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My Adventures in French (TAC15) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4007 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 105 of 163 10 November 2014 at 3:05am | IP Logged | ||
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Here's what I have been up to the last ten days...
Super Challenge Reading Vol De Nuit This novella is one of my favorite reads in French so far. I plan on doing some L/R with this book after reading Luke’s log and the work he did here. Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu After reading the first three Harry Potter books, I was frankly ready for a break from Harry Potter. So why am I currently reading (about 33% complete) my fourth Harry Potter book??? After watching Professor Arguelle’s video on extensive reading, he advocated reading long works of great literature. He advocated children’s book if the TL was not strong enough for the great works of literature. Hence, Harry Potter #4 was the longest children’s book (over 700 pages!) that I have. I have also noticed a small step-up in difficulty in this book. I need to find another book (not Harry Potter) at about the same level as Harry Potter, Vol de Nuit, and L'Étranger for my next read. Films Au Revoir les Enfants The film is based on events in the childhood of the director, Louis Malle, who at age 11 was attending a Roman Catholic boarding school near Fontainebleau. One day, he witnessed a Gestapo raid in which three Jewish students and a Jewish teacher were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz. The school's headmaster, Père Jacques, was arrested for harboring them and sent to the concentration camp at Mauthausen. Highly recommend. À Bout de Souffle is a 1960 French film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard about a petty criminal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his American girlfriend (Jean Seberg). It was Godard's first feature-length work and represented Belmondo's breakthrough as an actor. Breathless was one of the earliest, most influential examples of the French New Wave (nouvelle vague). Together with François Truffaut's The 400 Blows and Alain Resnais's Hiroshima, Mon Amour, both released a year earlier, it brought international acclaim to this new style of French filmmaking. At the time, the film attracted much attention for its bold visual style and the innovative use of jump cuts. I found the language slow and easy to understand. Là Bûche Christmas, family, and infidelity sounded like a fun movie and was recommended by AP French Language Study Guide as an ‘easy movie’, but the language was fast and slangy, and the story line didn’t interest me at all. Dinner de Cons (1998) One of the funniest films (French or English) that I have watched. Highly recommend! Colonel Chabert (1994) is based on the novel Le Colonel Chabert by Honoré de Balzac. I watched on Netflix Fr with French subtitles, and some of the language was a little difficult. Having said that, I am adding Balzac’s book on my Super Challenge "to-read" list. Six Week Challenge First week of the six week challenge has started off pretty well. During the last week, I studied just under 30 hours or approximately 4 hours a day. I didn’t think I would like having to log on Twitter every minute, but it works really well, and really motivates me to do more. 1) finish Pimsleur III: I have completed thru Lesson 22. I restarted at lesson 15, doing each lesson twice. 2) complete Using French (by 31 Dec) Re-starting Assimil has been difficult, in part because, lessons leading up to lesson 43 were full of idioms, etc – almost an overload! I feel back on track with after lessons 44 – 47 seem quite more reasonable – and more enjoyable. 3) maintain progress on Super Challenge. See note above 4) re-start language exchanges – I did 5 language exchanges last week. Immersion French Sundays Sundays have become a sort of Immersion French Sunday for me that I look forward to every week. I become a "football widow" when my husband "immerses" himself in NFL football, and I have started dedicating that time almost exclusively to French. Today was no exception with time spent lazily reading and watching movies, along with some study time. Edited by Mohave on 10 November 2014 at 7:49am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5476 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 106 of 163 10 November 2014 at 4:40am | IP Logged | ||
Thanks Mohave, I agree, it all helps. Still struggling with re-initiating my routine lately tho, but i'll get there :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4007 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 107 of 163 18 November 2014 at 10:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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PM -- You'll get there, I have no doubt!
------------------------------ Just a quick update…. Super Challenge Films: Goal EOM Nov: 70; Actual 75 This week I watched the last two episodes of Les Homes de l’Ombre (on Netflix Fr) which includes Gregory Fitoussi of Engrenages fame. Sadly, there were only 6 episodes in Season 1. The French for me was fast and difficult, but I watched with French subtitles. I was able to get a fair amount, but not all. However, I enjoyed the storyline, and hope there will be another Season available when my French is stronger. I also started watching Fais Pas Ci, Fais Pas Ça. While it’s not my favorite French series, there are several seasons available on Netflix Fr, and I have a higher level of comprehension than with other series. I’m still watching with subtitles, but I am considering turning them off after I complete Season 1. We’ll see…. Books: Goal EOM Nov: 70; Actual 63 Harry Potter just finished the second task in Le Tournoi des Trois Sorciers thanks to Doby’s help in La Coupe de Feu . I am approximately 67% completed in this ~750page book. I expect to be on track with my monthly goals in December – maybe end of November if I don’t get sidetracked with Thanksgiving with the family. I think I am going to try some Fred Vargas or Simenon next. Hopefully it will not be too difficult! Six Week Challenge This is my first Six Week Challenge, and I am finding it strangely rewarding. Kind of wonder why I haven’t done this before. I signed up for it to motivate me to finish Pimsleur III and Assimil Using French by the end- of-the year, and to stay on track with the Super Challenge during the holiday season. Assimil Using French. I greatly enjoy Assimil French Without Toil, and the first 20 lessons or so of Using French, but after that, Using French became pure drudgery, although that might have been more related to larger family issues that were going on at the time. I am back in the swing of Assimil, and have really enjoyed the last 10 lessons (I'm on Lesson 55 currently) or so. I really enjoyed reading the excerpt from “Les Miserables”, and I can’t wait to read the full book sometime next year! This will sound strange, but the language was so beautiful, and it really touched me. In the next few lessons, I’ll get to read the Balzac excerpt, which I am looking forward to. Also, it seems like after each lesson, I pick up a nuance or vocabulary when I read or listen. Pimsleur III – I am in the home stretch – on Lesson 27 currently. I like Pimsleur as it helps with the automaticity, pronunciation, fluidity, but I really don’t learn new vocabulary…. Edit: I forgot to add that I completed six language exchanges during the last week. Edited by Mohave on 19 November 2014 at 7:53pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4007 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 108 of 163 01 December 2014 at 10:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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Just a quick update...
Super Challenge Films: Goal EOM Nov: 70; Actual 78 Beaumarchais, l'Insolent (1996) (Netflix Fr) The 18th-century French playwright (Fabrice Luchini) battles corruption, has affairs and carries out a secret mission for King Louis XV. It was interesting, but I would put it in the "ok" pile. Fais Pas Ci, Fais Pas Ça - see previous comments Books: Goal EOM Nov: 70; Actual 70 I am caught up with my reading SC goal! I completed Harry Potter #4 - 700+ pages. I started two new books: Bonjour, Tristesse - Françoise Saigon - 1954. Published when the author was only 18,the book was an overnight sensation in France, and was considered quite scandalous at the time. It is included on many "Top 100 French Literature Lists". I am reading this primarily in the evenings on my iPad as a parallel text. This is my first experience reading with a parallel text. In some ways I like it, and in other ways, I don't. It's interesting seeing the translation. While "my translation" would have the same sense, some time I would use different words to convey that meaning. Also, I feel a little "lazy" or I am cheating too much when I use the parallel text. So I really only try to look as the English text when I really need it. It's actually a fairly straight forward read, and would probably be good for any intermediate reader. Full review to come when I have finished the book. Maigret Chez le Ministre - Georges Simenon - 1954 This book is in my bag for daytime. The first few pages were slow going for me, with new vocabulary, etc as this is my first policier book. I'm only 40 pages in, so more to come. Six Week Challenge Assimil Using French. Completed Leçon 64 - only 6 more lessons to complete. After all the SC reading, Using French seems more enjoyable than when I started many months ago, and, lots of good vocabulary and grammar subtleties, etc. I was looking so forward to the Pere Goirot extract by Balzac, but found it so depressing, that it is definitely not on my "to-read" list anytime soon. Pimsleur III – I am in the home stretch – still on Lesson 27. Language Exchanges: 5 Edited by Mohave on 02 December 2014 at 3:02am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4909 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 109 of 163 02 December 2014 at 8:27am | IP Logged | ||
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I meant to comment on your post from the 10th of November, but time escaped me. Le Dîner de Cons is one of my favourite films, and even on the 5th viewing, Pignon's innocent stupidity still made me laugh out loud. His blank expression when he says, "Juste Leblanc?"... ha!
I also found À Bout de Souffle quite interesting. I didn't think it was as "great" as the critics say, which to be fair is often my reaction to the "greats" of French cinema. But it was charming and easy to watch, and like you I appreciated the fact that the dialogue was easy to understand. About the "innovation" of jump cuts, apparently it was partially an accident, because Godard decided the film was too long. He began to make random cuts and liked the effect. You mentioned Le 400 coups. If you haven't seen it, this is another classic which is just charming. Be warned that it doesn't really end as much as fade away, but apparently there are two sequels which pick the main character up in later parts of his life. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4007 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 110 of 163 02 December 2014 at 5:20pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks Jeffers! I'm so glad that I purchased Le Dîner de Cons while in Europe. it is truly one of the funniest,
yet charming movies I have seen. I just wish my copy had English subtitles so that my husband could enjoy it with me! I don't want to watch the American re-make because I am sure that it just cannot match the quality of the French one! I have not seen Le 400 Coups yet, so I will have to add it to my "to-watch" list. Thanks for letting me know it's a gem. PS I asked for the Le Petit Nicolas DVD (original) from Santa after seeing the second movie while in Belgium. I hope I understand it as well as the second movie -- and it is as enjoyable! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4889 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 111 of 163 02 December 2014 at 9:26pm | IP Logged | ||
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I like your reading list!
I tried to go through the great 19th century authors, and really got bogged down with Balzac. I hated him at first, but went back and re-tried Le père Goriot when my French was better. I might try another book of his one day, but I'm in no rush. Victor Hugo is great, though. And exasperating as all hell. He builds up a scene slowly, it explodes into action, he leaves you on a cliff hanger ... and then he goes off on a fifty page tangent about his personal feelings about the battle of Waterloo. Or the history of argot. Or the secret lives of nuns. He's like a batty uncle who just goes on too long with his endless stories. And then he gets back to the action, and you forgive him. Other authors to watch for who write on the same level as Vol de Nuit and L'Étranger are André Gide, Guy de Maupassant, and Jean Giono. I've enjoyed all three. And last challenge a lot of people enjoyed Fred Vargas mysteries. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4007 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 112 of 163 06 December 2014 at 10:54am | IP Logged | ||
Kanewai - Thanks! One of the reasons I re-started my French was due to my enjoyment of French literature classes in college, and I'm thankful my level is starting to be good enough that I can enjoy some of the works. I'm glad there is still hope for me with Balzac, and I love your description of Victor Hugo! Les Miserables is definitely on my "to-read" list in 2015, as I have only read an edited/shortened version. I greatly appreciate your suggestions on other French authors that are more my level until then! I really have enjoyed your log and your adventures with the French classics. Thank you! ---------------------------- Wanderlust Spanish and Papiemento have been calling to me so loudly lately, that I don't know how much longer I can put them off! Taking a Zumba class with real Latin music (not this American hip-hop Zumba stuff) just makes me want to start learning Spqnish now -- I really didn't want to start Spanish for another 10-11 months. I need to increase my French vocabulary, clean up some grammar, and stay focused on completing my double Super Challenge, and get my French to a level so that there is no/little interference when I do start Spanish!! And Papiemento!! After listening to traditional Papiemento Christmas Carols, I want to go find learning materials! So many languages, so little time!! 1 person has voted this message useful |
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