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Inhaling Belgium | ||
Tags: Belgium | Super Challenge | Living abroad | Dutch | Total Annihilation Challenge (TAC) | French | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Iolanthe Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5428 days ago 410 posts - 482 votes  Speaks: English*, DutchC1 Studies: Turkish, French | Message 97 of 116 17 May 2014 at 11:39am | IP Logged | |||||
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Hello Suzie! I can totally relate to the disappointment of not magically attaining
fluency after one year. I had the same unrealistic expectations when I moved to the Netherlands. It turns out language learning is a marathon not a sprint. The improvements are sometimes so small that you don't notice you're progressing. And especially if you live abroad, you're constantly confronted with gap between your level and that of native speakers. It can be demotivating to say the least! But when you do notice progress, that's the best feeling ever. So I'm glad you're noticing the results of your hard work! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4796 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 98 of 116 17 May 2014 at 6:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hi, Suzie! You've obviously progressed a lot during the last year! Well, the path is long but despite not being as far as you had hoped, you are still headed in the right direction and progressing and I admire that. You've been far more persistent than I have ;-)
And "baguette magique", that's awesome! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 songlines Pro Member Canada flickr.com/photos/cp Joined 4996 days ago 729 posts - 1056 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French Personal Language Map | Message 99 of 116 18 May 2014 at 1:57am | IP Logged | |||||
Glad you're enjoying Le petit Nicolas - it's a favourite here on the forum French threads. If it helps (though you may already know/ have looked up these terms) I have a very small list of " Le petit Nicolas" vocab. You're welcome to have a look at it: post 128 Another concept that's been raised here on Htlal, related to extensive reading, is that of an author's "idiolect": that linguistic/vocabulary "pool" which an author dips into/draws upon in his/her writing. As you read more of an author's works, each successive encounter/ repetition of similar/related language will be reinforced. So, of course, as you continue with each successive Harry Potter, you can (happily! despite the growing length of each volume) find your reading a bit easier b/c you already know the words for broomsticks, curses, spells, etc. And the same principle also applies to genre fiction, eg. for high fantasy, you'll come to know the various ways of expressing things like, "my liege", "honour" and suchlike. Edited by songlines on 18 May 2014 at 2:09am 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4696 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 100 of 116 18 May 2014 at 11:16am | IP Logged | |||||
I had a look, and it's very useful although, as you suspected, I am already familiar with most of them. Have you extended the list in your studies. I think it would be both useful and fun to create a Le Petit Nicolas glossary, with 3-4 usage examples for each entry. I initially thought "guignol" wasn't likely to be used much outside of Le Petit Nicolas, but while watching policiers I've heard police officers shout, "Hé Guignol!" at young suspects who aren't cooperating. And don't forget, it's a verb as well, both in Le Petit Nicolas and elsewhere. "Faire le guignol" means to "act the fool", "act like a clown", etc. By the way, "poussin" literally means "chick", which is often used in the UK in the exact same contexts as in Le Petit Nicolas. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Suzie Diglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 4016 days ago 155 posts - 226 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Dutch | Message 101 of 116 29 May 2014 at 9:41am | IP Logged | |||||
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Thank you, Iolanthe and Cavesa for your encouraging words!
Songlines, you are right - the "idiolect" of one author/a series of book is an interesting concept. This is also why I am working so intensely with the second Harry Potter book (to be able to enjoy the audiobook not only of this one, but also of the other tomes of the series later on). Thanks for the link to your glossary of "Le Petit Nicolas"! I think it captures the most important words very well. I personally would have added "chouette", as I sometimes feel this word appears in every second sentence. Like you, Jeffers, I thought this was more Le Petit Nicolas-specific vocabulary, but then met a colleague here who uses that quite frequently, too. I am proud to have finished my second book now (Doctor Who: Apollo 23). It was an easy and enjoyable read, and I learned (among others) that the counterpart of Harry's "baguette magique" is the Doctor's "tournevis sonique". I am going to read some children's literature now, and, of course, I am continuing with Harry Potter II. I have completed the first 50 pages now, extracting 200 new words or phrases from these. So working through this book will take quite some time, but I feel it is paying off already. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| songlines Pro Member Canada flickr.com/photos/cp Joined 4996 days ago 729 posts - 1056 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French Personal Language Map | Message 102 of 116 01 June 2014 at 3:29am | IP Logged | |||||
You're welcome. - And that's a good suggestion about "chouette": I'll add it to my list! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Suzie Diglot Senior Member Belgium Joined 4016 days ago 155 posts - 226 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Dutch | Message 103 of 116 01 June 2014 at 9:26am | IP Logged | |||||
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This Super Challenge is an amazing motivation! Looking back to my language activities in May, I am still surprised I could do so much. When I registered for the Super Challenge, I was a bit reluctant to aim for more than one regular full challenge in French, trying to fight back my ambitious inner self that was hoping for a crazy double challenge in French and half challenges in Dutch and English. Now, after the first month, I am absolutely confident that the latter is feasible!
Yesterday I had a burst of activity, caused by something....not so great. I have spent the week in an unfurnished house in Germany, as I had some renovation works going on. I hadn't found as much time to work as I had hoped to, so I planned to work a bit yesterday. However, when I got up, I saw that during the night, my dog had vomited onto my company laptop...After the cleaning procedure my computer had to dry for the rest of the day, and I had to give up any working plans. This is why yesterday became my French day! At some point I realized that I was close to complete 20 book/film units by end of May for the Super Challenge. I just would have to log my pages read and watch an episode of Bones in French and some episodes of a TV show in English. However, the wheather was great, and I decided to go for additional 50 pages of reading instead. My stats from the Twitter bot then stated I had read 13 book units throughout May. I liked that figure, but then thought "Well, 15 is such a nicer figure, sounds much more like something", and went reading another 50 pages....And there it is....20 units in total, with 15 book units contributing! With that pace I would be able to complete four full challenges! I am currently reading Astrid Lindgren's "Ronya fille de brigand", and I feel magically beamed back into my childhood. I hadn't planned to dive into Astrid Lindgren's books, but am absolutely torn into their beauty and now can't wait to meet again my childhood heros Pippi, Kalle, Karlsson, Emil and Lotta! Not to forget the Bullerbü Gang! So, now I am going to give my business laptop a try..Cross fingers that I do not have to contact IT department tomorrow with that embarassing story... Edited by Suzie on 01 June 2014 at 9:29am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4696 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 104 of 116 03 June 2014 at 8:18am | IP Logged | |||||
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Oh my, I was eating my breakfast when I read that story. I very nearly did an imitation!
1 person has voted this message useful |
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