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My Adventures in French (TAC15) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5474 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 153 of 163 31 May 2015 at 4:12am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Well done on completing a super challenge! Like me you signed up for a double (i've no
chance, you certainly do, keep it up). YOu're doing great! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 154 of 163 31 May 2015 at 2:41pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Luke, Jeffers and PM
Thanks as always for reading my log and your kind words of encouragement! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 155 of 163 17 June 2015 at 10:33pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I've noticed another uptick in my listening skills. I actually watched two episodes of Buffy with no
subtitles, no backing-up to re-listen in French or in English. It felt so enjoyable, and I felt like I understood ~95%. Of course, the following episode was back to normal. But I have started noticing more clarity in whatever I listen to - podcasts, movies, etc, and am starting to feel more comfortable with where my listening skills are. Speaking I've done three language exchanges each week and continue to work on Pimsleur IV. Only 3 left to finish. I really feel that to take my speaking skills to the next level, I need to clean up my grammar and increase active vocabulary. I've been slowly working my way through Exercises de Grammaire en Contexte - Intermediate. It has really only been a review for me for the most part, and it has also validated my self-assessment of where I do need to focus. I completed two more chapters. I also have Grammaire Progressive du Français - Intermédiaire on hand and will start that next. I referred to it on an area where I do need to improve (Direct vs Indirect Pronouns and y and en) when my current book had a minimal explanation. Grammaire Progressive definitely had the better explanations so I may just stick with that series in the future. Reading I have really been trying to catch-up on my Super Challenge - reading over 500 pages in the last two weeks. I really enjoyed Le Silence de la Mer by Vercours. Here's the link to a review I wrote on the Book Club thread. Also, I love to read mysteries/thrillers, and my French penpal's wife recommended anything by Franck Thilliez. I read Train D'Enfer pour L'Ange Rouge, which is the first in a series. It was fun to read an "adult" mystery, and I definitely plan to read the next one in the series! Also, I read Gigi by Colette. The novella is included in Le Monde's Top 100 books of the century. While I thought the book was "just okay", I bet the Broadway revival would be great fun to see! Gigi is an easy enough read for an early intermediate level. I also read Le Club des Inventeurs par Jean Philippe Arrou Vignod, part of the popular Enquête au Collège French policier series for kids. I bought it last fall while in Belgium, but had not read It. I read another book by the same author in this series last year, and I wanted to read it to get a gage on how much my reading had improved in the last six months. It was a very easy read. I'm currently reading Candide by Voltaire. Anyway, while I have a ways to go, an intermediate level in a language is definitely fun! I think I am also at a point where I am now enjoying the journey - instead of just rushing/hurrying to get past the basics. Happy Learning! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5530 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 156 of 163 18 June 2015 at 12:30pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
This is definitely a very fun part of language learning: You can finally watch TV and read books and appreciate clever song lyrics. And as you do so, you can still feel your abilities growing rapidly. I hope you have lots of fun, and if you ever want suggestions for cool stuff to watch and read, don't hesitate to ask me and other folks at HTLAL. We have huge lists of cool stuff in French. :-) 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5474 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 157 of 163 19 June 2015 at 5:14am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I've been meaning to drop by for a coffee but went into overdrive on my flashcard overhaul mission- late nights and minimal French study included. I agree with emk's sentiments here, except he's looking from a point further down road (more advanced) ? hindshight ? I'm looking from a little behind I think, but am noticing similar things lately. The news is suddenly... ok not so suddenly it's been happening for a while now but it's definitely noticeably clearer than it was 12 months back. It's exciting indeed. It's great news Mohave, keep up the consistent great work! I might actually venture down the Buffy road at some point myself too. It seems like a logical addition now, but not quite yet- I'll get through some more French series (with let's face it pretty low comprehension at times with Engrenages- but even emk finds that one a little tough at times, and some fun with English/American series with subtitles that I manage to scrounge up out of mine and other ppl's DVDs in the family)
I"m keen to see how you go with this series. I have more than enough books, but this series has intrigued me for some time due to many ppl vouching for its quality.
Sounds great MOhave. I think I've shifted gears myself too recently. Something happened I don't know what exactly but I just felt like I wanted more native materials (not that in practise I've read much more due to distractions and so on)... anyway like I said keep up the good work. I really feel like there's a lot to be said for studying one language at a time. I'm sure it's been said too :) I just think back to all those years I juggled multiple languages and never reached this point, but it could've been motivation too. Anyway keep learning! I'll try and send a couple of PDF health related books your way, I had a look and I really dont'have that much, but i'll send a couple at least that I have soon. Edited by PeterMollenburg on 19 June 2015 at 5:15am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 158 of 163 06 July 2015 at 12:59am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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@emk - Thanks so much for the kind words and great words of wisdom! I am having fun and am looking
forward to even more fun with this language! PM - Coffeepot is always on - always appreciate you stopping by. I am so glad to hear you are noticing the same improvements in journey! Congrats to you and your progress! You are always a source of motivation to me! I am having fun reading/listening to things that I did a year ago, and that is really helping me see my progress and motivating me (although it is almost impossible for me to see any progress day-to-day). --------------------- I'm still moving forward in my French studies and loving it! Since my last update, I've read quite a bit, finishing Voltaire's Candide . I've also completed reading Pagnol's Jean de Florette and am currently reading Manon des Sources by Pagnol. I am loving Pagnol's beautiful descriptive narratives in the two books. I literally had a hard time putting down Jean de Florette. I'll write up a complete review when I finish both books. Since I have been driving across country, and wifi was unexpectedly out when I arrived, I haven't watched any films since the last update, except L'Ours et La Poupee which I really can't recommend. I did catch- up on many podcasts and audiobooks. Monumental http://www.rts.ch/la- 1ere/programmes/monumental/ continues to be a favorite. I also did a similar exercise on listening as I did last week with reading. I re-listened to an audiobook by Alex Leroc Crime à Cannes, which I had listened to a year ago. Last year, it was a struggle to understand this B1 rated audiobook; this year it was an easy listen. Bottom Line: it's nice to go back and compare progress, particularly since progress can seem so slow now. I am spending time for the next month with my Dad in/near the Texas/Mexicanborder. One of my goals while visiting the area was to purchase easy Spanish language books for kids. I plan to start Spanish later this year. I went to a used bookstore, and sadly, I didn't find one book. However, I found Asterix Chez Les Helvetes for 90 cents!!! An unexpected nice find! A look at progress of mid-year 2015 goals... I am on track-just need to catch-up on the Super Challeng! 1. Successfully complete Double Super Challenge: Status: currently behind, but I am determined to catch- up 2. Improve vocabulary (including slang and idioms) and grammar. Status: currently working through two grammar books; capturing slang words as I read or hear 3. Read several of the "Grand" French Classics and authors: Les Miserables, Les Liasions Dangereuses, etc and a couple works by contemporary French authors. Status: On track - reading both classics and contemporary authors 4. Listening: I would like to be able to listen to most radio broadcasts and watch most TV shows without subtitles/transcripts. Status: I can listen to many radio/podcasts. I am starting to watch Buffy Contre Les Vampires without subtitles. I feel I have made great strides in my listening skills 5. Speaking: I want to improve my speech: pronunciation, grammar, automaticity, and to gain more natural French speech patterns (I think I have too many Anglecisms in my speech) and have more fluid. Status: I am currently working on this with my language exchange partners and working through Pimsleur IV and V. Edit: I also finished reading Asterix Chez Les Helvetes - a really enjoyable BD. Edited by Mohave on 06 July 2015 at 1:24am 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5474 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 159 of 163 06 July 2015 at 1:43am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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comme d'habitude a really well balanced set of learning methods and materials Mohave. Good job! For what
it may or may not be worth right/wrong/or otherwise I would recommend waiting another 12 months (at least) to really solidify your French before adding Spanish. In no way would I think you'd be crazy to ignore my opinion nor necessarily run the risk of hurting your French in a major way. I'm just thinking in terms of the ideal scenario for both of these languages, but ultimately that's a really personal decision, and I'm sure you'd still advance nicely otherwise (you have the essential ingredient: being consistent). I like your aproach to reading; a mixture of contempory and classics. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Mohave Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Mohave1 Joined 4005 days ago 291 posts - 444 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 160 of 163 06 July 2015 at 11:55pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
PM - appreciate your thoughts on holding off of Spanish for at least a year. I will continue to think them over for the next few months. Let me expound on my thoughts about starting Spanish... I grew up on Mexican/US border, and had six years of Spanish in elementary school. While my family is from the mid-west and does not speak Spanish, I grew up surrounded by Spanish, and a good deal of travel has been to Mexico, Latin America, and the Spanish Carribean. Any near-term travel will probably be in this area because it's close, and I'm not comfortable traveling too far with on-going family health issues. I can speak enough Spanish to get- by when I travel, and understand a very basic conversation. My primary focus in Spanish will be listening and speaking skills. I'm tired of not being able to fully understand when people speak in Spanish, or being able to have a decent conversation and trying to get by in my broken Spanish. Also, I do plan to do at least a 1/2 Super challenge in Spanish - mainly because of the improvements that I have seen this round with French. But in order to start that next May, I do need to start working on the basics later this fall. I feel like I am getting close to reaching my first-tier French goals. I LOVED my French literature class in college. Being able to read French literature was a primary goal when I re-started learning French. Thanks to the Super Challenge, I feel like I can read almost anything now. My listening skills are improving - and I hope that trend will continue over the next few months. My speaking skills are not as strong as the others, but I can have meaningful conversations with patient natives. I plan to do another Super Challenge next year in French as I just won't get to all of the wonderful French literature this round. I plan to get most of my double Super Challenge completed successfully, complete Pimsleur V, and complete both Grammaire Progressive and Grammaire en Contexte intermediate level books that I have before proceeding. I am worried about interference. However, based on the above, I am strongly considering starting Spanish in November/December timeframe. I welcome yours or others' comments to my plan. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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