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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 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 57 of 163 20 April 2014 at 1:06am | IP Logged | ||
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April Update
- I signed up for April's Learning Based Challenge. My goals and status are: - 1. Complete 20 FWT Active lessons: completed 12 of 20 lessons 2. Complete 15 Using French lessons: completed 9 of 15 lessons 3. Complete 15 Units of Pimsleur French II: completed 3 of 15 lessons 4. Memorize 15 irregular French verbs in the follow tenses: present, passé composé, imparfait, future, conditional, subjunctive, plus que parfait: completed 11/15 I knew my goals were going to be a challenge with my travels the first half of the month! I am reasonably on track except with Pimsleur so I'll need to get busy to successfully complete April's Learning Challenge!! I also signed up for a Full Super Challenge in French, a 20 month reading and listening challenge starting May 1, 2014 and ending, December 31, 2015. I'm also excited as I found the Harry Potter Series (unabridged) in French as eBooks in one of my library's Overdrive site. Also, so I can find it later, here is the thread I created for Super Challenge Free and Legal Books. I also completed reading my first BD, XIII, Tome 1 (thanks for the recommendation emk -- free at Izneo) I really enjoyed it, and plan to read others. I also started read the first 25 pages of "Les Malheurs de Sophie" with thoughts of reading it again during the Super Challenge. While this is a French classic, I decided that I didn't enjoy it enough to want to read this book twice, and I'll hold off reading any more of this book until the Super Challenge starts. One last note: I realized how addicted I was to this sight when it was down for 4 days. I appreciate the twitter updates and all those who worked behind the scenes to contact the administrator and find work-a rounds for access. Edited by Mohave on 20 April 2014 at 8:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 58 of 163 23 April 2014 at 2:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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Audible is offering a $5 credit on their Facebook page
I was able to find a French language intermediate audio book, with downloadable transcript, for $5.60, so with the credit, it cost me a total of 60 cents. There are several intermediate level French books in the Alex Leroc, journaliste, series by author Christian Lause. I purchased Crime à Cannes [Crime in Cannes]: Alex Leroc, journaliste. I am saving this for the Super Challenge in May, but did listen to the first 5 minutes of audio, which seems to be perfect for my level (I'm guessing A2/B1). I don't expect a grand plot or this to be my most favorite book, but it was nice to find a book written by a French native and geared toward the intermediate learner. The coupon indicates it was valid through April 21, 2014, and you must use the credit by the end of the month, but as of this morning is still working. I apologize in advance but I don't know if Audible.com allows purchase from outside of the U.S. Direct Link to Audible Coupon: http://www.audible.com/promo/offer/1763? bp_o=false&p=LISTENUP&source_code=FBIGBWS04161490LJ Edited by Mohave on 23 April 2014 at 3:00pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 59 of 163 01 May 2014 at 3:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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I successfully completed April's Learning Based Challenge. Thanks to Jeffers for starting this challenge
because it pushed me to complete coursework that I might not have otherwise completed due to some emerging family issues. I really wanted to ensure completion of my first HTLAL challenge! 1. Complete 20 FWT Active lessons (thru Leçon 97) 2. Complete 15 Using French lessons (thru Lecon 34) 3. Complete 15 Units of Pimsleur French II (thru Leçon 15) 4. Memorize 15 irregular French verbs in the follow tenses: present, passe compose, imparfait, future, conditional, subjonctive, plus que parfait (17 irregular verbs) For May, my first focus is going be ensuring I get off to a good start with the Super Challenge. I am aiming to complete a Double Challenge, which is 16 pages a day, and 30 minutes listening/watching films a day. I started a paste.it log (thanks to Kerrie and Kanewi for the idea) to track my full progress in one place. First up is Le Petit Nicholas for both reading and listening. I plan to read a chapter first, and then listen to the audiobook. I had previously read the first five chapters of Le Petit Nicholas using the intensive method about 5 months ago. I enjoyed the book immensively, but frankly, reading each chapter 4 or 5 times with a dictionary was not enjoyable, and probably, my skill level was a little too low at the time for pleasure reading. I also plan to incorporate the cartoon after each chapter, as recommended by Luke in his log. I also plan to immediately read at least the second and possibly the third Le Petit Nicholas book all in a row. Also in the near-term line-up is the Harry Potter series and two parallel text books I have. For the listening, I plan to complete the FIA videos. I am currently on Lecon 29. I also broke down and ordered Buffy Contre les Vampires from amazon.fr which should arrive in the next day or two, and I also have several French-language movies in my Netflix streaming que. Finally, I want to to finish Pimsleur II this month. While the vocabulary is still easy/nothing new at this point, I feel it helps with my pronunciation and fluidity of response. My speech continues to be my weakest skill set and I would like to complete thru Pimsleur IV before my trip to Belgium this fall. I'll continue to work on FWT active and Using French. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 60 of 163 18 May 2014 at 10:32pm | IP Logged | ||
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This is the longest I have gone without posting in my log, but life happens even with the best of plans. I flew
home due to an urgent family medical issue a little over two weeks ago. While it was a 100 yd dash while I was there, it will be a marathon in the long run. But as a result, I have not accomplished ANY course work (FWT, Assimil, Pimsleur, and conversation exchanges) this month. I am very thankful for the Super Challenge as generally I was able to find time to read everyday, and not backslide on my French. The light-heartedness of Le Petit Nicholas was perfect and kept my French on track. I completed two books in the series reading extensively, and have started on the third. I also listened to portions of the first audiobook. Last fall, I worked on the first few chapters, both reading and listening in an intensive manner. At the time, it was very difficult for me to pick out words in the audiobook, let alone understand anything, because my listening comprehension was so weak. Also, using a dictionary to the extent I did was tiresome. What a difference six months has made! It's nice to look back and be able to see the improvement. Link to my Twitter Log is here at http://www.languagechallenge.surrealix.com/participant.php? username=MLuvs2Travel I also started a paste.it log with the link on the left. I'll get it updated shortly. I also watched the movie Amelie. While I used English subtitles (no options for French subtitles on Netflix), I felt I was able to understand reasonably well without the subtitles. However, there are still some sections I would have been lost without. I also watched my first episode of Buffy Contre le Vampires yesterday using the transcripts. Although there are alleged hacks for my DVD player regarding region codes, I could only marginally get it too work for the first episode, but not follow-on episodes. Any recommendations on an inexpensive region-free DVD player?? So, I have made contact with my language exchange partners and have sessions set-up for this week, along with my lunchtime meet-up tomorrow. I still have hopes of completing Pimsleur II in the next 2-3 weeks, and I need to finish FWT active and continue with Using French, all while staying focused on the Super Challenge! Edited by Mohave on 18 May 2014 at 10:42pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 61 of 163 01 June 2014 at 8:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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The good news is that I feel like I am on track with my Super Challenge - reading 506 pages and
watching/listening 378 minutes of films/audiobooks during the month of May. I maybe slightly behind on listening, but I feel this is the easier of the two and I can catch up during the next 19 months. I also restarted my language exchange sessions (after being away for nearly three weeks) completing 9 Skype sessions and 1 meet-up after I returned home. Most of the time, when I go for a week or more without speaking or having my Skype sessions, I sound like a babbling idiot for the next week or two, even if I continue Assimil, etc. Having gone nearly three weeks with no Assimil, Pimsleur or other course work or Skype sessions, and only reading/listening for the Super Challenge, interestingly enough, I felt like I was back up and running inside of two or three days. I wonder if all my reading in the Super Challenge is making this type of impact! The bad news is family medical issues continue to stress me and I have not had mental focus or motivation to re-start French Without Toil (Active), Using French or French in Action. I also think with four courses going on (FWT - Active), Using French, French In Action, and Pimsleur plus my Skype sessions which I generally have six a week, it just became too overwhelming. I do need to get back on track as I have a trip to Belgium and France this fall that I wanted all of this completed. Here is my plan for the new month: 1) Complete FWT active - only 40 lessons remaining. 2) Complete Pimsleur French II, 3) Watch 15 episodes of French In Action, and 4) keep up with my Super Challenge reading and listening requirements. For May’s Super Challenge reading, I read three books in the Le Petit Nicholas series and am in the middle of Charlie et la Chocolaterie. If you’ve not read the Le Petit Nicholas series, I highly recommend doing so! A question for those who have completed Assimil Using French: Did you complete both a passive and active wave of Using French like the earlier program. I am half way through and saw nothing in the instructions for an active wave? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 62 of 163 12 June 2014 at 2:51am | IP Logged | ||
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With the start of a new month, I am back on track with my coursework, completing:
- 10 FWT active lessons, completing thru Leçon 108 of 140 - 5 Pimsleur lessons, completing thru Leçon 23 - 2 FIA (30/31) - 9 language exchange sessions on Skype + 2 meet-ups I am also continuing to work on the Super Challenge. Charlie et la Chocolaterie. This was a favorite book as a child, and I couldn't wait to read it in French. However, I had some interesting perceptions about reading it in French. I really felt the family's dire circumstances/poverty even more than what I recalled in the English version. However, overall, I really did not enjoy reading this book in French, and really had to push myself to complete it. Le Voleur de Foudre (Percy Jackson Tome 1) . This was not originally on my to-read list, but I saw some conversations on the Spanish thread that this was an easy book. In English, it is a 4.7 grade-level, so I thought it was perfect for me! HA, boy was I wrong! This has been the most difficult read, I've had to date because of the unknown vocabulary (and the lack of familiarity of the story). It's taking me an hour to read only 5 or 6 pages, much slower than with the other French-language books I've read to date I found English chapter summaries to make sure that I am comprehending key points. Anyway, quite humbling, and it lets me know that I need to work even harder! I do need to add in a little more listening, but after doing my reading, an active lesson of FWT, Pimsleur, etc., I just am out of time! I do listen to some short podcasts in the evening, but to this point, I have logged these short segments. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Stelle Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada tobefluent.com Joined 4145 days ago 949 posts - 1686 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Spanish Studies: Tagalog | Message 63 of 163 12 June 2014 at 3:38am | IP Logged | ||
I may have been one of the people talking about The Lightning Thief! But I wouldn't say that it's an "easy" book. Easier than the Harry Potter series? Yes. But not necessarily easy. It's a good level for me - after having read 3 Roald Dahl books and 1 other children's novel. You might need some more easy books before you're ready for The Lightning Thief. Have you read Le Petit Nicolas? It's a great novel for high beginners/early intermediates! There are also a few good children's series from Canada - I like the series that start with Le Champion du lundi (easier) and La Nouvelle maitresse (a bit harder). They're not fantasy, though. They're just about kids doing kid things at school - funny, silly kid things, of course. I find it harder to find straight fantasy for kids in French that is a) readable and b) not translated from English. If you're determined to read Percy Jackson (although I have to say that at the rate of 5 pages an hour, I'd burn out quickly!), you might want to try getting an English copy from the library. Then you could read a page in English, and then a page in French. The first time I tried to read Harry Potter, I used that tandem reading strategy. In the end, though, I just put the book aside and read a few more easy novels. After a 2-month diet of simpler books, I was able to read HP without using an English copy. Bonne chance! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4008 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 64 of 163 16 June 2014 at 10:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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Stelle,
Thanks for the reply, and sorry for my late response. I managed to deactivate my account when I went to update my Homepage. Thankfully, it appears I am now re-activated! :) I think I changed to an intensive reading format instead of extensive reading I had been doing, and when I encountered all the new vocabulary in a new book series and I was unfamiliar with the book as well, well, I got overly frustrated. It was humbling after reading nearly 900 pages in French this year, and the experience let me know I have more work to do! Glad I'm in the Super Challenge! :). I've continued with the book, my reading speed is about back to where it was with the Le Petit Nicholas, Charlie et la Chocolaterie, and HP #1 (before the Super Challenge). By the way, I appreciate the book recommendations also! Thanks again! Edited by Mohave on 16 June 2014 at 10:19pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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