Happy first day of GMT. Here’s all that sun you missed. 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞
Marking off what I’ve done from the plan I made.
Raw Exam Prep
- Do the exam modelos Cristina gives me Done only 2 exercises form the first.
- Go through the list of key structures in the C2 syllabus here, and try and figure out what I need to work on, possibly in the lessons Started but… Oh my god, it’s absolutely massive!
Just general tidying
- I have some lists of structures I often get wrong and structures that get used a lot in portuguese that I never use because I keep forgetting about them, so try and make sure I get as many of them as possible into blog posts instead of just treading the same old familiar linguistic pathways that I rely on in everything I write. Doing pretty well with this!
- Try and bribe my wife to speak to me in her beguiling madeiran accent. Poached eggs will probably work. She loves a good poached egg. Only one day of this so far
- I also started an Anki Deck for unfamiliar vocab
- Went back to revise some of my favourite past blogs – like this one for example. I feel like I did a better job than most basic level explainers written by native speakers – bug claim, I know, but they tend not to be very nuanced and I unpacked a lot of weird stuff that gets left out. I um (checks notes) understood the assignment. I (checks notes again) ate and Er… Left no crumbs. (peers at notes a third time)… Slay!
General Input
- Reading – I have an english book I am committed to reading for family book club and a couple of audiobooks that I am already part way through, but when those are finished, no new english books, just portuguese ones. Probably not many though, because I don’t really need much practice – just bedtime reading, and just things that seem like they will expand my brain. Like I have a Gil Vicente play in BD form, but I looked at it earlier and it’s much too archaic so I’ll save it for after the exam. I’ve read lots and written a few reviews too
- Podcasts – Portuguese only till after the exam. I might even unsubscribe to some of the english language ones to remove temptation. Lots of audio going on at the moment, including some really difficukt regional accents
- Eat-Rep exercises – I’m going to drop some of the morning quizzes I do and watch a quarter of Os Gatos NĂŁo TĂŞm Vertigens instead – that’s about two watches per week. try to do some “scratching” in the first weeks and move toward “copycat” exercises in later weeks. Two and a half run-throughs so far and I’m enjoying it. Part of me wants to move to another film though because I notice myself not paying enough attention because I already know the gist of the plot. Should I trust the process or my instincts? 🤔
Exercises
This weekend
- Start final chapter of PortuguĂŞs em Foco done
- “Puzzle Brain” activity – listen to portuguese audio while doing a jigsaw enjoyed this much I have started a second puzzle and a second audiobook – A ViĂşva by JosĂ© Saramago
W/E 27-10-2024
- Finish Português em Foco exercises in the main book (meant to do these before Lisbon really, but…) done
- Start the (self marked) grammar exercises in the Caderno de ExercĂcios done (4 chapters in)
W/E 03-11-2024
- Finish the grammar exercises in the Caderno de ExercĂcios
- “Scuba Diving” exercises with text and audio of “Amor de Perdição”
W/E 10-11-2024
Non-thorough run through of the paper exercise books I have, looking for grammar exercises that look like they might be beneficial.
- The remainder of the vocabulary and verb tenses sections of Português Outra Vez, (the expressões section is rubbish and I can’t be bothered with it)
- The C1 sections of “Vamos Lá Continuar” and
- Some of the more challenging exercises from Qual é a Dúvida. I finished this book ages but there were some exercises that left me floored, so I’ll be interested to see if I find them just as hard the second time around!
Luso 