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I Learned French in 12 Months

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Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#61

Post by jodrellblank »

bdg wrote: post #21
raphaelj wrote: post #9

As a French native speaker, I'm a little bit surprised by the corrected text OP posted in her/his article ( http://www.runwes.com/images/learningfrench/image1.png ). Most of the corrections she/he received are not justified at all. Like using the work "crédits" is totally fine in this context. I can't get why they corrected some connectors like "à" or "pour", as the usage of these in the text seem at least as correct…

It's a typical side-effect of writing anything online. I've had this experience with nearly everything I've ever posted (also: a lot of great comments too). Whenever you want to share knowledge about X: out of the woodwork crawl out the little pests who have nothing to do except hold you to the highest level of scrutiny they can imagine, and they'll word it like they want to crucify you for the slightest infraction.…

out of the woodwork crawl out the little pests who have nothing to do except hold you to the highest level of scrutiny they can imagine

You say, with derision and personal insults to those people who dared not meet your standards for perfect corrections and perfect judgement of feedback desirability.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#62

Post by DiogenesKynikos »

As this article shows, it is perfectly possible to learn a language to a decent level (B2) in a year by studying at home. This is especially true if the language you're learning is closely related to your native language (e.g., English and French). You just have to consistently put in the time (probably an hour a day, at a minimum) and use a good mix of resources: a good textbook, flashcards (e.g., Anki), Italki (personal tutoring over video chat), radio, and some easy reading (childrens' books are great).

If you can go to a country where the language is spoken and are able to spend all of your time working on the language, you can learn to B2 level in much less than a year. I would say you should be able to achieve B2 level in a relatively easy (because close to English) language like French in less than 6 months.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#63

Post by ngngngng »

mythrwy wrote: post #47
hrktb wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you see this quote relative to your real life observation ? I always wonder why people post out of context quotes without commentary, when arguably their interpretation is the most interesting part. I care a lot more about what you think than what that religious leader says.

I personally suspect it's an attempt to "sell" the religion. Someone can google Ballard and find out all about Joseph Smith! But the quote is sort of bland and not that insightful anyway.

> I personally suspect it's an attempt to "sell" the religion

You can think whatever you want. It's a quote that I enjoy that came to mind while reading the parent comment. I was going to leave the name out because inevitably anything Mormon on the internet gets bombarded with comments like yours, although yours is fairly benign compared to most. I decided it was odd to quote someone and leave out the citation.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#64

Post by GuiA »

narag wrote: post #39
raphaelj wrote: post #9

As a French native speaker, I'm a little bit surprised by the corrected text OP posted in her/his article ( http://www.runwes.com/images/learningfrench/image1.png ). Most of the corrections she/he received are not justified at all. Like using the work "crédits" is totally fine in this context. I can't get why they corrected some connectors like "à" or "pour", as the usage of these in the text seem at least as correct…

Most of the corrections she/he received are not justified at all. I know it sounds absurd, but maybe the corrections weren't made by native speakers.

From the article:

> I initially preferred native French speakers, but after taking lessons with non-native speakers, I found that I couldn’t really tell the difference between natives and non-natives.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#65

Post by viseztrance »

tayo42 wrote: post #43
jackschultz wrote: post #3

Whenever I read posts like this I'm much more impressed with the person's desire, motivation, determination, and strength to go an entire year focusing on one a single goal, not necessarily their learning ability. So many people, me especially, go through spurts of wanting to learn something new or complete a project, reach a goal, and yet I always seem to fizzle out because in the end, why bother? I'll argue it's in…

> yet I always seem to fizzle out because in the end, why bother? This has frequently been my problem. I think maybe I'll learn enough to know it's not relevant or helpful outside some curiosity. Languages are really hard. As an American speaking English I really get no use from knowing another language. Over my life I've learned, Spanish, Hebrew, French and Japanese. Enough to make sentences, and I forgot them all a…

Not everyone speaks English, far from it, but I totally understand the sentiment. In any case, even if you're visiting a place and you're awful at a language, it still means a LOT to the native speakers.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#67

Post by ngngngng »

hrktb wrote: post #37
ngngngng wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.” - M. Russel…

How do you see this quote relative to your real life observation ? I always wonder why people post out of context quotes without commentary, when arguably their interpretation is the most interesting part. I care a lot more about what you think than what that religious leader says.

That's fair. My Dad always taught me that life is a series of distractions. A few years ago when I was single and college age I would always approach him with opportunities to change my major or accept some cool job. He'd never tell me what to do, but instead would have me write down (or review) my goals in life. And then ask myself, "does this fit within my goals?"

In following this philosophy I turned down many opportunities that seemed too good to be true because they didn't fit my life goals.

This is the main benefit I see in the quote, goals help with stretching yourself, sure. But I think it's far more valuable to stick to something instead of chasing every distraction that comes your way.

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#68

Post by jefft255 »

neplus wrote: post #59
throwaway41968 wrote: post #25

Couple remarks on the author's alleged "weaknesses": >Understand strongly accented speech. I understand essentially all the “standard” French without subtitles, but very little of the Quebecois. Most European French speakers have trouble understanding Québecois as well, especially if it delves into slang, so I wouldn't fret much. High level (and written) speech should be ok though. >Understand very slang-heavy speech…

Do you happen to be from Quebec? I'm Canadian by birth and have wanted recently to learn Quebecois French, but have struggled with finding practical resources (as everyone seems to agree most French resources and learning programs are going to give you a rather half-baked understanding of Quebecois French).

I’m Québécois. Honestly, I’m not aware of any Quebec-specific online resources. If you’re still living in Canada, there’s a good chance that you can get night classes at a University that would be taught by a Quebec expat. Otherwise, I wouldn’t agree that other resources will give you a half-baked understanding. It’s mostly a question of training your ear for the accent, which you can do by watching shows, for example. Differences in vocabulary are well-documented and easy to memorize (probably, as someone who’s done the reverse and learned the France equivalent).

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#69

Post by mytailorisrich »

raphaelj wrote: post #9

As a French native speaker, I'm a little bit surprised by the corrected text OP posted in her/his article ( http://www.runwes.com/images/learningfrench/image1.png ). Most of the corrections she/he received are not justified at all. Like using the work "crédits" is totally fine in this context. I can't get why they corrected some connectors like "à" or "pour", as the usage of these in the text seem at least as correct…

I'm also a native speaker (France's French if that makes a difference). "Crédits" was replaced by "bons", which means vouchers. In the context that would indeed be the likely correct option (and I never heard "crédits" used that way...)

It's grammatically incorrect to write "s'inscrire à une salle de sport" and should indeed be "dans une salle de sport" and so it was warranted to correct that.

The other corrections are similarly warranted.

I'm a bit worried if you guys all think the original text was fine... ;)

Re: I Learned French in 12 Months

#70

Post by shwoopdiwoop »

jefft255 wrote: post #68
neplus wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you happen to be from Quebec? I'm Canadian by birth and have wanted recently to learn Quebecois French, but have struggled with finding practical resources (as everyone seems to agree most French resources and learning programs are going to give you a rather half-baked understanding of Quebecois French).

I’m Québécois. Honestly, I’m not aware of any Quebec-specific online resources. If you’re still living in Canada, there’s a good chance that you can get night classes at a University that would be taught by a Quebec expat. Otherwise, I wouldn’t agree that other resources will give you a half-baked understanding. It’s mostly a question of training your ear for the accent, which you can do by watching shows, for exampl…

Mango languages app offers Canadian French/Québécois - I find their approach to language learning much better than Duolingo. Plus it comes free with your library card if you’re in Ontario!
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