I have been progressing slowly in French. I have been listening to the introductory course by Michel Thomas. The course has been very easy to follow and easy to understand. When I was on disc 3 of the course things got more difficult. The conjugations of verbs are very similar, and are difficult to differentiate between. I learned quite a few pronouns, but they were not covered nearly enough for me to have memorized them. I am getting a little confused with Portuguese pronouns in the mix too.
Some of my problems with the Michel Thomas course is that practical phrases needed for everyday interaction are not given outright, but you have to dive in head first to get important phrases. The learners on the disc are of course novices, which is what they should be. However, sometimes the very obvious mistakes made by the learners create further confusion that simply isn't necessary.
Due to the confusion I am taking a break from French for a while. I want to study Portuguese as I find it much easier to grasp with my knowledge of Spanish. I've been using the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese course. I got a good introduction to Paul Pimsleur and his research, which makes me much more confident in the Pimsleur method, since I've never heard about his research before. The course moves slowly, but with a little patience I should be able to pickup the language easily with my knowledge of Spanish. The only problem is the accent of the language. I hope to talk to some natives with what I have learned soon!
Some of my problems with the Michel Thomas course is that practical phrases needed for everyday interaction are not given outright, but you have to dive in head first to get important phrases. The learners on the disc are of course novices, which is what they should be. However, sometimes the very obvious mistakes made by the learners create further confusion that simply isn't necessary.
Due to the confusion I am taking a break from French for a while. I want to study Portuguese as I find it much easier to grasp with my knowledge of Spanish. I've been using the Pimsleur Brazilian Portuguese course. I got a good introduction to Paul Pimsleur and his research, which makes me much more confident in the Pimsleur method, since I've never heard about his research before. The course moves slowly, but with a little patience I should be able to pickup the language easily with my knowledge of Spanish. The only problem is the accent of the language. I hope to talk to some natives with what I have learned soon!
