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Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:57 pm
by Carmody
Congratulations; you folks are really advanced.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:10 pm
by MorkTheFiddle
Carmody wrote:Fortheo

Would you please tell me how much of this interview you understand? 50%, 90%?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTjRNmBL3Qc

I personally found it too fast for me .

Thanks.

Thanks to your question and the answers it got, I have a better idea of my own proficiency, or better said, deficiency. I understood maybe 20%. Agreed that the audio quality, especially the voice of Etienne Chouard, could have been better, but that did not play a big role in my misunderstanding. FYI, Carmody, a couple of tests over the past couple of years put my level in French at B1/B2, including listening comprehension. Also, I don't work much on the oral aspect of French and prefer just reading.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:26 pm
by Carmody
I got this off one of the YouTube French video groups "Frederic from Talk in French."

The national statistics institute in France (INSEE) shared some data about the evolution of the gender inequality in France. It is getting better but the progress is slow. Women get paid less for the same job, the same diploma. They are as much educated as men but the wage inequality here is still around 24% (vs. 27% in 1995…), women are less impacted by unemployment (but got more part-time jobs).

Now some indicator based on economic aspect can vary among different institute (see this article in French ). We can also discuss domestic violence and harassment and other types of crime which seems almost the norm in France.

A woman is murdered by her partner every 3 days in France.
44% of French women witnessed physical and/or sexual violence by a partner or a non-partner since the age of 15.

Surprisingly, Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) have an even higher rate (the highest rate in Europe). So perhaps the way people perceive violence or abuse can differ among countries. I am not looking for an excuse here but it seems interesting to see the huge gap between Denmark with 52% vs. 19% in Poland. But I digress.

Many French women also complain about the behavior of some pigs in the street making some sexist comments. Probably one of the most annoying and widespread issue for women and sometimes gives some bad press for French guys.


In America, the figure is also 3 women dying each day.
http://nnedv.org/getinvolved/dvam/1307- ... ies-1.html

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:21 am
by Tomás
Here's a really nice MOOC at FUN-MOOC: "Échanges et proximité : la première loi de la géographie".

It's a cultural geography course on migration, with lots of cool maps, and is ongoing right now. I've watched the first twenty minutes of lectures. What I like about it, aside from the content, is that the prof speaks very slowly and clearly. If I don't understand her, it's not her fault.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 4:51 pm
by rdearman
Out of curiosity, does anyone know of some French MOOC's which are completed, but are still online? Basically I don't want to join a class or bother with the course work, but I wouldn't mind watching all the lectures.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 7:39 pm
by Ani
rdearman wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know of some French MOOC's which are completed, but are still online? Basically I don't want to join a class or bother with the course work, but I wouldn't mind watching all the lectures.


I have had a really, really hard time finding MOOCs in French that you can join late and still watch all the videos. In fact, I haven't found any that don't close registration by the end. My strategy now is to sign up for a bunch of them when they come available so I have a reserve of lectures after a few months. This is a good time to join though because there are many opening now. There are some good courses just started or coming up in beginner programming, mechanics, Jewish studies, DELF/DALF test prep and this one on intermediate French .
https://www.coursera.org/learn/etudier-en-france.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:23 am
by Ingaræð
I was wondering about MOOCs: if you have difficulty with keeping to course timetables, or getting assignments done on time, do you 'get into trouble' with the organisers? Would they prevent you from enrolling on future MOOCs? I'd really like to do some, but I can't deal with additional stress right now. :?

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:21 pm
by Tomás
Tomás wrote:Here's a really nice MOOC at FUN-MOOC: "Échanges et proximité : la première loi de la géographie".

It's a cultural geography course on migration, with lots of cool maps, and is ongoing right now. I've watched the first twenty minutes of lectures. What I like about it, aside from the content, is that the prof speaks very slowly and clearly. If I don't understand her, it's not her fault.


I spoke too soon on this one. By the fourth video she is into matrix math. Good stuff, but not what I want in a language learning video. First two lectures were good, though....

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:23 pm
by Tomás
Ingaræð wrote:I was wondering about MOOCs: if you have difficulty with keeping to course timetables, or getting assignments done on time, do you 'get into trouble' with the organisers? Would they prevent you from enrolling on future MOOCs? I'd really like to do some, but I can't deal with additional stress right now. :?


No, they don't care. You can watch the videos on your own schedule and ignore the tests and assignments in most of them.

Re: Le groupe français 2016 - 2017 Les Voyageurs

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 6:04 pm
by Ingaræð
Tomás wrote:No, they don't care. You can watch the videos on your own schedule and ignore the tests and assignments in most of them.

Phew! Thank you. :D

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I've just realised that I haven't actually joined the study group yet, even though I meant to... :oops:

My language log is here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4993

I previously studied French throughout school and up to Year 4 of a degree. I initially returned to it now so that I can get to the level that I should have (*cough* falling-standards-of-education-in-the-UK *cough*), and so that I have 'access' to more Assimil books. Now that I've got stuck in, I'm working on my pronunciation, and I want to carry on long term with further improvement, but probably at a slower pace when I focus on other languages. I'm also actually liking French again, and it's suitably 'summery' now that the days are getting a bit brighter and warmer. :D

I'm about halfway-through reading the whole thread. I'm not great with social interaction, so I'll probably just be 'lurking' here most of the time.

EDIT: Forgot to say, I'm using Assimil FwT/NFWE/Using French, Pimsleur and FSI French Phonology. I might use FSI French Basic, FIA and the CLE series in the future.