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Team EN - TAC 2010 - Goal French Fluency

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Tournesol
Diglot
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5362 days ago

119 posts - 132 votes 
Speaks: English*, FrenchC1
Studies: German

 
 Message 81 of 119
03 October 2010 at 5:03pm | IP Logged 
We're using the following book in our DALF C1 preparation class: Alter ego : C1-C2

Edited by Tournesol on 03 October 2010 at 5:05pm

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Adrean
TAC 2010 Winner
Senior Member
France
adrean83.wordpress.c
Joined 6169 days ago

348 posts - 411 votes 
Speaks: FrenchC1

 
 Message 82 of 119
10 October 2010 at 11:21pm | IP Logged 
The week that was in just a few words. This week I foresaw a small crisis when looking at my planning for the week. It somehow came to be that I had 5 exchanges. By putting off re-seeing several people and hastily saying yes to others I had overdone it. All in all it went off very well. I got many hours of solid French in this week. Only two exchanges planned for next week though.

I've noticed a new site which proposes a kind of speed dating service for language learners. You pay 10€ with a free drink to pass two hours conversing with language learners in a pub somewhere in Paris. The site is called franglish. You have 7 minutes to speak English and than 7 to speak French and than you move onto a new partner. They say that you will talk to at least 6 people during this time. I think it's an interesting idea. I can't try it this week, but perhaps next week and I'll let you know how it goes.


Currently Reading: Nana by Emile Zola

Currently Studying: Grammaire (course by the University Sorbonne)

Just seen: Honneur des Gladiateurs

Podcast: France Inter: Le Fou du Roi / France culture: Tire ta Langue



Edited by Adrean on 11 October 2010 at 11:36pm

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Adrean
TAC 2010 Winner
Senior Member
France
adrean83.wordpress.c
Joined 6169 days ago

348 posts - 411 votes 
Speaks: FrenchC1

 
 Message 83 of 119
15 October 2010 at 9:38pm | IP Logged 
I went on a bit a shopping spree whilst keeping the budget very low. You may or may not believe me but I got the following books for a total of €4.70

Harry Potter et le Prisonnier D'Azkaban - 20 cents!
L'Ile Au Tresoir (Treasure Island) 50cents
La Peste by Albert Camus 50cents
Allemand 40 Lecons (1978) - Made by a French company called Les Langues Pour tous
Allemand Correspondance Commerciale - Same company as above.

Naturally all the books are second hand but all in very good shape. If you are learning French and coming to France I recommend a walk down the Boulevard Saint Michel for a good range, quality and price of books. I don't really have the time to use all these resouces when I'm here so I'm looking to the future and preparing my resources for when I finally leave.

You may be wondering why I got two books on learning German. Well there may be the chance that I'll be learning German one day and to learn L3 through L2 is interesting for me. Also Prof. Arguelles videos on language resources made me realise that these books had something going for them. I learned from the Prof. that even though older.... the courses from the same company could be better. The company is 'Les Langues Pour Tous', it's French naturally. The books are from 1978 and they have a lot of good qualities to them, in particular a translation on one side of the page just like Assimil. They fit a lot of content into quite a small book. Also the simple manner in which they explain grammar is quite interesting. A small example below from lesson two.

Ist est la troisieme personne du singulier du verbe allemand qui correspond au verbe francais <<etre>>
all. ist = fr. <<est>>[/i}

For me that's a simple and clear enough explanation. I see the company is still contiuning to make books to this day. They have about 7 languages they offer courses for from a French base, but they have incoporated a learn French in English course which they didn't have back in 1978. Like most language companies I'm sure they changed a lot with time and not necessarily for the best. You can check the comapany's website here where they offer a few free downloadable samples.


Besides buying stuff I've been downloading some stuff too. I've found 'Coffee Break French' to be not without flaws but nevertheless enjoyable and quite educational. Like most people I don't know how beneficial it is to hear Scottish people speaking French, but for me unlike some others I don't see this as a major obstacle as long as the teaching method is quite good - a la Michel Thomas. I'm using the course as means of understanding some of the idiomatic constructions which are often used and which the course teaches very well. For example 'tu parle!' which I used completely incorrectly today, but I least I gave it a go because of 'Coffee Break French'.


Currently Reading: Nana by Emile Zola

Currently Studying: Grammaire (course by the University Sorbonne)

Just seen: Que La Bete Meure

Podcast: Coffee Break French - France Inter: Le Fou du Roi / Le Masque et La Plume



Edited by Adrean on 15 October 2010 at 9:45pm

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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 84 of 119
15 October 2010 at 9:55pm | IP Logged 
Bargain!! I'm so heading for the Boulevard Saint Michel, next time I'm over in Paris that is.

And you're right, some of these older coursebooks are way superior when it comes to content. I can certainly vouch this for Linguaphone.

Now you've just got to find some more room on that language shelf... ;)
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 85 of 119
22 October 2010 at 1:59am | IP Logged 
Have a wee bit of news to annonce; I will finally be sitting the DALF C1 exam this year in early December. As always I wish to have more time and to have the time free from other activites to study full time, but only in a ideal world! It is of utmost importance that I pass this exam because it is frankly expensive! I would hate to fail.

I have revised some things and have begun studying more purposefully. I'm going to keep a written journal to track the practice I get in, no matter how small or insignificant. But besides this I have started to keep a video journal above all to keep me motivated and to receive feedback. I think part of the exam is to speak for 8-10 minutes without interruption so I think speaking to a camera will help me. I also think I will begin to see the faults I make with my accent and just in speaking when I look back at the videos.

This week I took a look at Paul Noble's French course by using the free introduction. It was a blatant forgery of the Michel Thomas method, what a crook. Coffee Break French began their third season which I looked foward to with anticipation but I was a little dissapointed. They had to sacrifice a lot of the fun of their course to avoid us learning a false French accent. Usually there are several Scottish people who are learning.

I bought several books the other day. I managed to get 'Five weeks in a hot air balloon','the diary of anne frank' and ' a year in provence' for €4. The books are of course all in French. Again I don't have the time to read these books now, but I'm just getting my resources ready for the day I'm no longer in a French speaking country.

Currently Reading: Nana by Emile Zola

Currently Studying: Grammaire (course by the University Sorbonne)

Just seen: Dune (subtitled)

Podcast: Coffee Break French - France Inter: Le Fou du Roi - France Culture: Carnet Nomad



Edited by Adrean on 31 October 2010 at 10:21am

1 person has 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 87 of 119
27 October 2010 at 1:28pm | IP Logged 
Bonne chance with the DALF C1 in December, we're rooting for you here! And keeping a video journal in the meantime sounds like a good idea for prep.

8-10 minutes without interruption, or at least including some Q&A, sounds a little scary. Do you get to prepare your talk in advance of the exam or at least have some idea what topics will come up on the day?
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 88 of 119
31 October 2010 at 11:55pm | IP Logged 
Thankyou Buttons and Teango for your support. I'll try to make you both proud of me. I assure that I'm working very very hard.

Buttons wrote:
So does his mean you are thinking of leaving France in the new year? If so, where are you going next?


I've made no definite plans for the moment. Even when I do make plans, at least mentally, they often get broken. Possibly some time spent in another part of France or possibly a return home.

Teango wrote:
8-10 minutes without interruption, or at least including some Q&A, sounds a little scary. Do you get to prepare your talk in advance of the exam or at least have some idea what topics will come up on the day?


Actually the oral part of the exam has one hour preperation time and 30 minutes talking with the jury. You have only the choice of choosing humanities or science. You have to develop a structured argument based on a text. You can't simply give an overview of the text. You pretty much have to speak with little or no grammatical errors and only slow down when the vocabulary becomes conceptulised. If you can't find the words to say exactly you have to paraphase without too much trouble and without making it clear to the examiners. Yes it basically is a different ball park


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