Postby PeterMollenburg » Fri Apr 28, 2017 10:28 am
The final push to B2
I paid for my B2 exam today.
I decided to lay low for a little and get my act together in the last week or so- which I have done for the most part. Still, i've not covered anywhere near as much ground as I would've liked to date (not a surprise), but I'm pushing forward towards the B2, paid for it now, so May 18th it is!
• Got into a better routine in the last week.
• Last couple of days I have lost the plot somewhat again (not entirely). I want to be back in full swing of my routine come 1st May.
• Next 2.5 weeks I will make the final push and try to stick to my routine even better.
• Have further identified my weakness-
* Listening could be better
* Speaking requires more regular practise post
exam I believe but likely good enough to pass.
* Speed is still an issue - I've always been
thorough as opposed to fast and this is
something I ought to be acutely aware of during
this exam - i'm still not great on how much time I
need to respond to each section of the exam and
I need to know this better.
• I did request, ~2 weeks ago now, -even had the cash set aside- private tutoring with the Alliance Française, they didn't get back to me until today. I'm not going to use them now. I went with iTalki instead. I had paid for 7 lessons up front on iTalki (already had 2) and still have more to book in the lead up to the exam.
• My confidence rises and falls in general but on the whole I really should be able to pass this exam (can you tell confidence is currently up a bit).
• My 2 lessons so far on iTalki (via Skype) have gone rather well and I seem to be able to respond not flawlessly but rather well to the B2 style questions expected of me and put to me via my tutor.
• Tried out listening with waterproof headset and ipod while kayaking up the river. Still not a big fan of audio while exercising. It feels like too much of a distraction from focusing on the exercise itself. I will try some more before I give up on that idea. It might come through in the end, or at least when i'm casually kayaking as opposed to pushing the limit, but while I tried it, I was longing for the podcast to shut up so I could be with nature and listen to the water, trees and my breathing, even if my mind wanders while doing so.
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Plans post exam
I've been thinking a lot about introducing Dutch on a equal footing with French (ie equal amount of allocated learning time), but i'm beginning change my opinion again. You see, having done over 3000 hours of French, I ought to able to pass a C2 exam, but i've often said that i've really hammered the pronunciation and general basics and taken twice as long or more on much of my learning compared to what Mr or Mrs Usual Person may do. Let's say then that i've done the equivalent of 1000 hours study, but with better than average pronunciation. In that case, it's not that much of a stretch that I could aim for a C1 exam in November or May next year when the next exam periods are. However, I need to do a lot more reading and watching/listening. So that's my rough plan. Pass the B2 (fingers crossed) and target the C levels. I feel like there's a LOT tied up in my memory banks that is simply not being activated fully. If I can pass the B2, then work on activating via consolidation through extensive exposure then surely 4000 hours should get me over a C1 line at least? I could be drastically wrong of course. One could go running every day for 10 years and still not be able to run 5km in under 20 minutes.
I keep reading that if you can take your level of language to the C-levels you're much less likely to forget what you learn or you will at least find it much easier to maintain that language and it will take more for it to rust if you don't use it much/at all (that's not my plan). This is my motivation. I could be dreaming, but this is the carrot I'm currently chasing.
So, post exam I will rotate my 3 hours. One hour course study (still- it works for me), one hour watching, one hour reading. I will aim to build my listening skills up in a more gradual manner- I bought Buffy today (the box-set). I couldn't help myself but to buy some more French books too (conpiracies if you will- or 'reality' really). My reading hours will be 66% extensive, 33% intensive, similar for watching- emphasis on extensive. And as for courses I will attempt to complete French in Action once and for all without any translating (via dictionnaries)- use it as it's designed (no English). Later I'd like to complete FSI Basic French and Mauger's course. Afterwards the CLE courses. All these courses are almost (ex FSI perhaps) entirely in French- a good move, I believe.
I'm not sure what to do with flashcards. I need to step away I think, or at least from reliance on English, so I may ditch them for a time and see how I go, or I will switch to French only flash cards (now my clues for cloze cards- the only style cards I use - are in English). I need to gain confidence in leaving such training wheels behind, but am scared of not understanding words without them. Still, I do often think back to times when I used FIA when I wasn't in my 'serious French period' which began in 2013 and I seemed to have had a more natural feel for French back then at times- the difference I think, is I still use too much English! We'll see.
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