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Team EN - TAC 2010 - Goal French Fluency | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6169 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes  Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 41 of 119 02 June 2010 at 9:39pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hey all group E and N have formed to make group EN!!! Hello team mates Buttons, Microsnout and Tomahawk.
Things are going quite well at the school. At the start of each month we re-sit the entry test to redetermine the class. At the beginning of each month new students arrive and sit the placement test as well. I'm very happy to announce that I was placed in group 9 out of 10 classes, but only just. Thankfully the class sizes are lower then last month. We will have between 7-10 students in each class, which means more oppurtunity to speak and ask tricky questions. We will revise grammar points such as the subjunctive, conditional etc....However we will mostly be working with French articles and discuss current issues in France. We will sit two tests this month. There is also a mandatory 30 minute presentation on a French personality, living or dead. Initally I was leading towards the French writer Zola but that may be a little boring and or difficult. I will see. Just a little info on the make up of the class. There is one Japanese girl, an Australian girl, a married Columbian couple, three Americans and me. There are a couple of part time students who we are yet to see. Everyone is nice and the group dynamic is good and conjusive to learning. I don't think they would have got this far if they were slackers. We have classes five times a week, four hours at a time. Unfortunately the small circle of friends I have made over the past month have left or are leaving. It's nice to have something to do after school or on the weekends. My immediate goal is to perfect my resume and start job hunting. I have seen an advertisment for a part time English tutor, this would be a dream job for me at the moment. I also joined the library in town. There is an extensive DVD colletction which is very cool for me. For all you Assmil lovers it would be your best dream. I have borrowed the Spanish and and bought previously the German method to flick through. I haven't used the Assmil method before but would like to try it for my next language when and whatever it is. My first impressions are very very good. I think the hype is very well merited. I have yet to use the method properly yet. I feel like I would be cheating on a loved one when she needs me most, if you get what I'm saying. I have neglected to point out what I have actually done lately! I rapdily fired through part 1 and 2 of Dune. I read a lot each night before going to bed. I've watched lots of French T.V. I've listened to some podcasts from time to time. I've seen several films. I watched Iron Man 2 in Geneva, it may be of interest for you polyglots out there, not because it's any good but the version I saw had German and French subtitles running at the same time. Very very cool. I have also seen Je l'aimais **, L'ami de mon ami (Rohmer) *** and Le passage de la pluie (Clements) **. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6169 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 42 of 119 07 June 2010 at 10:54am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey all.
Inspired by Teango's inspiring efforts to learn Spanish at a breath taking speed, I have decided to take my first steps in Spanish. There are two main reasons why. Firstly now that I have a background in a romance language it is supposed to be that little bit easier to pick up a second. I'm not fooling myself however, I know that its a lot of hardwork and it takes year to get to a reasonable conversational level, unless you're doing a hardcore project like Teango. I was also inspired by a friend who knew nothing about French and just after a month in Annecy the progress he made was monumental, I was really shocked and a little jealous. The second reason is that I will be passing a short vacation there. I won't be in an environment conjusive to speaking with a whole lot of locals but I may have the chance to use it from time to time. Also if I'm to think ahead a little, there may be a possibility that I would like to do a similar immersion course in South America. I also know that Spanish is spoken by a whole lot more people then French. Really this little experiement will give me that initial excitement that comes with learning things at break neck speed as one does when one starts a new language. As a sidenote, I would like to at some point give myself a goal which would be difficult but definetely attainable. I have been passing through my head the idea of obtaining the B1 level in 6 months. If I set a date and book way in advance I will have no choice but to study study study. It would be a first for these forums I think?? So perhaps maybe today will be day one of my challange to reach B1 in 6 months! Monday June the 7th. I will be using for resources initially Michel Thomas foundation and Assimil Spanish which I will study from my L2 French! Later I can include audiobooks and pimsleur, but for the inital month MT and Assimil is plenty. Will keep you updated. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6169 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 43 of 119 12 June 2010 at 1:22am | IP Logged | ||
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Been learning lately the French passe simple in class otherwise known as the literary tense. It's such a wonderful tense thats pleasing for the ears when heard. If used in daily speech, which never happens, there is a sense of poetic like quality. Some words at least to me have a Latin like sound. I have been told that it is a tense which is used less and less and even the French have trouble conjugating the verbs. I watched a short animated film this week and the 1 or 2 hours of study enabled me to understand and grasp the concepts used. I want to learn more about this forgotten tense!
Of late watching lots and lots of films. I seem to be drifting into my film cycle again. If the subtitles option is available I use it, especially with older films. There is an endless history of rich French films if you dig a litte. I think the past is littered with rewarding films which have a raw quality and style often missing or unimaginable today. Was particuraly struck by a film by Sautet called Un Mauvais Fils starring the excellent late Patrick Dewaere. Also it being the the Annecy animation festival I've watched several animated films, notably some short films from the 80's in the chateau. A lovely outdoor space to watch a film. As for my Spanish, going reasonably well. I forgot how much mental energy it takes to form even the most basic of sentences in the beginning. My knowledge of French aids a little. Working my way through Michel Thomas...god he is good...I remember telling my brother one day about language courses that you see in your book store. He was acutely annoyed by said courses with images of guys in suits promising results. I think generally that would annoy me too but that is exactly the cover of the Michel Thomas course. That's it for now. My brother arrives in Annecy tomorrow so I can show off how good my French is.....Joy! Pure Joy! Edited by Adrean on 15 June 2010 at 11:13pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5557 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 45 of 119 15 June 2010 at 10:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think it's great you've decided to get into Spanish too. It really is a lot of fun. :)
I found the little bit of French I managed back in school really helped out with a lot of the Spanish word roots when I first started. I'll be particularly interested to hear how you find studying via another language this time too, i.e. Espagnol sans Peine. Edited by Teango on 15 June 2010 at 11:00pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6169 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 46 of 119 15 June 2010 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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Had an intensive like day today. I normally cannot stand to be house bound for a whole day without at least finding any excuse to go out. I got however an eye condition as all my bodily defences left me for the weekend. My brother was here for a few days and we did hiking, some soccer in the park, a bike tour of Lac Annecy and lots and lots of walking. My body told me stop but I kept going and the result was an eye infection caused by a bad cold/fever. Couldn't go to school or order a baguette without scaring someone so I stayed at home all day. Most likely it will be the same again tomorrow.
It was a good day of progress. I watched three soccer matches...Progess? Soccer matches? It was in French and I picked up lots of vocab. Watched along with my room mates, who it seems have nothing to do as well. I also managed to squeeze in two films todays. I'm really going through a film cycle at the moment. I've seen more films in the past couple of weeks then for the rest of the start of the year. I usually stop a film after an hour to have a coffee and come back recharged. I can hardly read a book, or watch a film, or to listen to radio these days unless its in French. In fact it's been that way for a long time. The films I watched today were pretty hard going but my determination to get some study in got me through. I didn't neglect my Spanish today either. For the time being, Spanish will be a minor side project. I am in France. I must make the most of it. I have a feeling that whereever I end up next I will continue a little more intently with my Spanish. Today I spent about 90 minutes with Michel Thomas and 30 with Assimil. It is fun to do the beginners steps and unlock the language. As you get along it stops being so much of a mystery. Now I'm particularly enjoying Michel Thomas and his method. I feel as if I can sit back relax and let him guide me. With Assimil there is still the element of mental exercises and concisising. I'm not being clear. Will stop here. Thankyou. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6169 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 48 of 119 24 June 2010 at 8:35pm | IP Logged | ||
Thanks Buttons! I'm no Iversen or prof argulles. I do think that a bit of intense study would be useful. I'm just way too lazy. And also unfortunately Australia was eliminated last night despite a win. My little immersion experience is almost at an end. Just one more week of school and it's bye bye. Unfortunately the last month was not as good as the first in terms of language aquisition. I put this down to me. I got a bit slack in terms of everything. My teacher noticed this as well and said it was a bit of a shame that I wasn't the bright up-start I was in the first month. I came late to class, I didn't complete my homework, I wasn't very active in class. I have myself to blame for this. Also I think living with a homestay was more conjusive to study and was more of a stable environment. Things got a bit unorderly in the second month. That will change in my final week. I'm going to be the model student once again. I'm here to learn the language and not to procastinate. Will faithfully keep you updated on how it goes. In the middle of painstaking book at the moment. Ever heard of Marc Levy? He's one of those authors who when he puts a book out it instantly becomes the number one all over the country. Well a teacher recommended me a book of his. I don't do modern fiction. It's like reading a Gray's Anatomy script. I can't believe what people read. I will read faithfully to the end with my yellow marker for language practice but it's not the joyful experience that Attamatgi believes reading should be. And, oh, Marc Levy I hate you. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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