I just wanted to share with all of you the results of two “Einstufungstests” (Placement tests), which an Italki tutor asked me to do in order to assess my current German level. After our initial trial session, he sent me both the B2 and C1 tests so to better plan the lessons to come.
Well, my results are:
43.5 out of 48 for the B2 Test – where 40 to 48 points indicated a C1 level or higher;
42 out of 48 for the C1 Test – where 40 to 48 points indicated a C2 level or higher;
Yes, these are only tests, but yet another proof of how far a 553 LingQ days Streak has brought me, in combination with:
2x Assimil Books (A1 to B2 and B2 to C1);
Shadowing both books using the Arguelles method;
A2 to B1 DW (Deutsche Welle) Course;
Relaxed but regular Anki sessions in the last 10 months;
Weekly listening of at least 10 hours of native content (Podcasts, YouTube videos, movies, etc);
At least an Italki lesson per week in the last 8 months;
I made most of the mistakes, where I was asked to re-write some phrases, e.g. changing them from active to passive and vice-versa, or where I was asked to actively structure sentences.
This is a clear sign that I need to strengthen the active and creative side of my German, which is my plan for the months to come.
Hope this contribution can serve you guys as a motivating and inspirational tool.
I will probably re-read it myself in a couple of days, as soon as I have “one of those days”.
Awesome. In fact, I read one of your posts written in German. I thought that your written skills are equally top-notch. Do you get it corrected and get feedback from a native tutor? or is it simply an end result of consuming a lot of input?
What exactly do you do in Anki sessions? How do you formulate your items ? During an Italki session per week; How do you plan out your lessons with your tutor? Like do you go over complex grammatical points or just it is based on spontaneous conversations about random topics?
My writing skills still need time, patience, dedication… and a lot of re-reading.
I do not get my posts corrected before posting, but… I use the freemium version of Firefox extension (Language Tool), which at least helps me to spot some misspellings and suggests how to improve the punctuation. I used it back in the day to improve my written English, and it really made the difference.
Anki
Anki is a powerful beast, with so much customisation available.
99% of my Anki cards can be almost equally divided in the below subcategories:
Sentences with the CLOZE function
I mostly use this to actively engage in using the right preposition for a given verb and to learn new vocabulary in context.
Pictures or GIFs
There are some nouns/adjectives/verbs which are clear and unambiguous and can be learnt without having to translate in another language.
I find these words very easy to recall, as they are linked to my brain as images/movements rather than to a word in needs of translation.
Classic Back and Forth cards (L1 to L2 and L2 to L1)
Here I use the translation as a leverage, whenever I want to better understand and acquire a sentence containing words/expressions I am interested in retaining.
In this case, the translation is the key, as it serves as a leverage.
I just want to point out that I am not an Anki-nerd and I don’t spend too much time on it. My average is of 40-50 new cards per week.
Also, ALL my Anki cards have the audio (even the sentences) and a picture, possibly memorable!
Italki
On Italki my main focus was at the beginning to loosen up my tongue, as I am already doing the heavy-lifting on my own. So, I’ve made sure to find a Tutor with whom I share many interests and I can have spontaneous and interesting conversation with.
However, I’ve come to a point where I need to start “organising” all the information I’ve acquired in the last year and a half, hence why I will start with another tutor soon, who is a more traditional German professor.
Hope I’ve answered all your questions! If more, just let me know.
Danke sehr Peter, ich freue mich wirklich sehr darüber!
Ich bin mir sicher, dass es wenig als 100 Jahren dauern wird, bis du froh mit deinem Japanisch bist.
Wie du mir selbst beibringen konntest, beim Sprachenlernen muss man spazieren anstatt zu laufen und die Landschaft genießen, anstatt das Ziel als einziges… Ziel zu haben! Was ist ein Ziel überhaupt?
PS Ich denke vor ein paar Wochen du hast mir einen Podcast aus Österreich empfohlen (Pizza und Philosophie), der Teil meiner persönlichen Hörplanung geworden ist. Mit höher Wahrscheinlichkeit habe ich vergessen, bei dir mich zu bedanken… Deswegen, Danke!
Ja, 100 Jahre wären schon arg lang.
Leider habe ich nicht so viel Zeit für Japanisch. Ich muss meine Zeit mehr in das Programmieren investieren. Aber das ist ok. Denn Japanisch gehört nicht zu meinen Kernsprachen, sondern ist eher eine Hobbysprache.
Freut mich, dass Dir der Podcast aus Austria gefällt und Teil Deiner Hörroutine geworden ist.
Weiterhin viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen bzw. -genießen!
Ciao [erschreckend - das ist eines der wenigen Worte, das mir in Italienisch noch einfällt. Und das nach einem Italienischkurs an der Uni :-)]
Peter
