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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 10 24 June 2007 at 5:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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I continue my series about my language studies...
I studied French for one year in high school - at that time I had some knowledge of Spanish, which was only helpful (although many people asked if I wouldn't mix them up...). I brushed it up a few years later. Over the years I have borrowed Easy Readers from the library, at the lowest level possible. My skills are close to non-existent, but I can understand a bit thanks to my Spanish. I'm familiar with the Assimil method from the German and Mandarin courses (which I'm still struggling with), and a few weeks ago I decided to get the French course. It arrived this Monday, so today is day #7. I will stick to intended one-lesson-a-day approach and today I reviewed the first seven lessons. I may feel that the tempo is too slow, and do two lessons a day. Who knows. Obvious goals: Finish Assimil. Maybe continue with Using French and Business French. --- If have time: Pimsleur 1-3 FSI Any other courses from my collection (the books from high school, grammar books et.c.) --- Semi-passive methods: Online radio, movies, television. Easy readers, eventually progressing to "real" material. But right now I stick to level A (600 words) and B (1200 words) and hope to get to C (1800 words) and D (2400 words) by the end of the year. This will serve as an introduction. I won't write each time I finish a new lesson... :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 10 06 September 2007 at 7:13pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've worked more than usual during the summer and haven't had the time to study as much as I wanted.
Last week I listened to the first Assimil CD up to lesson 21, which was the last I did in late June/early July. This week I started at lesson 22, and have (so far) managed to do one lesson per day. I usually listen to it between five and ten times, all in one go. I think that fredmf was spot on in Assimil French:
Of course I know how French sounds (I did study it a decade ago) but I still need to listen a lot. Some of the words and sentences are really hard to pronounce at this stage. I will probably use the first CD as listening/shadowing material even when I get past it. I think it is safe to say that one can never listen too much to a language, even if it's on a basic level. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Sim Diglot Groupie Canada thehelper.net/forums Joined 6072 days ago 45 posts - 48 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 10 06 September 2007 at 7:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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> I think it is safe to say that one can never listen too much to a language, even if it's on a basic level.
Indeed. French is hard pronunciation wise. For example, the accents. They change one letter's pronunciation. Best thing to do is to be familiar with them by listening to French. Good to know that you actually complete 1 lesson every day. Dedication rewards. Keep it up! P.S. What you could do is read French books for kids. The vocabulary is simple, the sentence construction too. Good for learners ;) ~Sim Edited by Sim on 06 September 2007 at 7:55pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 10 07 September 2007 at 3:13am | IP Logged | ||
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It takes a while to get accustomed to the accented characters and their sounds, to see words and not a random string of letters, to get a feel for the liaisons - to just mention a few things.
In the Assimil method I'm actually supposed to do one lesson a day (it's only a couple of minutes long, but should involve some repetition to "internalize" what it's about). However, sometimes things get in the way. I've thought of reading books for kids, as well as Easy Readers (when I have the vocabulary). I work at the library and can easily get something suitable for my level. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 10 20 October 2007 at 2:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've just finished lesson 56 (which means the first week of the active wave). Listening to the dialogues (as well as shadowing) works fine, although my translation of the first lessons into French aren't always exactly as written. At this stage I have not written anything, which I however realise would be a great exercise.
I also understand more without even reading the English text. Slightly longer sentences make it easier to figure things out by context. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 6 of 10 03 February 2010 at 2:33am | IP Logged | ||
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Oh my, it was ages since I updated this log.
I don't know when I "finished" Assimil, but I did, probably in late 2007. In 2008 I didn't study any French at all. My spreadsheet has but one entry, the embarrassing "Listening: 1.5 hours". Did I do anything in 2009, then? I went through Assimil again, this time only as a reading exercise (sometimes silently, sometimes aloud. Same with "Pourquoi pas?", the textbook I had in highschool. A few Easy Readers: "Voyage au centre de la terre" (by Jules Verne) "Maigret et le clochard" (by Georges Simenon) "Les trois mousquetaires" tóme 1 & 2 (by Alexandre Dumas) Comic books by Hergé: "L'affaire Tournesol" "Tintin au Tibet" "L'etoile mysterieuse" Something completely different: "Technique de combat au corps-à-corps" (by Raymond H. A Carter & Kim Oriol) Spreadsheet stats: Reading: 45.5 hours (7 minutes/day...) My goals for 2010 is to work on my vocabulary, mostly by reading. I have some more easy readers, and when I'm done with those I'll turn to the children/youth section at the library. Maybe I'll find something suitable for L-R. I might watch the Seinfeld episodes in French). Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 03 April 2010 at 11:51pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6691 days ago 4250 posts - 5710 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 7 of 10 16 October 2011 at 11:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Did I do anything with my French in 2010?
Not much. I read a few easy readers: "Mon oncle Jules et autres novelles" (by Guy de Maupassant), "Enigmes" and "Sept petites croix dans un carnet" (both by Georges Simenon), "Le père Goriot" (by Honoré de Balzac), "Le silence de la mer" (by Jean (Vercors) Bruller) and finally some L-R with "Le Petit Prince" (by Antoine de Saint-Éxupery). Not-so-impressive spreadsheet stats: Listening: 8,5 hours Reading: 8 hours Total: 16,5 hours Average: 3 minutes/day... Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 17 October 2011 at 12:01am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Homogenik Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 4606 days ago 314 posts - 407 votes Speaks: French*, English Studies: Polish, Mandarin | Message 8 of 10 17 October 2011 at 12:20am | IP Logged | ||
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If you read Balzac and Maupassant, I don't think you need to bother with children books!
And in my opinion Seinfeld in french is atrocious, if you can get your hands on a french tv series of some films... Or even dubbed american films in french are better than sitcoms in french. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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