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ficbot · 06-30-2009, 12:19 AM

Verencat, interesting what you said about knowing others who took the same classes as you and did not come out fluent

My siblings all went to the same school as me, and none of them have Hebrew or French anywhere near mine. My step-brother has his kids in such a school right now and has been using me as an example to his kids, and I am not always comfortable with that

My main obstacle to learning to write better French is the incredible tediousness of producing accented characters on non-French keyboards. When I have to write in French, I often just put it through Google Translator and cut/paste the accented words. I wish there was an easier way. I think I would post on-line more and such if the whole accent thing weren't so much of an issue. Also, I get nervous when I read because I panic a little when I see a word I don't know (an ebook which supported instant lookup on non-English dictionaries would be a huge help!) I prefer speaking because I can choose to use only words I know

I had an experience two years ago where I had to go to a meeting at a school for Russian kids, and I remember seeing posters on the wall when I went in which were clearly ABC posters (e.g. a picture of an apple with a letter underneath it, a picture of a ball with a letter underneath it etc.) and being so frustrated that I didn't understand. I guess I have always been told I am 'good with languages' and it was a rare experience for me to be around one I did not understand, and I didn't like it at all

I should have been born a European. It just seems like a much better environment for learning languages 'naturally' and have opportunities to actually keep them in use!

ETA: All right, I delurked in the French forum

Hope I did okay...

06-30-2009, 12:19 AM	#103
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Verencat, interesting what you said about knowing others who took the same classes as you and did not come out fluent My siblings all went to the same school as me, and none of them have Hebrew or French anywhere near mine. My step-brother has his kids in such a school right now and has been using me as an example to his kids, and I am not always comfortable with that My main obstacle to learning to write better French is the incredible tediousness of producing accented characters on non-French keyboards. When I have to write in French, I often just put it through Google Translator and cut/paste the accented words. I wish there was an easier way. I think I would post on-line more and such if the whole accent thing weren't so much of an issue. Also, I get nervous when I read because I panic a little when I see a word I don't know (an ebook which supported instant lookup on non-English dictionaries would be a huge help!) I prefer speaking because I can choose to use only words I know I had an experience two years ago where I had to go to a meeting at a school for Russian kids, and I remember seeing posters on the wall when I went in which were clearly ABC posters (e.g. a picture of an apple with a letter underneath it, a picture of a ball with a letter underneath it etc.) and being so frustrated that I didn't understand. I guess I have always been told I am 'good with languages' and it was a rare experience for me to be around one I did not understand, and I didn't like it at all I should have been born a European. It just seems like a much better environment for learning languages 'naturally' and have opportunities to actually keep them in use! ETA: All right, I delurked in the French forum Hope I did okay... Last edited by ficbot; 06-30-2009 at 12:39 AM.