linguaholic_ch Triglot Groupie IndiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5046 days ago 69 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, Hindi, Bengali Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, French
| Message 1 of 33 04 March 2014 at 1:57pm | IP Logged |
Bonjour tout la monde( Hello everyone ),
I am new to this forum and I would like to share with you about my French journey.This
is my first choice in language learning and I love French. Although I will not get time
this month as my exams are not yet over, but here are the resources I would use next
month:
Assimil New French with Ease.
Duolingo (already on level 8)
Hugo French in 3 Months.
For grammar, I am a bit frightened on what to do. I have a grammar book by Webster, but
it is not enough.A major problem I am facing is finding someone to practice with here
in India. I don't find it worthwhile to go to Alliance Francaise. I have tried Verbling
but the attempt was in vain.
I will be obliged for your help.
Regards,
Chayan
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emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5530 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map
| Message 2 of 33 04 March 2014 at 2:43pm | IP Logged |
linguaholic_ch wrote:
For grammar, I am a bit frightened on what to do. I have a grammar book by Webster, but it is not enough. |
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Two excellent sources of information on French grammar are:
Essential French Grammar (link to Amazon India). Short and clear, with lots of example sentences. This covers most of the stuff you'll need to know up through B1, with an emphasis on providing an overview of all the regular forms, and a summary of the most common irregular forms. Very inexpensive, at least in the US.
french.about.com. An excellent site, with in-depth articles on many aspects of French grammar. Free.
linguaholic_ch wrote:
A major problem I am facing is finding someone to practice with here
in India. I don't find it worthwhile to go to Alliance Francaise. I have tried Verbling
but the attempt was in vain. |
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Yeah, Verbling has definitely gone downhill, at least for finding language partners quickly. I've had much better luck with iTalki recently, but French lessons from community tutors usually cost US$5–12/hour. For some people, this is very reasonably priced; for other people it's going to be very expensive.
Another way to find language partners is to correct lots of essays on lang-8, and make friends with people there. Good luck with learning French!
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tastyonions Triglot Senior Member United States goo.gl/UIdChYRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4663 days ago 1044 posts - 1823 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian
| Message 3 of 33 04 March 2014 at 3:18pm | IP Logged |
How recently did you try Verbling? I have had great luck with it, personally, by using the "Community" section. Native speakers are somewhat rare, especially on weekdays, but there are plenty of people who speak very well and could give you great practice at conversation.
I usually make a French group every morning around 6:30 or 7:00 AM US Eastern time with the tagline "Ici on parle français", if you are interested.
Edited by tastyonions on 04 March 2014 at 3:20pm
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linguaholic_ch Triglot Groupie IndiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5046 days ago 69 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, Hindi, Bengali Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, French
| Message 4 of 33 04 March 2014 at 4:43pm | IP Logged |
Thank you so much emk, for the Dover Grammar book. It looks cheap. About.com is indispensable when I use Duolingo. I have an Italki account but it is not helpful. I will try Lang 8 soon.
Tastyonions, merci pour ton offre. I know about your group and I even saw it today. But my introvert nature makes it difficult to speak especially when too many people connect. Anyways, I will try to engage in the group after my exams finish this month.
Merci beaucoup pour le encouragement.
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yantai_scot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4800 days ago 157 posts - 214 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German
| Message 5 of 33 04 March 2014 at 7:43pm | IP Logged |
Very good luck to you. I'm using Assimil and Hugo too except that I'm learning German.
I'll be very interested to hear how you find the French versions.
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Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4907 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German
| Message 6 of 33 05 March 2014 at 12:50pm | IP Logged |
I think Assimil + Duolingo + Hugo is a great combination. As you say, a decent grammar
will be useful for filling in the gaps.
I would only suggest that you also start some form of listening to real native material
in some way, right from the beginning so you get used to how it really sounds. Find good
music, watch tv/films, listen to the Journal en français facile on the Rfi website, etc.
Just a little bit regularly will really help in the long run.
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linguaholic_ch Triglot Groupie IndiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5046 days ago 69 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English, Hindi, Bengali Studies: Japanese, Esperanto, French
| Message 7 of 33 05 March 2014 at 1:31pm | IP Logged |
Thank you Jeffers. Recently I have been watching TV5 and saw two telefilms with
subtitles. My brain is slowly starting to adapt to French phonology. I have also watched
Amelie and 8 Women, which were wonderful. I will definitely RTFi. Merci beaucoup.
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Antanas Tetraglot Groupie Lithuania Joined 4810 days ago 91 posts - 172 votes Speaks: Lithuanian*, English, Russian, German Studies: FrenchB1, Spanish
| Message 8 of 33 05 March 2014 at 2:38pm | IP Logged |
You can begin reading real French right from the start with French for Reading
It contains almost all (if not all) the grammar a student of French will ever need.
It does not contain practice exercises, though.
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