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My Adventures in French (TAC15) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 89 of 163 27 September 2014 at 4:13am | IP Logged | ||
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PeterMollenburg - Thanks as always for your notes of encouragement! They are much appreciated!
Film Days are here in Bruxelles for four days which means one can see films for 4€ (rather than 10€50/film). I have taken advantage of this and seen a French language film in the theater for the last three days -- and as a bonus, got to count it all for the Super Challenge. This is the first time I have attempted to see French films in a theater. Les Vacanes du Petit Nicolas. I had read this book for the Super Challenge, and was very excited to see the film version. Although the movie didn't follow the book, I did find myself chuckling during the movie just as I did in the book. My comprehension was high; I seemed to laugh at the same time the Francophone community did. I missed a few sentences for vocabulary/fast speech, but overall, I think this would be a very accessible movie to language learners. Bande Annonce: Bande Annonce: http://youtu.be/P0Ip4oRS4q0 Gemma Bovary. Based off a 1999 BD of the same name, this was another delightful film. I read a synopsis of the movie before going to make sure I had an outline of the plot and to help my comprehension level in the film. My comprehension wasn't quite as high as with the Le Petit Nicolas movie, and there was a few times when the Francophone community laughed that I didn't. I guess some of the play on words, etc will take me longer to get, however I was still able to follow the movie and enjoyed it. Bande Annonce: Bande Annonce: http://youtu.be/gJoAVPevyX8 Saint Laurent. I selected this movie to see because it is France's nomination to the Oscar's Best Foreign Film Category. This was my least favorite of the three, but mainly because my comprehension was the weakest. An "artsy" movie with specialized vocabulary (fashion industry, etc), I know that I will have to do a better job in selecting movies. I got most of the major points (I think). Bande Annonce: Bande Annonce: http://youtu.be/BFXckxA1RtU Super Challenge Statistics as of Sep 26: Books: 1,690 pages or 33.8 Books. I signed up for a double challenge, so I am behind ~800 pages. I am hoping that as I go forward in the challenge reading speed will get me back on track. At a minimum, I should finish a regular Super Challenge (5,000 pages). I am currently reading Harry Potter et le Chambre des Secrets with good comprehension. Watching: 3,258 minutes or 36 films. With a double challenge, I am behind ~14 films. I expect to be back on track before leaving Belgium with the wonderful access to films/TV series here. Edited by Mohave on 27 September 2014 at 4:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 90 of 163 01 October 2014 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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Summary
I had put aside all lesson material, other than Super Challenge, for a few months due to on-going family medical issues. Being in Belgium, I have been able to better deal with the emotions of the situations, and re- start my lesson material. Using French - thru Leçon 40 passive Pimsleur III - thru Leçon 15 French in Action - thru Leçon 35 Language Exchanges - 3 Skype sessions in September. I had hoped to speak a lot more in Belgium than what I have. I speak French daily, but it is generally just interactions at the market, etc, not the type of conversations that I really need to improve my level. I have a found a meet-up group that I hope to attend later this week. Currently Reading - I finished Harry Potter et la Chambre des secrets, and I started Harry Potte et le Prisonnier d'Azkaban. The Harry Potter series seems to be a really good fit for my reading level. My comprehension is good, and my reading speed is increasing. Currently Watching - Un Village Français. Netflix started streaming in Belgium recently, and to my surprise, five seasons of Un Village Français is included. I did a marathon watching session yesterday of season 1, and plan to finish all five seasons prior to leaving for home in two weeks. I have been pleased with my listening comprehension improvement. Used Bookstores - I have been to five different bookstores in Bruxelles - mainly used, trying to find books and DVDs to take home. Today, I finally found a really good used book/DVD store: Pêle-Mêle. Sadly, I only had about 1/2 hour before I had to catch up with my husband, but I did manage to find many books/DVDs on my list! Will definitely have to go back when I can spend a little more time. My haul included a few Fred Vargas books (I like policiers), the DVD Le Diner de Cons, Les Jeux Sont Fait (Sartre), and Histoires inédites du Petit Nicholas (Goscinny & Sempé) Daily Podcasts (not counted in Super Challenge numbers). I need to find some others to add to my list! RFI Francais Facile One thing in a French Day Français Authentique C'est la Vie Word of the Week Edited by Mohave on 01 October 2014 at 2:55pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 91 of 163 01 October 2014 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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I just found your log (since you posted on PeterMollenburg's log), and I'll be following it. The best discovery is that there's a 2nd Petit Nicolas film! I haven't actually seen the first one yet, but I've read a few of the books several times each. In fact, I'm currently reading Les vacances du Petit Nicolas for the 2nd time this super challenge.
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| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 92 of 163 04 October 2014 at 1:30pm | IP Logged | ||
Jeffers - Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a note! I'll be following your log also. We have similar taste in that I also really enjoy the Le Petit Nicolas series. I have read four of the books and listened to the first audiobook for the Super Challenge. I have been searching for a few more of the books to complete my library while visiting in Belgium However, to my surprise, I found Histoires Inédites du Petit Nicolas in a used bookshop which has 80 more stories in 10 chapters. I felt like I hit the jackpot!! :). Now to find the DVD for the first movie! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 93 of 163 04 October 2014 at 9:35pm | IP Logged | ||
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Histoires Inédites du Petit Nicolas was a great find, congratulations! I have five Nicolas books on kindle: Le Petit Nicolas, Les vacances du Petit Nicolas, Les bêtises du Petit Nicolas, Le Petit Nicolas s'amuse and Le Petit Nicolas et ses voisins. Only a couple of the original books are available on kindle, the rest are from Histoires Inédites du Petit Nicolas, which they broke up into smaller books. Two things I think make for effective learning from reading: reading series and re-reading books. Le Petit Nicolas is great for both.
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| papillon Bilingual Diglot Newbie United States Joined 5677 days ago 29 posts - 35 votes Speaks: English*, Vietnamese* | Message 94 of 163 05 October 2014 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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Pimsleur French IV book can be downloaded from audible.com
http://download.audible.com/product_related_docs/BK_SANS_006 475.pdf 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 95 of 163 06 October 2014 at 9:19am | IP Logged | ||
Papillion - Thanks for the share as I hope to start Pimsleur IV in the near future. This will be perfect to have, and I had not located a transcript yet. I couldn't get the link to work, but probably a geo-location issue with me out of the country now. I will try again as soon as I am back in the US. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 96 of 163 06 October 2014 at 9:34am | IP Logged | ||
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Super Challenge Update
With 25% of the Super Challenge elapsed (5 of 20 months), I thought this would be a good time to document my experiences to date. I signed up for a double challenge, meaning I need to watch 200 ninety minute films, and read 200 fifty page books. As of October 5, 2014, I: - Watched/listened to 47.3 films/audiobooks (4,259 minutes). approximately 3 films short 
- Read 37.7 books, or 1885 pages, or approximately 800 pages short. 
Observations: I have noted marked improvements in both reading and listening since starting the Super Challenge May 1. For me French listening comprehension has been like peeling an onion. Each layer that I uncover adds new depth to my comprehension and understanding of the language from the last one. But, whereas I used to be thrilled that I understood the main points, etc of a movie, etc, I now find that is no longer "good enough". I've peeled another layer or two of that onion, and I have a better layer of understanding, but now it is more clear to me that I am missing the smaller details, and I want to understand all those small details now. I don't know if I explained this right, but I am thrilled at how much improvement in my listening skills I have made in the last five months, but I now understand better I have shortfalls. Also, during the month of September, I watched three French films in the theater, a first for me. On the reading front, I have developed a comfort in reading French. After completing nine novels or nearly 1,900 pages, I find my comprehension level improving, and I am finally starting to see an improvement in speed. It used to be painfully slow for me to finish a book. Another interesting note: if you look back through my log, I did nearly no consistent course work (Assimil, Pimsleur FIA) for most of July, August, and September due to family issues. All I did was try to keep up as best as I could with Super Challenge activities. And yet, I feel like my skills have increased during this time (except for my speaking). In fact, I took two different on-line Profiency Tests in the May/June timeframe, and I tested as A2/B1. In yesterday's results, I tested B2 on both exams. I believe the B2 is overstated as often these online placement tests are. My self-assessment last month detailed in my log was B1 on passive skills. But either way, I have seen a jump in skills, and really the only consistent thing I have done in the last few months is the Super Challenge. On-line proficiency tests I used were: - Transparent: http://www.transparent.com/language-resources/tests.html - France-Lange: http://www.france-langue.com/online-french-test.html - About.French.com. http://french.about.com/library/weekly/bl-proficiency1.htm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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