Postby PeterMollenburg » Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:59 am
Thanks guys for all the responses, all very helpful, cheers.
So to nut out the detail a bit more of my routine it goes like this:
One hour blocks of study (currently 5 separate blocks). The first 10 minutes of each hour is devoted to learning new vocab from an illustrated dictionary or going over words i've written down in a notebook (I rotate these two methods). Then, the following 50 minutes entails the main activity of the 'block'. So the main activities of my five blocks are below, with detail on my processes. Also, no blaurebell, I don't do a course every day, I rotate through these blocks, so that I complete three in one day and continue with the next study block the next day. Thus if I started on block 1 on day one, then I do block 1, block 2 and block 3 on day one, and block 4, block 5 and block 1 on day two and so on, continuing through the rotation.
1. A course.
2. A book (extensive reading). Here I limit myself in terms of lookups with covering more pages the objective. But I'm a slow reader- always have been in my native language too. I've found that I cover around 17 pages max in the 50 minutes. I read every page twice most of the time and I target writing down 2 or three unknown words/terms per session. I read aloud almost always, so there are some lookups for IPA purposes to ensure correct pronunciation.
3. Intensive listening via a TV series. I've just started out using Buffy contre le vampires. I sit the transcript side by side with the TV show itself (ie a webpage showing the transcript, VideoLan showing the TV program- no subtitles). I read and look up every word i'm unfamiliar with. Those I am half familiar with I tend to let go, but do look up the odd one to ensure I was on the right track. So I'll read a paragraph or two of the transcript, then play the audio, read another paragraph or two (oh and lookup uknown words/terms) play the next segment. My aim here, is that in due course I'll be able to listen to a whole episode after having gone through picking it apart first, without looking anything up anymore. It's very slow, but I do a good amount of extensive listening already, so I feel intensive is where I'm lacking.
4. Intensive reading via French learning magazines. Mainly I use Bien-dire, and before anyone says 'oh you should be using just native content'. I'm simply not going to listen to you. These magazines are a huge source of motivation (they are like my current equivalent of courses in terms of motivation). The content is right up my alley, the articles are graded as per CEFR, they have accompanying audio and I feel I am making some big gains with it. They are very decent. I lent a bunch to another French learner around my level, who commented yesterday stating they are really very good and very useful (she said it in a tone that was unexpected), this is coming from a person who learns a lot from reading. I can't recommend this resource enough to French learners, including advanced learners (I subscribe to the advanced version of the now 2 versions- beginner or intermediate to advanced). To put it into perspective, the articles often contain much more complex language and terms than a standard book I might read which is not designed for French learners, but for natives. Each article also contain word lists, so it's a powerful vocabularly expansion tool. The topics vary considerably from fashion, to tourism, to politics, to famous francophone people, to cultural interests such as theatre, art etc, I learn the words in the lists and I read the articles. It saves time, as I don't write down the unknown words, they're already written down in the articles' side columns. Also I rarely look up words, as I figure, that if there are any words which aren't listed in the article's accompanying French-English vocab list (they don't list every single word- only the ones seemingly pertinent to the articles CEFR level) and I don't know it's meaning, i'm sure to cross it's path somewhere else at some point. Furthermore, I'm learning more about the francophone world (mainly France), which helps greatly for cultural insights. The more I can learn of culturally relevant topics, the better off I'll be for joining discussions (or covering exam topics) relevant to the francophone sphere.
5. Yabla.
This is a French (other languages available) online video clip resource. You select videos per level or per genre watch them with or without French and/or English subtitles. It has an inbuilt dictionary, and you can slow the content down, loop it, play games such as fill in the gaps etc. Again, intensive listening, and not a ressource i'm willing to drop since i've a paid subscription.
Thus, i've change from courses perhaps 70% of the time to a course in my routine 20% of my time, and if we add activities I do outside of my 5 blocks listed above which are my alotted 'desk study time', then that 20% drops further as I do do other activities-
I listen to podcasts to and from work, and I watch TV often while getting stuck into my breakfast. That TV is a mixture of Buffy or France 2 French news. Both are extensive (I don't stop them). My podcasts are 99% of the time RFI journal en français facile, which I have time for while at work in a break i'll read the transcript, but this doesn't happen that often. Sometimes I'll print it out and read through it highlighting unknown words and looking them up- then later adding them to my notebook at home.
I have been considering running through Glossika French as well, while commuting, just because I have it, and because while listening to RFI I don't shadow, whereas with Glossika I will (I could split my time between podcasts like RFI and Glossika). I've also added to my 'wasted moments' French while in the shower with the aid of a bluetooth speaker (it's usually the same content as I use during my commutes). Just adds more French time. Thanks whatiftheblog for this idea! Also, I was listening to further French of various types while kayaking, but as it's winter now, and as I got tired of driving 25 minutes to a decent waterway, I've now gone back to cycling, with which currently i'm reluctant to listen to audio during for safely reasons mainly, although I may attempt it down the track on the off chance the French audio still allows me to hear ambiant noise (the roads are quiet, but in the end a car is a car).
So, now I have a more diverse study routine with a mix of course material, intensive and extensive reading, intensive and extensive listening.
I've no idea how many pages I've read. Does this SC display this? I think it does.. of course it does! I just still cannot gain access to the leaderboard to check my pages read column. I would be nowhere near 10,000. At a complete guess, I may have read 1000 or 2000 pages of French in the last couple of years (including a lot of content outside the SC), but I could be vastly under or overstimating there.
Edit: Tutors? I do play to utilise one- I had an excellent tutor in the lead up to the B2, I'm going to employ her again (and likely some others), but not for a while yet. I got 99% of the way without one, so again I'll make my way on my own 99% of the time on my own, then perhaps in the months leading up to the exam, i'll dive in. I scored 23.5/25 in the speaking component of the exam, my highest score for any section. I don't discount the value of a tutor, nor do I think that just because of a good score I can therefore ignore speaking practise as they have nothing to offer as I don't believe that. Additionally, if I had more time and money i'd have a tutor reguarly, but, right now it's not a priority and it's something I can afford to put aside for a while, imho.
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