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...to those who celebrate it!
I celebrated by heading outside to see the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, which last occurred before the time of Marco Polo and that’s pretty cool. Initially, I was worried that the clouds that rolled in after sunset would spoil the view, but there was a 20 minute break in the cover where I got great views of the thing. (Not, however, as good as the livestreams.) I didn’t get to see the Geminids last week, but this, along with NEOWISE this past summer, has made for a pretty cool sky viewing year.
Aside from that, I've been keeping on top of the month's language learning.
Mango Japanese: Chapter 1, Units 1-9 + listening and reading
Because I’m already logged in for Korean, and it’s free, so why not?
Already, I can see some major differences between the two courses. There’s about four times as much content for Mango Japanese, for one, and it’s introduced in an even slower and more rote fashion. I also tend to disagree with their choices more, even as I understand that they have to start beginners somewhere and leave some things out to avoid overwhelming them. But some of the choices (e.g. introducing three different forms of 'thank you' and linking them to different levels of politeness, without including past tense conjugations or apologies that function like expressions of gratitude) seem primed to confuse learners when they're introduced later down the line.
Mango Korean: Chapter 8, Units 1-8; Chapter 7, Units 3-6; Chapter 9, Units 1-8; Chapter 10, Unit 1
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this should not be anybody’s first introduction to the language. Be it pronunciation or particles, the course asks students to check their knowledge against questions without providing the information they need to correctly formulate the answers the course gives (or worse, explicitly says there is one definitive way to do something and then introduces new examples that don’t do that thing, without explaining why). It frustrates me; I can only imagine what it would be like for beginners, many of whom probably give up.
Having said that, I do like how the later units present humble and honorific forms, so even my mileage varies.
Podcast Gaelgagh: Lessons 49-69
The instructor’s introduced enough grammar and vocabulary by this point that he can start to have some fun with it, which he does in a wickedly delightful, deadpan fashion. (My favorite example thus far: “How would you say, 'I ate your dog. Sorry. I didn’t eat your cat, though.'”) Both he and the students seem to be greatly enjoying it. Recent units have moved from simple past tense and alienable possession to grammatical constructions for preference, which I’ve always found fun. It’s crazy to think I’ll be finished with the entire podcast in just around a month.
これで以上です。
I celebrated by heading outside to see the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction, which last occurred before the time of Marco Polo and that’s pretty cool. Initially, I was worried that the clouds that rolled in after sunset would spoil the view, but there was a 20 minute break in the cover where I got great views of the thing. (Not, however, as good as the livestreams.) I didn’t get to see the Geminids last week, but this, along with NEOWISE this past summer, has made for a pretty cool sky viewing year.
Aside from that, I've been keeping on top of the month's language learning.
Mango Japanese: Chapter 1, Units 1-9 + listening and reading
Because I’m already logged in for Korean, and it’s free, so why not?
Already, I can see some major differences between the two courses. There’s about four times as much content for Mango Japanese, for one, and it’s introduced in an even slower and more rote fashion. I also tend to disagree with their choices more, even as I understand that they have to start beginners somewhere and leave some things out to avoid overwhelming them. But some of the choices (e.g. introducing three different forms of 'thank you' and linking them to different levels of politeness, without including past tense conjugations or apologies that function like expressions of gratitude) seem primed to confuse learners when they're introduced later down the line.
Mango Korean: Chapter 8, Units 1-8; Chapter 7, Units 3-6; Chapter 9, Units 1-8; Chapter 10, Unit 1
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this should not be anybody’s first introduction to the language. Be it pronunciation or particles, the course asks students to check their knowledge against questions without providing the information they need to correctly formulate the answers the course gives (or worse, explicitly says there is one definitive way to do something and then introduces new examples that don’t do that thing, without explaining why). It frustrates me; I can only imagine what it would be like for beginners, many of whom probably give up.
Having said that, I do like how the later units present humble and honorific forms, so even my mileage varies.
Podcast Gaelgagh: Lessons 49-69
The instructor’s introduced enough grammar and vocabulary by this point that he can start to have some fun with it, which he does in a wickedly delightful, deadpan fashion. (My favorite example thus far: “How would you say, 'I ate your dog. Sorry. I didn’t eat your cat, though.'”) Both he and the students seem to be greatly enjoying it. Recent units have moved from simple past tense and alienable possession to grammatical constructions for preference, which I’ve always found fun. It’s crazy to think I’ll be finished with the entire podcast in just around a month.
これで以上です。