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PMs TAC 2015 crazy? French course mission

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PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 97 of 451
13 May 2014 at 1:13pm | IP Logged 
Jeffers wrote:
So how are you enjoying Engrenages? At first I was unimpressed, especially as it was so
critically acclaimed. And yet I felt compelled to keep watching. What bothered me was
that there were too many coincidences driving the story. This wasn't the case with the
next 3 series, however. I'm looking forward to re-watching all 4 again for the SC, but
I'll save it for later since I already watched it in January. I'm hoping series 5 will
come out before the SC ends. I've read that it's coming out this summer; since it's on
the internet it must be true.


Hey Jeffers,

Like yourself I'm finding it not overly impressive, nor is it necessarily rubbish either. I hope it doesn't go down
the path of the American series "The Wire" , and "Breaking Bad" for that matter too- they held my interest
somewhat for a 2 and a half season run, but then it dawned on me, it wasn't getting any better so to speak
and I just didn't feel like watching anymore really. I'm hoping Engrenages becomes more intriguing, but it's
likely to hold my interest for longer than the American series purely because it's European, but mostly
because it's French, and as you may or may not know, i'm learning French. In fact I'm a member on this
forum website called How to learn any language. You should go there some time, good discussions take
place about language learning.....

I also have the series Kaamelott which I've read good things about but I'm holding that one off for a long time
as I have no subtitles for it for at lease the first four seasons.

Although I wanted to back off the watching, pick up my Dutch again (well over a week has passed now since
doing any Dutch) and get back to my French courses... well I'm still watching things, and despite kind of
hinting that i'm not that competitive, I think i'm realising that I deny my competitive nature, or don't admit to it,
because I'm watching the surrealix's list every time I post to the twitter bot. Ah well I guess it's keeping me
motivated :)

One film I was really impressed with was Feux Rouges. Really well done I thought, and dialogues were a
good range of pace. It feels like a film I could watch a few times over and definitely catch more of the
dialogue.

Oh and for Engrenages I'm follwing around 15-20% of the sentences I think on first watch, and prob 30%
second time around. It's not easy for me to follow.

Thanks for you inquiry Jeffers,
please call by again ;)
1 person has voted this message useful



PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 98 of 451
18 May 2014 at 2:12am | IP Logged 
Okay I'd better do some sort of an update since i'm 2 weeks into the Super Challenge...

After citing an article regarding the effectiveness of watching films for language study over other methods of
study and having the input of others that feel watching foreign films in your TL is very useful indeed... well
after all that and stating i needed more balance in my studying I still went on a 'watching mission' to see if I
could climb up the leaderboard somewhat.

So I have manage to hover somewhere between 4th and 7th position after recalling a long clawing to the top
from 41st position. Wow I deserve a trophy of something. I'm the comeback king. Hmmm... I know this ego
fulfilling BS is just that BS, nothing more than mental games, but it's certainly kept me motivated however
petty i feel it might be to my own mind. Let's face it most things in life if not all that pop one up on some kind
of pedastool are merely ego-stroking activities. Nevertheless I buy into them, and for the SC i've taken the
bait hook, line, and sinker.

So I haven't gone near a French course in a couple of weeks, nor any Dutch in that time. I am still craving to
get back to that 'balance' - ie i want to stop neglecting those areas, but i'm getting too involved in (could you
believe it? yes) a silly leaderboard. Okay some further thoughts on materials used thus far:

Watching
Engrenages has been a main stay of recent watching. I have concluded it's probably too far beyond my
current level to be of substantial benefit but nonetheless still beneficial i'm sure. I've watched all of series one,
most episodes twice. Second time around is always better for listening comprehension, but without the
English subtitles i'd be lost a lot of the time I think.

Les feux rouges- great movie! Must watch it a few more times down the track.

Un secret - same as above.

Yabla- this online 'program' of sorts is bloody awesome in my opinion. I haven't used it heavily but it's
fantastic when I have used it. You basically watch short clips between say 3 and 5 min. You opt for subtitles
on or off in French, English or Both and can loop segments. There's an in-build dictionary and a game which
goes sth like this: You get segments of the clip you're currently using played back to you with subtitles below
in French (this system also avail in other lang's) a word will be missing from each 5-10 sec segment playback
of the clip. You basically go through and enter the missing words (you hear them but you have to type them in
below in a blank spot within the rest of the subtitles). Clips are garded 1 being easiest through to 5. There's
different interests and even music clips. Great system that I def plan on getting more out of!

'Play and pause' - I used episode 1 of the first series of Girls to use French subtitles and went through it a
couple times or 3 (can't remember) to read the subtitles and look up odd words here and there. It took me
over an hour to get through a half hour episode esp as I entered some flashcards too. It's ok as another
option and nice to hear the English equivalent spoken in the background.

Reading
Reading is harder, obviously more active, but I feel I get more out of it. I always speak out loud unless out of
the house somewhere (not often), and I often look up words and add to my FC deck.

il fait beau
A 3 part easy reader, which was relatively easy. I found the story intersting enough to want to find out a little
more, but for obvious reasons a little 'simple' not necessarily difficulty, but childish. That's not so bad, but just
stating the characteristic I guess. It helped get me started and since it was relatively easy I looked up every
word i was unfamiliar with.

Vivre sans vaccins
I started this book some months ago and would only pick it up occasionally. So I went back to the start and
read right back up to where i was up to. I basically read every page twice. Usually on the first read of a page
i'll make a decision which single word I want to look up (allowing myself to look up one word per page). I then
add that word to my flashcard deck, re-read the page and move onto the next. The book is about vaccines
and gives many first hand accounts of the good health of those that have not had them compared to the
seemingly worse health of those who have. A VERY controversial issue and not sth I want to get involved in
discussing on this forum if at all possible. Like religion or politics it can be a 'dangerous' topic. As I'm a nurse
it's good to pick up some medical terminology, but not so much that it's overhelming (like a text book for ex),
and
in fact since it's all anecdotes of ppl from around the world the language is for the most part very common
language with, as mentioned some medical terminology as well. I'm really enjoying the read. In general i
prefer to use reading as a way of getting informed instead of reading fiction. Mind you I have a lot of French
fiction books, not sure how I'll go with them.

Le petit prince
The version I have on my iPhone I read a bit of here and there. It's language is just as complex as the
vaccine book it seems as I'm finding myself needing to look up a word each page (at least, but I hold back
from looking up more). Haven't read enough to make a decent judgement but it's 'okay'

Plenty of hours done this month so far... I need to restore balance... must catch Jeffers again, must get to
number one position, then everyone will love me so much and i'll be remember foreeeeeverrrrr!!!!

All in all the SC is serving me well :)

Edited by PeterMollenburg on 18 May 2014 at 2:16am

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songlines
Pro Member
Canada
flickr.com/photos/cp
Joined 4959 days ago

729 posts - 1056 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 99 of 451
18 May 2014 at 2:40am | IP Logged 
PeterMollenburg wrote:

So I have managed to hover somewhere between 4th and 7th position after recalling a long clawing to the top
from 41st position. Wow I deserve a trophy of something. I'm the comeback king. Hmmm... I know this ego
fulfilling BS is just that BS, nothing more than mental games, but it's certainly kept me motivated however
petty i feel it might be to my own mind. Let's face it most things in life if not all that pop one up on some kind
of pedestal are merely ego-stroking activities. Nevertheless I buy into them, and for the SC i've taken the
bait hook, line, and sinker.


Fourth and seventh! - Well done!

I don't think of myself as a naturally competitive person, so found it quite surprising, the first time I took part in
a challenge, just how motivating a leaderboard could be. Like you, I had brief thoughts along the lines of,
"Songlines, you can't be so shallow and egoistic, can you...?" And decided I could, and it was a good
thing indeed. <smile>

Of course, the flip side is that if one falls by the wayside, then one's ego takes a bit of a damper.
2 persons have voted this message useful



PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 100 of 451
18 May 2014 at 3:02am | IP Logged 
songlines wrote:
PeterMollenburg wrote:

So I have managed to hover somewhere between 4th and 7th position after recalling a long clawing to the top
from 41st position. Wow I deserve a trophy of something. I'm the comeback king. Hmmm... I know this ego
fulfilling BS is just that BS, nothing more than mental games, but it's certainly kept me motivated however
petty i feel it might be to my own mind. Let's face it most things in life if not all that pop one up on some kind
of pedestal are merely ego-stroking activities. Nevertheless I buy into them, and for the SC i've taken the
bait hook, line, and sinker.


Fourth and seventh! - Well done!

I don't think of myself as a naturally competitive person, so found it quite surprising, the first time I took part in
a challenge, just how motivating a leaderboard could be. Like you, I had brief thoughts along the lines of,
"Songlines, you can't be so shallow and egoistic, can you...?" And decided I could, and it was a good
thing indeed. <smile>

Of course, the flip side is that if one falls by the wayside, then one's ego takes a bit of a damper.


Yeah funny huh, when we self-analyse what we come up with. Thanks for keeping in the loop Songlines,
hope all is well with you :) If I slip outside the top 10 I might fall into a deep dark depression, but that's ok, i
can start a rock band or write some hip-hop lyrics about my hardcore struggle on the HTLAL SC leaderboard,
or I could toughen up, get some street cred and still hang with the likes of Jeffers, Kerrie, Vivian, Isa and
Anna, i know i'm name droppin, but hey all I'm really doing is giving those ppl credibility straight outta the likes
of MC Petermollenburg's mouth, peace out
1 person has voted this message useful



Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4659 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 101 of 451
18 May 2014 at 8:49pm | IP Logged 
It's been fun and motivating competing against you. Unfortunately, I'm doing three languages, so no doubt you'll be able get ahead of me and stay there sooner or later. But until that time, I'll keep you on your toes.

On a completely unrelated subject, I'd really encourage you to get back to your courses. They're not going to finish themselves!

EDIT to say, if you like mystery/thrillers, check out Ne le dis à personne. A man's wife was murdered years ago, and the crime was never solved. Now he begins to get mysterious messages, and new events cause the police to suspect he was the killer.

Edited by Jeffers on 18 May 2014 at 9:00pm

2 persons have voted this message useful



PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 102 of 451
18 May 2014 at 10:33pm | IP Logged 
Jeffers wrote:
It's been fun and motivating competing against you. Unfortunately, I'm doing three
languages, so no doubt you'll be able get ahead of me and stay there sooner or later. But until that time, I'll
keep you on your toes..


I agree, it's been motivating, but I'll disagree on me getting in front and staying there....

Jeffers wrote:

On a completely unrelated subject, I'd really encourage you to get back to your courses. They're not going to
finish themselves!


This is why I will fall down the leaderboard, my courses and Dutch need attention, so I need to get back to my
rotational plan of study.


Jeffers wrote:

EDIT to say, if you like mystery/thrillers, check out Ne le dis à personne. A man's wife was murdered years
ago, and the crime was never solved. Now he begins to get mysterious messages, and new events cause
the police to suspect he was the killer.


Sounds interesting, will check it out. Tnx Jeffers for dropping by and saying a line or two.

PM
1 person has voted this message useful



PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 103 of 451
20 May 2014 at 11:18pm | IP Logged 
Finally got onto my rotational study plan, back to Dutch and my French courses (one at the mo.). Decided I
may as well count the pages of the French learning magazines I read towards my SC, as let's face it, it's
reading! Only did one hour of study yesterday as I got distracted with renaming and transferring a heap of
audio files to audio files for my Think French learning mag to my smart phone. Good work PM procrastinating
again! Not today, not today ! ;)
1 person has voted this message useful



PeterMollenburg
Senior Member
AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5226 days ago

821 posts - 1273 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: FrenchB1

 
 Message 104 of 451
30 May 2014 at 10:59am | IP Logged 
Currently struggling with language wanderlust and revamped study ideas...

I haven't been studying much Dutch lately and almost feel like dropping it to focus on
French only again for a while...

If you hadn't noticed I've been distracted from my study routine for the last couple of
days posting about political ideologies, language dominance, English spread and
Americanization...

Ironically I'm also having urges to return to studying Spanish.

Thing is I passed B1 in French in March and I'm aiming to pass a B2 asap and beyond B2
after that. I'm a slow mover too (I study a lot but make slow progress particularly
when it comes to French).

Anyone care to share any thoughts?


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