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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| jaguar8311 Groupie Canada Joined 1425 days ago 75 posts - 9 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French | Message 1 of 14 22 November 2009 at 2:45am | IP Logged | ||
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Hello, I have been studying French seriously since April ranging from 45 minutes to 1 hour a day(lack of concentration+big year for me academically) and I have seen some progress. I can get the "jist" of most stuff I read, only site that I seem to have trouble following is Le Monde, but I am guessing that's because of my limited vocabulary so far. At this point in my studies I don't really care for producing the language(speaking and writing even more so) and more on be able to understand written and spoken French.
I have a couple of problems right now 1: I hate grammar- I can barely even grasp it in English so in reading French I have just been memorizing certain words and combinations of words which don't always make sense in English(see below). 2. I find myself translating everything back in English- When reading or listening I have a nasty habit of slipping up or losing my train of thought when something makes no sense in English. Is there any way to remedy this? It seems like a grammar problem or just a sign of noobiness. 3. I get bored- It's nothing to do with something I know that many of my fellow teens experience(video games, facebook etc) but just a lack of understanding which plagues me. Especially when I am listening to higher-level stuff, I tend to doze off or daydream since I hardly catch any of it. Here's what I am doing now I review a 100 or so words/phrases in Anki each day+ 20 new words I read French Football/Soccer articles(PSG and now Lemonde) Reading Harry Potter 1 and listening to audio book Watch 10-15 minutes of Québec telejournal Listen to French Rap(Anyone know any good rappers?) I think I am going to scrap listening to the audio book, as I read in an article that I forgot, it's not the spoken language and the narrator's impersonations of the characters really piss me off. So I plan on going back to RFI french facile, are there any other similar news broadcasts that have the transcript? Can anyone offer any suggestions? it's just now that I have started getting really frustrated and seem to be hitting a road block in my studies. Thank you for reading and I wish everyone well in their language studies | |||
| LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 344 days ago 229 posts - 45 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: French, Russian | Message 2 of 14 22 November 2009 at 4:57am | IP Logged | ||
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One word: Assimil, the series is simply brilliantly progressive a little each day really starts to build after a while. If you would like to try a more interactive approach I strongly recommend Fluenz, the program is a brilliant introduction into a language they really break stuff down and help you understand the grammar. I've enjoyed both methods thoroughly.
It's hard but stay motivated. Is this the first language you learn on your own? It WILL get easier but it takes time. A lot of people recommend FIA as well. Take a relaxed approach and keep it up, eventually the language will start to click. Edited by LatinoBoy84 on 22 November 2009 at 6:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jaguar8311 Groupie Canada Joined 1425 days ago 75 posts - 9 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French | Message 3 of 14 22 November 2009 at 6:15am | IP Logged | ||
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I have done Assimil, took me a long time to get through it. I guess it's just the more advanced grammar concepts since I am moving on to more advanced writing.
I heard that FIA is really only good if you have transcripts, which cost alot of money(money I don't have). Thanks for the reply and encouragement | |||
| maaku Senior Member United States Joined 343 days ago 353 posts - 148 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 4 of 14 22 November 2009 at 6:41am | IP Logged | ||
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Stop translating. At the level you're at you should be thinking (or trying to think) entirely in French. That's what holding you up. Think in French. Make it your native language.
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| draoicht Groupie Ireland Joined 1082 days ago 78 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 5 of 14 22 November 2009 at 2:03pm | IP Logged | ||
Here's transcripts for you Link Interesting Q&A session with Professor Capretz Link in which he says: "The Textbook is not a transcription of the video. It is a book version of the story, not its script. The relationship between the Textbook and the video is similar to that between the novel Gone with the Wind and the movie version… Except that in the case of the movie adaptation the film was made after the novel while in our case the Textbook was written ( by Marie-Odile Germain, Conservateur Général des Manuscrits Français, Bibliothèque Nationale de France) based on the video story film. This written text should be consulted only after long serious work with the video." I've just started using FIA and after watching the video and listening to the audio, I'll look at the transcripts to make sure I haven't missed anything. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| jaguar8311 Groupie Canada Joined 1425 days ago 75 posts - 9 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, French | Message 6 of 14 22 November 2009 at 2:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you for the transcripts. Will be sure to dive into that
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| Dr. Fel Diglot Newbie Australia Joined 411 days ago 6 posts Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 7 of 14 25 November 2009 at 4:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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In some ways you will be too advanced for a lot of the material but the Michel Thomas method will not only teach grammar without using gramatical concepts but will actually make it enjoyable. I have found them a fantastic introduction into internalising the gramatical rules of a language
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| Buttons Pro Member United Kingdom Joined 524 days ago 512 posts - 96 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Spanish, German Personal Language Map | Message 8 of 14 25 November 2009 at 5:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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With regards to the French audio for Harry Potter, I also find it a tad 'trying' at times. Apparently, the back of the audio cd cover that I have, says that the audio style is meant to be "comedic". Personally, I just can't help wondering how the hell can you have such a nice sounding language, then have someone do an audio in that language who shrieks! It's just amazing! Luckily for me though, I still find it bearable providing I only listen to it in small doses ;0)
Anyway, sounds to me that you are not using the right methods for you at the moment. I would recommend to just keep experimenting until you find a language path that suits you. And don't give up! Bonne chance! Edited by Buttons on 25 November 2009 at 5:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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