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FSI Pronunciation Guide | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| fomalhaut Groupie United States Joined 4889 days ago 80 posts - 101 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 1 of 3 28 November 2011 at 10:18pm | IP Logged |
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In particular with the French phonetic exercises that are a special unit, what exactly does one do for these? simply repeat? is the feedback our perceived compliance with the sounds in question? or were we intended to have a native speaker guide and these act as rote?
has anyone done the phonetic guide for any of the FSI languages and showed an improvement in pronunciation and intonation? if so, what did you do? if not, what would you do? I'd love if these were a tool for improving pronunciation, as i've learned from German a year too late that pronunciation should be the FIRST thing perfected before anything else. Being able to read philosophy but still stumble with basic sounds is embarrassing, wrong and in every way backwards. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Spanky Senior Member Canada Joined 5942 days ago 1021 posts - 1714 votes Studies: French | Message 2 of 3 29 November 2011 at 2:12am | IP Logged |
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Hi fomalhaut,
I completed these materials sometime ago and found them of assistance in improving particularly my ear and (perhaps to a lesser extent) my production, and also inadvertently improving my patience (some of it can be a bit tedious and repetitive). Worth the approximatley 10 hours it will take, in my opinion, for someone near the beginning of their French studies, though probably not for intermediate or higher learners. FSI French Phonology There is an introduction contained in the student text pdf that covers what a student is expected to do in relation to these materials, which makes it clear it is more than an exercise in simply repeating, to answer your second question. These materials were written as a component of an instructor-led course which involves significant amounts of out-of-classroom work. There is no "feedback" built into these materials. Something I do from time to time is record my answers and compare them to the provided recording. Not nearly as good as having a native speaker of course, but a titch better than just listening to and judging yourself while actually speaking. Edited by Spanky on 29 November 2011 at 2:14am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| napoleon Tetraglot Senior Member India Joined 5002 days ago 543 posts - 874 votes Speaks: Bengali*, English, Hindi, Urdu Studies: French, Arabic (Written) | Message 3 of 3 29 November 2011 at 7:35am | IP Logged |
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I concur with Spanky's views on the subject under discussion.
However, I would like to add a few more pointers of my own: 1. Contrary to popular contemporary opinion, you will not sound like a 50 year old native speaker after you complete the course. Simply because, you'll not sound like a native speaker at all. No doubt your pronunciation and intonation will be miles ahead of other non natives. However, it is highly probable that you'll retain a few quirks from your own native language if do the course without input from native speakers of your target language. 2. Don't worry over trying to get everything perfect the first time. Keep a log and use it to track your progress. In your log, mark the parts that gave you the most trouble. Revisit those parts later and keep doing them till you are familiar with them. 3. Familiarise yourself with the concept of overlearning on which the FSI approach is based. 4. Doing an FSI course at home will be extremely boring for most people. Nevertheless, it will also be an excellent course in terms of its content and accuracy. The benefits clearly outweigh the inconveniences of using it. The drills, boring as they might be, resemble shortcuts. They impart a familiarity with the language in a very short time. To obtain an equivalent level of familiarity without these dreaded drills, one would need a very long (read: years of) exposure to the target language, preferably in an immersive environment. 5. An important thing to keep in mind is to keep moving forward while doing the course and to study at a moderate pace. If your pace is too slow, you risk getting frustrated with your lack of progress. On the other hand, if you are too fast, you will probably experience burn out and fatigue. A moderate level of progress will inspire you to stick through and finish the course. 6. The course contains a chunk of the language that you have to internalise. However, doing a language course is akin to doing a jigsaw puzzle. You see the big picture only when very few pieces are left. Similarly, you will get some sense of your target language only after you have successfuly completed the course. So, its better to have completed the course with a few areas you need to pay attention to than to have completed only say 30% of the course perfectly. I have already written more than I should have. So, please excuse the ramblings that I have inflicted upon you gentle reader. :D May you always find success in all your endeavours. Napoleon. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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