Wow. The year is almost over and I am really happy about presenting all my hard work on this project to the world. In my original-and very unrealistic- plan, I wanted to learn THREE languages and write 100 page books in each language. Now, I realize, that in the time allotted, that was super impossible. I will be very happy if I at least finish my one book that I decided to work on. Anyway, my original plan slowly turned into a challenging, but plausible project. I have learned Italian and can understand it very well. My speaking could use some work, but everything else is proficient. This project helped me learn a lot of things. For one, I am a really diligent worker when it is something I enjoy. Also, I learned more in depth about the Holocaust and Mussolini's reign. These topics really interested me even though they did not impact society in a positive way. I have also learned that I need to stop procrastinating. If I hadn't procrastinated this year, I probably would be on about page 40 or 50 of my book at this point. Although, I WILL still finish my book even if it is only 35 pages long. Some skills I have acquired from the project are organization. I always planned my weekly homework and I even planned my homework for a whole month once! I am also really hoping to learn more languages on Duolingo including Turkish and French. The hardest part of my project was learning on Duolingo. I often got discouraged when a skill had 10 different sections within it. But, I worked hard and now my hard work will pay off by allowing me to create a great book to tell the story of a fictional family in Italy. I am most proud of my diligence in completing my homework. I didn't have any real incentives because no one was going to really check until I wrote my blog, but I always tried my best at home and, on average, spent 2 hours doing Duolingo and homework for this class. I didn't collaborate with many others because no one I knew really well could help me. Although, my mom and my sister would help me practice my knowledge by asking me to translate words into Italian. My final product did not come out as I had expected, but it is super good. Even if I only have ten pages of a book by the end of this, it will still be a huge accomplishment that I learned a language in just under a year. I learned that I am a very passionate about language learning. When I was learning Spanish in elementary school, I was fine with it, but not passionate about it. When learning Italian, I tried super hard and wanted to know everything for future travels. I also learned that I am a good planner and thinker, but I need to improve as an independent worker. When something is too hard, I just give up or say, "I'll do it tomorrow." I was surprised about the facts that everything was so much more challenging than I perceived. It was a lot more work than what I apparently thought it would be. For some reason, I believed it would be easier. I thought I could learn a language in 2 months. I've come a long way and I will continue to reach the heights of my abilities.
I have tons of work ahead of me. Thanks to my grade-A procrastination skills, I need to do Duolingo, as always. I know past tense verbs, so I can begin writing. I want each chapter to be about 7 pages long. That will be a grand total of roughly 70 pages since there are 10 chapters. Over break, I want to write 21 pages or 3 chapters. I know, I'm an overachiever and procrastinator, but I'm also determined. At least, I want to write two chapters. If I can do this and go to Yosemite, then everyone else really has time to get things done.
I am so excited about what my project is becoming. Last time, I said I wanted to be done learning by March 13th, but that didn't happen. Although, I think I can finish by the end of March. I have learned past tense verbs so I can begin writing. All this time, I have been developing plot and even picking out phrases I'd like to use when I am learning. But, I am most excited about being able to understand Italian. The other day, I was listening to "The Prayer" by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli and I actually knew what they were saying in Italian without having to look it up. I think that my whole book plot and accomplishments will excite other people because the Holocaust was so tragic and having an 8th grader write a short book about it in a language they didn't start learning until the beginning of the school year will just take everyone's breath away. I can't wait to know 100% of Italian and have 100% of a book complete.
Language LearningOn Duolingo, I have completed one third of my necessary language learning or 28 sections out of 69 and I am very disappointed in myself because of it. The hardest part about learning Italian using Duolingo is that it is hard to know how to speak it. I can understand it and write it and listen to it, but speaking it is more difficult because the website does not require you to speak unless you turn on a specific setting. Despite these complications, I have created Quizlet sets for my Italian words and will quiz myself on them. Although, I have procrastinated too much and I need to get the ball rolling again. I stopped being motivated when I lost my 26 day streak, but I will start to learn again and will increase my streak. My goal is to do 4 sections per day, so by March 13th, I would be finished with all my language learning and really be able to focus on my book writing. This task will probably require lots of hard work, but I am up to the challenge. Book ProgressI have started to create a further plot for my book. It is about a young girl named Catalina who just turned 15 and she is about to go to high school or liceo in 1940. Right before the summer ends, her parents decide to hide a family of Jews in their attic. It changes their whole lives. I haven't come up with a name for the book or a detailed plot, but the basic plot is almost finished. Basically, Catalina turns 15 and is about to go to high school when Leonardo's family comes to live with Catalina's. Catalina and Leonardo eventually fall in love and might have a great life or they may be taken to a concentration camp. I have not decided because I am not sure which I would be able to more accurately explain. I am really proud of all of my accomplishments this far. I will not stop persevering to reach my goals and I still plan to deliver a full 80-100 page book in Italian. There will also be an English translation because it's no good to write a book that can only be shared with one country's people. Plus who knows? Maybe next year it could even be used as a Holocaust book selection when it's translated into English of course. It would definitely need to be taken care of since it would be one of the only copies in the world. Presentation IdeasFor my presentation, I was thinking that I could maybe read an excerpt from my book and then its translated version. After, I could explain how my book came to be and why I decided to learn Italian. Another way I could present it is by talking about my journey to get to writing the book and what inspired me to write it. I could also explain the basic plot of the book. I am not sure how long I have to present or how the presentation would work, but I could also combine all of these ideas into one longer presentation. I could also make a presentation or poster or something to be shown to people when they come to see our finished projects.
I feel like I have been making great progress on my Italian learning. I have watched a movie in Italian called La Vita E Bella. It is a great movie and it is also about the Holocaust in Italy, so it was a great learning experience. I have completed 11 out of 69 sections and am continuing my streak by completing one section a day.
My downfall is in my actual book. I have not begun developing characters or a real plot, even though I have been learning more and more about the Holocaust and its tragic events. I also have not researched online about Italy and the Holocaust or Italy in general. I am going to continue my language learning, but also focus more of my attention on writing the actual book and plot. I am very excited to see all the knowledge that I will come out of this experience with. I did 7 more sections, but I have 58 more to go and the year is half over. I have decided that, in order to finish in time, I will complete one section a day. This will be challenging, but because I'm determined I will finish it. I also have to do more research and finish my research paper. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I will try my hardest and also start my storyboard, so I can be ahead of my plan.
In my learning, I've started to get distracted. It has also dawned on me that learning a language isn't just taking a test and passing. It takes a lot of hard work and two languages takes tons. Therefore, I've decided to just stick to one language and that is Italian. I enjoy Italian more and Portuguese is too close to Spanish for me to distinguish a lot of things. Italian UpdateOver the course of a month, I've accomplished two sections. The month previous, I completed about six sections in each language, so that's 12 total. Compared to that, my monthly accomplishment is more of a disappointment to me personally. This month, I want to try and do at least twelve sections once again. I know I'm capable and it helps that I've chosen one language.
In addition, I have begun to input my word lists from my Language Journal to Quizlet. This way I can learn more and take tests to see my strengths and weaknesses. I have 9 word lists and over 200 words I've learned, so this method will be very beneficial for my learning. I have also decided that I may make my book a little longer since I do not have to write one in Portuguese anymore. Although, I have been realizing how much work I have set up for myself. Italian UpdateI have learned 5 different sections in Italian including the basics, plurals, food, and helpful phrases. I try to practice speaking these words or sentences when I first learn them because pronunciation is an important part of learning a language. I still need to talk to my grandmother's neighbor and ask her if I am pronouncing the words correctly. Right now, I have filled in 4 of my 10 pages for my personal Italian to English dictionary. I may have to get extra pages for the words section because I am learning so many. Portuguese UpdateIn my Portuguese learning, I have completed 4 different sections about the basics, food, and common phrases that would help for conversations when in the country and for my book. I have not yet begun researching any cultural background yet, but I plan to do it in about a month. It is a little more difficult for me to learn Portuguese because it is super similar to Spanish. It is so similar that I sometimes confuse words when I practice speaking it. If I feel it is way too difficult, I will just focus on Italian. Right now, I can handle it, though.
I am super excited to begin my 20% project. As I explained in the previous post, I am going to learn Portuguese and Italian on Duolingo. It is a really fun and easy way to learn new languages. After hearing feedback about my project, I really started thinking about how I could make the project easier to accomplish or better overall.
So, I created nifty little language journals that are all color coded and everything. They will make my learning efficient and easier than before. Currently, my next steps are to start looking for places to print books, buy ink cartridges, etc. I am also going to keep a personal dictionary of all my words that I learn and use the words to write sentences on designated pages. I am especially excited for this project because I get to do something I always said I wanted to. Most of the time, I say I want to do something, but I procrastinate so much that it never gets done. That is why I am glad that I get a chance to do this project and finally to what I set my mind to. I also love to help people and I keep saying I will go volunteer somewhere or go do services around my neighborhood and the fact that I can do a project like this makes me have courage to help others in my neighborhood and one day, around the world. I do not have any new ideas for my project, but I do want to start researching the culture a little bit sooner so I understand more about the languages that I am learning. Needs and Opportunities
I noticed that there were a lot of minor countries who have beautiful languages that nobody ever recognizes. I decided I could write a realistic fiction book for each language and explain how the lives of young people are in those countries. It would also give me an opportunity to do my two favorite things: write and learn. Audience / Clients / Users People from Italy and Portugal will benefit from my knowledge of their languages because their stories can be told and their lifestyle can be shared with the world. I have many Portuguese neighbors that may be willing to help me although I do not know them too well. Additionally, my grandmother's neighbor is Italian and will definitely be willing to help. Timeline November 1 Deliverables | Update on language development in Language Journals. December 1 Deliverables | Update on language development in Language Journals. January 1 Deliverables | Research paper on each country and update in Language Journals. February 1 Deliverables | Basic plot of books and language update in Language Journals March 1 Deliverables | Chapters of books that were completed (1-3) April 1 Deliverables | Chapters of books that were completed (4-7) May 1 Deliverables | Each language has a full book (Chp. 1-10 and 60-80 pgs. each) Product The final product will be two amazing books in Italian and Portuguese. Each book will have their own well thought out and developed plot. Also, they will be 10 to 12 chapters long and 60-80 pages each. Reality Check I will probably need about $50-$75 to print out the books (e.g. buy ink cartridges). They will not be printed in an official book style (hardcover or paperback), but I will print them in a style like a small version of a magazine. Thankfully, Duolingo has a section where you can learn Italian, Portuguese and many other languages, so I do not have to worry about purchasing resources for learning the languages. Conclusion This is a great idea because I can challenge myself while doing something I love. It also helps for future travels and for people in those countries to feel recognized. Also, in future years after traveling to different struggling countries, I can find new ways to save all people's cultures from being forgotten. |