This thread is a place for those who are learning French (or who are interested in learning French) and those who are interested in the French language and/or culture. French speakers are also welcome to stick around to chat and help answer questions!
Here you can:
Practice reading and writing in French
Discuss French language and culture
Ask questions
Get help on your homework
Follow occasional lessons
Get tips for learning
Find useful links
And more!
| Introduction | Règles | À propos de moi | Liens utiles | Leçons | Conseils |
Last edited by zigbigadorlube; 09-21-2014 at 01:49 PM..
Follow Menewsha's TOS.
I shouldn't even have to say this...
Be courteous!
Play nice kiddies, if not I'll have to ask you to leave.
Feel free to ask questions!
I will do my best to answer any questions that you may have on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, culture, etc. in a timely manner. Be aware that I will not do your homework for you but I will help answer your questions using relevant examples.
Chose languages carefully.
I prefer that if you know French, even just a little bit, that you try to post in it (Franglais is also welcome). The best way to become more proficient in a language is to practice, practice, practice! However, if there are other users posting in English who are trying to converse with you, please don't ignore them!
Remember to quote.
Please be aware that if you are posting in French and then also posting the English translation (recommended) that you will need to quote either the French portion or the translation to avoid unfairly earning gold for essentially posting the same thing twice.
Corrections are welcome!
Feel free to politely correct other users' grammar mistakes as this is a part of the learning process, however please do not correct other users if you are not 100% sure that the edits you are suggesting are right.
The quoting rule also applies in this case. If you would like to correct something that someone else has written, please quote the post and indicate the changes within the quote box. It is okay however to offer some explanation as to your corrections below the quote.
| Introduction | Règles | À propos de moi | Liens utiles | Leçons | Conseils |
Last edited by zigbigadorlube; 01-27-2014 at 01:17 AM..
Je me nome zigbigadorlube et je suis l’hôtesse de ce fil.
J’ai commencé à apprendre le français au lycée et plus tard à l’université.
En 2009 j’ai suivi un programme d’immersion à l’étranger pendant quatre mois à Paris. (Que Paris me manque !)
En 2010, j’ai obtenu mon diplôme en français.
Pendant les deux prochaines années qui ont suivi, j’ai pris mes études en main et j’ai suivi deux cours de traduction chez fiaf (L’Alliance Française à New York).
En 2012 j’ai été embauchée par une société française à New York et depuis j’y travaille comme assistante technique bilingue !
Quote:
My name is zigbigadorlube and I am the hostess of this thread.
I began learning French in high school and later in college.
In 2009 I signed up for an immersion program and studied abroad for four months in Paris.
(Oh how I miss Paris!)
In 2010, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in French.
During the next two years that followed, I took my studies in hand and took two translation courses at fiaf (The French Institute at New York City).
In 2012 I was hired by a French company in New York City and I continue to work there as a bilingual office assistant!
| Introduction | Règles | À propos de moi | Liens utiles | Leçons | Conseils |
Last edited by zigbigadorlube; 01-27-2014 at 01:18 AM..
At the suggestion of Ikuto Akihiko Hasegawa I am going to try to post weekly "lessons". Though it is impossible for me to really do traditional lessons from start to finish like you might study in high school, I will do my best to teach you words and phrases, verb conjugations, grammar concepts, etc. Below you will find the links to all of my lessons to date:
I would like to share some advice that I have found useful during my years studying foreign languages:
Practice every day.
Practicing every day, even if only for 15 minutes or so, is very important! Not only does "practice make perfect" but if you stop studying completely for a period of time (like during semester breaks for example) you will quickly begin to lose what you have learned.
Make flash cards.
I'm sure everyone's heard this one before but it's true! Flash cards are easily transportable and a great study tool! Try studying just a few words a day/week on a set of flash cards. You can carry them with you and use them when you're standing in line, waiting for the bus, etc. You'd be surprised how easy it can be to get results this way! Don't forget to go back and refresh your memory on older sets of cards that you've done in the past once in a while just to make sure you haven't forgotten them.
Label things in your house with post-it notes!
This one may seem a bit silly but it's a fun way to study vocabulary words. Write French words on post-it notes and then stick them to things like your desk, bed, refrigerator etc. This is an especially good way for visual people to learn vocabulary words.
Always study nouns with their genders!
In the French Language, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. This plays a huge role in French grammar so it is very important that you learn the gender of each vocabulary word you are studying.
Listen to music or podcasts.
Oftentimes when people are learning languages via a textbook, they tend to forget that the listening/speaking portion is just as important if not more important than the reading/written aspect. Online radio stations and podcasts in various languages are readily available online for free and are a great way to tune your ear to the language you are trying to learn.
Watch movies.
Many DVDs have options to watch them in different languages or with different subtitles. You can try listening to the foreign audio track with English subtitles but I also suggest watching the movie with the foreign audio track AND the foreign subtitles. This is an excellent way to practice pronunciation by reading the foreign words as they are spoken.
Also, if you have a Netflix account, you may be surprised to know that they stream many foreign language movies! Try searching terms like "French movies" and with any luck you should have a number of titles. Just a warning to the younger learners however--many of the French movies on Netflix tend to be quite sexual and aren't always rated.
Try listening to something multiple times.
No, really! Try listening to the same song, podcast, movie, etc. multiple times and you will be surprised to find hat they more you listen, the more you will begin to recognize words/meanings you didn't catch at first.
Take advantage of your smart phone.
Many smart phones offer language learning apps, dictionaries, translators, etc. I've found quite a few good ones for iPhone that I can eventually list if anyone is interested.
Social media!
It might not be evident, but social media also offers leaning resources. Sites like Twitter, tumblr, FaceBook, etc. allow you to follow things like "word a day" pages and other resources.
Keep a journal.
This may be a bit difficult at first when you don't know a lot of vocabulary but you can start with very short entries and then make them longer as you learn more vocabulary. This is a great exercise for tracking your progress in a language and practicing vocabulary. If you have to study a list of certain words for school, you can try incorporating them into your journal. You will also find that you will want to look up words that you don't know which is a great way to practice new vocabulary.
Write silly sentences!
I find that it's easier to remember things when you make them memorable. Try making a silly sentence for a group of vocabulary words. This should help you member the word more easily and also give you a better idea of the word's meaning in context.
And finally... Don't get overwhelmed!
I know this may sound easier said that done, but really, learning a foreign language isn't something that happens overnight! Studying a smaller list of things at a time is a lot more manageable than trying to go all-out and biting off more than you can chew. Don't get overwhelmed by everything you DON'T know but rather celebrate what you DO know!
If you have any language learning tips that you would like to share, let me know and I will add them to the list!
| Introduction | Règles | À propos de moi | Liens utiles | Leçons | Conseils |
Last edited by zigbigadorlube; 01-27-2014 at 01:20 AM..
Oh and be careful.....might want to put translations of more than a word or two in quote boxes (like I did above) so you don't get in trouble for posting the same thing over in the same post....even though it is in a different language. Not sure how the rules on that work but better safe than sorry, ne? I know the rules state that the primary language on mene should be English so I think putting up the translations is important....you could also use Spoiler code instead so it would be better for those trying to practice their French. They'd have to click the box to read the English. ^_^
Last edited by Saravi Boo; 06-08-2010 at 07:49 PM..
I've taken five years of French, and I love it. :) Can't claim to be anywhere NEAR fluent, but eh...
A part of me has always wanted to be an interpreter, but I go back and forth between what I "want to do with my life" on an almost daily basis...
(If I ever were to pursue becoming an interpreter, I think I'd also learn Mandarin, Portuguese, Swedish, and Arabic. :))
@Facade That's awesome :) Well I only took French for a short while because it was a two week class during the summer. I would have loved for it to have been longer but it was one of those "your bored during the summer because schools out" so I just decided to go.
Facade! *glomp tackles* Bonsoir! (at least it is here) Bienvenue! Comment Ca va?
Salut, Mora! *huggles*
Quote:
It was nothing (aka your welcome). How are you, Justice?
Facade! *glomp tackles* Good evening! Welcome! How are you?
Hi, Mora!
I took five and a half years of French, four years of Japanese, half a year of Italian (back in middle school so that's kind of gone, lol), studied Chinese, Spanish, and continued Japanese on my own, and have picked up snatches of German along the way as well. lol. I love languages!
I remember my favorite activity we did in the class was we had to pick a celebrity who we thought we looked like and we had t right paragraph in French about what we looked like and our hobbies and such. Another fun one was we had to write a comic in French and mine was about a duck who got taken away by aliens lol.
I took a few years of French in elementary school as well, so I've been around it too much to actually gauge. :gonk: I also plan on picking back up with it in college this fall!
Ca va mal. :gonk: Mon pied dort. :cry: :P
ALSO! Forgot to mention that the above-linked Word Reference site is downright awesome. :drool: I use it all the time - I also use Google Translate, which, while being spotty when translating certain things, is 100% reliable for a quick, rough understanding. :)
Oh and be careful.....might want to put translations of more than a word or two in quote boxes (like I did above) so you don't get in trouble for posting the same thing over in the same post....even though it is in a different language. Not sure how the rules on that work but better safe than sorry, ne? I know the rules state that the primary language on mene should be English so I think putting up the translations is important....you could also use Spoiler code instead so it would be better for those trying to practice their French. They'd have to click the box to read the English. ^_^
Oui, ca va. Je suis un peu fatigue aujourd'hui et donc un peu grognon. >.<
EnglishX
Quote:
Yes, I'm okay. I'm a bit tired today and so a bit grumpy. >.<
Yeah, I thought about putting them in quotes but wasn't sure. And you're allowed to post in other languages in The Menewsha Nation, it's the only place where it's allowed. The spoiler code is an interesting idea as well though... I'll go fix them up in a sec.
Last edited by zigbigadorlube; 09-29-2013 at 01:11 PM..
Bienvenue ! 
