7 posts tagged “frenchlearning”

Another great resource

Tonight while searching around for different clips on YouTube and Daily Motion, we found ourselves on the homepage of INA. INA is the Institute National de l'Audiovisuel. INA claims to be "the first audiovisual archive center in the world and the first digital image databank in Europe." Through their site you can access 100,000 different broadcasts from radio and television.

You can begin exploring INA buy looking into one of many categories such as themes, personnalites, epoques, or programmes. We searched through the personnalities categories and found ourselves checking out clips about Renaud, Colette, Brel, and many others. You could also enter something into their search engine and see what comes up.

While you can watch or listen to most things for free, I believe you have to pay a fee if you want to download anything. For some longer clips you are only given a 10 minute extract. 

Exams? Oh no!

A while ago, I had the goal of attending a French university. This goal is still very much alive in my mind but it has been put on the back burner for just a bit. However, one of the entrance requirements for foreign students is a certain level in French. Most universities, schools, and textbooks are moving towards categorizing levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). I am not 100% sure but I believe to enter into French university you should have at least a B2 level. This may depend on the university and what program you are entering into. My intention is to enroll into a program as a regular student not as a student of French as a foreign language.

Currently, you can take two routes. First, there is the TCF-DAP (and/or TCF). The TCF is the Test de Connaissance de Français. The TCF is open to anyone who would like to determine their level in French. The TCF-DAP is intended for those who wish to enter into the first cycle of French university. It seems that this test covers all of the CEFR levels in one exam, you progress through each level and in the end you have an idea of where you stand.

The other option is take a DELF/DALF exam. The DELF (Diplôme d’Études en Langue Française) covers levels A1 through B2 of the CEFR and the DALF (Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française) covers levels C1 and C2 with each level having its own individual exam. This is an official diploma from the French Ministry of National Education and is only for foreign students. This exam can be taken all over the world. Here are some subject examples.

Realizing that I was having trouble structuring my language learning, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the CEFR levels in order to give myself a short-term goal. (The long-term is goal is to become fluent.) Also, if I have a diploma under my belt, I am all set to enter into French university when the time comes.

But I have no idea what my level is.

I picked up a book called Le Nouvel Entrainez-vous: DELF B1 to see how I did with the exercises. So far the oral comprehension exercises have been easy but I think that the written and oral production sections are not going to go so smoothly. I'll keep you posted.

Lastly, I am considering taking a correspondance/online class through CNED (Centre national d'enseignement à distance). Anyone can take classes through CNED and they offer courses to prepare for each level of the DELF/DALF as well as the TCF. The prices are reasonable and you have a tutor who works with you. For an extra fee, you can participate in forums and discussion boards with other students doing the same course.

Anyone have experience with this?

Another great resource

The BBC's French Language Learning website is full of great resources. It has fun games (which I love), videos, and other interesting tidbits. Their interactive course, Ma France, is quite impressive.

There are 24 interactive videos with authentic French and somewhat authentic situations. You follow the video route through one of my favorite parts of France, Lyons and the Alps. While you watch each video you have the option to have subtitles in both French or English and each video segment is followed by games and activities. There is also a vocabulary list and grammar explanations. I suggest creating an account so that you can keep track of your progress as you go along. (For some reason, I couldn't access all the activities without signing up.)

In addition to the video course, Ma France also has a podcast series that covers a variety of subjects from "how not to get lost" to "house-hunting."

They suggest that you have some experience with French in order to use the course but with the English subtitles I think even beginners could get something out of this. Also, be sure to check out the other resources in the French section. They have a level test which is followed up with suggestions that are appropriate.

Have fun and tell me what you think!

Even if you feel silly, singing in French is really helpful. I am a fan of the French artist Bénabar and I found a few videos on YouTube that are fairly easy to understand. Elles sont tellement drôle.

Bénabar - Dis Lui Oui

The lyrics to Dis Lui Oui can be found here.

le diner

But where do I begin?

Everyone does it. Musicians, athletes, yogis. It is the subject of latest podcast that my husband is working on. Camille, from Easy French Poetry, says just one line in English during her podcast: "Remember, repetition is key."

So, here I am listening to my podcasts, reading my books, and really enjoying myself. But I keep asking myself, what am I supposed to repeat? Where do I begin?

I think this is the hardest part of independent study. The role of the teacher is to structure the learning process and help guide you through the important points in a somewhat logical sense. Without a framework, I feel a little lost.

Today, while listening to the book, I realized that I could write down words that I don't know or I am not sure about. This would give me a list to repeat but is simply repeating words enough. And which words do I choose? Nouns? Verbs? Wouldn't phrases be better and if so, which phrases?

I suppose I am a bit intimidated by the work. Listening has been so enjoyable and so easy but I definitely need to take it further.

Any ideas?

In the meantime, I suggest checking out Le journal en français facile which was recommended to me by Lucy. I really like that it is easy but not too easy. And you get the transcript. I love that.

Another great resource

I found the podcast, Easy French Poetry in Itunes. I loaded up the two most recent episodes and have since gone back for more. I really like Camille's podcast. First, she is French so you are getting an authentic experience. Second, she speaks almost entirely in French. I have expressed before that I have a hard time when language learning podcasts include too much English - it distracts me. Third, her content is interesting and intellectual. Her method of discussing and analyzing poems is similar to the style that my professor used during my Sorbonne classes. In fact, some of the poems she has featured on her podcast are the same that we studied in my class, like Demain dès l’aube de Victor Hugo.

In addition to her Easy French Poetry podcast, Camille has free lessons, a free online book, and travel tips on her website. If you live in the Boston area you can go have a lesson with her and if you live a bit further away, you could try lessons by telephone. Either way, go check out her work. It is quite impressive and very well done - she does it all herself so if you enjoy her material consider giving her a donation or purchasing one of her books.

Thanks Camille for a great French learning tool!

Taking Notes

While it may seem that all I talk about is listening, I see it as only one piece of any language learning program. Reading, writing, and speaking all carry their own equal weight in importance. It is just that I think those who are trying to learn a language on their own tend to forget about just simply listening.

But this post isn't about listening. Last night, while rocking my son to sleep I realized that the best way for me to improve my speaking and writing is to continue to compile and learn packages of words. Learning grammar is important but when the moment comes and I actually need to use French in a real situation, everything I know about grammar gets tossed away. What I do remember are packages or phrases that I have memorized.

One situation that I keep coming across is my desire to leave comments on blogs but not being completely sure what to write. Sometimes a post catches my eye and I would simply like to let the writer know that I enjoyed it. Often I want to leave a well thought out comment but I don't want to take the time to figure out how to write it correctly in French. In the end, I don't end up saying anything. So, I think I need to begin with something more simple. Just a few phrases to use in blog commenting.

Here is an idea for an exercise:

1. Take a look at some blogs written in French. Blogsearch on Google France would be a good place to start. I entered tricot (knitting) as the subject that interested me. Other ideas could be cuisiner, photographie, voyages, or any other subject that interests you.

2. Choose a blog from the list. I chose the first one on the list and then noticed that the top post on the page had 15 comments. I read the post and then clicked on the comments.

3. I then went through and started a list of the different (and common) phrases that people used in comments. I just wanted those phrases and expressions that were used to express something general and positive. I tried to look for phrases that I could easily alter, for example: la moufle est de toute beauté could be changed to le bonnet est toute beauté.

la moufle est très chouette!
superbe!
c'est bien jolie tout ca...bravo!
La couleur est superbe !!!
Superbes ta moufles et ton châle...
c'est genial comme idée!
genial!
bon courage !
bravo!

4. Then I chose another blog (either from blogsearch again or from the links on the previous blog) and repeated the process.

il est très beau ton nouveau modèle :)
il est très joli
Ce modèle Bonita me plaît beaucoup
ouaaaaaah impressionnant
Super joli Bonita
J'adore ton nouveau tricot !!

5. Along the way, I started to find some blogs that I wanted to continue to read. Reading blogs in French with a subject that interests you is a great way to learn all the appropriate vocabulary. (This could be another exercise in the future.) Also, now that you have made a list of expressions, you need to use them so keeping tabs on different blogs will help you!

6. Leave a comment on a blog. (Mine is at the bottom of this page.) Choose 3 or 4 expressions that you like and don't cut & paste them! Rewriting in an important part of the process for your brain, the more you write them the more they will become part of your natural language. Most of these expressions are not limited to just blogs and commenting. You can use them in your everyday language as well! (Also, be careful with the masculinity and femininity of the words. You can usually figure out the gender by looking for clues in the blog post or other comments.)

Word of warning: Comments aren't always written with correct grammar and spelling. Text-speak is very common on blogs which means that words aren't always written correctly and phrases aren't formed in the right way,

Any other ideas?