Once again on the subject of difficult words I wonder how many people have the same experience as I do when they encounter difficult words while taking dictation using the 1200 dictees de francais. I for one spend a lot of time pouring over the dictionary to find out the meaning of words I don't know. During this period I am distracted by the many meanings attached to the same word. They make interesting reading but that is not the purpose of the dictation. I tried looking up all the words I could not understand first and then taking the dictation exercise after. The problem was that I then had to remember the meanings of several words in order to continue with the dictation without stopping. You would need to have a fantastic memory to do that. I went as far as to copy the difficult words on a piece of paper to be looked up when they came up during dictation but this ment taking my eyes off the screen to refer to them each time. Finally I came up with the idea of typing out these words in advance at the bottom of the page which is dedicated for typing out the dictation. This ment that I would not have to take my eyes off the screen while typing. If I ran out of space I simply deleted the words meanings I had typed at the bottom.
This led me to make an important discovery. I could make notes of entire phases while listening to the dictee and note these down on the left hand screen. This made me more conscious of how French words can sound different when used in different sentence constructions. I could print these notes and then save them in my Note Pad. Having my own notes to refer to later on, I believe, is the most important part of any learning process. If any one has any other ideas with regard to using 1200 dictees de francais I will be most interested . I am in particular interested in how the subject matter can be graded from simple to more difficult to enable the less knowledgable learners make slow but steady progress.
If any one has any other ideas with regard to using 1200 dictees de francais I will be most interested . I am in particular interested in how the subject matter can be graded from simple to more difficult to enable the less knowledgable learners make slow but steady progress.
Sydney
Here are some ideas from a "less knowledgeable learner": the dictation exercises are perfect for practicing pronunciation almost from the very beginning of one's study of French when used in conjunction with the text file, especially when the student reads the phrase aloud before the speaker and then uses the French to correct his own pronunciation. This is more helpful, I find, than simply copying the speaker – it shows up every weakness and uncertainty and allows for instantaneous correction. Attempting to transcribe what one hears (or thinks one hears) and then checking is also a good way of identifying problem points in comprehension. (It helps if you don't regard every point thus identified as a "mistake.")
As for the dictation, I have to do some preparatory work first, using WordChamp.com, for example, to learn the new vocabulary. Then I translate the section into English, one sentence at a time, correcting as I go along, and not worrying too much if I don't recognize all the grammar. At the end, I'm finally ready for the dictation. I've only tried a couple of the exercises provided online as a sample; for now, I'm still busy with the lesson CD, but I've used the back-translation method with newsbroadcasts in the past. These are spoken so rapidly, though, I never even considered using them for pronunciation practice.
It would be interesting if you're still using the dictation CD to hear what techniques you've developed.
I am most interested in your special approach to French pronounciation and in particular to the way you prepare yourself in advance for taking dictation. I will try anything to get to where I want and this applies to all forms of knowledge.
I also use the Bescherelle series for French dictation. The service is provided free of charge on line(http://www.bescherelle.com) and I also have one of the accompanying texts which includes a form for each page in which you make note of your mistakes in a prescribed manner.This is a prescribed course in French dictation and is used in French schools so you might find their approach somewhat formal.
I have discovered something which I should have learnt a long time ago but failed to do so. If there is something difficult to learn do not wste time banging your head against the wall in order to master it. If a paragraph contains twenty difficult words then it is better to learn five easy ones than to learn all twenty. So instead of trying to write out the entire page of dictation I will note the sentences which are simple. Using your method I will copy these out and tick off certain words which contain the sounds I want to practice with.This may be a form of cheating but if it gets you to where you want to go why bother. And I always say that if you don't see the 'difficult' word for another six months why bother to learn it in the first place.
I find it most helpful if I can use a translation dictionary while I am reading. It has to be available in a tiny window in the top right corner of my computer screen. I just have to click on the word I am having trouble with and the meaning appears in my little screen.There is just one problem. The 120 Dictees will not allow me to open up this screen If it could I could just breeze through the passages . My problem is that I have to open up my dictionary on a separate page of my computer and I have to type out the entire word I am looking for, and this slows down the reading process. It makes a big difference to me anyway.
Just think of the advantage of having the 120 dictee and a dictionary combined. One could go further. One could combine the dictee with a sound dictionary. If you clicked on a word you will hear how it is pronounced.This is not as fanciful as it sounds. I am aware of at least two sound dictionaries in software form and I am sure there must be more. I hope someone comes up with more ideas. I wil be delighted to hear from them.
