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eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:57 pm
by eebeejay
Hello!

I was a very inactive member on HTLAL but perhaps I will be able to keep up some more regular posting here.

I'm back because I would still like to achieve a good working knowledge of French. I was making some progress on this some time ago and then my life circumstances changed. I moved to the UK and started working in a completely new industry, so relocation and career stuff took up a lot of my time. Now I'm looking at getting back into a study routine again.

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 1:23 pm
by Cavesa
Welcome back!

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 1:27 pm
by tomgosse
Bonjour et bienvenue !

I'm looking forward to following your journey. What resources are you using?

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:20 pm
by eebeejay
Thanks for the welcome!

I'm planning on picking up where I left off with Duolingo and French in Action lessons, as well as drilling grammar with FSI. I've also got a few word lists on Anki.

I was working on Assimil French with Ease before I left and unfortunately I had to leave the book behind. I did rip the audio lessons from the CDs though, so I might pick up Assimil again if I can find a reasonably priced copy of the book.

I'm looking for some ways to increase my exposure to French. I used to have a few Francophone housemates but now that I don't I'm really missing hearing it around me.

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 10:41 pm
by eebeejay
I've been pretty good lately about doing a bit of study each day, working on my Anki decks on my way to work and then a bit of Duolingo in the evenings. I'm still mostly working on reviewing material I've encountered previously and I'm looking forward to getting through everything so I can start learning some new things. I've been pleased and surprised by how much I've retained, despite not touching French in a year.

The other day I got sucked into a hole for a couple hours reading and translating an article about the city of Petra. I seem to recall the last time I ventured into the translations part of that site I got bored and frustrated by it, so I was surprised by how much easier it seemed to be this time around, and I ended up translating a substantial part of the article. So despite some of its obvious flaws, I've apparently learned a fair bit from Duolingo.

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:31 pm
by eebeejay
I have a few things to help keep me motivated this time around. One of them is that if I eventually end up back in Canada, having a good working knowledge of French will give me more options in terms of finding a decent job. I think it is unlikely that if I go back I will find a job in my field in my home city, and that I would have better chances in Toronto or Montreal. French would be an asset in either case.

The other is that I have gotten back into hiking again and I'm getting pretty bored of hiking in South East England. It's lovely and I love how accessible it is by public transportation, and it's wonderful that there's a pub where you can get a pint every 3-5 miles, but coming from British Columbia, I'm really starting to miss the challenge and remoteness of wilder terrain.

I've been reading up on some of the long-distance routes in France, such as the GR10, which even if I never go, it's providing me with some interesting reading material in French:

L'intégrale du GR10 en 47 jours, de Hendaye à Banyuls
GR 10 > Traversée des Pyrénées

Besides wanderlust, I'm also finding myself with renewed interest in learning German, and also finding that if I stay in the UK, it may be advantageous for me to learn some Welsh... but I think I will stick with French for the time being.

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:09 pm
by eebeejay
Two sad things:

1) I've been having a hard time at work lately so I haven't been studying French nearly enough. My phone died completely and it took me a good week to sort out, meaning no anki flashcards either.

2) The situation in Paris right now, which I'm listening to on RFI.

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:42 am
by PeterMollenburg
Hi eebeejay,

I've just caught up on your log. Good luck with your French! Glad to see you're back learning this beautiful language.

PM

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:37 pm
by Mohave
Bonjour eebeejay !

Bienvenue et bonne chance ! I look forward to following your progress and reading your log!

Mohave

Re: eebeejay learns French (again)

Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 7:24 pm
by Montmorency
eebeejay wrote:Besides wanderlust, I'm also finding myself with renewed interest in learning German, and also finding that if I stay in the UK, it may be advantageous for me to learn some Welsh... but I think I will stick with French for the time being.


Well, if you want some challenging walking, there is always the Welsh coastal path.
And if ever you decide to learn Welsh, give https://www.saysomethingin.com a try. Pob lwc.