I would like a suggestion as to when to use the Travelogue lessons in parallel with what level of Dashboard. They appear to be quite intense and I don't want to get mired in them if I should not start them until a certain level of the Dashboard is accomplished. Merci and very much appreciate Rocket French - can immerse myself on so many levels.
Using the Travelogue piece
PaulG63
July 1, 2019
Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor
July 2, 2019
Salut PaulG63 !
Merci pour votre question !
The Travelogue lessons are intended for intermediate to advanced users, so they are indeed a bit more intense. We generally recommend finishing at least Level 1 before starting to tackle the Travelogue lessons.
Bon courage !
Liss
Merci pour votre question !
The Travelogue lessons are intended for intermediate to advanced users, so they are indeed a bit more intense. We generally recommend finishing at least Level 1 before starting to tackle the Travelogue lessons.
Bon courage !
Liss
Peter--252
July 29, 2019
I've bought the French travelogue lessons, and agree they are more intense! (I'm currently on level 3 in the main lessons.)
I've just gone through the 1st lesson, and find that although I know most of the vocab, (and find reading the written dialogues fairly easy) and the colloquialisms, I'm still missing a fair amount when just listening.
So my hope is to use them to practice my listening skills.
Incidentally, one of my problems (I don't know how common it is) is that when listening only, I can follow the French for a bit, but if a word or phrase comes up that I don't immediately get, it "throws" me for a while and I tend to miss the next few words.
I am aware that avoiding this is a skill which the keen language learner needs to acquire, but do you have any advice or tips, as it seems to be a 'frame of mind' thing?
Finally, do the travelogues increase in difficulty as the lessons go on, or are they roughly at the same level?
Merci, Pete
I've just gone through the 1st lesson, and find that although I know most of the vocab, (and find reading the written dialogues fairly easy) and the colloquialisms, I'm still missing a fair amount when just listening.
So my hope is to use them to practice my listening skills.
Incidentally, one of my problems (I don't know how common it is) is that when listening only, I can follow the French for a bit, but if a word or phrase comes up that I don't immediately get, it "throws" me for a while and I tend to miss the next few words.
I am aware that avoiding this is a skill which the keen language learner needs to acquire, but do you have any advice or tips, as it seems to be a 'frame of mind' thing?
Finally, do the travelogues increase in difficulty as the lessons go on, or are they roughly at the same level?
Merci, Pete
Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor
August 20, 2019
Salut Pete !
My apologies for the delayed response!
Losing the thread of the conversation after hearing a word that you don't know is a common problem for people learning a new language. Your brain is working hard at following along with what the native speaker is saying and when it hits something it doesn't know, it can spiral into a kind of panicked loop and make you lose track of what's being said.
Getting past this just involves training your brain to cut off the panic phase and simply move on to the next word. This can take a bit of time, but you can practice by listening to a phrase that contains a word that you know you don't know a few times over. In doing so, you'll learn to recognize that moment when your brain starts to panic and can start to train yourself to ignore it and move on. It sounds like a complicated art, but it will come with a little time and practice!
The Travelogues do gradually become more difficult as the lessons go on, since more vocabulary and more complex sentences and situations are introduced. However, it is not a huge difference in level.
I hope that this was helpful! Do let me know if you have any more questions - and perhaps another forum user has some suggestions from their own experience of moving past words they don't know?
À la prochaine,
Liss
My apologies for the delayed response!
Losing the thread of the conversation after hearing a word that you don't know is a common problem for people learning a new language. Your brain is working hard at following along with what the native speaker is saying and when it hits something it doesn't know, it can spiral into a kind of panicked loop and make you lose track of what's being said.
Getting past this just involves training your brain to cut off the panic phase and simply move on to the next word. This can take a bit of time, but you can practice by listening to a phrase that contains a word that you know you don't know a few times over. In doing so, you'll learn to recognize that moment when your brain starts to panic and can start to train yourself to ignore it and move on. It sounds like a complicated art, but it will come with a little time and practice!
The Travelogues do gradually become more difficult as the lessons go on, since more vocabulary and more complex sentences and situations are introduced. However, it is not a huge difference in level.
I hope that this was helpful! Do let me know if you have any more questions - and perhaps another forum user has some suggestions from their own experience of moving past words they don't know?
À la prochaine,
Liss
Peter--252
August 21, 2019
Bonjour Liss, et merci!
I'll take that advice to heart for now, and try to avoid the "panic loop", both on the lessons and the travelogue.
I'm considering studying a lesson and the Travelogue on alternate days, but that might be a bit disruptive, so I'll experiment a bit; do you have any feedback on how best to use them?
Also I've found that I can access TV5Monde and France 24 from my Virgin TV package, so I might try and schedule some time to listen to those. I imagine, though, at that level I might only manage a few minutes at a time at first!
By the way, how many languages do you speak, you seem to be a polyglot - I'm envious :) !
Salut,
Pete
I'll take that advice to heart for now, and try to avoid the "panic loop", both on the lessons and the travelogue.
I'm considering studying a lesson and the Travelogue on alternate days, but that might be a bit disruptive, so I'll experiment a bit; do you have any feedback on how best to use them?
Also I've found that I can access TV5Monde and France 24 from my Virgin TV package, so I might try and schedule some time to listen to those. I imagine, though, at that level I might only manage a few minutes at a time at first!
By the way, how many languages do you speak, you seem to be a polyglot - I'm envious :) !
Salut,
Pete
Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor
August 23, 2019
De rien, Pete ! :)
I think there could be a number of different strategies for using the Travelogues together with the other lessons. This review here outlines one method that might be helpful: https://www.rocketlanguages.com/reviews/40683. Your proposed method of alternating days might also be useful, however, since you would be more immersed in the Travelogue story that way. I'd suggest giving both of these a try and seeing which one keeps you the most interested and motivated, since that's what's going to help your brain remember things best!
Tuning in to French TV is a great idea - even if you don't understand even half of what's being said, it's still always beneficial to hear different accents and expose yourself to a wide variety of vocab. You could also try out some French radio stations, if you're interested - having the language around you as much as possible, even if you're not focusing on it, is still very useful, because it keeps your brain going in French gear.
For my languages, I suppose I would say that I know six, but I speak four. :) It's true what they say: once you've learned a second language, picking up a third (or fourth, or more) is much easier - so you're already on your way! :)
Bon week-end !
Liss
I think there could be a number of different strategies for using the Travelogues together with the other lessons. This review here outlines one method that might be helpful: https://www.rocketlanguages.com/reviews/40683. Your proposed method of alternating days might also be useful, however, since you would be more immersed in the Travelogue story that way. I'd suggest giving both of these a try and seeing which one keeps you the most interested and motivated, since that's what's going to help your brain remember things best!
Tuning in to French TV is a great idea - even if you don't understand even half of what's being said, it's still always beneficial to hear different accents and expose yourself to a wide variety of vocab. You could also try out some French radio stations, if you're interested - having the language around you as much as possible, even if you're not focusing on it, is still very useful, because it keeps your brain going in French gear.
For my languages, I suppose I would say that I know six, but I speak four. :) It's true what they say: once you've learned a second language, picking up a third (or fourth, or more) is much easier - so you're already on your way! :)
Bon week-end !
Liss