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TAC09 French-Goal Listening fluency (LR) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| glidefloss Senior Member United States Joined 5972 days ago 138 posts - 154 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 49 of 98 09 June 2009 at 4:01am | IP Logged | ||
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L'Haine is very violent. It was a tough movie to watch. Good Iverson quotes. I'm trying LR with Arabic. Difficult.
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| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 50 of 98 09 June 2009 at 11:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi once again,
I hinted in my last post that I may attempt to Listen Read Count of Monte Cristo which runs in at 52 hours of audio. At the time I really was saying it in jest. It seemed like a far off unreachable dream to one day pick up this book and read it. I've L-Red several books at twenty hours like Hunchback of Notre Damme and Le Rouge et le Noir and this is no mean feat but 52 hours is reaching for the stars. However over the past 24 hours it's somehow come into my head to tackle this book head on. This will require real focus and a attainable goal if I want to succeed and not be reading this book for the next 6 months or so. Whats the plan? Well a silly notion has come into my head; I have 52 hours so why not try to finish in 52 days. It seems like a fairly attainable goal, it's not exactly the heights proposed in the original Listen-reading post of L-Ring up to 8 hours a day, but with real life getting in the way a day or two missed and I can find the hours building on me. Besides I'm not sticking to only one form of study. I want to continue to watch French films on a regular basis. I have classes two days a week beginning tomorrow. I also bought L'Etranger by Camus in French today and I intend to read it to supplement my L-Ring and mix it up a bit. So that one hour of L-Ring a day is encroached on all sides. What will be different? I intend to use only the study tools listed above and not to deviate. If all goes well I will have L-Red The count of Monte Cristo, read and underlined unknown words in L'Etranger and watched 10-12 films at the end of the 52 days. Nothing else. And le but? How much will all this affect my overall listening comprehension. Will there be a noticable result? I think a lot depends on the quality of the audiobook and the language used in the novel but really 52 hours plus reading plus films plus class. I hope and I wish and pray there will be a earth shaking improvement. Alas. I cannot begin right away. I have some baggage which I need to clear myself of. There's the small issue of L-Ring my current book of which today I have L-Red 4 hours. There still remains 6 hours. Once I've finished I'll let you know when I begin my Fifty-Two Hours in Fifty-Two Days TAC 2009 Listening-Reading Challenge. (Cackled Laughter) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| FrenchLanguage Senior Member Germany Joined 5740 days ago 122 posts - 135 votes | Message 51 of 98 14 June 2009 at 7:48am | IP Logged | ||
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what's the listening reading method? Is it easier to improve listening comprehension this way than if you were simply...listening (without reading)?
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| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 52 of 98 18 June 2009 at 12:45am | IP Logged | ||
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Hello again,
Whats the listening reading method? There is so much about the method scattered throughout the forum. I strongly recommend it to anybody. Very simply it's listening in your target language and reading and following in your native language.
Yes Yes Yes. For so many reasons. Firstly because you can understand and follow everything that is being said and therefore there is less frustration and you can continue to study longer. If you simply listen I think you would never learn. There are a lot of very good things written on the forum elsewhere which will clear this up a lot. Just returned tonight from my second class at the Alliance Francaise. I must say that I think I will enjoy it this course and get a lot out of this class. Firstly because they brush on grammar points which I've never bothered to learn and more importantly I'm being forced to only speak in French in the class. In fact the class is only only in French and we don't say a word of English. Very very satisifed that I can sit and understand everything that the teacher is saying. I wrote earlier that I was put into 4th intermediate class and now i'm in the second but it's such a great challenge that I'm glad to be in this class. There are others who can formulate sentences and speak better then me. I'm jealous. I have a question that arose from being in the class. It's on the grammar point of 'ou' and 'dont'. I cannot see in which cases to use these in sentences despite being showed several examples in class. I know that somebody on this forum will clear it up for me in just a few words. Examples from class. -Imaginez un pays dont les habitants travaillent trente-cinq heures par semaine. -Ou le client est en general servi avec nonchalance I will begin this Friday or Saturday my 52 hours of Listening reading in 52 days. I will try to give more consistent updates during this time. My L-Ring of current book has been painfully slow. I watched another French classic the other day. It was La Grande Illusion by Renoir. I can't really see what all the fuss is about this film. It was pretty good but I believe I have seen better elsewhere. I'm getting such a good education in French film but it's hit and miss at times. I saw a young woman pick up a copy of Moquette by Robert Bresson at the mediatheque today and I was willing her (in my head) to borrow it. It's a really great film that I saw last year. Not much dialogue though for study. Anything by Bresson is great. Edited by Adrean on 18 June 2009 at 12:46am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 53 of 98 22 June 2009 at 12:21am | IP Logged | ||
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Just flicked on some music, have a fresh cup of coffee and I'm ready to update my log.
A very successful few days in terms of language learning. I managed to get quite a bit done over the last few days. I have begun my 52 hours of Listen-Reading in 52 days challenge. I'll put Day 1-2 in bold so it looks very strictly organised. Day 1-2 Well I have started on the journey of completing 52 hours in 52 days. The book is Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. This is the first book I have read of his. I don't think I've even seen any of his film adaptions for example The Man in the Iron Mask or Rob Roy. My first impressions are kind of what I expected, an adventure story of sorts. I'm pleased that it's an adventure story as plot turns and twists should keep me interested enough. It's not like I'm reading In Search of Lost Time. I think the quality of the audiobook is not so great but understandable. The reader has a queer accent and judging by her name I think Chinese was probably her first language. She was very brave to read and record this whole book. The beginning of the challenge coincides just about with the 6 month mark since I have begun the TAC09 challenge. If you haven't checked the first post on the first page of my log that is where I keep all the information regarding what I have done since the beginning of the challenge. I added up all the hours of L-R i've done since the challenge began and it totals 111 hours of L-Ring. Not too bad huh? I have become waylaid several times from my main form of study which should be L-R. So on day 1 and 2 I've managed to get just about 3 hours of L-Ring under my belt. So I'm officially ahead of schedule. I'm not gonna have a whole lot to say about reading this book over the next 52 days. I might fill you in on plot points and meager rises in understanding but there will be little else. Besides L-Ring I've managed to finishing watching Season 6 of the Simpsons in French with French subs. I learned a new word from the DVD menu it reads 'Buvez chez Moe vomissez d'ailleurs'. Please forgive my spelling. The verb is vomir right? And finally I've watched La Peau Douce by Truffaut. I saw this years ago before I began to learn French as a Truffaut double at the cinema. I enjoyed this film even more this time. I saw it alongside another film I think called the Woman Next Door which I plan to borrow and watch again in the coming days. Ok thats it for now. I've some homework to complete for French class tomorrow before I go to bed. So farewell Edited by Adrean on 22 June 2009 at 12:22am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 54 of 98 02 July 2009 at 10:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well I tried to be good and stick with my goals the past week but real-life has come and interferred. I won't bore you with any details. But simply tell you what I've done.
Just read a post in the general forum regarding the 6 month mark for people participating in the TAC09 challenge. I was very pleased to be included as a regular contributer. Hopefully I will still be contributing in 6 months time. It is a pleasure and a privilege. Days 2-10 4 hours L-Ring 7/52 Hours I think it will require real focus and effort to stick to my goal of completing The Count of Monte Cristo within the time frame I have set. I think a few intense study sessions may be in order over the next few days. The book is interesting enough at this point. French class is really good. It's the only occasion when I actually get to speak. We do lots and lots of group work. Mostly we are broken down into small groups and given a topic to speak about. It's not really a traditional form of teaching but I'm very pleased with what we are doing. In the last class for example we were given photo's from recent news events, Michael Jackson, Iran, Obama etc. We then prepared a news title and a few lines and the class had to identify what news event it was. we also discussed our tele viewing habits in small groups. Watched one film this week. It was yet another film rendition of a Zola novel. The film is called Gervaise and based on Zola's book L'assommoir. Previously I've seen La Bete Humaine and Therese Raquin. This is easily the pick of the bunch. It stands as a great film on its own merits. It is definitely one of the best films i've seen since the beginning of the challenge. Something has popped right now into my head as i'm writing. It has been nearly three years since I began to learn French and I have never owned a dictionary. I will make sure to go out tomorrow and buy one. And a bit more news. I will be spending a week in Paris at the end of this month. Anyone know some nice day trips from Paris? Edited by Adrean on 02 July 2009 at 10:14pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 55 of 98 08 July 2009 at 12:00am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey all,
Don't want to spend too much time updating the log today as I should get some study in with the little free time I have. 52 hours L-Ring in 52 days challenge Day 11-17 8 hours 15/52 hours I'm coming along steadily with my own little challenge. Just about keeping up with the goal that I've set myself. The book is interesting enough. I couldn't find a English version of the book (i'm currently reading off a .txt doc) which I could borrow from the library but I did mangage to borrow the book in French.so I decided that I would mix up the challenge and read 50-50 in French and English. I can follow easily enough the french. I don't dare underline the new words as it's a borrowed book. What is great about The Count of Monte Cristo is the amount of dialogue. Lots of the books I have L-Red have been full of the literary French tense (i'm not sure what else to call it) and without much dialogue. It's basically a tense used in books but not in real life situations. Of course when there is dialogue they don't use this tense. I intentionally tracked down L'Etranger by albert camus because I heard that he doesn't use the literary tenese in the book and because it's a well known book. I have begun reading and underlining any new words. The language used is very simple. I can see why several people in the forum have used this book as a means of study. It's the first french novel i have encountered which does not use the Literary tense. Had French class yesterday. We had some homework to hand in and I thought I would write some French here on my log. We were to write a short piece on a T.V show we had watched. here's what I wrote. I have never used the french keyboard and below is missing the french thingys. Please be gentle, I have never really wrote before Bonjour. Je m'appelle Adrean. Je voulais parler d'une emission que j'ai reccenment vue. Le nom de cette emission etait star wars attack of the clones ou quelque chose paraielle. Je ne vois pas beauoup de films a la tele donc j'ai decide de le regarder. Le film etait plein d'effets speciaux et violence. Il me semble que les scenaristes n'a pas beaucoup a faire avec ce film. Si je pouvais rattraper le temps que j'ai perdu en regardant ce film je le ferais volontiers. A mon avis tant d'argent et tant d'efforts ont ete rates en realisant ce film. And I did a naugthy. I'm supposed to stick to L-Ring, reading l'etranger and films for the next month or so, but I went out and bought Futurama season 3. It has French audio and French subtitles. I couldn't help myself. So far watched two episodes. Also borrowed two films yet to see Au hasard Balthazar and La meilleure facon de marcher. Thanks for reading bye bye Edited by Adrean on 08 July 2009 at 12:02am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 56 of 98 14 July 2009 at 1:55am | IP Logged | ||
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Ok
I will take time for a rant here. I would just like to know why? After all this time of studying am I still at a point where I can barely put words together. Why why why? When does everything click and I can at least hold a simple conversation without coming up against a wall every sentence? I wonder if I simply lack the 'it' factor for speaking a language. I just look at the limitless phrases and grammar rules and I feel only at the beginning. For example you may learn the word 'get' in English but you also have to learn 'get in' 'get on' get by 'get going' 'get a move on' etc. etc. Language learning is really really hard as you all know but it shouldn't be this hard. What has brought on these feelings? Just simply having to speak in class. People's eyes roll as I search for a word or I use the wrong tense. I cannot just spurn out a well constructed sentence immediately, I need to think everything out. I really don't like being the bottom or near bottom of any group and that is how I feel. I made a point that this year I was not intending to be fluent by the end of the year. I was not trying to fool myself into believing I could do so. I did however make it clear that I would like to come to a level of listening comprehension of the spoken language which is fluent. Do I honestly feel that I will reach that by the end of this year? No. Maybe by the end of next year it's possible. I have my first complaint about the Listening-Reading method ever as a form of study. I do believe that using this method will not in fact lead to fluency by itself. There is no surprise there. Why? Because so many hours are spent listening to language that is never ever used. The dialogue, descriptions and words are so far removed from what is actually said in day to day conversations. What we say in everyday conversations is actually very little as has been pointed out by many. It is the ability to be able to recollect and formulate these small amount of words in a coherent manner which is most important. You should belt it out with reasonable ease after three years of study I believe. There should be a method (preferably audio) which concentrates on the very essence of day to day conversations that builds and extends upon Michel Thomas, Pimsleur etc. because they soon become very redundant for the intermediate-advanced learner. It should focus on brining you up to speed in a naturalistic dialogue so that you can effortlessly express your thoughts and opinions. No doubt I will stick with L-Ring. It has been of great great great benefit for me and I'm sure I could be doing much worse. No doubt it has helped me become more proficient in regards to my listening comprehension, but my only complaint as I have pointed out above, is that being put into a real life situation where simple conversation is needed you can very quickly run into a brick wall. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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