French Study Tips? Descriptive.

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JaK Friday 16th of June 2006 07:57:14 PM
Study tips? - My question to you guys who have been learning French or who are learning other languages is what kind of study tips, besides using this website or other websites, should I use?

And I mean descriptive. Like should I write and jot down things on notecards to go over? Repeat certain concepts over and over? Etc...

Any help is appreciated. Looking more for help of people who have successfully learned a language before.

Bryan Friday 16th of June 2006 11:12:00 PM
Some tips. - everyone has their own learning style, so it\'s important that you try every known way to find out what works for you the best. let me share some tips on memorizing vocabulary.

for me, writing really helped. if you hear or see a new expression that seems very useful, then jot it down in your little notebook or on a sticky note. you probably will not look at them again, but it\'s okay, what matters here is just writing it down. next time you encounter the same expression, you probably won\'t remember it and be like, \"oh, i knew it! i\'ve written it down before!\" and here, don\'t get frustrated cuz what\'s important is that you feel that it has once been in your head. and you might wanna write that down again like you did before. and you repeat this till it\'s finally memorized. you don\'t need to write down everything--it\'s not necessary to know, toward your inicial contact of the target language, that what scientists and lawyers would say. so pick what seems useful and practical first.

another method that works really well for me is using flash card. this must be the most traditional way to memorize vocabulary, and also the most effective way. and i\'ve realized that the process of making the cards is what helps the most. and when making the cards, write a little phrase rather than one single word per card, usually a verb plus a noun (as an object) that are often used together. for example, if you wanted to memorize the word \"light (in the room, etc)\" don\'t just write down \"la lumière\" but make a phrase by including the verb \"allumer\". so you would have \"allumer la lumière\" from which you can study 2 related words together. and write down the translation in your native language on the other side. after making about 25-30 cards, shuffle them together, bind them together with a binder ring and start working on it as you carry it everywhere you go. shuffle them each time you start. after mastering easy ones, sort them out of the bunch and working on the ones you find harder.

another little tip about memorizing the gender of noun (when the noun isn\'t very abstract) is that visualize the word, and the image of what it means. plus, throw a man or woman in that image depending on the gender of the noun. for example, \"sand\" in french is \"le sable(masc.). imagine a little boy playing with a sandglass. from this image, you can get the gender of three different nouns: le montre, le verre, and le sable. use your imagination. some might think it complicates things, but it actually works! start today, and always try to \'invent\' your own way.

sue_gaeilgeoir Monday 14th of August 2006 11:25:51 PM
- i agree with bjcoreano^^

also, when i was having trouble learning tenses and verbs etc, i wrote out verbs and their tenses, irregulars especially, in tables (past, present, future, conditional etc). then i\'d come up with sentances using them , just to practice. :) hope that helps

Phrasebase Archive
	JaK	Friday 16th of June 2006 07:57:14 PM
	Study tips? - My question to you guys who have been learning French or who are learning other languages is what kind of study tips, besides using this website or other websites, should I use? And I mean descriptive. Like should I write and jot down things on notecards to go over? Repeat certain concepts over and over? Etc... Any help is appreciated. Looking more for help of people who have successfully learned a language before.
	Bryan	Friday 16th of June 2006 11:12:00 PM
	Some tips. - everyone has their own learning style, so it\'s important that you try every known way to find out what works for you the best. let me share some tips on memorizing vocabulary. for me, writing really helped. if you hear or see a new expression that seems very useful, then jot it down in your little notebook or on a sticky note. you probably will not look at them again, but it\'s okay, what matters here is just writing it down. next time you encounter the same expression, you probably won\'t remember it and be like, \"oh, i knew it! i\'ve written it down before!\" and here, don\'t get frustrated cuz what\'s important is that you feel that it has once been in your head. and you might wanna write that down again like you did before. and you repeat this till it\'s finally memorized. you don\'t need to write down everything--it\'s not necessary to know, toward your inicial contact of the target language, that what scientists and lawyers would say. so pick what seems useful and practical first. another method that works really well for me is using flash card. this must be the most traditional way to memorize vocabulary, and also the most effective way. and i\'ve realized that the process of making the cards is what helps the most. and when making the cards, write a little phrase rather than one single word per card, usually a verb plus a noun (as an object) that are often used together. for example, if you wanted to memorize the word \"light (in the room, etc)\" don\'t just write down \"la lumière\" but make a phrase by including the verb \"allumer\". so you would have \"allumer la lumière\" from which you can study 2 related words together. and write down the translation in your native language on the other side. after making about 25-30 cards, shuffle them together, bind them together with a binder ring and start working on it as you carry it everywhere you go. shuffle them each time you start. after mastering easy ones, sort them out of the bunch and working on the ones you find harder. another little tip about memorizing the gender of noun (when the noun isn\'t very abstract) is that visualize the word, and the image of what it means. plus, throw a man or woman in that image depending on the gender of the noun. for example, \"sand\" in french is \"le sable(masc.). imagine a little boy playing with a sandglass. from this image, you can get the gender of three different nouns: le montre, le verre, and le sable. use your imagination. some might think it complicates things, but it actually works! start today, and always try to \'invent\' your own way.
	sue_gaeilgeoir	Monday 14th of August 2006 11:25:51 PM
	- i agree with bjcoreano^^ also, when i was having trouble learning tenses and verbs etc, i wrote out verbs and their tenses, irregulars especially, in tables (past, present, future, conditional etc). then i\'d come up with sentances using them , just to practice. :) hope that helps