Learning a language? Come share your progress here!

[Legend]

7 day streak 


I need to get back into grammar though. I can't believe how quickly that drops and I fall back to thinking in English patterns.

[the-pi-guy]

I've also been getting great practice with Gemini 2.5 pro. I figured if I made great documentation and a cleaned up dictionary, maybe the LLM could speak with me in my conlang.

Hasn't worked so far, but just creating the documentation has helped a lot. Gemini 2.5 pro is making it for me so I get the opportunity to explain concepts in great detail and it can ask questions I don't fully know the answers to.

I have thought about this a few times (using an LLM for language learning), but I haven't really tried anything with it until today.

This feels really cool. 

Feels like it could be a game changer.

[Legend]

I have thought about this a few times (using an LLM for language learning), but I haven't really tried anything with it until today.

This feels really cool.

Feels like it could be a game changer.

Nice! How are you doing it?

[the-pi-guy]

Nice! How are you doing it?

Not really doing it a specific way. 

Trying lots of different things. 

The flexibility is really cool. Ask for translations, explanations, roleplay conversations, etc. 

I'm using a local LLM on my PC. 

[the-pi-guy]

I probably have written about this before, probably even in this thread. But I'm too lazy to look. 

I really want to write a story in Japanese with a particular design. 

A full story that gets progressively harder grammar wise and vocabulary wise, with new grammar and new vocabulary introduced on the sides. 

The big intent is that someone who already knows the easy grammar would just read through without any issue. They would hopefully read it because it's interesting. And someone who doesn't, would read the side notes to understand the first instance. And then 10 pages later they would have that grammar fully understood. 

The struggle that I have is, what does page 1 look like? 

Page 100 is easy. At that point any reader should have enough knowledge to read a lot of concepts and sentences. 

How do you make page 1 interesting for the advanced reader and not too fast paced for the beginner?  It's probably impossible to make a perfect book. But it really feels like some kind of book should be possible. 

There are a lot of textbooks that kind of do this already. Like the Genki books have 2 pages of story then several pages of practicing and grammar and vocabulary explaining. I want to come up with a concept where you kind of combine all of it. 

これはねこです。

ねこ: cat X はYです: X is Y.

Something like this. Have a full fledged book where 80% of the page is a normal story. And the sides would have footnotes for what this new word or grammar on this line means.

[Legend]

I probably have written about this before, probably even in this thread. But I'm too lazy to look.

I really want to write a story in Japanese with a particular design.

A full story that gets progressively harder grammar wise and vocabulary wise, with new grammar and new vocabulary introduced on the sides.

The big intent is that someone who already knows the easy grammar would just read through without any issue. They would hopefully read it because it's interesting. And someone who doesn't, would read the side notes to understand the first instance. And then 10 pages later they would have that grammar fully understood.

The struggle that I have is, what does page 1 look like?

Page 100 is easy. At that point any reader should have enough knowledge to read a lot of concepts and sentences.

How do you make page 1 interesting for the advanced reader and not too fast paced for the beginner?  It's probably impossible to make a perfect book. But it really feels like some kind of book should be possible.

There are a lot of textbooks that kind of do this already. Like the Genki books have 2 pages of story then several pages of practicing and grammar and vocabulary explaining. I want to come up with a concept where you kind of combine all of it.

これはねこです。

ねこ: cat X はYです: X is Y.

Something like this. Have a full fledged book where 80% of the page is a normal story. And the sides would have footnotes for what this new word or grammar on this line means.

First page is tricky. No English at all? Then maybe start with it like a kid's picture book. A cat going on an adventure. And each page gets more snd more text focused snd less picture focused.