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DaraghM - 1,000 hours Supreme Challenge | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4705 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 25 of 35 21 September 2012 at 11:58am | IP Logged | ||
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It's impossible for Assimil to teach everything, but it does give you a solid
grounding. Unfortunately it doesn't prepare you for DELF exams, so the material you might pick up from Assimil does help in your study, but it might sometimes be useless when it comes to particular topics tested according to the CEFR. I dislike most class-intended textbooks because they assume I'm a little kid who doesn't understand anything (know nuffin' bout nuffin'). I do. You're just not spoken to like that in real life. Better to prepare for what might actually occur. However personally I don't think Assimil gives you the ability to get to B2. B1 might work. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 26 of 35 21 September 2012 at 12:22pm | IP Logged | ||
I've found the DELF style courses don't treat you as a kid, and are intended for adult learners. They're also much closer to the spoken language than a lot of other courses. What I really like about 'Vite et Bien 2' is that it uses real articles and realistic dialogues. My main concern with the course is the usage of some very idiomatic phrases, that aren't contained in a good sized dictionary. I may return to Assimil, but I've found this course really plunges in at the deep end. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 27 of 35 03 October 2012 at 11:41am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm still working through Vite et Bien 2 which is a very compact course. One thing I found using the course is that it really tests your vocabulary and grammar at the B1 level. Most of the listening tests have been relatively straight forward, but a couple are quite challenging. The reason they're challenging is that you'll understand the entire dialogue with the exception of one phrase. Of course, it's this phrase that is subsequently tested. E.g. Carte Bleue for a bank card.
I've also started intertwining Vite et Bien 2 with "Communication Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire". This course by CLE International focuses on improving your spoken fluency in French. At first I felt the level was around A2, but I've realised it's actually B1\B2 with A2\B1 type situations. It aims to give the student a lot of different ways to express themselves, in a variety of situations, including numerous phrases using the 'langue familiere'. Study since 1st April French 309 hours Edited by DaraghM on 03 October 2012 at 11:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 28 of 35 19 October 2012 at 10:04am | IP Logged | ||
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I've switched my study back to Spanish as I'm heading to Seville next week. While Spanish is my strongest language, I find I need a good week or two to bring my Spanish back to it's peak or hopefully slightly above it's current level. I've also realised my Spanish is still hovering around the B2 level. Once I complete my French challenge, I might consider pushing my Spanish to C1. Then again, I've a lot of other languages I need to raise to B1 and B2. Hmmm. Decisions.
Study since 1st April 2012 French 340 hours Spanish 130 hours Russian 7 hours Czech 3 hours Hungarian 30 minutes Total study: 568 hours 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 29 of 35 08 November 2012 at 10:16am | IP Logged | ||
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It seems that the amount of hours for my Spanish study isn't that far behind my French, even though my aim is to concentrate almost purely on French. This could probably be attributed to the fact I've visited two Spanish speaking countries this year, and France only for a weekend. I've also realised that I can naturally do more Spanish, since it's level is much stronger. This really showed up in my recent trip to Jerez de la Frontera and Sevilla. I seemed to end up in a number of long conversations with various natives. Though I didn't learn much new vocabulary, apart from a lot of terms around the production of Sherry, speaking practice is always beneficial.
Now, I've returned to French, and more traditional study methods. As mentioned before, nearly all my study is mono-lingual courses, but I've also added a couple of Saul Rosenthal books to the mix. I saw these mentioned by emk, and they they looked good, so I picked them up. Thanks emk. Updates since last post. French 356 hours Spanish 177 hours 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 30 of 35 26 November 2012 at 3:15pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've finally broken through the 400 hours study milestone for French, though it still leaves a long way to go before I reach 1,000 hours. Oddly enough, I still haven't completed any courses, but that's because I keep adding more to the mix. My current study consists of,
Vocabulaire Expliqué du Français - Niveau Débutant Communication Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire Vocabulaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire (A2-B1) Grammaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire Vite et Bien 2 Hopefully, I'll get through these by early next year, and move onto proper B2 based material. Updates since last post. French 404.5 hours 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| maxval Pentaglot Senior Member Bulgaria maxval.co.nr Joined 5071 days ago 852 posts - 1577 votes Speaks: Hungarian*, Bulgarian, English, Spanish, Russian Studies: Latin, Modern Hebrew | Message 31 of 35 18 December 2012 at 2:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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If need help with Hungarian, write!
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6149 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 32 of 35 18 December 2012 at 2:52pm | IP Logged | ||
Thanks for the offer. When I return to Hungarian I'll use the help. I've made some small progress with French, and I've completed two more exercise books. Grammaire Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire Communication Progressive du Français - Niveau Intermediaire The Grammaire was a large 300 page book, consisting of exercises and explanations. I probably should've skipped some of the exercises, but I want to cover the language really thoroughly. It finished off with a detailed drilling of the subjunctive. Communication Progressive du Français focuses mainly on improving spoken fluency. It covers all the typical idioms, and other structures, that keep a dialogue flowing. The course comes with a CD, featuring a lot of dialogues, that I've learnt off by heart. The main reason I've learnt them off is to have a lot of expressions to enliven my conversation. E.g. Ça m'embête, Ça m'étonne pas Once I complete Vite et Bien 2, I'll revisit some of my other languages. I'll probably relegate French to my night study slot, and focus mainly on written sources. Study since 1st April 2012 French 460 hours Edited by DaraghM on 18 December 2012 at 2:54pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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