Book Info
Participants:
The WEbook community
The WEbook community
Who Can Write:
Project Leader Only
Project Leader Only
Format:
Continuous/Novel
Continuous/Novel
Type:
Non Fiction
Non Fiction
Genre:
Education
Education
Language:
English
English
book_central
GIVE FEEDBACK
12/25/2008 02:43 PM PT
Excellent explanations!
This Feedback was...
12/9/2008 04:35 PM PT
I am a french student as well, i love the language: the way it flows and such; i ahve an awesome teacher at my high school who has really gotten me into the language
"J'adore Francais"
"J'adore Francais"
This Feedback was...
11/15/2008 02:34 PM PT
I think perhaps I should stick to English.
This Feedback was...
11/15/2008 02:34 PM PT
"Je ne parelle cun petit pu de Francias."
This Feedback was...
10/12/2008 02:36 PM PT
Thanks for the invitation but I write rude stuff and speak French nearly fluently...lived in Antibes for 4 years - but thanks anyway.
This Feedback was...
10/11/2008 08:29 PM PT
Hey! Thanks so much for the invite! I've actually been wanting to learn French. but never had rthe time so this is great!
Thanks so much!
=]
Thanks so much!
=]
This Feedback was...
7/21/2008 07:26 AM PT
This is very insightful for those who want 2 learn french. Im learning french currently if i seen this before, I might have known how great a language it was earlier
This Feedback was...
7/8/2008 10:40 AM PT
Hey JuliaM thanks very much for the comment. I'm going to have to deal with the pronunciation/accent thing one way or another because so many people are bringing this up. But it's really hard witout a CD or a teacher nearby. I'll think long and hard about this over the summer. I really appreciate all these comments I'm getting, I love WeBook.
7/7/2008 11:04 PM PT
Hi Breagadoir
I really like your writing style, thanks for inviting me to join in and look at your work. I am enjoying the chapters very much - like others have said, it's been a great reminder for me - having not learned french since high school days, many many moons ago! And I think this would be a very useful book for people with some knowledge of the language.
Some pronunciation tips would be helpful. Also, can you comment on how French people view non-French people "trying" to speak the language - what helps to get ourselves understood? what hinders? I think there are lots of "urban legends" around that infer that the French are impatient/arrogant with those who do not speak French - can you clear up some of the myths and misconceptions.
well done so far, really enjoying your project.
cheers, Julia
I really like your writing style, thanks for inviting me to join in and look at your work. I am enjoying the chapters very much - like others have said, it's been a great reminder for me - having not learned french since high school days, many many moons ago! And I think this would be a very useful book for people with some knowledge of the language.
Some pronunciation tips would be helpful. Also, can you comment on how French people view non-French people "trying" to speak the language - what helps to get ourselves understood? what hinders? I think there are lots of "urban legends" around that infer that the French are impatient/arrogant with those who do not speak French - can you clear up some of the myths and misconceptions.
well done so far, really enjoying your project.
cheers, Julia
This Feedback was...
7/7/2008 09:43 AM PT
Hey Breagadoir.
Thanks for the invite to look over your work here. I had already looked at the first couple of chapters when you posted them up but wanted to save any comments for after having seen where you were going.
As you know, being an ESL teacher, living in a country where English is not spoken on the streets, having to learn to communicate in that other language to get onions at the market and someone to fix the faucet at home, actually learning a language is a very, very complex process that no book will cover totally.
Reading over the comments of others, I find that they are pleased with your "laid-back" way of dealing with some of the basics of French; however, I personally think you are jamming a lot of information into each chapter with a couple of anecdotes and leaving it more or less at that. Even though you are obviously simplifying as much as you think you can, you would need to simplify even more than you have (darned irregular verbs in French, there are way too many!)
You'll probably find it difficult to find, but I would suggest looking for a book called "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish". If I remember well (and I probably don't) there may even be a "Madrigal's Magic Key to French". Many of the things you are trying to do here are pretty well done in that book. One of the beauties of the book is that it simplifies just where simplification is needed. For example, the normal American tourist spending a few days in the city of lights might only need to use the "vous" form, he/she won't have that many friends, and at least using "vous" will keep him/her out of social faux-pas when asking for directions or ordering in a restaurant. This is not to say that the reader doesn't need to be aware of the "tu" form, but that can be discussed in areas where that tourist has made a friend.
Fairly good pronunciation is also (as someone else mentions) rather important. As many times as a non-native speaker says a word incorrectly, that isn't going to make the French person say that same word incorrectly, and as long as the non-native thinks his/her pronunciation is okay, he/she is not going to recognize the word when it is pronounced differently. Naturally, pronunciation is not something that can be learned from a book, it's a pretty physical affair, like trying to become a body builder simply through reading about lifting weights. Even so, some discussion about how to go about saying things as close to well-pronounced as possible would surely come in handy.
None of us in any of our native or second (or third) languages speaks in individual words. So, the first chapters of your essay don't contribute much to communicating in French. What's worse, those articles and such are often the first words that are chewed up and swallowed when a native speaker speaks at a normal rate. If non-native listeners are listening for them all of the time they’re misdirecting their attention towards what might just be a grunt from the native's mouth. Many Asian speakers happily pass over the "a, an, the" in English when speaking; it's true, that may not be correct, and it may make their English sound "Asian", but they do manage to communicate without those words. Once communication has been established, such fine-tuning can take place that gets those little grunt sounds in their places and also makes them recognizable when heard.
Well, as you can imagine, I could go on and on on this subject and actually have done so in relation with ESL teaching. I've been bumping around the idea of posting some of my essays on ESL teaching here and if I get around to going over them and posting them up, I will certainly let you know. In this way, you will see where I am coming from with my comments. I am hardly an orthodox ESL teacher, nor did I learn to speak Spanish in a normal, orthodox way. Though you seem to be wanting to get away from the orthodox, you haven't quite cut the mustard with these essays. You need to throw the grammar out with the wash water and get down to brass tacks, get the motor started instead of just filling the tank with gas. (am I mixing metaphors? What a pleasure!)
Please don't take my comments too much to heart, again, I am a seasoned teacher with a long career of helping people learn to use English and Spanish in their personal lives; however, I have also been told that, though my "methods" are interesting and sound good, I may well be the only one able to bring them off, as they are so heavily based on my own personal experience and hard-headedness.
I'll try to get an essay or another posted for you to see. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to pm me and I'll be more than happy to share!
peace,
revel.
Thanks for the invite to look over your work here. I had already looked at the first couple of chapters when you posted them up but wanted to save any comments for after having seen where you were going.
As you know, being an ESL teacher, living in a country where English is not spoken on the streets, having to learn to communicate in that other language to get onions at the market and someone to fix the faucet at home, actually learning a language is a very, very complex process that no book will cover totally.
Reading over the comments of others, I find that they are pleased with your "laid-back" way of dealing with some of the basics of French; however, I personally think you are jamming a lot of information into each chapter with a couple of anecdotes and leaving it more or less at that. Even though you are obviously simplifying as much as you think you can, you would need to simplify even more than you have (darned irregular verbs in French, there are way too many!)
You'll probably find it difficult to find, but I would suggest looking for a book called "Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish". If I remember well (and I probably don't) there may even be a "Madrigal's Magic Key to French". Many of the things you are trying to do here are pretty well done in that book. One of the beauties of the book is that it simplifies just where simplification is needed. For example, the normal American tourist spending a few days in the city of lights might only need to use the "vous" form, he/she won't have that many friends, and at least using "vous" will keep him/her out of social faux-pas when asking for directions or ordering in a restaurant. This is not to say that the reader doesn't need to be aware of the "tu" form, but that can be discussed in areas where that tourist has made a friend.
Fairly good pronunciation is also (as someone else mentions) rather important. As many times as a non-native speaker says a word incorrectly, that isn't going to make the French person say that same word incorrectly, and as long as the non-native thinks his/her pronunciation is okay, he/she is not going to recognize the word when it is pronounced differently. Naturally, pronunciation is not something that can be learned from a book, it's a pretty physical affair, like trying to become a body builder simply through reading about lifting weights. Even so, some discussion about how to go about saying things as close to well-pronounced as possible would surely come in handy.
None of us in any of our native or second (or third) languages speaks in individual words. So, the first chapters of your essay don't contribute much to communicating in French. What's worse, those articles and such are often the first words that are chewed up and swallowed when a native speaker speaks at a normal rate. If non-native listeners are listening for them all of the time they’re misdirecting their attention towards what might just be a grunt from the native's mouth. Many Asian speakers happily pass over the "a, an, the" in English when speaking; it's true, that may not be correct, and it may make their English sound "Asian", but they do manage to communicate without those words. Once communication has been established, such fine-tuning can take place that gets those little grunt sounds in their places and also makes them recognizable when heard.
Well, as you can imagine, I could go on and on on this subject and actually have done so in relation with ESL teaching. I've been bumping around the idea of posting some of my essays on ESL teaching here and if I get around to going over them and posting them up, I will certainly let you know. In this way, you will see where I am coming from with my comments. I am hardly an orthodox ESL teacher, nor did I learn to speak Spanish in a normal, orthodox way. Though you seem to be wanting to get away from the orthodox, you haven't quite cut the mustard with these essays. You need to throw the grammar out with the wash water and get down to brass tacks, get the motor started instead of just filling the tank with gas. (am I mixing metaphors? What a pleasure!)
Please don't take my comments too much to heart, again, I am a seasoned teacher with a long career of helping people learn to use English and Spanish in their personal lives; however, I have also been told that, though my "methods" are interesting and sound good, I may well be the only one able to bring them off, as they are so heavily based on my own personal experience and hard-headedness.
I'll try to get an essay or another posted for you to see. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to pm me and I'll be more than happy to share!
peace,
revel.
This Feedback was...
7/6/2008 06:12 PM PT
Evening Breagadoir,
What a fantastic way to learn. What are you thoughts on the titles of your chapters lightened to match the style of your composition - which is very creative. I love it.
- Brian
What a fantastic way to learn. What are you thoughts on the titles of your chapters lightened to match the style of your composition - which is very creative. I love it.
- Brian
This Feedback was...
7/6/2008 01:22 PM PT
I am not a French speaker. I learned German in school and English independently, but I feel excited about this project. French is the language of love, after all.
Just doing my part to be incredibly corny.
Just doing my part to be incredibly corny.
This Feedback was...
7/5/2008 07:59 PM PT
AU REVOIR
This Feedback was...
7/5/2008 07:58 PM PT
Breagadoir,
You're very welcome.
Thank you very much for your feedback in the feedback. I am gonna add that translation to my profile. Let me know when my suggestions do not make sense to you (I am quite a "Special" person).
Please, feel free to copy and paste any of the sentences that make sense to you or that you like, A gift for You and all the People in the World that can learn French. (In the box of the file that says How much would you like to share with reviewers, as my personal concern, please feel free to place 0%). =)
I am developing a textbook (but conceived with some variations) for ESL Spanish-English (It might be somewhere around there) and a Spanish-English.
Probably we can open a Forum about FL (Foreign Languages) and enrich ourselves as much as possible. There are a lot of people over here that Speaks more than one language and who are teachers too such as Rev Arroway and TsungChi (very busy at the moment).
What other languages do you speak/ write/ read/ listen to?
If you would like to have more feedback/ ideas, feel free to send me a message.
So far I wished I could have MUCH MUCH MORE time, there is a lot of good stuff around here.
Aur Voir Mon Ami,
Pegasee, La Fille des Livres
You're very welcome.
Thank you very much for your feedback in the feedback. I am gonna add that translation to my profile. Let me know when my suggestions do not make sense to you (I am quite a "Special" person).
Please, feel free to copy and paste any of the sentences that make sense to you or that you like, A gift for You and all the People in the World that can learn French. (In the box of the file that says How much would you like to share with reviewers, as my personal concern, please feel free to place 0%). =)
I am developing a textbook (but conceived with some variations) for ESL Spanish-English (It might be somewhere around there) and a Spanish-English.
Probably we can open a Forum about FL (Foreign Languages) and enrich ourselves as much as possible. There are a lot of people over here that Speaks more than one language and who are teachers too such as Rev Arroway and TsungChi (very busy at the moment).
What other languages do you speak/ write/ read/ listen to?
If you would like to have more feedback/ ideas, feel free to send me a message.
So far I wished I could have MUCH MUCH MORE time, there is a lot of good stuff around here.
Aur Voir Mon Ami,
Pegasee, La Fille des Livres
This Feedback was...
7/5/2008 12:55 PM PT
Hey Pegasee you give a lot of interesting ideas.Thank you so much.
Translation : La fille des livres
Translation : La fille des livres
7/5/2008 12:47 PM PT
Hi Breagadoir,
1. Thanks for the Invitation.
2. I like a lot that you created this book. Very interesting to me. I would like to learn more French from it and (if time allows, denounce some bad Practices in teaching this or another language).
I took 1 year of French at school. For me, it is My Favorite Language among with Arabic and Israeli Music. This Language to me sounds incredibly Romantic.
3. How about Ambassing ALL People to learn French regardless of the Age?
How about re-shaping questions and negative statements?
e.g. Welcome to the French Language. We will Make a interesting Journey in the Magnificent Realm of a Foreign Language, a language that will expand your horizons and your vision of the World. Instead of "Would you like to understand the basics of the French language"
Once You make this invitation, for sure, the ride will be amusing, fun and entertaining.
3. Probably instead of stating Latin language, You can "draw with letters" (or a picture? video? song? game?) the Genealogical Tree of this Language. Pretty Cool!
5. I am gonna take a look inside and see what else I can find.
So far, I just so the titles.
How about beginning with VERBS, then NOUNS, then PREPOSITIONS and CONNECTORS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, and then the rest of accesories (articles, determiners, etc).
6. Hopefully you wil find this as enrichment to being Passionate about Learning a New Language.
7. How about beginning the introduction as an English speaker (Irish) Man thanksgiving the French for the Gift: The Statue of Liberty and all the efforts made to cross the Atlantic until arriving in New York?
8. I agree with Marquita. And I also miss having meaningful and fun classes.
Au Revoir Mon Ami,
Pegasee, La Hija de los Libros (The Daughter of Books) --> How can I write this in French?
1. Thanks for the Invitation.
2. I like a lot that you created this book. Very interesting to me. I would like to learn more French from it and (if time allows, denounce some bad Practices in teaching this or another language).
I took 1 year of French at school. For me, it is My Favorite Language among with Arabic and Israeli Music. This Language to me sounds incredibly Romantic.
3. How about Ambassing ALL People to learn French regardless of the Age?
How about re-shaping questions and negative statements?
e.g. Welcome to the French Language. We will Make a interesting Journey in the Magnificent Realm of a Foreign Language, a language that will expand your horizons and your vision of the World. Instead of "Would you like to understand the basics of the French language"
Once You make this invitation, for sure, the ride will be amusing, fun and entertaining.
3. Probably instead of stating Latin language, You can "draw with letters" (or a picture? video? song? game?) the Genealogical Tree of this Language. Pretty Cool!
5. I am gonna take a look inside and see what else I can find.
So far, I just so the titles.
How about beginning with VERBS, then NOUNS, then PREPOSITIONS and CONNECTORS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, and then the rest of accesories (articles, determiners, etc).
6. Hopefully you wil find this as enrichment to being Passionate about Learning a New Language.
7. How about beginning the introduction as an English speaker (Irish) Man thanksgiving the French for the Gift: The Statue of Liberty and all the efforts made to cross the Atlantic until arriving in New York?
8. I agree with Marquita. And I also miss having meaningful and fun classes.
Au Revoir Mon Ami,
Pegasee, La Hija de los Libros (The Daughter of Books) --> How can I write this in French?
This Feedback was...
7/5/2008 09:57 AM PT
To be honest, i really thought it was a project written in french, but this is great!
You know what would be even better? inserting little bits of the french culture.. my language teacher once told us about the french apéritif, in which you do invite people over but they have to leave when dinner's ready. Strange thing.
I'll be checking your project, i really miss my french classes..
You know what would be even better? inserting little bits of the french culture.. my language teacher once told us about the french apéritif, in which you do invite people over but they have to leave when dinner's ready. Strange thing.
I'll be checking your project, i really miss my french classes..
This Feedback was...
7/3/2008 06:35 PM PT
Ahhh, I love French!
I learn it in school, and I fell in love with it from the start!!!
I learn it in school, and I fell in love with it from the start!!!
This Feedback was...
Start Reading
Previous Chapters
top
jump
876a1dd9eb344d2db86de40007e6894c
eafb4e92353643d68ab7d1ef780ef202
6b0efccbefe843e4975622b99637c7fa
6637403ffe524459b37ab92e598b0482
f54b9c0a2c3d4a48be5c20ab930fbc1c
5b73c493ed2542cfb16ddf162786ec9e
80a1367bf4564c2da424025ee2db578b
1b0cf60ac5804cfb805e7ab08edf3789
42263e43e10d49f081a2587feece5291
d414e4492e8349d5a08cdda5d9192a0a
280ff5bc839d4980896f953067e4f18b
0a335b51f9074dc9ad890076144ebd12
308301a77ea245c799f6f9482c7af713
Next Chapters
bottom
jump