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luke TAC15 Français - [TAC14] Deuxième | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 169 of 439 01 February 2014 at 11:11am | IP Logged | ||
I think numbers are an important skill too. That was one of the tapes I did 3 times. At that point I hadn't made the distinction between "learning" and "practice" drills. Yesterday I did tape 4.7, a practice and review tape. It wasn't too hard. That was actually the second time through it. The first was during the marathon drive home. This morning, I did tape 5.1 (the dialog tape) with the book. The book of course makes the lesson easier. That's probably even more true in the later drills where you can see the answer (LOL). I'm thinking today I should spend more time on FSI and less on DLI. The main issues with DLI are: 1) Some of the audio is pretty bad, even when equalized, compressed, normalized, etc. 2) A lot of the recorded audio (up to unit 10) is of the Listen and Repeat variety. The exercises later in each unit are not recorded. That has the downside of not knowing for certain you have the exercise correct. They also don't include the answers. One could argue that you should know you know the answer, and at times that is sometimes true, but not always. 3) Spreading myself too thin. 4) Editing the DLI audio could be characterized as a waste of time :) So, more time with FSI (including, but not limited to the book - especially for the dialog tape). I believe most of the drills can be done without the book, but focused study on a tape with the book will certainly help. I'll continue doing a tape in the car when commuting. It just seems like using the book may get each drill skill up a notch faster than just listening and responding in the car. I like that the FSI tapes are fairly short. Most are less than 30 minutes. That makes them well suited for a sit and study session and also good for the car, whether the commute is short or long. One 30 minute tape typically has 10-20 drills, so it's easy to take a break without losing one's place in what the drill actually wants you to do. In a nutshell... new morning routine: FSI Basic French tape Assimil lesson - Business French now, but want to tighten up vocabulary and details for all courses. What's not in the morning slot right now is extensive listen/reading. I'm sure that will return soon enough. It's helpful at times to feel I'm making progress in the "study" track. It's embarrassing at times to think my French spelling and composition is probably terrible. Listening, reading, speaking are more useful to me, but I believe there is some veracity in leosmith's assertion that all of the skills (including writing) are complimentary and necessary for consistent progress. Edited by luke on 01 February 2014 at 11:44am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 170 of 439 05 February 2014 at 7:42am | IP Logged | ||
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I wrapped up another pass through Business French yesterday. That's a 40 lesson course I was doing at a one lesson per day pace. I still have several of the lessons on my "commute" thumbdrive and in my "walking around wearing headphones" telephone folder. I'm going to let those other 2 sources complete their course before I do another pass. That will give me time for a bit of motivation to be restored for that course. I understand most of the audio. There's another level to take that understanding to, and of course the readings in that course which I haven't done much with, the cartoons, etc.
On the FSI Basic French track, I'm on tape 5.3. I generally do FSI during the morning commute and look at the book at odd times during the day to review whatever might be coming up, or a phrase I had difficulty with. So far, I haven't taken to skipping the "Learning" drills. Yesterday I reviewed the dialogues from units 1-5 with the book, which is helpful since they hit the major points of each unit. Yesterday, I started a second wave for FSI. In the evening commute, during which I may be tired, rather than refreshed, I'm starting over at the beginning. Tape 1.1 yesterday. This helps fill the drill and kill bill. It will also give me a bit more courage going forward in the course rather than turning tail and running when the going gets tough. I did a couple hours worth of listen/reading in French/French in another book I'm familiar with over the last couple days. I started a "begin with the end in mind" wave with French Without Toil. Yesterday, I listen/read lessons 134-140. Those are, of course, some of the most challenging lessons in the course. My thinking on this wave is do a week's worth of lessons each day for an entire week and work from the end of the course towards the beginning. In starting out, I may give the 7 lessons I focus on 2 weeks, rather than 1 to give them better coverage. Advantages of "begin with the end in mind" approach. 1) Focus on challenging part of the course while motivation for the course is high. 2) Spending 7-14 days on a week's worth of lessons fits in with a remembering model. 3) As this wave rolls on, the course will end up very easy and I may be able to do a week's worth of lessons in less and less time as I move towards lesson 1. Using French occupies it's critical position où je fais ma toilette. I just popped CD3 in the player a couple days ago. On the Le Sens de Bonheur de Krishnamurti track, I'm well over half way through the recording. This is pleasant to listen to while I workout. Not too difficult. I'm beginning to form the idea of the workout slot as a listen only to something new track. In the back of my mind, I imagine doing Les Trois Mousquetaires de Alexandre Dumas. I started listening to it one night when I was having trouble sleeping and it seemed fairly comprehensible. This would be more challenging, as there is a story line to follow, but I'm sure there is the upside of novelty and challenge. That's still a couple weeks away. I bought Pronounce it Perfectly in French and have found it helpful for focusing on my pronunciation even in when doing other courses like FSI. I've been editing the English out of the CD tracks to make it easier to review. So far, there has been focus in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the alphabet, and vowels. I also bought the 7 in 1 Practice it Perfectly for French workbook. There is a little buyer's remorse for that course, which I won't go into right now, although it seems like it would be helpful if one went through it. I watched or half watched a bunch of French in Action videos starting with an episode in the 20s (of the 52 video course). That's a good course for when I want to do French, but don't feel like starting a new book I don't have time to finish, or making another pass though a 2-3 hour audiobook I've already been through more than twice. Edited by luke on 05 February 2014 at 7:47am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 171 of 439 08 February 2014 at 10:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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FSI Basic French ... tape 5.6 is next on the primary wave and tape 1.4 on the review wave.
Pronounce it Perfectly in French .. CD 1 track 11 is next. This is useful to do a little each day. Reminds me a bit of a phonics course, which is helpful for French. Assimil Business French ... My telephone and commute "listen" tracks are at lessons 32 and 38 respectively. The track with the book wrapped up a few days ago. French Without Toil ... at the beginning of a wave from the end to the start. I'm doing a week or more looping lessons 134-140. They are tightening up. Using French... on lesson 49 of 70 for the umpteenth wave... the next lap I'm imagining will be just a listen/read wave, ignoring the notes. Le Sens de Bonheur ... coming up on chapter 17 of 27 for this listen only track. Coming up next week... Either a loop through Le Petit Nicholas or L'étranger as a supplement to everything else. Or, looking at my previous post, it could be a bunch of French in Action videos. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 172 of 439 12 February 2014 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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A quick update to make a note to do Reading French in the Arts and Sciences after I finish Pronounce it Perfectly in French.
FSI Basic French ... still on tape 5.6. The "big number" drills have been challenging. I've been doing some of them away from the commute and they are starting to come together. Pronounce it Perfectly .. CD 1 track 16 is next. I've been reviewing this course as I go along. It has been helpful for some very subtle details like the difference in pronunciation between "j'irai" and "j'irais" or "je parlerai" and "je parlerais". I won't say I'm doing it perfectly, but I'm at least consciously aware that there is a difference. One ends with the IPA sound "e" and the other is "ɛ". Assimil Business French ... the phone and commute listen tracks are in the last 1 to 3 lessons. French Without Toil. I'm still doing lessons 134-140. The last few days I've been focusing on one of the lessons each day, but I review all 7 of them. Using French ... lesson 53 of 70 today. Le Sens de Bonheur ... on chapter 18 of 27. I've been watching French in Action videos for relaxation in the evening. I watched the lessons on DVDs 3-5 of 12. This is for fun. Someday I may do more with the course, but FSI Basic French is first. Edited by luke on 12 February 2014 at 4:37pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4912 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 173 of 439 12 February 2014 at 4:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Reading French in the Arts and Sciences looks good, but the prices are ridiculous.
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| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 174 of 439 16 February 2014 at 11:08am | IP Logged | ||
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These logs are helpful for remembering what one should be doing :) I just got reminded to do the big number drills from 5.6, which I just did. They have improved a lot, but no where near effortless. I started tape 5.7 yesterday.
Pronounce it Perfectly .. CD 2, track 8. I like to review the previous few tracks. Having edited them down, it doesn't take long. Assimil Business French, I wrapped up the commute/listen tracks. French Without Toil, began overviewing lessons 127-133. Quick review of 134-140. It was neat to notice that lessons 134-140 seem easy, whereas 127-133 are more challenging. That tells me my strategy is working. I'm actually learning something with this back to front review. Using French.. I've bumped along a couple lessons, but haven't given them their full due. I can see doing a back to front review of this course too at some point, since the end of course always gets the short shrift; the lessons are longer, the material is more challenging, etc. I watched DVDs 6-9 of 12 in French in Action. That course looks like it has a lot to offer. I'm getting ready to take a short trip. I'm tossing around whether to bring Business French, The Stranger, or Le Petit Nicholas along for the flight. I'm leaning towards The Stranger, since it has been out of rotation the longest and a novel is good for a flight. Part 1 there, Part 2 back. Aller et retour. Edited by luke on 16 February 2014 at 11:11am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 175 of 439 08 March 2014 at 11:28am | IP Logged | ||
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I've been on the road several of the last weeks so my usual routine was interrupted. I did make good progress on a couple of my goals. I read the original Gilbert translation of The Stranger. A week later I listened to The Stranger read and written by Camus. I also did some listen/reading with both the Gilbert and Matthew Ward translations. I prefer the Ward translation. It's closer to Camus. I also spent some time just listening to The Stranger in French with no book.
I watched several videos in French on youtube. Several were about Camus or The Stranger. My comprehension of The Stranger is good. I found 3 sided flashcards all in French for Camus' oeuvre classique. I listen/read Petit Nicolas in French/French. I went over some parts more than once. Not much time on the courses. Once I get back in the groove, I'll update my status there. Edited by luke on 11 March 2014 at 9:49am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7208 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 176 of 439 18 March 2014 at 3:10am | IP Logged | ||
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Tonight I finished another trip through Using French. The last several lessons are longer than the earlier ones. I didn't get much time with the lesson notes but my comprehension is improving.
I misplaced a memory stick and with travel interrupting my study schedule, I just started getting back in the groove. The foray into Camus has been good. It is a story that I find more interesting each time I read it. That makes for a good book. I also like that the reader is Camus himself. I'm into CD 3 of 3 in Pronounce it Perfectly in French (PIPIF). I'm starting to get into the meatier part of the course. This morning was liasons, mandatory, recommended, and forbidden. It has been helpful to see the rules laid out in an explicit format. I've continued listening to Petit Nicolas. My comprehension there is pretty good. This week I hope to do another side by side with google translate. That is helpful for picking up a few words here and there. There are a bunch of Petit Nicolas cartoon videos on youtube as well as the movie. The cartoons and movie vary somewhat from the book, but they are good for putting faces with the characters, especially since many of their names are unusual. One goal I'm forming is to be able to watch those videos with good comprehension. The best part is there are a bunch of them and the stories are often charming. This will probably be a good week to finish my run at the French in Action DVDs. 10-12 are on the docket. That goes through the lesson 52. This is turning out to be more of a planning post. In that vein, I'm looking at Using Spanish with a French base for the salle de bains slot. Next week is another business trip, so Petit Nicolas prep this week as outlined above with google's help should position me for another listen/read in French/French during the there and back again flights. Once I get back, I'm thinking Business French will percolate into the morning slot once again. PIPIF will be in review mode by then. FSI Basic French - I'm on my third pass at lesson 6 (or 24).. That should be good enough to start lesson 7. On the review wave, I wrapped up lesson 2 today. Krishnamurthi's Sens du Bonheur ... just 2 chapters of 27 left. That one has been fairly easy even with no book support. That's my workout track. I had thought about the 3 Musketeers as a followup, but now am leaning towards some John Stuart Mill. Oh yeah, in the back to front, or begin with the end in mind track for French Without Toil, I reviewed lessons 140-120. He's going to fall of the radar a bit and only show up on my smartphone for a bit longer. Edited by luke on 20 March 2014 at 11:03am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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