“Post A Day 2011″ Challenge Thursday, Jan 6 2011

Hey folks! I need all the motivation I can get! I subscribed to dailypost.wordpress.com for reminders and inspirations every day to help bring my full potential to 350 days of French. Your comments and suggestions will also help me along the way!

I attempted to wake up at 5:00 am yesterday morning – not happening! That’s a muscle that needs to be exercised slowly and very patiently! It will be a while before I have full membership in the “five o’clock club”. I will roll back the alarm clock 10 minutes at a time – too ambitious for me to think I can just do it! I love my bed! Looking forward to the first Hudson Valley French Meetup of 2011 ce soir (this evening)!

Topic of tonight’s discussion is “La Famille” – should be fun and pretty easy. Stay tuned for tonights post, all about the meetup: photos, vocab and more!

RT

p.s For the curious cats, here is my ‘Famille’. My daughters and I on vacation in Puerto Rico. This photo was taken in El Yunque, the only National Rainforest in the US.

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Distractions Tuesday, Jan 4 2011

I am going to have to find a way to eliminate some distractions so I can get stuff done.

Between the cellphone, blackberry, itouch,  other blogs I love to read, work (yes, I have to fit that in 40 hours a week), how do we get anything done?   I have to tune it all out.  Am going to attempt to get up an hour earlier (5:00 am!) and see how that works.

One major distraction for me is reading ZENHABITS, Smile, Breath & Go Slowly. I love reading Leo Babauto’s (@zen_habits) blog – am all about the simple, uncluttered life.  Check out yesterday’s post from a guest author on learning foreign languages – how apropos!  “Simple Guide To Speaking Foreign Languages”.The author, Benny, is a language hacker.  He says anybody can learn a language in three months – just get out there and be fearless – practice what you know and learn more in the process.

I worked through three chapters in the grammar book last night – but was distracted and then it was too late to blog about it.  But most importantly, I did practice drills on le verbe “etre” (to be) et le pronom subject  (subject pronouns) “a”,  “de” and “chez” ex. Je suis chez moi! (I am home).  I also went over masculine/feminine adjectives.  Tonight I am reviewing “English Grammar for Students of French” – an excellent book for those of us who need to brush up on grammar.

Anyway, my social media guru – Alexandra Suazo, says I have to keep these posts short and interesting…so no more writing for today.

Bon soir, mes ami!

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On getting organized Sunday, Jan 2 2011

It is overwhelming.

There are tons of resources out there to learn a language.  What I’ve been doing is getting organized and selecting the resources that best fit my needs and level and selecting the tools to get going.  My primary source is definitely Laura Lawless, the French Language Guide at About.com.

Laura Lawless: About.com Guide since 1999

She has great tips and suggestions for all level learners.  I took the 50 question beginner’s level and got 86% correct.  Pas mal (not bad).  I can probably start at intermediate and challenge myself, but I think it’s best I do a overview of everything I’ve already learned.  Today I reviewed Introductions, Articles, Definitive Article (the).

Laura suggests doing as much immersion with daily routines as possible, such as writing “to-do” lists in French, using a French internet browser as a homepage  (I use Yahoo France!), and practicing what you know with your family and friends.  All types of materials are important for variation in learning a language.  So I think a workbook is essential to practice grammar – I am starting working with Grammaire Progressive du Francaise, Niveau Intermediare which I ordered from Amazon.com. A good dictionary is tres important l to learn vocabulary and help translate books.  I am using two – the first is LeRobert Micro, a must have for serious language learners.  I also have the Collins French/English Concise Dictionary – for those moments when all else fails.

I know I’m probably overdoing it a bit but I need variety in order to not get bored – so I am also going to attempt to read books in French.  I am starting with a children’s book “Je T’aimerai Toujours” (I Will Love You Forever).  I used to read this to my children when they were young, now I get to learn it in French…maybe to read to my grandchildren some day!

Lastly, I am subscribed to the French channel, TV5Monde and hope to catch some movies, news and children’s programs on Saturday mornings – can’t wait to tell you all about it!

À demain! (until tomorrow!)

RT

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New beginnings… Saturday, Jan 1 2011

I visited Paris in October, 2006 – my first trip abroad.

Me striking a pose by one of the angels on Pont Alexandre III

It was love at first sight — a magical five days that inspired me to learn the language and dare to dream that some day I will live in Southern France.  Over the past four years I have done some self-teaching, took a few courses at L’alliance Francaise de Westchester and WCC, joined a few french meetup groups and even immersed myself in weekend long French only sessions.  Despite my efforts, I am nowhere near intermediate level!  Truth be told, I have not been consistent. My best excuse is that life gets in the way.

Taking the time on a daily basis to study grammar,  learn new vocabulary, practice pronounciation, etc, can only be accomplished by making a full commitment and making it a priority over all other things.  My one and only New Year’s resolution for 2011 is to take on the study of French with full force, and commit myself to 365 days of studying this beautiful language!  My goal at the end of the year is to be advanced level and have a full conversation with any French speaking person.

I know I can do it and I’d like to take you with me on this journey.  I hope to inspire others to take on the challenge of learning a different language.  What a wonderful thing to be able to understand and communicate with people of different cultural backgrounds.

Am off for my first lesson of the day!

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