| Do you speak more than one language? |
| Yes! |
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25% |
[ 4 ] |
| No. |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
| I'm working on it! (learning) |
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43% |
[ 7 ] |
| I'm fluent in multiple languages |
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12% |
[ 2 ] |
| I'd like to... |
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18% |
[ 3 ] |
| Absolutely not interested ... |
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0% |
[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 16 |
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 Dedicated Citizen
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Wed Jul 01, 2020 1:30 pm |
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Yes and no Blaze, I kinda flicked through it and looked at the chapters to see what was what and when I started to read it properly, I got called away to help out with something and haven't had a chance to properly look at it. I'm still going with both Duolingo and Memrise for Italian, and I definitely prefer Memrise because it actually introduces basics like ciao for hi/bye, si for yes, no for no, come stai for how are you. And then it goes into the whole masculine ends with o, feminine ends with a and then there are some cases where words ending with e don't change with the masculine/feminine context. Duolingo hasn't done any of that and I pretty much don't understand most of what is going on with the lessons. 
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked! 
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...  
9695/10000
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 Queen of the Realm
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Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:28 pm |
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Gotcha. I've done a little of the Memrise as well - I do like it and think it'll work well with DuoLingo (at least for me right now). I also have an app called Drops on my phone which introduces vocabulary in a fun and visual way. DuoLingo starts making more sense the more you use it, I think... but I can definitely help you with some of the basics at least - if you'd like. Let me know if, what and how 
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Dedicated Citizen
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Sun Jul 12, 2020 7:50 pm |
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You know the best time not to learn a language? 5am after no sleep and getting confused as hell with the way things are said. Like needing to add "the" in Italian, but it isn't important in English and I am so confused and still going while boosting my experience points on Duolingo and after about an hour, I went from somewhere around 15th on the leaderboard to 4th...and there are around 4 hours left and I am wondering if I should just aim for 1st place even though over 500 points separates me from 1st. Decisions, decisions. More caffè is needed! *flails about as she runs in circles* 
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked!
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...
9695/10000
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Queen of the Realm
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Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:05 pm |
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*revives thread*
Bo, basically use "la/il/lo" just about everywhere in Italian, except when referring to immediate family members... so "mio fratello" or "mia sorella", without the "the" (there are some exceptions to this^^).
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Dedicated Citizen
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Sat Aug 08, 2020 3:32 pm |
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I'm onto I think the first set of Italian verbs? And, yes I definitely am confused to a point where some times I seem to get it, other times I will just stare at it blankly. I think I may have figured out how things go...like 2 and a bit months after I started lol.
I stumbled across a Duolingo wiki page that actually has the basic word from each level and it is super helpful for me. I tried sharing it, but it comes up with 404 which is frustrating.
You mentioned earlier in the thread that you got a few books that were one page Italian and the other side was the English translation. What did you look for when searching for that sort of book?
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked!
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...
9695/10000
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Queen of the Realm
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Sun Aug 09, 2020 6:20 pm |
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I know that feeling! Some days, it just kinda clicks. Other days, it feels like I'm beating my head on a wall and forgetting the simplest of phrases or skills. 
Ok... so...
 concerning the use of articles in Italian (& other things - it's a pretty good site from what I've seen so far): http://www.italianlanguageguide.com/grammar/articles/
concerning books, I looked up "bilingual books italian english" and "beginner Italian" or "easy Italian short stories". I bought this book Read & Think Italian, but I can't get through it very well just yet and I'm in a spot with learning Italian where I am intentionally going back and doing some remedial type, mostly textbook or non-Duolingo based web site re-learning/knowledge confirmation type stuff. It just feels like I'm missing a few too many essential pieces of really understanding the language and structures at this point. It's frustrating.
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Dedicated Citizen
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Sun Aug 16, 2020 11:43 am |
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I'm on the last lot of, I think they call them present verbs? and honestly can't wait to get through the other 6 lessons to finish it because it is SO DAMN TEDIOUS!!!! Anywho, I came across this link about learning a language on a phone app and thought it was interesting.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/04/smarter-living/500-days-of-duolingo-what-you-can-and-cant-learn-from-a-language-app.html
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked!
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...
9695/10000
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Queen of the Realm
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Sun Aug 16, 2020 2:01 pm |
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Yes, I agree with the article, Bo. It is really important to do more than just the site/app. For me, going through a book (or two or three) helps to confirm my understanding of the parts of speech and how they're used, provide a more structured or better-defined practice than what DuoLingo seems to offer, and gives explanations that can me almost completely missing from DL. Finding the time to do this, though, is not always easy amid RL responsibilities (at least for me)
My pet peeve with DL is how they just drop random words, phrases, etc., on you, mid-lesson, without previous definition and how the app/site expects you to learn from failure (no fun!). I always feel like I'm looking for "concrete explanations" about a lesson, a term, a conjugation, etc. (& not just feedback from other users - which may or may not be correct or even relevant). Oh! And some of the translations between the DL Italian and English could be a whole lot better - there have been several times where if they just translated the English differently, the Italian would have made so much more sense instead of turning in to a "head meet wall" experience!
There are definitely days (or sometimes a week at a time) where it's very easy to simply gamify the daily practice just to keep the streak going.
My current streak is 193 days. I think my streak was around this point last year when we went to Rome (thus ending that DL streak). I'm about half-way through the last section of the Italian tree (3-4) and I've done some of the Italian --> English tree, which has been enlightening. I am truly amazed at how much I have learned, but I still feel like I'm scrambling to put it all together in ways that matter (if that makes sense).
I have found that if I keep plodding along, things do eventually start to make sense and skills previously learned do start to "click".
Have you learned another foreign language before trying to learn Italian online, Bo?
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Dedicated Citizen
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Wed Sep 02, 2020 6:56 pm |
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Hmmmm, in high school I took Korean for either a semester or a year, but decided against continuing with it. I've attempted Dutch and Chinese, and according to Duolingo I have attempted French as well. I think I may have attempted Icelandic or possibly added it to the languages that I want to learn along with Russian. Oh! I also attempted Japanese at uni. Italian is the only one that I have stuck with the longest. I have streaks of 95 days in Duolingo and I think 76 days in Memrise.
I also ordered a couple of bilingual books in Italian and English both beginners (which was out of print but might be in stock in October) and intermediate. I have the intermediate book already because it was in stock. I also picked up an Italian English dictionary in the hopes seeing the words with definitions will help me understand a bit better. I still stumble and struggle with io mangio, tu mangi, voi mangiate, noi mangiamo, loro mangiano (and I think those are correct only because my phone remembers them), my main issue is trying to remember what comes AFTER the mangi-.
I'm kinda debating picking up Italian at uni, but only if it were in person classes. But I may also attempt that at a local community college too. But again, in person because it'll be more social and interactive for me.
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked!
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...
9695/10000
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Queen of the Realm
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Wed Sep 02, 2020 8:59 pm |
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Yes, I wish the conjugations where better -and differently- explained. Honestly, I'm still stumbling over them sometimes and I'm halfway through the last section of the Italian tree!
There is this, though: Mangiare... which I wish I knew about sooner.
For Mangiare, it's:
Io mangio
Tu mangi
Lei/Lui mangia
Noi mangiamo
Voi mangiate
Loro mangiano
I also wish that DL was better at identifying the full (infinitive?) verb, unconjugated, instead of just doing the "conjugate this" approach that they're so good at.
Trying to remember what comes after the verb? Usually a noun? LOL... "Tu mangi la bistecca" or "Mangiamo lo zucchero" - that's just vocabulary, repetition and memorization, really. You'll get it. 
I'm fighting these days with the gamification of Duolingo kind of getting in the way of my learning or processing what I'm doing if that makes sense... it's like I get their questions right but it doesn't stick in my brain? But that might just be the normal stage of learning for the couple of sections I'm working on right now.
I'm glad you got a couple of books. Hopefully they help. I'm with you on in-person foreign language classes - so much better than online (besides, there are already online classes available) - the ability to talk fluidly and naturally, choosing words as you go, getting immediate, personalized corrections... priceless, IMO! If there was a place near me offering in person Italian, I would definitely sign up!
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Dedicated Citizen
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Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:53 am |
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Truthfully, I am getting bored with learning via the apps. Especially when it has the whole...getting exp to move up the ladder in a game fashion. And at times I feel like I am running around in circles, especially with Duolingo. Memrise, not so much.
I was reading an English e-book and they have some Italian in it as well, and the first one I came across was, "Non sei un animale." and I was like, I know what that is! and a few lines down (I personally HATE it when they do that and can't do it right after when it has been said) they had the translation of, "You are not an animal."
_________________
Court Jester? Bo?
Bo, official Zantarni nudist.
Rayven: *gets hit in the face with some underwear* Wow Bo sure likes to get naked!
Riley: Bo, the Goat Whisperer.
Blaze: Bo, you're just chaotic...
9695/10000
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Fri Feb 05, 2021 10:30 pm |
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My native language is Icelandic.
Every Icelander has to learn at least Danish (or another Nordic language if you already know one, and English.
If you get a secondary education you very likely have to learn a "third language" which used to be only an option between French and German, but most schools now also offer Spanish.
I chose French.
I then lived in Portugal for a year and picked it up a bit.
It did not help me when I went back to try and finish French (kept confusing words together), but ended up keeping learning Portuguese after moving back home.
So I know:
Icelandic (native)
Danish (quite poorly, but can read it)
English (fluent)
French (awful)
Portuguese (decent)
_________________
My Quest Thread -LINK-
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Dedicated Citizen
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Sun Feb 07, 2021 2:04 pm |
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Wow, Eir! That's a lot and you're doing better than you think. 
I still haven't got off my bum to learn anything. 
_________________
Rayven, I look at your avatar and think "Queen Sparklebutt!"-Tam
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Mon Feb 08, 2021 3:07 am |
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@Rayven: Well it's mostly from mandatory learning over 20+ years.
But I've been pretty good at keeping up with my Portuguese with Duolingo.
_________________
My Quest Thread -LINK-
Last edited by Eir on Tue Feb 09, 2021 4:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Dedicated Citizen
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Tue Feb 09, 2021 12:37 pm |
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Eir-At least you know it even if they did force you to do it.
That's good. I've always heard that it helps if you have someone to converse with in the language you're learning/trying not to forget. Do you have anyone to speak with?
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Rayven, I look at your avatar and think "Queen Sparklebutt!"-Tam
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