A language learners’ forum

GREETINGS!

I joined this forum after having spent a fortnight conducting research on the best way to resuscitate my moribund French. I last used the language in high school (Cambridge IGCSE) eleven years ago, and it has since fallen into disrepair. I have managed to compile a sizeable French nuclear arsenal, and am ready to embark on my ultra-intensive French journey tomorrow morning.

I will be doing the following on a daily basis:

2 x Assimil FWOT lessons (140 lessons to be done in 70 days)
2 x Assimil NFWE lessons (113 lessons to be done in 57 days)
1 x Linguaphone (1950)* (50 lessons to be done in 50 days)
1 x Linguaphone (1971)* (30 lessons to be done in 30 days)
1 x Living Language Ultimate: Beginner - Intermediate (2000)* (40 lessons to be done in 40 days)
1 x Cortina Conversational French in 20 Lessons (1954)* (20 lessons to be done in 40 days)
2 x DLI French Basic (85 lessons to be done in 43 days)
2 x Hugo French In 3 Months (1987)* (90 lessons to be done in 45 days)
1 x FSI French Phonology* (20 lessons to be done in 20 days)
1 x Teach Yourself French (2003)* (25 units to be done in 50 25 days)
1 x Oxford: Take Off In French (2000)* (14 units to be done in 28 14 days)

Please note that once the programs with the asterisk are completed, I will proceed with the following:
(ie, whatever course gets finished is replaced by something on this list immediately. I will not be revising anything).

1. DLI French Basic moved up to "initial" course list.
2. FSI Metro Fast
3. FSI Belgium
4. French In Action
5. Colloquial French 1 & 2
6. Practice & Improve: French
7. Practice & Improve: French Plus I never owned this, I owned Immersion French Deluxe instead
8. Immersion Plus
9. added Fluent French

UPDATE I love vintage books, and stumbled upon the original Teach Yourself French book from 1918 and a Teach Yourself French Grammar book from 1961. I will NOT touch them until I have completed everything above.

Yes, I know that everyone will roll their eyes at me, but I do have a superpower photographic memory which explains why I was able to understand everything that I read on the last pages of FWE, NFWE, Linguaphone 1950, Linguaphone 1971 and Cortina from remembering content read/written during my high school French stint. (Yes, I am a freak and remember essentially everything that I write/read. This does NOT extend to what I hear/say, and is the reason why I can't speak it anymore.). More importantly, I am exceptionally motivated, extremely bored and need something to sidetrack me completely from my Master's in Banking & Finance. I have not been deluded into thinking that I can become B2+/C1 from memory alone. I am a very, very extroverted person, so I am more than happy to find people to talk to on HelloTalk, SharedTalk and Verbling (in exchange for my English, of course).

I am here to seek ACCOUNTABILITY and will be reporting back once a week on my progress. I will be happy to make friends in the process too.

UPDATE: 25/07/18 - The semester is starting one week earlier than previously assumed, therefore my project will be shortened by an entire week I will have to do my utmost best to finish as many courses as I possibly can during those precious nine weeks.

Hmm, maybe you should ask a moderator to move this to the log section of the forum?

Also, good luck with your project! I'll be watching your progress.

Welcome to the forum, Skynet!

Wow, that's some list you have there...!! I wish you the very best in successfully "terminating" each and every goal on that list (sorry, I couldn't resist trading one pun for another), and hope you reach a good level in French after 10 weeks.

eido wrote:Hmm, maybe you should ask a moderator to move this to the log section of the forum?

Also, good luck with your project! I'll be watching your progress.

Sorry, I have no idea how to do that. Help!?

Thank-you for the massive show of support! One thing that I guarantee that I will never lack is confidence, because the members of this forum are exceptionally encouraging!

Teango wrote:Welcome to the forum, Skynet!

Wow, that's some list you have there...!! I wish you the very best in successfully "terminating" each and every goal on that list (sorry, I couldn't resist trading one pun for another), and hope you reach a good level in French after 10 weeks.

Oh Teango, you spoil me by having a similarly zany sense of humour! You also get brownie points for being so welcoming!

Now that you have brought it up, I look forward to watching The Terminator movie franchise in FRENCH in the not-too-distant future

Thank-you for the vote of confidence (and accompanying ego boost)!

Hasta la vista, baby!

Teango wrote:Welcome to the forum, Skynet!

Honestly, having been a careful observer of the Terminator documentaries over the years, I never thought I would live long enough to hear this sentiment expressed!

Good luck Skynet with your plans (again, this just kinda rankles given the Terminator ambiguity that arises). Is there anything special about a 70 day deadline, or do you just like a challenge? I am not familiar with either photographic or eidetic memories, but even with astonishing visual recall, I would guess you are looking at 68 mostly-consecutive days of perhaps ten actual study hours per each day. Just kinda guessing as I have never worked through Assimil or Lingaphone materials. Note I have taken the liberty of suggesting 2 days be reserved for psych intervention or cerebral refreezing once your brain actually melts.

Once again, in the most language-learning-limited sense possible, good luck with your evil plans.

lavengro wrote:

Teango wrote:Welcome to the forum, Skynet!

Honestly, having been a careful observer of the Terminator documentaries over the years, I never thought I would live long enough to hear this sentiment expressed!

Good luck Skynet with your plans (again, this just kinda rankles given the Terminator ambiguity that arises). Is there anything special about a 70 day deadline, or do you just like a challenge? I am not familiar with either photographic or eidetic memories, but even with astonishing visual recall, I would guess you are looking at 68 mostly-consecutive days of perhaps ten actual study hours per each day. Just kinda guessing as I have never worked through Assimil or Lingaphone materials. Note I have taken the liberty of suggesting 2 days be reserved for psych intervention or cerebral refreezing once your brain actually melts.

Once again, in the most language-learning-limited sense possible, good luck with your evil plans.

I am a HUGE fan of science fiction, and especially cyberpunk. I assure you, there is a huge Terminator franchise cult following out there.

There is nothing remarkable about 70 days. My summer break ends on 24.09.18 (which is exactly 66 days away), but I need an additional 4 days to complete Assimil FWOT (66+4 =70). I also do like challenges - if anyone here plays contract bridge and chess, please IM me.

I intend to have thirteen 45-min long lessons daily. That will be about 9.75hrs/day of French. I only study between 0745 and 1900hrs and have time to socialise, attend church services and stay fit (cycling to and from the sea and having a 1.5hr swim every single night). My attention gets strained after 4hrs, so I take a break after every 5th lesson.

Note I have taken the liberty of suggesting 2 days be reserved for psych intervention or cerebral refreezing once your brain actually melts. Oh, now that explains where those two days went. I kept asking myself "How did he end up with 68 days?"

I survived studying for my MSc, CFA, FRM and CAIA last semester. Unfortunately, my brain did not get the chance to melt, it simply SUBLIMED.

You have gobs of courses, but no native content. With your background, I would dive right into a cheesy French sitcom from Generation Sitcoms on YouTube, or maybe a dubbed children’s show? Something easy, fun and immersive.

PeterMollenburg wrote:...I have completed a plethora of French courses, perhaps more than anyone else here...

Wow, PM may have a competitor (It's an inside joke). Welcome to the forum, Skynet, Bonne Chance !

Lawyer&Mom wrote:You have gobs of courses, but no native content. With your background, I would dive right into a cheesy French sitcom from Generation Sitcoms on YouTube, or maybe a dubbed children’s show? Something easy, fun and immersive.

Thank-you for the response and for your suggestion

I have become completely deaf to French over the last 11 years. When I read through the last pages of those courses, I was reading them with my standard English accent . I know that French exhibits a very high degree of orthographic depth (although not as deep as English!), so I realised that I needed ALL the help I could muster to rewire my speaking and listening skills.

After my 10 week French bonanza ends, I will continue with Assimil Using French, Business French, Living Language Ultimate, Hugo Advanced French, then clear all the Hachette FLE, CLE, Didier B1/B2/C1 books that I can find to hammer down on grammar. I am the child of an English professor, so I am pedantic when it comes to that. Yes, I will be doing these with native content like novels, the news, radio stations, podcasts and science fiction movies. I generally REALLY struggle to watch non-news TV, unless there is an exceptional movie that has been all the rage at film festivals, or is based on a book (usually sci-fi) that I would have read before. TV has never been my strong suit.