of the weight of the rest. I build up trepidation.

Knowing the problem, I know the answer: Maintain a relaxed mental state, and follow a loose routine.

Today: J3       

Total: J296 D144 G50 P37 F26 Sp21 A6 Da1 R1