French Reading In French Being Fluent In A Language.

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slobo Tuesday 07th of June 2005 01:41:23 AM
Reading in french - When I read texts in french I always say them in my head in English. This helps me realise what the sentence actaully says.

When you become fluent in a language is it that you can understand what the person is saying by quickly refering it back to your native language or

as if talking in your native language, you understand it in eg French.

Its hard to explaing but if anyone understands what I mean it would be nice to see.

mattie Tuesday 07th of June 2005 12:08:46 PM
- Here is something you could try. In any language you are trying to learn, if someone says an object, eg: [b] chien [/b] in French, you don't need to translate it back into english, just think of that object: [b] dog, [/b] and you instantly know what it is. Same with any object. Even something like [b] la pluie (rain) [/b] . Just think of rain when that is sais. ;)

Am I making sense here? :p

Rion Tuesday 07th of June 2005 02:19:54 PM
- Yeah you make perfect sense. One of the best ways of learning a foreign language is to think in that language, and NOT to translate it back into your native tongue. Like Mattie says, the words chien/dog/perro/inu are all synonymous in my head (so much so that sometimes I use a foreign word when I'm speaking english. dozy bugger.) so I don't need to translate chien to dog to understand it. My brain just kinda translates all those words to the same word in 'mentalese', does that make sense?

Caramelicious Tuesday 07th of June 2005 10:46:23 PM
- I must agree. I am not "fluent" in spanish, but I know fluently everything that I have been taught. You have to "think" in the language that you are learning. To refer back to your own language would only make someone more confused and slow them down as you have to worry about the grammar, sentence construction, and then there are those things that don't even have translations, like expressions. The one thing I told my sister when she tried to learn French is that,

"Remember 'la pluie' does not mean 'the rain', that is just the way you are learning it. 'La pluie' is said by a french person when that wet stuff falls from the sky, that wet stuff is 'la pluie'."

This is an example from the FIA series about thinking in french altered a little to fit this situation. >>>>>

When I think of this it makes me remember that "rain" and "pluie" are one in the same and I have to recognize them that way. The French do not say "La pluie" and mean rain but say it in french because they think they are more sophisticated, or have to say it that way to show off. When the french say "la pluie" they don't mean "the rain" but they mean "La pluie"....

If this makes any sense at all, but it is the answer to your question. :D

slobo Tuesday 07th of June 2005 10:59:35 PM
- It makes perfect sense, thank you all for your answers!
I guess the best way to learn a language is to assign any new words with images and not with their translation. Some basic nouns, like 'le chien' I do instanty think when I see a picture of a dog, instead of going 'thats a dog, in french its le chien'

It is much like this Rosetta Stone Language program I was playing the demo of, apparently its very good for learning a language, here is a url if you are interested http://www.rosettastone.com/ind/free_demo/online. If anyone has used it, what are your opions, is it worth its price of over £100

Thanks again, Slobo.

Kaari Wednesday 08th of June 2005 10:27:05 AM
- Good point guys! I never really thought of it like that before. Cramming all that French vocabulary in, I was focusing too much on the English equivalent!

Phrasebase Archive
	slobo	Tuesday 07th of June 2005 01:41:23 AM
	Reading in french - When I read texts in french I always say them in my head in English. This helps me realise what the sentence actaully says. When you become fluent in a language is it that you can understand what the person is saying by quickly refering it back to your native language or as if talking in your native language, you understand it in eg French. Its hard to explaing but if anyone understands what I mean it would be nice to see.
	mattie	Tuesday 07th of June 2005 12:08:46 PM
	- Here is something you could try. In any language you are trying to learn, if someone says an object, eg: [b] chien [/b] in French, you don't need to translate it back into english, just think of that object: [b] dog, [/b] and you instantly know what it is. Same with any object. Even something like [b] la pluie (rain) [/b] . Just think of rain when that is sais. ;) Am I making sense here? :p
	Rion	Tuesday 07th of June 2005 02:19:54 PM
	- Yeah you make perfect sense. One of the best ways of learning a foreign language is to think in that language, and NOT to translate it back into your native tongue. Like Mattie says, the words chien/dog/perro/inu are all synonymous in my head (so much so that sometimes I use a foreign word when I'm speaking english. dozy bugger.) so I don't need to translate chien to dog to understand it. My brain just kinda translates all those words to the same word in 'mentalese', does that make sense?
	Caramelicious	Tuesday 07th of June 2005 10:46:23 PM
	- I must agree. I am not "fluent" in spanish, but I know fluently everything that I have been taught. You have to "think" in the language that you are learning. To refer back to your own language would only make someone more confused and slow them down as you have to worry about the grammar, sentence construction, and then there are those things that don't even have translations, like expressions. The one thing I told my sister when she tried to learn French is that, "Remember 'la pluie' does not mean 'the rain', that is just the way you are learning it. 'La pluie' is said by a french person when that wet stuff falls from the sky, that wet stuff is 'la pluie'." This is an example from the FIA series about thinking in french altered a little to fit this situation. >>>>> When I think of this it makes me remember that "rain" and "pluie" are one in the same and I have to recognize them that way. The French do not say "La pluie" and mean rain but say it in french because they think they are more sophisticated, or have to say it that way to show off. When the french say "la pluie" they don't mean "the rain" but they mean "La pluie".... If this makes any sense at all, but it is the answer to your question. :D
	slobo	Tuesday 07th of June 2005 10:59:35 PM
	- It makes perfect sense, thank you all for your answers! I guess the best way to learn a language is to assign any new words with images and not with their translation. Some basic nouns, like 'le chien' I do instanty think when I see a picture of a dog, instead of going 'thats a dog, in french its le chien' It is much like this Rosetta Stone Language program I was playing the demo of, apparently its very good for learning a language, here is a url if you are interested http://www.rosettastone.com/ind/free_demo/online. If anyone has used it, what are your opions, is it worth its price of over £100 Thanks again, Slobo.
	Kaari	Wednesday 08th of June 2005 10:27:05 AM
	- Good point guys! I never really thought of it like that before. Cramming all that French vocabulary in, I was focusing too much on the English equivalent!