Zelda's 2019 French Log

[StringerBell]

It's actually kind of crazy how much easier it is to produce French now. It feels natural and I'm surprised at the expressions I am able to remember.

In terms of the writing you've done, how much of it got corrections and how useful do you think it was? Do you think the improved fluency comes strictly from the act of writing/speaking more (regardless of mistakes and without corrections), or do you think corrections were important?

[zjones]

It's actually kind of crazy how much easier it is to produce French now. It feels natural and I'm surprised at the expressions I am able to remember.

In terms of the writing you've done, how much of it got corrections and how useful do you think it was? Do you think the improved fluency comes strictly from the act of writing/speaking more (regardless of mistakes and without corrections), or do you think corrections were important?

Most of my writing by hand does not get corrected -- I only seek corrections on about 1 of every 5 pieces written, so the increase in flow is simply due to writing more. I don't use a dictionary much -- or at all, in the case of my 45-minute writing exercises that mimic the DELF. When I pause to think of a phrase or term, I usually can think of it pretty quickly. Three weeks ago, it either took me a long time to find the word, or I couldn't think of the word and had to use periphrases/a dictionary.

It's great to get corrections, but it's not always necessary because most of my writing does not contain a large amount of errors (yes, there are usually a few, but it's not too bad compared to what it used to be). I've done a LOT of grammar work with French and it has paid off.

But corrections are helpful, depending on the type. Most of my errors are annoying little technicalities like gender and number not agreeing. I know these things already, I just had a brain fart, haha. When I get these kinds of corrections, I don't actually learn the correction, I just make a note to double-check my agreements on the next piece. However, I sometimes get corrections like "Don't use this expression, use this one instead, it sounds more natural" and I get a lot more useful content out of a comment like that. However those are more rare.

Keep in mind that I am also chatting a lot with LEs online now. I do get corrections when I am chatting with them (MOST of the time ), and even though this is a different style of writing than letters and essays, it's helping me with flow and fluency too.

[zjones]

Weekly Update Feb 8, 2019

Did I already say that we went to see The Lion King (the musical) a week ago? It was amazing, the set design was colorful and stunning. And the languages were beautiful! I will definitely pay high prices to get better seats next time we go. From London Entertains:

There are six indigenous African languages spoken in the show: Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa..., Sotho, Tswana, Congolese.

Greek

Nothing to report.

French

I'm going to drop the writing part of the Output Challenge because it's so difficult for me to track my writing. The extra time and effort that it takes to manually count my words is not worth it, because I'm already writing a lot and the Output Challenge is not changing that. Instead I'll focus on my speaking, because that's more difficult for me to get done, but it's easier to track because all my recordings are made on my phone and I can easily enter them into a spreadsheet.

Despite doing a lot of French every day, I felt pretty bad about my French the entire week. I made a lot of production mistakes and I felt like they were big deals. My insomnia came back with a vengeance in the beginning of the week and it totally screwed with my fine-tuned sleep schedule. I was reminded that getting poor sleep really affects my ability to speak in French, find words, and generally be happy in life.
However, looking back, I'm proud of myself for sticking with my studies even though it wasn't pleasant. I spent 5-6 hours per day on French.

I'm glad to report that I am writing almost exclusively in French -- notes, lists, journal entries. It feels strange and awkward to use English.

I went back to listen to Les Témoignages, which I watched last spring/summer. Wow, my listening comprehension has improved A TON! I would have expected my comprehension to increase over this time frame (9 months) but it's different to actually experience the change. It feels great to understand almost everything they're saying.

From last May:

The Witnesses [Les Témoignages] leaves me baffled, I can barely catch important plot points. Unfortunately, the show does not have French subtitles on Netflix.

My goals this week: I don't have the desire to set concrete goals this week. I just want to keep on keeping on, every day all day. And figure out a way to get some gosh-darn sleep.

[zjones]

Weekly Update Feb 16, 2019

French

The more I use this language, the more I'm acutely aware of everything I don't know, ha ha ha. The B-levels are so fun

The beginning of the week was difficult emotionally and mentally, but the last few days haven't been as bad. I got lots of sleep, thanks to being almost completely snowed in and not being able to attend workout class in the morning.

Last weekend I listened to a 40-minute episode of C'est pas du vent, which is a radio show and podcast on RFI. The subject was animal-human conflicts taking place near a large animal reserve in Niger. I took notes during the episode in French and then I reexplained the situation in a recording and also to my language exchange partners. The subject was really interesting to me so I was able to develop my own opinions easily. It was the longest, most intensive media study and presentation I've done in French so far. And it was so fun! Now I'm hunting the RFI website every day and using their articles to hone my presentation skills...

... which suck, by the way. This week I finally practiced the monologue section of the DELF, it was everything I feared and worse. I've struggled to present a coherent monologue especially with the 10-minute planning phase -- some of my presentations have been nothing short of incoherent, stuttered disasters -- but I've come to the conclusion that I present better when I really care about the subject. Unfortunately I don't care about most random articles that come along. So how to fake a strong personal opinion about something I don't care about in 10 minutes tops ? I'm just going to keep practicing.

For practice, I've been sitting down and turning on my recording device and speaking for long periods of time (20-30 minutes) on 2-3 articles. Nothing has to be coherent or perfect in presentation, because the point is to get used to using specific sentence structures over and over again to describe different articles. "Cet article provient de... et discute de..." "Il aborde..." "D'un part... d'autre part..." "Il faut tenir compte de..." "À mon avis... parce que..." The stuff that French teachers love to hear I'm sure.

I'm playing The Witcher 3 myself because my husband stopped playing it. I really enjoyed the chance to practice my French. I'm trying to write down and translate the words I don't know. I'm not going to any extra effort to memorize them, I just note them down because it increases the chance of me remembering them in the future. At this speed I'll probably finish the main storyline in a year.

bourgade (village)
étancher (to staunch, to empty of water)
trucider (to knock off, to kill, fam.)
échevin (county magistrate)
camelote (stuff, junk, fam.)
clébard (dog, mutt, pej.)
foisonner (to abound)
appât (bait, lure)

Outside of language-related news, I am planning our trip to Chicago to see HAMILTON (!!!!! !!!!! !!!!! !!!!!) with my sister. I'm trying to get Hamilton tickets, find an AirBnB and figure out other cultural things to do in Chicago in late spring. Hamilton stops playing in Chicago in July so it's now or never.

Goals: Show up at my library on Thursday to do a full-length DELF practice test (I reserved a small conference room). Keep practicing oral and written presentation skills every day.

[eido]

I've struggled to present a coherent monologue especially with the 10-minute planning phase -- some of my presentations have been nothing short of incoherent, stuttered disasters -- but I've come to the conclusion that I present better when I really care about the subject. Unfortunately I don't care about most random articles that come along. So how to fake a strong personal opinion about something I don't care about in 10 minutes tops ? I'm just going to keep practicing.

I got really good at faking opinions in my Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school. Some think these classes are worthless, since they're not actually as rigorous as first-year classes in college according to their evaluations, but they did teach me some skills that I use and think about to this day. One of those skills is arguing for the sake of arguing. To do this, you have to be informed.

The classes are taught to the test, much like how the DELF/DALF or DELE tests work. That's why people say they aren't effective. People aren't taught to think outside the box, just check some boxes. But I think this could work in your favor. I recommended to another French learner that he use AP or IB curriculum and preparation materials to prepare for official French certification exams, because the tests are so similar in how they test their material.

When I was in AP Language and Composition in 2013-2014, there were three types of essays you had to learn to write. Synthesis, analysis, and argument. Synthesis tested your ability to take two or more passages on a given topic, mostly of differing opinions, and construct an argument from those sources. You could be pro or against the argument - and there was a third choice, to qualify. Choosing the third choice means you say both sides have their merits, but you don't agree with either. Here's a document I found helpful that explains the choices. You could do this in the argument essay, too. Analysis tested your ability to break down a passage of a piece with "literary merit" (something chosen by the testers to be complex, but full of things to analyze, and of sufficient quality [i.e. good treatment of the subject, or "classic" status, but not always the latter]) and analyze the rhetoric within, from alliteration to the construction of sentences to argument-level ideas and how they relate to theme. The argument essay was the most fun because you could take ideas from your experience to answer the prompt. One prompt I remember was something like, "Adversity is good in all circumstances. Defend, challenge, or qualify." They deliberately pick prompts that are controversial to get a rise out of you, to see how well you can write.

I think studying any one of these formats of essay could help. But to succeed on an AP test, or any test of this format, you have to have information at your fingertips. In the synthesis essay, you are given bits of it to analyze and can use only that, but with the argument one, you have only your mind, and that is what your success is banked on. You need to know current events, your memories, books, studies - you name it - to get a good score. Sometimes the prompts are duds and you can't agree or disagree, but you may not be skilled enough to qualify. But maybe you have just enough information to defend the assertion, even if it makes your skin crawl. The examiners don't care if you really support adversity in all situations. They don't know if you do - they can't know. They just want to see your ability to write well, even if you're writing simply. The best essays in this category use a variety of examples from various sources, quoting famous authors in the opening and switching to analyzing an obscure book in the first body paragraph with a focus on "why" and "how", all the mini arguments relating tightly to the whole.

I hope that helps some. If you have any questions, let me know. I loved my English classes.

[MamaPata]

I really don’t think you’re going to have an issue if you’re speaking like that. Obviously amazing preparation work and will do your French so much good. But I would also give yourself a break - you are definitely much better than you think.

Remember, the DELF b1 entire oral section is 25 mins for three tasks. I’ve not done it so I can’t comment on the exact breakdown, but you aren’t going to need to be able to monologue for that long. (Though this practice will be amazing in preparing you for the B2 and C1). The topics will also be much much less complicated than what you’re able to talk about.

I agree with Eido - having done the IB was probably very good preparation for me. I don’t know that I would want to do it now though. And it’s worth noting that the synthese in the DALF is completely different to the thing Eido is describing for the AP synthesis - it’s a good skill, but not what they would be asking for!

[zjones]

I've struggled to present a coherent monologue especially with the 10-minute planning phase -- some of my presentations have been nothing short of incoherent, stuttered disasters -- but I've come to the conclusion that I present better when I really care about the subject. Unfortunately I don't care about most random articles that come along. So how to fake a strong personal opinion about something I don't care about in 10 minutes tops ? I'm just going to keep practicing.

I got really good at faking opinions in my Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school. Some think these classes are worthless, since they're not actually as rigorous as first-year classes in college according to their evaluations, but they did teach me some skills that I use and think about to this day. One of those skills is arguing for the sake of arguing. To do this, you have to be informed.

The classes are taught to the test, much like how the DELF/DALF or DELE tests work. That's why people say they aren't effective. People aren't taught to think outside the box, just check some boxes. But I think this could work in your favor. I recommended to another French learner that he use AP or IB curriculum and preparation materials to prepare for official French certification exams, because the tests are so similar in how they test their material.

...

Thanks Eido! This is actually really helpful, not only for French but for English too. I didn't have any instruction like this in my ragtag homeschool curriculum so I'll be looking through that article for sure!

I really don’t think you’re going to have an issue if you’re speaking like that. Obviously amazing preparation work and will do your French so much good. But I would also give yourself a break - you are definitely much better than you think.

Remember, the DELF b1 entire oral section is 25 mins for three tasks. I’ve not done it so I can’t comment on the exact breakdown, but you aren’t going to need to be able to monologue for that long. (Though this practice will be amazing in preparing you for the B2 and C1). The topics will also be much much less complicated than what you’re able to talk about.

I agree with Eido - having done the IB was probably very good preparation for me. I don’t know that I would want to do it now though. And it’s worth noting that the synthese in the DALF is completely different to the thing Eido is describing for the AP synthesis - it’s a good skill, but not what they would be asking for!

Thank you MamaPata. Your reassurance is really helpful for me at this stage. I know that the DELF B1 is supposed to be difficult (the 50/100 passing note is proof of that), which means my presentation isn't expected to be perfect. Cavesa has helped me with my attitude toward the DELF as well, but I find my constant anxiety and perfectionism creeping up on me, so it's always helpful to be reminded to relax a bit. On the other hand, I'd love to be able to present a 3-5 minute off-the-cuff monologue on a subject in French, so it's partly for me and the DELF prep is just a catalyst.

[zjones]

Mid-week update

French

I took my first mock exam for the DELF B1. I reserved a small room at the library so I could complete the exam in a new environment. Surprisingly the exam itself was much easier than the exercises in my DELF prep book had led me to believe. Of course, this is a good thing, but it's making me second-guess my decision to take the B1 (everyone has recommended I take the B2 instead). Oh well, I've already registered and paid for it so I'll go ahead.

My notes were high, I only got 1 or 2 questions wrong out of each section of the exam. I didn't do the speaking part, obviously, just listening comprehension, reading comprehension and writing production. I graded my own writing highly because the writing itself was close to grammatically perfect and contained a varied vocabulary (I'm going to have one of my French friends double check this for me), but I'm not too concerned if I get a lower note, because it looks like I can expect at least 20/25 in the three sections.

I need to put most of my effort into speaking/monologue practice, because the rest was perfect. I've been working SO hard to prepare for this exam, and it feels nice to see high notes.

Perhaps I will take the DELF B2 sooner than December of this year, we'll see.

[MamaPata]

Do the summer DELF B2! I am sure that you could do the C1 next year... so you want to leave space for that...

(I am also one of the people who has been saying do the B2, but you shouldn’t second guess your choice to do the B1. You were very clear that you don’t have experience of standardised testing and you wanted to minimise your anxiousness. That’s very sensible!)

[zjones]

Weekly Update Feb 24, 2019

French

I'm feeling both good and bad about my abilities in French, which seems to be my predominate feeling lately. It's much better than feeling all good or all bad, because I'm not overestimating my level but I'm not feeling depressed about it either.

I had a friend look at my mock exam writing from the DELF, and I missed the subjunctive a couple times. That was frustrating to discover. I'm not always good at picking out when to use it because I was so slow to start using the subjunctive. Lately I've been correctly using the subjunctive in my speech and writing, but on occasions I still go for the regular conjugation. Other than that and a few comments like "This is correct, but we'd probably say X instead" my writing was good.

Au Service de la France: without subtitles, now on Season 2. There's a lot I understand and I lot I don't, depending on the character or speaking speed. I turn on the subtitles if I'm missing anything important. Superior:"Qu'est-ce qu'il fout ?" Subordinate: "Je ne sais pas ce qu'il fout." The superior immediately corrects him: "Tu ne sais pas ce qu'il FAIT."

Changer l'eau des fleurs by Valérie Perrin: a book about a woman who works in a cemetery. I like it a lot because it's introspective and fluid, easy to understand.

RFI: I enjoying the longer emissions/podcasts (20-40 minutes) without transcripts.

TV5Monde: They have a learning website with exercises up to B2. I've done a couple, but I have complaints about the subjectivity of the exercises and the difficult user interface. I prefer RFI.

YouTube: Doc Seven, Zapping Sauvage, Le Tatou, Castor Mother, Maud Bettina-Marie. I often forget that I'm watching in French because I enjoy the content so much.

I love French news so much better than US news. I think it's because they always share what's going on not only in Europe but in Africa.

My speaking continues to improve in flow and speed, even though I've had difficulties with language exchange partners either disappearing or cancelling constantly. When I don't have a language exchange, I make a recording on my phone. I have yet to go through the recordings and pick out errors and look up word genders... like everybody else, I hate listening to my own voice. It's more important to me that I continue to make recordings in order to get over my fear of speaking and making mistakes.

Goals for this week: Complete another DELF mock exam. Read intensively more often.