Re: PM’s French Re-entry into the Matrix - Phase 1: 500 Hours Extensive Reading

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Teango
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby Teango » Tue Nov 12, 2019 6:05 am

It's been an epic and captivating adventure to this point, and I hope you defeat this end level boss and pass with flying tricolores. Bonne chance Pete, je croise aussi les doigts pour toi! The Teango clan are rooting for you.
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Gustav Aschenbach
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby Gustav Aschenbach » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:04 am

Moi aussi je te tiens les pouces ;)
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Lianne
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby Lianne » Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:21 pm

When I hear descriptions like this of these exams, I feel certain I couldn't pass one in English, let alone a foreign language. :shock:
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: 3 / 100 French SC (Books)
: 7 / 100 French SC (Films)
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: 0 / 50 Italian Half SC (Films)

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Lawyer&Mom
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby Lawyer&Mom » Tue Nov 12, 2019 2:59 pm

I’m so proud of you for just going for it and sitting the C2! What an accomplishment to be prepared for the exam, regardless of outcome. Very impressive!
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Grammaire progressive du français -
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iguanamon
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby iguanamon » Tue Nov 12, 2019 5:24 pm

I've benn following your journey since way back on HTLAL. Now, here you are having sat the C2 exam for French! Regardless of the results, you have come a long way, worked hard and shown great dedication. Speaking of the results. how long will you (we) have to wait to get them?
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby PeterMollenburg » Tue Nov 12, 2019 11:48 pm

iguanamon wrote:I've benn following your journey since way back on HTLAL. Now, here you are having sat the C2 exam for French! Regardless of the results, you have come a long way, worked hard and shown great dedication. Speaking of the results. how long will you (we) have to wait to get them?


Last night I had a bit of a look back on my journey, and went back to some of my initial posts on HTLAL. Although my log started there at the beginning of 2014, I found further posts from myself in August 2013, (here if curious: http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=36697&PN=1). You were the first one to reply, iguanamon, to that early thread.

My self study language learning journey really started in 1997 or 1998, perhaps even earlier when I dabbled in some German resources while in high school. However, the serious get down to business French journey started at the beginning of 2014, just after I found HTLAL.

You’ve always been patient and supportive with me and I really appreciate the support you have given over this journey, iguanamon. That’s something. I mean, I’ve really raised some eyebrows and pissed some people off here, and I don’t deny they have had every right to be annoyed - I often say I value diversity, this includes opinions and personalities even with those I got into some serious disagreements with. Cavesa was one, but she has also given some awesome advice right from the beginning (a couple of posts after you) and stuck around.

It takes a certain kind of person to stick around even though at times I’m certain I’ve said many many things you do not agree with at all, iguanamon. Thank you for being there in the beginning and continuing to follow my journey even when others couldn’t or didn’t want to (because I would discuss controversial topics that were less and less tolerated and off limits per the forum rules and quite often whether right or wrong, I made myself look rather ridiculous.). Thank you for all your feedback. I think if you added up all the times you posted in my log, it would be scary how much time you spent on helping me.

You’re not alone, though. Many others have joined my journey and assisted me. Others were there in the beginning and have been following loosely or closely up to this point as well. Many disappeared, perhaps have new names on this forum, some outpaced my rate of French learning others stopped learning, changed languages or stopped and started again.

So, I’d like to accept this award on behalf of... I feel like I’m really building this up. Whether I have reached C2 (i.e. passed or not), I do not believe I would’ve done as well as I have without this forum and HTLAL both with all the awesome members with loads of excellent advice and encouragement.

Thank you everyone!

I think I read somewhere I would find out my result two weeks after the exam via email. Whether it will be exactly two weeks or not, who knows, but that would make it the 25th of November. The day we are moving house (and after my last night shift). Again, fingers, toes, eyes, legs, noses :) - crossed.

And to those who have recently posted above, thanks for the kind messages of encouragement, peoples, I truly appreciate it. To those simply following along (and not commenting) and wishing me well, thank you as well. I hope you are all making progress on your respective language learning journeys as well.
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Carmody
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby Carmody » Thu Nov 14, 2019 6:43 pm

Peter.
Congratulations on this most recent accomplishment: well done!
Thanks as always for sharing your journey along the way. I am especially grateful to learn how long it is that you have been studying French; it gives me great incentive to persevere with my studies for the long haul!
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sat Nov 16, 2019 11:17 am

I read incorrectly. I won’t receive my results until one month after the exam. That makes it
the 11th of December
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PeterMollenburg
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby PeterMollenburg » Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:13 am

Middle of a string of night shifts (HATE ALERT, HATE ALERT, HATE ALERT). At least it was quiet for the last two shifts, I got to read quite a bit of French intensively (tried extensively and just could not focus with underlying tiredness that didn't seem so bad until I tried to follow something extensively), and even study some Dutch vocabulary. Three more shifts to go, wohoo! Then we move back to our house, a few hours from here and I'll need to line up other work. Can't wait (for the fresh start). Although it's been tough here in my old home town, it's been nice being closer to my family. Still, going back to my newer home town, where our actual house is, will feel like a fresh start and I intend to make some positive changes.

I'm determined to exercise more regularly and get back into some good study among other things. I've chopped and changed my language routine an insane amount of times since my time here on the language forums, and recently, I'm no different. I think I look at my designed routine at least a few times a week (sometimes a few times a day), trying to figure out what's best suited to my life as it rolls out adapt my routine to upcoming foreseeable events and routine. Although I've been extremely careful in recent years to not destroy my progress in French with the introduction of new languages, I now continue to fiddle with and tweak my routine, which is not yet in full swing and won't be for a little while yet, to try to cover as many languages as realistically possible while still advancing in French (I must if I ever end up working in translation and or interpreting), and bringing my Dutch back to life.

I was thinking Dutch should be the first hour each day, then rotate French and Norwegian (30 min French 1st, 30 min NO, another 30 min FR if time allowed), but no, I can't do it as. So I've now decided on a rotation of 30 min Dutch, 30 min French, 30 min of NO or ES (and still considering AR), then back to 30 min NL, then 30 min FR, and 30 min of NO or ES (or AR?). This way if I were to say, only study for 90 minutes one day, I've covered the two most important languages (NL FR) and one more adventurous one. I'll be reading and watching and listening to some Dutch and/or French most days, so they'll always get 'extra time' regardless, while NO, ES would grow slowly. This is nothing new, I just don't know what else to write. My log is going around in circles.

On that note, I'm considering no log from 2020 post my French results and disappear for a while. Focus on life more as opposed to distractions as I don't know that I've much to gain now after my steep learning curve with my French journey. Generally time spent on the forum now doesn't add much to my repertoire, but it's nice to read about various language questions and others journeys. Again, such sentiments on escaping/disappearing are not new to me, but once my exam results come in, i'm not sure I'll have much more to add in this particular log, while starting a new one seems perhaps potentially counter productive or at least not that interesting. I went controversial for a while with my opinions and that certainly gained attention, good and and bad. Then I learned to shut up most of the time and after this French journey, what's the point? Language course done, tick. Another course done, tick tick, blah blah blah. I've no need for a log for motivation, i'm not going to add much to other members language learning experience by having a log, and my feelings towards sharing too much online have not dissipated, yet while, ironically I want to get opinionated and that leads nowhere. We'll see.

Anyway, of late I've just been trying to be involved in both French and Dutch on a daily basis. I've reintroduced reading to the kids in Dutch now as well as continuing to do so in French, but it's a bit hard with lack of interest in Dutch on their part due to lack of comprehension, so I've put through a couple of big orders with bol.com (large Dutch online bookstore) leading up to Christmas. Large orders to get my postage costs down to zero and to quickly build up some resources. Anyway, I've gone for simpler books to attempt to re-engage re-invigorate the little learners with regards to the newer language. No other languages commenced just yet, but it has me wondering, as my daughter is quite keen on Norwegian, I wonder when the time comes whether she'll have the same reaction. For now, gentle does it. I need to start speaking it more with them, so that they connect the dots too, I feel.

Still, French remains their most important language alongside English. Were they to learn Dutch somewhat-ish and then forget it again in adulthood, what's it matter. At least it's a gateway to German and Scandanavian languages, so if Dutch become of little relevance, it will at least have been of use in lessening the transition to another language.

Throw a scandalous middle-berry shark over your elbow while dancing the tango, for realz.
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smallwhite
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Re: PM’s French Adventures in the Matrix

Postby smallwhite » Thu Nov 21, 2019 9:56 am

> I'm considering no log from 2020 post my French results and disappear for a while.

NOOoooo!!!

Pose a word limit or time limit or something.
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Dialang or it didn't happen.


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