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Mastering Languages of the United Nations | ||
Tags: French | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Tupacalypse Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4144 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English*, Swahili Studies: French | Message 1 of 15 01 August 2013 at 5:26am | IP Logged | ||
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Hey all, so I'm still trying to figure out the intricacies of this website. A little
background on myself - I'm currently entering year one of my Masters in International Relations. My ultimate goal is to work for the UN (lofty, and maybe idealistic, I know). I figure in order to best make myself a viable candidate, and for practical purposes, I should master some official UN languages. Since English and French are both official languages of the UN, and since my native language is English, I thought French would be a good start. I took 2 semesters of french in my undergrad but have forgotten a lot. I would say now that I am on the A1/A2 threshold and would like to be B1 by December. Ultimately, I would like to be C1 or even C2 after 2 years before I enter the workforce. Following French, I would like to learn Arabic, and after return to studying Spanish (which I have somehow retained a lot of knowledge in, but haven't studied since high school). All the while I am doing this, I will continue to brush up on my Kiswahili (which is my most studied language). So, I am kicking off my French studies with the 6 week challenge beginning tonight. I am starting right at midnight and can't wait!!! My plan is as follows: Methods and tools Primary Carnegie Mellon OLI French 1 (free courseware online, for those interested) http://oli.cmu.edu/ Assimil French with Ease (still need to purchase this) [[Possibly]] Rosetta Stone...I have the French version on my computer but wonder if its worth it to bother learning this alongside Assimil or if it will be too divergent of learning techniques. Secondary Duolingo Android app (for trains, bus rides, bathrooms etc.) I make it a goal to do one small lesson a day. Anki - Starting with Michel Thomas flashcards somebody was nice enough to put up. Short books (taking recommendations) Easy radio segments/news My plan of attack thus far is one lesson of Carnegie Mellon a week (there are 15 lessons designed for a semester's worth) along with a to be determined amount of Assimil. I will keep updating this and probably edit this initial post when I get things better figured out. Hopefully this goes as planned! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4849 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 2 of 15 01 August 2013 at 6:25am | IP Logged | ||
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Welcome aboard, Tupacalypse!
BTW, your username sounds like one of my brother's all-time favorite CDs. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tupacalypse Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4144 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English*, Swahili Studies: French | Message 3 of 15 01 August 2013 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | ||
Hah yup that's what I named it after! Did you intend for your username to be in Kiswahili?! Also, after logging 1.5 hours last night...I can say that this will be a tough road...as Grad school ramps up my language studying will diminish, but I will make sure to study at least some every day! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kujichagulia Senior Member Japan Joined 4849 days ago 1031 posts - 1571 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Portuguese | Message 4 of 15 02 August 2013 at 12:38am | IP Logged | ||
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A relative of mine observes Kwanzaa every year, and I remember him talking about the different themes for each day of the holiday, and one of them was "kujichagulia", which I believe means something like "self-determination." I liked the idea of that, so I used it as my username.
I have not yet studied Kiswahili, but I have not ruled out studying it in the future! Grad school AND language study... good luck! But you can do it. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4891 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 5 of 15 02 August 2013 at 2:00am | IP Logged | ||
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I apply for a lot of UN jobs (though I have never landed an interview), and the
languages I see the most often are English, French, and Russian. Though I would think Arabic would help, and most postings say that "Knowledge of other UN official languages would be an asset." So, French is an excellent start! I think divergent learning techniques are the best way to go, and Carnegie + Assimil sounds like a good combination. Rosetta Stone might be too simple. I"m curious to hear about the duolingo app - that's new to me! For short books, de Maupassant and Gide are classic authors who have a relatively straight-forward style. However, I'd hold off on these until you have a stronger base. I read a lot, but found it was much more rewarding once I passed the B1 level. Before that I didn't get much 'bang for the buck' - it took a lot of effort, and I don't think I learned as much as I did from actual courses (I know others here disagree, and would tell you to jump right in). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Tupacalypse Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4144 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English*, Swahili Studies: French | Message 6 of 15 05 August 2013 at 2:23am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks all for the input! An update so far.
This weekend was a little slow. My girlfriend came to visit so I didn't get much studying done ;) but she's Haitian so she actually helps me with my French, since she knows that as well as Creole. Her mom also says she wants to be my tutor haha. So far I have only logged about 3 hours of studying but tonight I am going ham on the studying. Thanks for the book recommendations, hopefully I'll be able to start reading some around December then! And yes, right now any languages help with the UN, especially the official ones. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Tupacalypse Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4144 days ago 11 posts - 14 votes Speaks: English*, Swahili Studies: French | Message 7 of 15 09 August 2013 at 1:39am | IP Logged | ||
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Update:
I have gone through 3 lessons of OLI so far along with consistent use of Anki. I am waiting to order Assimil till I order my textbooks for class (in the next week). But thus far I have spent about 15 hours on French so far and can say that I have already come a long way. I still am confused about liaisons though in some instances. états-unis .....do you pronounce it etaT-unis or etaZ-Unis? There are some instances I can't think of off the top of my head that are similar, especially when it comes to having "Vous" before something with a vowel. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5601 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 8 of 15 09 August 2013 at 3:12am | IP Logged | ||
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You say [etazyni], this liaison is lexicalized and therefore obligatory.
3 persons have voted this message useful |
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