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 Language Learning Forum : Members profiles |  | |
| JennW Newbie United Kingdom Joined 3565 days ago 12 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French, Polish | Message 1 of 9 01 April 2015 at 12:04am | IP Logged |
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Hello everyone!
I've been reading these forums for a little while and found some really useful ideas/resources for learning languages so I thought it was about time I introduced myself. I'm Scottish (now living in England) so English is my native language. I learned French and German at school but only until Standard Grade (so for about 3 years each). I really enjoyed them both but wanted to focus more on sciences/computing so I had to drop them. I took a couple of French language modules at university and a German evening class but that's now 7 years ago! In between then and I now I have travelled to quite a few European countries and, since I consider it very rude not to know at least a handful of basic phrases for the country I'm visiting, I have "tried out" quite a few languages. I've been very focused on my career (teaching) for the last few years so my skills in French and German are quite rusty but recently I've decided to try and spend some more time on language learning, which I really enjoy. For the time being, I'm trying to get my French up to a reasonable standard - I'm aiming for C1 and am probably a good B2 level at the moment (although I find it very difficult to tell). I'm also learning Polish and guess I'm around A1 at the moment. I'd like to get to B2 in Polish. Later on I'll add German back into the mix and then I'd like to add in Czech/Swedish/Russian/Icelandic/whatever appeals to me at the time. I'm trying to formulate a plan for how to achieve my goals at the moment because I've just been going through resource/native material and randomly picking things up at the moment. If anyone has any tips they'd be very welcome! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| basica Senior Member Australia Joined 3537 days ago 157 posts - 269 votes  Studies: Serbian | Message 2 of 9 01 April 2015 at 12:18am | IP Logged |
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Hello from a fellow newbie, good luck with your goals and welcome to the forums! :)
1 person has voted this message useful | |
| shk00design Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4445 days ago 747 posts - 1123 votes Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin Studies: French | Message 3 of 9 01 April 2015 at 7:18am | IP Logged |
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I guess the real test is to be able to communicate with native-speakers and understand much of what is said
without having to ask the person to repeat a few times and watch foreign programs on TV without subtitles. Most people can read text in other languages like French and German more easily than they can pick up a conversation. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| JennW Newbie United Kingdom Joined 3565 days ago 12 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French, Polish | Message 4 of 9 01 April 2015 at 10:53pm | IP Logged |
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Thank you basica for the welcome!
I think I agree shk00design. I know my reading skills are much stronger than my listening skills. I've been watching French TV/films but mostly with (French) subtitles at the minute - this is definitely something I want to work on. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6106 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 5 of 9 01 April 2015 at 11:34pm | IP Logged |
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Welcome to the Forum.
It's good that you are formulating a plan. Without a plan I know I tend to put off working on my weaker skills (speaking and writing). Are you studying French and Polish every day / alternate days...? Best wishes, looking forward to hearing about your progress. Edited by Mooby on 01 April 2015 at 11:37pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| JennW Newbie United Kingdom Joined 3565 days ago 12 posts - 15 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French, Polish | Message 6 of 9 02 April 2015 at 12:27am | IP Logged |
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I have been mostly studying both every day, though for very variable amounts of time! Yesterday I tried having a "French day" and today I've tried a "Polish day" (I'm on Easter holiday at the moment so I have more time to spend on my language studies). Basically, I spent most of my time on the language I chose and only really went through my Anki deck for the other language. This was quite successful, although I kept finding my mind wandering to the other language each time... I'm not sure whether to continue like this or to do a more even mix of both like I was before.
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 7 of 9 02 April 2015 at 2:47am | IP Logged |
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Welcome from a fellow French learner and enthusiast! I recommend you start a log of your language learning
activities. It's a great way to get feedback and motivation from other learners. We also have Team Français. We have all levels - from those just begining to a member who just passed their C2. If you want to join in the fun, just PM Jeffers or PeterMollenburg. I, for one, would look forward to following your log to see your path from B2 - C1! Best of luck! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5208 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 8 of 9 02 April 2015 at 11:14am | IP Logged |
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Welcome! I've also been on the long B2-to-C1 road with French for the last few years. I did Standard Grade and Higher at school, but even after that I only really knew basics, and the rest was from self-teaching.
To be honest I'm still not really sure what to advise for your goals; I'm still trying to figure that out for myself! You can't go wrong with lots of exposure to native materials: that seems to be essential to reaching a high level in the experience of many people here. Watching with French subtitles is definitely useful if you feel like your reading is higher than your listening - it's certainly helped me a lot. But I've found that I also need a component of more active studying (grammar etc.) and practising conversation and writing in order to make progress. In my experience, one of the greatest difficulties with French is finding opportunities to speak it with native speakers. If that's what you feel is lacking, working with a tutor could be worthwhile. Then again, some people find that input and study are enough to improve their speaking, so it's a case of finding what works for you. Good luck! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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