I think the above accurately describes the *vibes* of this week in which Neha and I attempt to learn the two very different grammar structures of Italian and Dutch at once, not really understanding why grammar across languages has to be so different yet so similar at the same time.
It makes me admittedly appreciate English sitting there all the time like: 💅 even more. Also, I love the depiction of German in the photo. It's just so representative of the unnecessary struggle.
This week Neha and I could only zoom virtually once, as she was having WiFi issues, therefore we were able to practice verbal communication less and were not able to film anything fun for the end of this week. However, we did get to work asynchronously.
Our goals this week were to learn vocabulary surrounding family, food, & likes and dislikes. We were able to begin doing so, but found that we also needed to get much more vigorous learning grammar in order to start piecing the vocabulary together and have better conversation.
So along with practicing vocabulary, we started to begin research on grammar. We have been having to spend time especially on Dutch, as information on grammar is a little more complex to understand. It lacks clarity because the grammar fits less inside of "pretty tables" in the way that Italian does.
We still have a lot of work to do to completely understand the use of certain language in Dutch such as the "present perfect". I know that a similar tense exists in German, but it is difficult for me to translate any understanding to Dutch. Since my use is automatic, I honestly don't have the underlying grammatic principles, but I hope to soon.
In the next week Neha and I hope to get a better understanding of grammar, continued use of vocabulary and want to implement it in lengthier conversation. We hope to learn to sing some Italian & Dutch music for ourselves and maybe for you guys, as well as start to learn food vocabulary so that we can eventually have *oooh* a cooking show (if Neha's Wifi can agree to cooperate 🙏).
Have you found a particular resource to be helpful for learning Dutch grammar structures? Sounds tricky! I hope a cooking bit comes together -that would be fun! Learning songs is a great idea. Can you link to any songs that you have in mind? I'm particularly interested in hearing some music in Dutch.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't end up going with this song but I liked it and it is within a playlist of Dutch hits:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sof8Y6htHXo&list=PLm7xzXBueQ1I9c0rbGeQxGI9e6m2RaO4Q&index=1
In terms of resources we finally found a good resource that explained our main questions week 4, but only through YouTube. He was a very helpful Dutch teacher:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ6AbMVnu9sBVraT6tLDmDA