AS French

(Initial warning: My French isn't the best at the moment which is therefore why I am asking this question. EDIT: My English also isn't that great lol. My grammar is quite rubbish because I rarely use proper grammar, coming from the Black Country.)
Bonjour :smile:

J'ai une question dont je suppose beaucoup de gens demander.

Qui a complété/étudie encore français (AS)?

What work did you do/are you doing outside of class (other than homework) on a weekly basis? My progress is déraisonnablement slow and I know that the reason for this is because I don't do enough work outside of class.

Many people advise me to watch french movies and to listen to french music but I just don't enjoy this s:

Any advice?

Like if anyone can tell me what they do each week and how much they are progressing, ce serait très utile pour moi. EDIT: Because I always think to myself.. okay I need to be doing this and that and this and that every day for so many hours and I feel like this exhaustive process will inevitably tire me out and maybe stint my progress as oppose to allowing to be optimised.

Merci d'avance!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

Anna Schoon

13

Original post by beyknowles

(Initial warning: My French isn't the best at the moment which is therefore why I am asking this question. EDIT: My English also isn't that great lol. My grammar is quite rubbish because I rarely use proper grammar, coming from the Black Country.)
Bonjour :smile:

J'ai une question dont je suppose beaucoup de gens demander.

Qui a complété/étudie encore français (AS)?

What work did you do/are you doing outside of class (other than homework) on a weekly basis? My progress is déraisonnablement slow and I know that the reason for this is because I don't do enough work outside of class.

Many people advise me to watch french movies and to listen to french music but I just don't enjoy this s:

Any advice?

Like if anyone can tell me what they do each week and how much they are progressing, ce serait très utile pour moi. EDIT: Because I always think to myself.. okay I need to be doing this and that and this and that every day for so many hours and I feel like this exhaustive process will inevitably tire me out and maybe stint my progress as oppose to allowing to be optimised.

Merci d'avance!

My student days are a long time ago, but in my day we didn't even have access to films or music, so maybe my experience might still be useful here!

Because in my day the A level syllabus was 40% literature, our teacher advised us to read at least one other work in French by each of the four authors we were studying. That was actually really tough, but I did it and it certainly helped widen my vocab and understanding, which had a good knock-on effect on the language papers.

Basically, exposure to French is the answer - whatever exposure. If you enjoy reading, read. If you enjoy computer games, find French ones. I know a few students who have set their social media pages to French so all the instructions come up in French. If you enjoy chatting on forums, join some French ones. Or join the group on TSR!

For personal reasons I'm learning Turkish at the moment - now there's a bit of masochism for you as this is a really difficult language! - and I am making myself do an hour a day, every day. It doesn't matter what I do - sometimes I'll read and look up vocab; sometimes I'll do grammar; sometimes I'll listen to podcasts or watch subtitled YouTube videos - as long as I have that exposure so the language remains fresh in my mind. Since I've been really disciplined about this I've made tangible progress.

You say your grammar is "rubbish" and if you don't do something about that you will always be held back. I speak as a French teacher of 30 years' experience, so I do know what I'm talking about! There's a bulky but brilliant book out there which my students love using (one of them has called it "a classroom in paperback"!) which I recommend you get and work your way through: http://www.amazon.co.uk/French-Grammar-Essential-Sixth-Beyond/dp/095706120X . It's a little pricey but you can also get a second-hand copy and it will be worth every penny.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

beyknowles

OP

3

That's all really helpful thank you!

Original post by Anna Schoon

Basically, exposure to French is the answer - whatever exposure. If you enjoy reading, read. If you enjoy computer games, find French ones. I know a few students who have set their social media pages to French so all the instructions come up in French. If you enjoy chatting on forums, join some French ones. Or join the group on TSR!

I understand this, but I get a little bored and frustrated when I'm trying to read (i.e. I'd have no chance of being able to read a fiction book) because I don't know what things mean. I have set myself the target of reading 1 article (i.e. on google/yahoo actualités) and I have to try and read the whole article by reading for context - I can only translate 3 words/really short phrases. Does sound like a good idea?

For personal reasons I'm learning Turkish at the moment - now there's a bit of masochism for you as this is a really difficult language! - and I am making myself do an hour a day, every day. It doesn't matter what I do - sometimes I'll read and look up vocab; sometimes I'll do grammar; sometimes I'll listen to podcasts or watch subtitled YouTube videos - as long as I have that exposure so the language remains fresh in my mind. Since I've been really disciplined about this I've made tangible progress.

Well done

I am aiming to do what I said just, 1 listening activity per day, 20 mins on a grammar topic per day, 3 conjugations per day, 5 words per day and homework/individual work on set topics from textbook. Is this okay?

Merci! :smile:

Reply 3

Anna Schoon

13

Original post by beyknowles

That's all really helpful thank you!

I understand this, but I get a little bored and frustrated when I'm trying to read (i.e. I'd have no chance of being able to read a fiction book) because I don't know what things mean. I have set myself the target of reading 1 article (i.e. on google/yahoo actualités) and I have to try and read the whole article by reading for context - I can only translate 3 words/really short phrases. Does sound like a good idea?

Well done :smile:

I am aiming to do what I said just, 1 listening activity per day, 20 mins on a grammar topic per day, 3 conjugations per day, 5 words per day and homework/individual work on set topics from textbook. Is this okay?

Merci! :smile:

Sounds good! Keep at it and you'll get there. Learning a foreign language is a slow process but at least everything you do will contribute to your progress. As I said, if you can manage to do some French every day of every week, you'll be giving yourself precious exposure to the language. Good luck!

Reply 4

beyknowles

OP

3

Original post by Anna Schoon

Sounds good! Keep at it and you'll get there. Learning a foreign language is a slow process but at least everything you do will contribute to your progress. As I said, if you can manage to do some French every day of every week, you'll be giving yourself precious exposure to the language. Good luck!

You're very helpful :redface:

Are there any particular activities that you can think of which can help with progressing? Merci d'avance et si vous n'avez pas des suggestions... cela n'a pas d'importance :smile:

Je vous souhaite beaucoup de réussite dans votre travail / vos études ! :^_^:

Reply 5

Anna Schoon

13

Original post by beyknowles

You're very helpful :redface:

Are there any particular activities that you can think of which can help with progressing? Merci d'avance et si vous n'avez pas des suggestions... cela n'a pas d'importance :smile:

Je vous souhaite beaucoup de réussite dans votre travail / vos études ! :^_^:

As I said earlier, getting to grips with the grammar will be a tremendous help. Get that grammar book!

Another activity that can work well is getting together over lunch with any other French students at school - the rule is that anyone who sits at your table has to communicate in French! This can give you 15 - 20 minutes practice every day which will add up over the weeks and months.

And try and find an activity in French that you really enjoy. You're already doing the right things (listening, reading articles, etc.) but try not to forget the enjoyment side of things. For example, if you like art, you could go to the Louvre website and explore their virtual museum; if you like songs you could dig out French songs (with lyrics) on YouTube; if you like baking cakes, you could go to a French cookery website and find a French recipe, and so on. There are some very good geographical and scientific magazines in France - and also fashion, of course! - if you're interested in those subjects you could consider a subscription. As I said, that's just for fun but it's important that you enjoy your French, otherwise you might end up losing your motivation over time.

If you're interested in a particular topic or subject area, let me know and I'll see if I can find some good websites or magazines to recommend.

Thanks for your good wishes for my Turkish - I need as much encouragement as I can get!

AS French

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