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TAC 2009 - DaraghM | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6155 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 153 of 177 09 September 2009 at 10:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi Adrean,
I can't remember where I got my copy exactly, but GreyLib seem to have a number of audio versions of L'étranger. I actually used Learn in Your Car French last year, as part of their Global Access 25 package. It comes with all the Vocabulearn CD's, and other stuff as well. However, I found the audio quality quite poor, and it seemed to be mono-channeled. I tried using GoldWave to blend the two channels, but that didn't help the clarity. Did you listen to the course while walking or in a quieter setting ? 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Adrean TAC 2010 Winner Senior Member France adrean83.wordpress.c Joined 6172 days ago 348 posts - 411 votes Speaks: FrenchC1 | Message 154 of 177 09 September 2009 at 2:05pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Daraghm,
Thankyou thankyou for the great site Greylib. I had absolutely no idea that this site existed. We are absolutely spoiled for choice when it comes to free online audiobooks. I will soon be listening away to L'etranger as soon as I finish Comte de Monte Cristo. Which may be never. Yeh the audio quality of the course is not so good. Yes it is mono-channeled and that is the worst thing about the course. If you can overlook these things there is a lot of vocabulary and room for revision. I don't think necessarily on it's own you will be able to learn off this course, but for those who have done Michel Thomas and to a lesser extent pimsleur I think it's an extension. I almost always do my study at home. I have real trouble walking, sitting on a bus, driving a car and learning. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6155 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 156 of 177 11 September 2009 at 11:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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I'm glad you both found the link useful. It's a good site.
Spanish I've returned to Spanish using a combination of Platiquemos and Assimil. Having completed all the Assimil lessons passively, I'm not working through them actively. I've just about got half way, and it'll probably be the end of the year before I finish it properly. Since returning to the course, it's become very clear that Assimil is intended for French speaker. In lección 53 they introduce some simple phrases, but also use the following construction, Después de haber pasado la frontera. - After having passed the border. The usage is never explained, but comparing it to the French, Aprés avoir passé la frontière It becomes clear why this doesn't need an explanation in the original French course. Unfortunately, they don't highlight this difference for English speakers. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ExtraLean Triglot Senior Member France languagelearners.myf Joined 5998 days ago 897 posts - 880 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 157 of 177 11 September 2009 at 12:20pm | IP Logged | |||||
Thanks for this DaraghM. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6155 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 158 of 177 22 September 2009 at 11:17am | IP Logged | |||||
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Spanish
When we put a bit of effort into our language studies, there's nothing more rewarding then getting to use them. For me, the trip to Barça (Barcelona) got my Spanish almost fully re-activated. My Spanish is at a slightly unusual level in that most responses I give to questions, I don't have to think about. I seem to think in Spanish for the most part, but when I've to think something detailed through, I find myself switching back and forth. I didn't take any Spanish learning resources with me to Barça. Instead I spent a bit of time watching Spanish television. Like my previous trip to Nice, I found that Spanish quiz shows are a great way to boost your language. I ended up watching a lot of TomaCero and Pasapalabra. Both these shows involve guessing words, and the questions are written on screen as well. I have to admit that Pasapalabra was very difficult, and a lot of the vocabulary I wasn't that familiar with. TomaCero was much easier, and I beat the contestants on a number of occasions. :-) As Catalan really is the dominant language there, I also tried a few very basic Catalan phrases. However, these were limited to the simplest Bon Dia, Adéu and Merces. These aren't always appreciated, as a lot of people in the service industry don't originate from the area, and have actually come from South America. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6155 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 159 of 177 28 September 2009 at 11:33am | IP Logged | |||||
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Russian
It's seems like an age since I last studied Russian. After returning from Barcelona, I picked up my copy of Modern Russian 1 and worked through the fourth unit. This unit covers more uses of those two popular prepositions, в and на. I didn't realise that a word always uses one or the other, and they don't cross over. E.g. на почту - to the post office, на почте - in the post office. в клуб - to the club, в клубе - in the club. This unit also introduces the Russian case system, and gives a nice overview of the zero endings. For masculine inanimate it's relatively easy with the nominative, but it's the genitive plural for feminine. E.g. из книг - of the books. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 6155 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 160 of 177 06 October 2009 at 1:00pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Spanish
I did plan on returning to Hungarian, but my trip to Argentina in a couple of weeks has weighted Spanish in my study plans. I signed up for Spanish classes again, but they fell through. It turns out they didn't have the numbers needed to run the class. It seems that Cervante's have a lot of classes running at the lower levels, but the upper intermediate courses are harder to fill. I remember some people on the last day of my previous term had said they were stopping classes. They felt they couldn't progress further until they lived in Spain. As regards resources, I've mainly used Platiquemos and some Assimil. I'm finding the active wave of Assimil a bit tedious, and also slightly tricky. I read the English, but often have a different translation in my head. Unless I learn the Spanish verbatim, I don't always get it right. However, learning it off completely means I would recite the lesson without any English clues. Platiquemos is more enjoyable, and I feel I'm still learning using this course. My only quip is Don Castell's pronunciation on some units. In Unit 42, he says, "Lo había visto" putting the emphasis on the first syllable of "había". It wasn't until I read the translation did I figure out what he was saying. Even though the recording quality is poor, I can understand all the native Spanish speakers easily. Edited by DaraghM on 06 October 2009 at 1:29pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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