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5 years of 日本語 TAC 13 桜/Schnitzel | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4983 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 265 of 436 30 June 2013 at 9:41am | IP Logged |
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lol I agree. I would like cyclists of all nationalities. I did a 50 mile ride this weekend. Trying to get back into it.
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| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 266 of 436 30 June 2013 at 12:48pm | IP Logged |
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I met up with someone yesterday who will hopefully be providing me with some French tutoring
over the summer. It's so disconcerting that although I understood her when she spoke French I don't have the linguistic tools to reply very easily. I have started using Michel Thomas in a bid to activate my French. It's not exactly teaching me anything new but the format provides many prompts to help me remember how to say things. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 267 of 436 01 July 2013 at 11:42pm | IP Logged |
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I had my first French lesson tonight. I have to say, it was the best French lesson I've ever had.
I've realised that nothing motivates me to speak well more than being in the same room as a native speaker. I've used Skype heavily as a substitute, but it really isn't the same thing. It is so much easier to mimic pronunciation when you are in the same room, and the whole experience is so much more fun. I realised that my motivation for Japanese became a lot harder to maintain after the native speakers I knew in my city moved away. After having an amazing time in Germany, I found I couldn't focus as well on the language once I was back in the UK surrounded by English speakers again. But having spent this evening communicating in French with my tutor, I feel more motivated to work on my French than ever. I guess as I mentioned in a post a few days ago, I am far more motivated to use a language than I am to study it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 268 of 436 04 July 2013 at 9:48pm | IP Logged |
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I did a little pronunciation practice tonight. I recently discovered that the vowel in "sent"
is not the same as the vowel in "sont". Seems like French is full of these pronunciation horrors, just waiting for me to discover them. Isolated, I can distinguish and reproduce. However, much like my German friends u/ü it's a disaster putting them back into the fuller utterances where they belong. Grr. I've realised when I spend too long on pronunciation I get the same tension I experience when doing audio drills. So it's not an activity I can do for long periods or every day. But I guess occasional work like this to help me notice my problem areas is helpful. I have also bored myself silly tonight with a few exercises from Schaum's French Grammar. I figured if I can't get the pronunciation right I better work harder at the grammar! Edit: I should add, in case it's not obvious, that in addition to all this studying stuff which I'm not really enjoying I'm also keeping myself exposed to the language. I now read the news and listen to the radio in French pretty much every day. Edited by g-bod on 04 July 2013 at 9:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 269 of 436 06 July 2013 at 1:31pm | IP Logged |
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I have a persistent problem of collecting too much stuff and then struggling to let it go.
However, today I somehow managed to go through my bookcases and fill a whole box with things to take to the charity shop. I almost have enough room for my music books again. One thing that really helped was the realisation that I no longer need to hold on to English translations of Japanese books. Yay! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 270 of 436 16 July 2013 at 11:34pm | IP Logged |
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I am so fed up of French already!
Edit: hit the post button too early by mistake. Anyway, despite having found myself a lovely French tutor, despite having enjoyed reading a couple of French books, and having watched some good films (admittedly with subtitles) I'm finding it really hard to love French. The pronunciation and orthography is driving me mad! Basically, I'm finding it really hard to understand the spoken language. I think this is in part because I don't have a reliable map in my head of how the language sounds. In fact, it feels like every other day I'm discovering new vowels. And then there is the way that vowels often seem to disappear altogether in the spoken language (although not so much in the recordings in my coursebooks - which is pretty unhelpful in the long run!) Listening is by far the most important skill for me. The fact that my French listening is so thoroughly broken is therefore very frustrating. Edited by g-bod on 16 July 2013 at 11:45pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4983 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 271 of 436 17 July 2013 at 12:15am | IP Logged |
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I guess that's why you haven't updated in a bit. I was happy with the orthography explanation using ipa at the
beginning of my intermediate dictionary. It was actually a pretty good size dictionary and probably good for advanced students just not for actual translators. I believe it's Collins. I can double check when I get home. As with anything it is really a patience thing. I know when I was in France studying I was terribly frustrated with the rhythm of the language and I could read it so much more easily but understanding anyone who want a language teacher was impossible. But I think reading and sounding out in your head the correct pronunciation really helps. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5781 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 272 of 436 17 July 2013 at 9:23am | IP Logged |
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The problem is because I can't reliably sound things out in my head, reading doesn't help. I
think maybe I need to stick to only resources with audio and see what happens. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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