I haven’t posted anything for aaaages so I feel like I should. My first attempt was about the white shit which gets all over the taps and shower screen and shower walls and god only knows where else. It was very boring and I wasn’t even sure what it was called in English (limescale?? I call it kalk, which is the Dutch word). Whatever, it was a really boring post. It did remind me of my problems with language, however.
My office is officially English speaking, but there are roughly five other languages in constant use. People generally speak to me in English, but occasionally they forget and speak to me in Norwegian. Out and about, if I stumble across my words in French, people will switch to English instantly. Sometimes I put on an accent when this happens so I don’t feel so rubbish at languages.
I’ve been having French lessons for about six months now, and I can see an improvement. I can now speak in about five tenses (none of them particularly well). When my colleagues talk in French, I can follow the conversation without too much difficulty. I usually miss the point, and laugh at the wrong times, but I’m better than I used to be. If I join in, I usually do it in English to avoid missing the small window of opportunity to say something meaningful.
I’ve located my exact problem with understanding French. I focus on the words that I don’t understand and completely miss vast chunks of conversation while trying to translate something, which usually turns out to be utterly useless – deciding whether they were going to or from somewhere, for example. It’s all very well knowing what the problem is, but how the hell am I supposed to work around it? Any tips? Please??
One advantage of being a non-native is that if a chugger or some other bothersome person starts talking to me on the street I can just lie “Sorry, don’t speak French!” and walk on by.
“I usually miss the point, and laugh at the wrong times” – I do that in English too.
Sorry, you wanted tips, didn’t you? But as you know, I’m not very “useful”
The thing I found (and still find) useful to do is to try to listen to the broader concept of the story/sentence/etc. If you spend your time trying to pick out the words you don’t understand you end up missing the parts that you do. If you instead listen for the words you do understand, the other words start to fall into place through the context of the story. Eventually you can even pretty much assume the meanings of the words you don’t know because you’ll be understanding the context of what people are saying.
Keep in mind this isn’t 100% foolproof. I thought “ambitant” was something positive for like 6 months before my husband told me it in fact means “annoying”.
Yes. Exactly. That’s exactly what my advice would be.
(Hi, Laura. Bet you didn’t expect your French teacher to be paying a visit!)
(Oh, and how do you do a tag cloud?)
Bah, commenting on an old computer and forgot to change my comment info…just wanted to add that you can get cleaning/preventative limescale products. Look for “ontkalker” in Dutch. No clue what it is in French.
Ajax do a good shower spray that gets rid of limescale stains, but you have to remember to spray it on and rinse it off every day after using the shower so it’s a bit of a pain, unless you have OCD.
You’ll never know all the words. Don’t be put off by words you don’t know, just ignore them and it will probably all become clear in a phrase or two. There are still loads of words in all my languages (English included) that I think I know because I’ve seen them so many times in context but in actual fact in isolation couldn’t render at all. If it’s not important enough for you to know it yet, clearly it can’t be a vital part of the sentence…
*disclaimer, I would of course never advocate such a blase approach to vocabulary in a professional context, ahem.
As Lilacspecs says try to listen to the broader concept of the story.
Have you ever tried watching 5 minutes of a film or a serie without the sound off? You will be surprised how much you understand…The words are only a part of the communication and the understanding. Besides the body language, you learn a lot from the context. In most situations, some reactions are excpected and you can assume what people are saying.
So, the best pieces of advice would be not to focus on words you don’t understand and trust your self!
I hope I am clear. I am a French speaker trying not to focus on making mistakes in English…
Hem…of course I meant watching TV “with the sound off”
As someone who isn’t super good at learning languages, I’ve had the same problems. It’s not so much that I don’t understand that I should listen to the broader concept as that I nitpick – it just really bothers me that I don’t know THAT word that was just said…Beh. Maybe I’m just too anal.
I’ve also decided to lie and start telling people on the street that I don’t speak English. Dutch or nothing, damn it. I have a theory they just like to show off their English skills.
Good luck!!