I took part in a chat hosted for those using the Volume Method a bit ago.  It was motivating to hear some workarounds for some issues I was having with my book, in addition to getting some tips that will speed me up.  It turns out that another person is also using a conversation-type book.  While I don’t know the specifics of that book (because it was in another language), it was reassuring to know that I was not unique in my book selection.

I am averaging 12 sentences per hour.  My goal of four pages a day is unrealistic due to the density of sentences on one page.  I have issues with the plural agreements between subject and adjectives.  Because I’m working on French, I am making fewer errors in this area, but this issue has not improved in Swedish.

But the big news is….    <drum roll please>

I can use this for Swedish, after all!  I know that no one is recommending it be used for two languages, but I can no longer avoid it.  I’ve seen the improvements to my French, and I know it will work for the other one.  More importantly, it seems that the French has snuck into my brain in a way that it has not previously, kind of like an echo.  I’m not claiming sudden or special powers, but a rudimentary foundation is being built and I can definitely tell the difference.

I see a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

For the time being, I’m going to see how much I can get through this first book, and take my time selecting the Swedish material.  Finding variety is a little difficult.  There aren’t many bilingual books out there.  I think the Nya Mål series will have to do.  They are the same books that Komvux uses in their government SFI program (Swedish for Immigrants).  They are not ideal, but while flipping through some of them, I did see some things that puzzled me.  The Rivstart  series was a close runner-up, but I have Nya Mål in my basement.  Form i Fokus are also winners.  They are pretty detailed, and Komvux also copies some of the more basic pages for its students.  I have some older grammar books which might have to be combined as one book – the Övningskompendium i Svenska parts 2 and 3.  I’m not really sure about these because I am missing part 1, and the set appears to be out of print.  Also, the books I have do not contain an answer key.  I have access to a native speaker (my husband), but it seems a little unfair to give him extra work in addition to his stressful workday.  If I can’t figure a way out to make it work, then they’re out of the running.

Here is a link (in Swedish) to some good material.  I can spend forever reviewing each series to see if any fit my needs.  Hopefully it won’t take that long.

http://www.folkuniversitetet.se/Las-mer/Bestall-bocker-och-skrifter/Folkuniversitetets-forlag/Vara-sprak/Sverige/

Swedish is really tricky.  Because of its similarity to English, I think English speakers often make the mistake of translating everything literally.  Sometimes it works, but a lot of times it doesn’t.  As Mr. Clugston described in one of his videos (heavily paraphrased here), what often happens is that we speak our native English using the foreign words we have learned.  That was one of my frustrations with the Komvux system.  After all that time studying, I still can’t seem to progress beyond the “just say it anyways, they’ll figure out what you mean” stage.  The Swedish worldview remains a mystery to me, and anything less than intense, in-depth study will be fruitless.

On another note, I may be repurposing this blog to include more family life.  It’s mainly so my mother will be able to see pictures of her granddaughter.  I want to get off of Facebook for a little while.  I have depended on it to keep up with family and friends back home, but truthfully, it’s made me feel more isolated and homesick.  I miss my sister and my darling new niece (whom I have never met in person, but who is out-of-this-world adorable).  She is only four months younger than my daughter.  Maybe it’s the winter season that makes the homesickness worse.  November is the beginning of the dark months, and it is not until February that things usually brighten up with sunny skies and sparkling snow.

With that said, here’s a picture of our little charmtroll.