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[FRENCH] Balancing Methods / Tight Day | ||
Tags: Learning Strategy | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Caminhante Newbie Brazil Joined 4396 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: French | Message 1 of 13 12 November 2012 at 4:11am | IP Logged |
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Hello everyone.
This is my first topic on this forum and I'll start by saying that I really liked the place; you could spend some months, at least, before learning everything that was shared here. This is one of the best sources of information and help for anyone wanting to learn a new language, which is my case. Now, ahead for the topic. I have the intention of living on France and getting my master degree there on six or seven years from now. But, besides some words, I know nothing of the French language, so my first (and obvious) goal is to learn it so I can reach an advanced degree of proficiency — living there, working there and studying for a mastership will demand more than a "heavily accented 'monsieur'". So, I decided to take two years from now to specifically study French — my native language is the Brazilian Portuguese, also a romantic language, so I think I can get far within this span of time. Well, I'm planning my studies and have access to some methods: FSI, Pimsleur and Assimil. I know the best would be to combinate all of them. My question is: what's the best way of doing that when you don't have much avaliable time every day? My job and the university take most of my time every day. I can dedicate 2 hours each day to my language studies and this seems to be good. But take FSI for instance. On the French Phonology Course, you spend one entire hour just learning a dialogue and this is just 1/3 of the lesson! Imagine trying to conciliate this with Assimil and Pimsleur (at least this one asks only for 30m...) on my humble 2h/day scenario? Of course I could focus on just one method per day, but I'm kinda worried about the continuity: would it be productive to heckle the rhythm of each course to pass to another, completely different, the next day? Or would it be better to, say, follow just one until its end before starting with another? But, well, FSI is not known as a easy and fast course, is it? And I'm sure that no method would be able of covering everything. So this is my problem. I question you: How do you guys balance the studies with more than one method? What can you recommend in this regard? Since now, thanks very much for your attention. My best to you. P.S.:The two hours I've mentioned represent the period I can dedicate to strictly following the courses, or to do something like studying a grammar, for instance; but, yeah, I can find some time to hear a podcast, or see a movie on the weekend, or to read a book etc. on a variable basis. But I can't just say "if I have some time on the afternoon, I'll go for Pimsleur; if I don't, maybe tomorrow I will, or afterwards". My two hours are the period that I actually know I can dedicate to the planned study. Edited by Caminhante on 13 November 2012 at 3:21am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| JohannaNYC Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4451 days ago 251 posts - 361 votes  Speaks: Spanish*, English*, Italian Studies: Croatian, Serbian, Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 2 of 13 12 November 2012 at 5:08am | IP Logged |
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I'm assuming you mean you have only two hours of sit down time to study. But small
pockets of time like waiting online at the supermarket, walking and commuting add up to a nice amount when you used them on a daily basis. But if you really only do have two hours, you can do 30 mins of Pimsleur, one lesson of Assimil (20-40 mins?) and then use the rest of the time for FSI. If you can only do a third of the lesson one day then you continue the next day until you finish it. I doubt FSI requires you to finish such a long lesson all in one day. I think it's best to use different courses simultaneously rather than waiting to finish one before starting the other. Or maybe start with one and a few weeks later add another and so on. Good luck in your studies! 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| sctroyenne Diglot Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5390 days ago 739 posts - 1312 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Spanish, Irish | Message 3 of 13 12 November 2012 at 6:04am | IP Logged |
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I would do Pimsleur first for a number of reasons. Pimsleur is what I would consider
the easiest and so if you do it after you've done other courses you may find it too simple and boring. I also like that fact that it's audio only and for a language like French that will help you get a good idea of how the words are pronounced before you mess it up by looking at French as it's written down. The FSI Phonology course is also good to do in the beginning for that reason (and it's not unusual for one dialogue to take so long as it says that the course is meant to take 3 to 6 weeks in an intensive learning class). Doing it with Pimsleur would be a good plan. Michel Thomas is another good one for when you're just getting started. Assimil is also excellent though it's denser and longer than the other courses but should be more entertaining. And unlike Pimsleur which has you active from the beginning, Assimil starts out passive. You can do all three at once, but that's a lot of time to spend on courses in my opinion, or you can save it until after you complete one of the others or take it up in lieu of the others if you get bored with them. With two hours a day you could devote some time to something other than courses: do some listening practice (podcasts for learners, movies with subtitles, TV or movies you're familiar with with a French soundtrack, etc) or start learning vocabulary with something like Memrise. As a native Portuguese speaker you probably already have a boost in comprehension. Edited by sctroyenne on 12 November 2012 at 6:11am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5555 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 4 of 13 12 November 2012 at 7:48am | IP Logged |
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I empathise with your situation, as work and university also take up most of my time. I think you can definitely progress to an advanced level over the next 2 years if you study consistently every day, especially if you already know another Romance language at a native level.
There are so many good methods out there that the only way to find out what fits your particular lifestyle is to try and play and experiment. Who knows, you may even come up with a completely new and amazing approach yourself, and post it up here to kickstart others during this time! Every step, regardless of methodology, will bring you that much closer to your language goal, and there are plenty of examples here on the forum and elsewhere of people who have driven down a similar road and successfully juggled methodologies until they found what worked best for them. Tanya B's experiences of learning Armenian and Russian for an hour each day make inspirational reading, as do Adrean's and emk's logs of learning French whilst working and trekking across the intermediate plateau stage via extensive Listening-Reading, watching movies, and increased immersion in the culture. I can also think of members like Atamagaii, Doviende, M. Medialis, Solfrid Cristin, Ellasevia, and so many others who have inspired my own language journeys since joining the forum and continue to do so. So let me offer you a warm welcome to the forum, and wish you bonne chance in starting down a new and exciting road in your studies! Edited by Teango on 12 November 2012 at 9:59am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Caminhante Newbie Brazil Joined 4396 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: French | Message 5 of 13 12 November 2012 at 7:52am | IP Logged |
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JohannaNYC, sctroyenn and Teango,
Thank you for your answers. In fact, I wasn't so clear about the avaliable time and I hope you can accept my apologies for this. Well, I can dedicate two hours for strictly following the courses, or to something like studying a grammar, for instance; but, yeah, I can find some time to hear a podcast, or see a movie on the weekend, or to read a book etc. on variable basis. But I can't just say "if I have some time on the afternoon, I'll go for Pimsleur; if I don't, maybe tomorrow I will, or afterwards". My two hours are the period that I actually know I can surely dedicate to this study. JohannaNYC: Hey, thanks! You got exactly to the point, and the idea of giving some time between the start of the courses is nice, too, as the rest of the post is. Thank you very much. =) sctroyenne: I want to learn as faster (and as effectively) as I can and I find that I throughly enjoy FSI. Everything on it is so organized and deep... I've been enjoying to go through the lessons, and they are paying with the effectiveness I want. This study is my type of fun and, oh glory!, I still benefit very much from it! Even if I had none of the reasons I have, I'd probably go for it just for the pleasure of learning this way. Same applies to Pimsleur and Assimil, even though I still didn't see much of them on this planning stage. If I can balance all these methods on some way that benefits me, without one overwhelming another, I'll have what I want. Your advices will be very helpful, thank you very much. Teango: One of my teachers says: "From imitation comes knowledge... you start by doing like the great masters do so someday you can add to the equation something from you; in this way, someday you'll transcend this and be not just 'like them', but actually 'one of them'". I'll read about the experiences you mentioned and I'll do my best with the resources I have. Your post really did inspire me, and I have to say that this inspiration is the most warm welcome anyone could give me, anywhere. I thank you for this, as well as for the informations. Everyone: Thank you all for the help. My best to you all. Edited by Caminhante on 12 November 2012 at 8:14am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5531 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 13 12 November 2012 at 2:01pm | IP Logged |
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365*2*2 hours = 1460 hours. That should be enough to get you very far, especially given that you already speak a Romance language. Do you know what kind of French skills you're expected to have when you enter the master's program? DELF B2? DALF C1?
I flipped through FSI French Basic the other day, and it covers almost all the grammar you'd need for the DELF B2. There's not nearly enough vocabulary, but then again, there never is, not in any course. The other courses will be less useful once you reach A2 and B1, although the two advanced Assimil French courses have some good material for people working towards B2. Once you get past the beginner stages, you'll find it really helpful to read French books and listen to French media. Even as an English speaker, I can learn a huge number of French words from context, because the two languages share so much vocabulary. And this effect should be even more dramatic for somebody who speaks a Romance language. Good luck with French! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4706 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 7 of 13 12 November 2012 at 2:06pm | IP Logged |
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I think the main thing is to find material that interests you. I have got far in
languages that presented me with tonnes of exposure - I have consumed insane amounts of English since starting on it, so it's no surprise that is my best foreign language. If you enjoy reading crime novels in French, try finding romans policiers and reading those once you get past the basic vocabulary. Like comics? Read bandes dessinées. I personally read science magazines in French and consume a lot of Amélie Nothomb. But that is because both types of materials are the type of thing I would like in any other language, only I experience them through French, not English. In the same way, I speak VK chat Russian because that is my Russian exposure, and so on and so forth. Edited by tarvos on 12 November 2012 at 2:06pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Caminhante Newbie Brazil Joined 4396 days ago 7 posts - 7 votes Speaks: Portuguese* Studies: French | Message 8 of 13 13 November 2012 at 3:07am | IP Logged |
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Hello everyone.
emk: Ah, I could get on the country and even on the course with a good ol' DELF B2, but it wouldn't be practical. I mean, in the end of the first year the student has to present (and defend) orally his first thesis for the examiners. I will need a swell vocabulary; it will take, too, a sharpen reasoning and the skill to comunicate properly what comes from my head — oh, and, well, I guess it would be much easier to get a job there speaking a good French. C1, I'd say or, why not?, C2. 2 years is my basic time, a racional span, but I wouldn't mind taking 5 or 6 years for this. Five years wouldn't make a Stendhal out of me, yeah, but I would still do fine with le français. With some proficiency on the language, I really have plans of deepening my knowledge using any avaliable media: books, jornals, magazines, radio, podcasts, television, movies, music... etc. Two years, five or even six of it, plus some travels to the country when I can afford it, with proper dedication, persistence & discipline... and I believe I can go far. Good luck to us! tarvos: France has such a beautiful culture! I have many interests on what comes from it; I'm looking foward to read some books on their original language (by Stendhal, Mallarmé, Lavelle, Sertillanges...) and there are movies, as well (boy, I do enjoy Godard's movies). I know I've seen only a little bit of it and I really wanna get to deepen this knowledge; so, the interest won't be lacking. =) Thank you for your answer. My best to you, guys. Edited by Caminhante on 13 November 2012 at 3:21am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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