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

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PeterMollenburg
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby PeterMollenburg » Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:24 am

I think I must have had run-ins now with the majority of the well respected community members here on this awesome forum, and possibly lost the respect of many of those too (I doubt I had any to begin with). Pity I couldn't stick to the topic of languages and language learning... Or is it? I guess I am me, and I will be me, but why do I feel such a need to rant on, while my arguments look weak (because I can't be bothered searching for decent evidence to back me up?). I am learning to hold back, but then I rope myself in little by little. I just need to shut the hell up. Still, as I said recently to someone I had a 'run-in' with, even if my arguments seem chaotic, backed by little evidence, soaked in conspiracy, that doesn't make them incorrect. 99% of humanity could hold a point of view on a given topic, while I remain in the 1 percent. Doesn't make me wrong. But who cares, why do I have to be right? Pffft... stupid egocentric human being, why do I, why do humans feel the necessity to prove themselves right, that's yet another part of the trap Pete Mollenburg of Froxley upon Morgensburg... Stop involving yourself in such discussions, you know you're going to get no support and just look stupid... so moving on...

I've been taking advantages of idle moments and filling them with language learning, more so than I feel I was doing nearing the end of 2017. That's good, isn't it? Well it is if that's what you want to do, and fortunately that is what I want to do, so yes that's good :)

I've been watching a lot of TV, and I'm noticing gains there, although not with everything. I've been watching more without subtitles and I can definitely see the benefit of not relying on subtitles. However some shows I am watching do have English ST's and can't be turned off, but it's not all, and I've made up some ground, so that's fine.

We should not have gone to New Caledonia. Recently, my wife and I felt that we didn't regret it, but we weren't in the best financial position. Now we have taken the stance that it was stupid, almost reckless. We have been chasing our financial tails since and have very nearly simply run out of money. Another smart move by PM huh?

So I decided I want to do away with Assimil, but not before finishing the never ending 2nd wave and reviewing everything to death. So within one month I'll be done with it. Then I have more room for other things. Exciting post this one....
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby iguanamon » Fri Jan 12, 2018 2:40 pm

PM, we've all done things we probably shouldn't have done. Don't beat yourself up over it. Money is something you can earn more of with time and combined with frugality. The conspiracy theories are out of place with a language-learning forum. Such discussion typically degenerates and turns the place unpleasant. Don't worry, even if I don't buy into your conspiracies (one of my friends is a conspiracy theorist who makes you look like an amateur!), I still respect you and the hard work you've put into learning French.

Regardless of what the "best way", "best method", "best approach" may be, self language-learning is a journey we all have to walk alone. You've walked it your way and you've enjoyed the journey. I must say though, that I'm glad to see that you are watching French TV and learning from it. Yeah, television is not highbrow entertainment but for us as language-learners outside of a TL country/environment, I've found the exposure to native conversation and language usage to be a godsend. It really helps me to consolidate knowledge and even spur learning to polish my language use and get things "right". Keep up the good work in the new year... and try to resist the political temptations here on the forum, no good can come out of it for you. Looking forward to see where you take French this year.
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby rdearman » Fri Jan 12, 2018 3:21 pm

PeterMollenburg wrote:However some shows I am watching do have English ST's and can't be turned off, but it's not all, and I've made up some ground, so that's fine.

Tape some cardboard over that part of the screen. :)
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 2018

Postby James29 » Sat Jan 13, 2018 10:57 pm

PeterMollenburg wrote:
Cavesa wrote:Extensive reading: let's say you read 40 pages per hour. Ok, 35, to not be called unrealistic (but 40 are realistic in a not too difficult language rather soon, from my experience).


Just for the record, and I think I’m a very slow reader, I am reading fast if I make it through 20 pages in an hour!!

I also do not read that fast in English. 20 to 28 pages might be normal (at a rough guess) for me in English. I think part of the issue is that I’ve never really read enough extensively (even in English) to begin to read what I’d call really fast in comparison to my current speed. Sure I’ve read quite a few books in English but absolutely NOTHING like what many people out there do read. Put it this way, were I to commit fully to the next Super Challenge in French, let’s say all of my French study time dedicated 50/50 to books and TV, I quite likely would surpass the number of books I’ve read in English in my lifetime somewhere within the duration of that hypothetical SC.

Anyway, we’re all different, that’s just me, just thought I’d note it, no real reason to discuss this in depth, but feel free to comment if you wish, otherwise, back to 2018.


I'm a slow reader too. Don't worry about being a "slow" reader. I have been able to determine that folks who read really fast simply miss more things than people who read slower. Sometime talk with a "fast" reader about a book they recently read. If it is something you have read you will note they somehow "forgot" a huge amount of the details. I think us "slow" readers come from much more deliberate and thinking backgrounds. You, like me, probably have read a decent amount of non-fiction in English (I'm just guessing here). People who whiz through books don't often take time to analyze and think through things.

I have now read FAR more novels in Spanish than I have in English. I think that is a pretty cool fact. I found it EXTREMELY helpful and think it is a great way to advance to advanced levels of a language.

And, about your comment about pissing people off... if you piss people off... too bad for them... people will choose to get pissed off or offended rather than engage and there is nothing you can do about that. Be yourself and be proud of who you are.
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby smallwhite » Sun Jan 14, 2018 12:40 am

while respecting forum rules.

I get the impression that people who read fast don't assimilate the grammar very well.
Faster reader -> poorer grammar
Slower reader -> better grammar
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:26 am

Although I won't say much it doesn't mean it doesn't mean much.... Thanks for the support guys, I truly appreciate it :D To iguanamon's appreciation, back to watching some French TV shows...
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby smallwhite » Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:23 am

rdearman wrote:
PeterMollenburg wrote:However some shows I am watching do have English ST's and can't be turned off, but it's not all, and I've made up some ground, so that's fine.

Tape some cardboard over that part of the screen. :)

I've never tried it myself, but I've read that you can turn clear glass into blurry glass by applying a layer of vaseline. Just don't apply directly onto the screen :!:
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby DaveBee » Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:59 am

smallwhite wrote:
rdearman wrote:
PeterMollenburg wrote:However some shows I am watching do have English ST's and can't be turned off, but it's not all, and I've made up some ground, so that's fine.

Tape some cardboard over that part of the screen. :)

I've never tried it myself, but I've read that you can turn clear glass into blurry glass by applying a layer of vaseline. Just don't apply directly onto the screen :!:
I just leant a DVD case against the screen, it obscured the subtitles enough to stop me automatically reading them.
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 2018

Postby Cavesa » Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:39 pm

James29 wrote:
PeterMollenburg wrote:
Cavesa wrote:Extensive reading: let's say you read 40 pages per hour. Ok, 35, to not be called unrealistic (but 40 are realistic in a not too difficult language rather soon, from my experience).


Just for the record, and I think I’m a very slow reader, I am reading fast if I make it through 20 pages in an hour!!

I also do not read that fast in English. 20 to 28 pages might be normal (at a rough guess) for me in English. I think part of the issue is that I’ve never really read enough extensively (even in English) to begin to read what I’d call really fast in comparison to my current speed. Sure I’ve read quite a few books in English but absolutely NOTHING like what many people out there do read. Put it this way, were I to commit fully to the next Super Challenge in French, let’s say all of my French study time dedicated 50/50 to books and TV, I quite likely would surpass the number of books I’ve read in English in my lifetime somewhere within the duration of that hypothetical SC.

Anyway, we’re all different, that’s just me, just thought I’d note it, no real reason to discuss this in depth, but feel free to comment if you wish, otherwise, back to 2018.


I'm a slow reader too. Don't worry about being a "slow" reader. I have been able to determine that folks who read really fast simply miss more things than people who read slower. Sometime talk with a "fast" reader about a book they recently read. If it is something you have read you will note they somehow "forgot" a huge amount of the details. I think us "slow" readers come from much more deliberate and thinking backgrounds. You, like me, probably have read a decent amount of non-fiction in English (I'm just guessing here). People who whiz through books don't often take time to analyze and think through things.

I have now read FAR more novels in Spanish than I have in English. I think that is a pretty cool fact. I found it EXTREMELY helpful and think it is a great way to advance to advanced levels of a language.

And, about your comment about pissing people off... if you piss people off... too bad for them... people will choose to get pissed off or offended rather than engage and there is nothing you can do about that. Be yourself and be proud of who you are.


smallwhite wrote:while respecting forum rules.

I get the impression that people who read fast don't assimilate the grammar very well.
Faster reader -> poorer grammar
Slower reader -> better grammar


I am very far from saying being a faster reader is an extremely important thing or making me a more intelligent or better learner in general. But I think you are showing a bit of a prejudice here. Reading fast AND retaining lots of details is definitely possible. And grammar has been one of my stronger sides while being a fast reader. I am not "whizzing" through books. I simply process the written text faster than most people, and it has always been so, and I may have been forgetting it, when writing about extensive reading.

Really, I don't get it why many people like to turn any "talent" into something not that great and actually disadvantageous. I've been target to this since my early childhood. A typical example: what appears in any converstaion about higher IQ (and I am usually not the one starting any such discussion) "oh yes, but those people are usually bad at (and here comes any choice from a longer list)". And here "a fast reader is bad at ..." It is just as unfounded. Just like saying "beautiful people tend to be less intelligent". That is not the truth either, it depends on every single one of them.

I didn't criticise slow readers at all. I may have just chosen a not that common pace as the base for an illustration. But the speed and "quality" simply aren't connected much. Neither is the fast pace making learning much easier, nor it is making people "not assmilate grammar very well" or "miss more things". I find this "talent bashing" extremely unpleasant and not practical at all.

I would say that a slow or fast pace is a relative and individual thing. A learner should strive for slow reading or fast reading within their personal range. If someone manages to feel immersed and not have time for translation at the speed of 15 pages per hour, because that is fast for them, great. If someone reads 5 pages per hour intensives, because that is their slow pace, great! It is all about finding pace that works for each of us.

I was not trying to look down upon anyone, so I can see no reason why is faster reading pace being criticised so much. It is not a disadvantage, it is not anyone's fault, and it is not any attempt to criticise anyone at all.

But what I find extremely interesting, and what has been emerging here, is the consideration of reading speed in the context of "how much time do I need for the SC" planning. While I find the listening section much more time consuming, it is not so for everyone, no matter how "weird" such an idea feels to me. It is a very important fact for making the rules for the next SC challenge. Too few pages are simply not leading to much of a result. But at the same time, we cannot set the goal that would actually require people to, theoretically, spend all their free time reading.
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Re: PM's French Target: C1 Nov. 2018

Postby PeterMollenburg » Sun Jan 14, 2018 7:50 pm

For the record, I never took any offence to Cavesa’s illustrations on reading speed. Like she has found herself reading faster than the pace of the majority, I have found myself to be the opposite.

I don’t think I necessarily retain more or have better grammar compared to those who read faster in general, but it’s a difficult comparison to make. Still, I think the comments directed at me were meant as kind encoragement for me and not as an attack on people who read faster.

I am a perfectionist in some ways, so that when I read in French it’s usually aloud so that I can self-check my pronunciation as I go. This does slow me down, and I know this from some silent extensive reading at times which I do noticeably faster. Still, it’s not that much faster and I still read slower than most proficient English readers. My father reads much slower than myself. I don’t believe I necessarily retain more either, but it’s a nice idea and I think meant as a kind consideration from others.
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