Developing your language skills

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Choose a series

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Remember to choose the series according to your objectives and also to vary the series to discover the diversity of accents and registers of the language being studied.
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Watching a series can help you to develop LE skills in a number of areas, as long as you are active in your learning and set yourself goals. Listening, speaking and vocabulary acquisition are the areas for which we suggest activities in this tutorial.
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You can watch a series with the aim of understanding a scene as a whole, or even the whole episode. Several activities are possible. You can watch the series in English with the subtitles in English. Using the subtitles in the language will help you to associate the written form of a word with its spoken form. You may have a tendency to read at the beginning without listening to what is being said: one possible solution is to read before then listen afterwards while trying to read to work on this oral/written link.
Having the subtitles in LE allows you to see how the words are spelt, so it’s easy to look up words in the dictionary that really seem to be blocking your overall understanding. Look up the words if you feel you need to, but don’t look up all the words or you’ll lose the thread of the scene… You can also watch the series in English without the subtitles and then check your understanding in the video series with the subtitles in English or French.
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In any case: don’t worry about not understanding everything in detail, that’s normal and that’s not the point !
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If you want to understand how the language works in more detail, you can choose a line that seems interesting to you and dissect it: look for the vocabulary, try to understand how the sentences are constructed… Don’t do this for every line !
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Losing your accent is not a very important objective when learning a foreign language, but it is important that this accent should not be a barrier and that you should be able to make yourself understood in a foreign language. Pronunciation difficulties are often due to the fact that you have to string sounds together in an utterance, respecting intonation and rhythm. You can work on this aspect by watching a series. For example, you can listen to a character’s line, paying attention to pronunciation, intonation, the way the words are grouped, identifying the most accented parts, those where the voice rises or falls, etc. You can then practise repeating them after him. If you want to assess your progress, remember to record yourself so that you can compare your utterances with the model. “Acting” can also help you overcome your apprehensions about speaking the language. Of course, remember to be critical of the model you choose and to vary the models !
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If you want to work on the production of statements in LE, you can use a series you already know, which you have seen in LM or with subtitles in LM, for example. You can select a scene and then try to invent what a character is going to say in LE. Then you can check with the LE version. Be careful, even if your statement doesn’t correspond to the LE version, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong… There may be different ways of saying the same thing.
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Just as it is not useful to try to understand everything when watching a series, it is not useful to try to learn all the words that you do not yet know. Indeed, the word that prevents you from understanding a statement is not necessarily interesting to remember for expression or even understanding… It is important to differentiate the lexicon useful for understanding from that useful for expressing oneself. Listening work in FL accompanied by lexicon research already allows you to memorize useful vocabulary in oral comprehension. You can use a translator to translate words or expressions that you do not know, also consider using a monolingual dictionary or a concordancer to understand a term or expression that does not necessarily have an equivalent in LM.
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Seeing the lexicon available for oral expression requires deeper memorization, in fact you need to be able to find this lexicon quickly when you express yourself. You will therefore have to learn this lexicon. Set a goal for yourself based on your possibilities. For example, 5 words to memorize and 2 expressions for example. Look for expressions, words that come back often and above all which seem reusable to you or which you think you need the most. You can note them with the context, it’s better than a simple French translation of the word.
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We can learn to write by reading but the transfer is not automatic. This requires going through several stages and training, so look for as many writing tasks as possible, corresponding to your level. For example, take reading notes or when you listen to something, write about it. This will help you overcome the fear of writing in a foreign language, gain confidence in your expression ability and above all clearly improve your writing skills. Use every opportunity for real exchanges. Mail and exchange emails with acquaintances, friends, teachers. Or take a text that interests you and summarize it in writing. The ideal is to be able to send these writings to a third party likely to give you constructive feedback on your production.
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Be careful once again to keep a critical eye: can the language used by the characters be transposed into the communication situations you have to deal with ?

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Up to you ! Set a goal, be active and regular and above all enjoy learning !

>> Download file “ How to use a series to learn a language ? “

How can I improve my pronunciation and intonation in a foreign language ?

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There are several steps :
1. Assess your difficulties
2. Practise to alleviate them
3. Talk to practise

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Assess your difficulties
Register

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Diagnosis

• Listen to yourself again to pinpoint your problems
• Ask someone else (a teacher, a native speaker, another learner, etc.) to listen and give you feedback.

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Practise

• Isolated sounds
• Pairs of words with only one sound difference (in French tout/tu, in Italian inferno/inverno, in German rand/land…)

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Work on the sounds in words and sentences

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Choose a podcast (preferably with a transcript)

• Listen to it
• Read the script once
• Then read it in short extracts and repeat, imitating the important elements (the way the words are grouped, the parts that are more accented, etc.).
  the way the words are grouped, the parts that are more accented, the places where the voice rises…)
• Record yourself and compare with the original
• Ask someone to comment on your recording

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Read aloud
Practise with songs or poems, for example: this can help you to pay more attention to the rhythm and intonation of the language.

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Don’t forget…

• Oral documents are not models to be imitated at all costs, but rather “good examples”.
  The more examples you listen to, the more you practise, the better your pronunciation will be.

>> Download file “How can I improve my pronunciation and intonation in a foreign language ?”

How can I improve my vocabulary?

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In this tutorial, you’ll find tips on how to improve your vocabulary.

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First of all, how do you memorise a word ?

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There are several ways of memorising a word.

For example, you can learn the meaning of a word, not necessarily in your mother tongue.

You can also learn how to pronounce the word.

It is advisable to learn the context in which a word is used, as well as its spelling, so that you can write it down later.

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We discover that there are two reasons for learning vocabulary, either to understand it or to use it.

We learn vocabulary for two reasons, either to understand it or to use it.

Comprehension vocabulary is the vocabulary used by the people you’re talking to; you only need to understand it.

Expressive vocabulary, on the other hand, is what you use when you need to speak. You therefore need to memorise a lot of it, because you need it immediately.

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To work on comprehension vocabulary, you need to do listening exercises on documents where native speakers are speaking in their own language. You can use the transcript to help you.

With the transcript, you can do vocabulary spotting exercises or fill-in-the-blanks exercises, and create a vocabulary list.

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However, vocabulary lists are useful, but not enough. You need to do other activities.

If you want to keep your vocabulary list, you shouldn’t just make a list of words, but groups of words by theme or context.

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Be careful not to memorise lists alone, as this is only a first step.

Particularly when it comes to expressive vocabulary.

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To work on vocabulary for expression, you can do exercises in the textbooks, adapting them to your objectives, or writing exercises to re-use the words. Repeat several times to memorise the vocabulary.

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But how do you learn vocabulary effectively ?
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First of all, learn the vocabulary that will be useful to you. To do this, imagine yourself using these words.

Repeat as many times as you can. It’s better to do it 10 times at a time than right away.

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Never give up!

Learning isn’t easy; you won’t be able to speak and think fluently in a foreign language in a month.

It takes time.

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The most important thing is to get to know yourself and work regularly.

20 minutes a day is better than 3 hours a week.

So you have to persevere.

>> Download files : “How can I improve my vocabulary ? “

• How can I work on my listening comprehension skills using the Internet ?

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  Think about internet radio I choose a radio station in the language I’m working in

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  What do I listen to on the radio?
  I choose a genre that interests me
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  News, weather, sports results.
  Songs,
  Podcasts,
  interviews,
  Debates….
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  Preparing to listen Based on the theme of the document, I make a list of words I can expect to hear.

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  I’m looking in the press
  Information on the same subject
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  To find out more about the subject I’m about to listen to
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  I set myself a goal before I listen
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  I don’t have the transcript of the document
  I set myself a listening goal
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• I listen to make a summary
• I listen with another person and we compare what we have understood
• I listen to make a transcription
• I listen to find information that interests me
• I listen to find out who is talking to whom
• I listen to find out where it’s happening
• I listen to find out when it’s happening
• I listen to find out what’s going on
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  I have the transcript of the document Before looking at the transcript, I listen to the document several times I listen and read the transcript at the same time to check my understanding I read the transcript first to find out what it’s about and then I listen I listen to find words that I have erased in the transcription (verbs, adjectives, etc.). adjectives …)

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  I’m listening to the document
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  To confirm my hypotheses
  I spot the words I expected to hear
  I note the key words

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  I carry out the tasks that correspond to my listening objectives
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  It’s up to you!

>> Download file ” How can I work on my listening comprehension skills using the Internet ? “

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How do you write in a foreign language?

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Welcome to this tutorial on writing in a foreign language from the Lansad platform.
Writing is an essential part of your studies at university and in many professional contexts. Whether you have to produce a summary, a dissertation, an article or a covering letter, all these tasks call on a range of skills that you need to develop. The following advice is designed to help you build them up step by step.
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Whatever the reason for your writing and whatever form it may take, it’s important to remember that there is no universal recipe for successful writing, but there are a few strategies that can be useful for writing in a foreign language.
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L’écriture d’un texte est un processus qui s’étend dans le temps.

Ce processus peut être divisé en trois phases: Une première phase de planification, une seconde qui consiste à faire un premier jet puis à retoucher le texte et une troisième où l’on effectue des contrôles et des réajustements pour une version finale.

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All writing, whether it’s a simple note or a thesis, needs to be planned.
Before you write :
You need to have an idea of what the text will contain.

• • Try to summarise your knowledge of the subject, and why not exchange your ideas with others, to enrich them?
  • Bear in mind who the text should be aimed at: your teachers, students, readers of a general or specialist journal?
  • Also think about the purpose of your writing: Should it inform? Describe? Report? Argue?
  • Style is also important: should it be formal, informal or colloquial?
  • And of course, don’t forget to think about the structure of your text beforehand.
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    During this first phase, as throughout your learning process, it’s important to remember that to write well, you need to be an attentive and critical reader. As you read, look out for things that catch your eye and that could be useful to you, such as words, expressions, sentence structures or usage that differs from your mother tongue. Make a note of them to build up a personalised repertoire, a bank of models. In other words, find writings of the same type as the one you are aiming for, use them as inspiration and adapt them to your situation, as you did for the covering letter at the bottom of this page.
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    Try to formulate your ideas in the target language even if, at first, you feel that you are not expressing yourself adequately. And if a word, expression or other element doesn’t come to you, simply write it down in your mother tongue. You can refine your text later with the help of tools.
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    During this first writing phase, don’t worry so much about grammar.
    Focus on the content and structure first, and come back later to work on a more precise correction.
    It’s a good idea to leave your text aside for a while.
    After this time, reread your text from the point of view of the recipient and check the content and structure. Is the information or argument clear and detailed? Is the order understandable? If not, make any necessary changes.
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    Thirdly, check the grammar and vocabulary. For grammar, you can use a checklist (for example: do I respect agreement, are the sentences well structured, do I master the use of past tenses). You can also create a personal list, based on your needs and recurring problems. For vocabulary, use a unilingual dictionary or thesaurus.
    Once again, leave the text to one side, because when you’re writing, it’s during breaks that you do the revision.
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    To check your production, you can ask other competent people around you for their opinion on the content and structure of the text. Rework the text, paying particular attention to the mistakes you tend to make, and remember that : The introduction must arouse the reader’s interest ; The text must have a clear structure ; The connections between ideas must be explicit ; Concrete examples help the reader ; Unnecessary repetition tires him out. Before submitting your text in its final version, give yourself time for several re-readings to gain the necessary distance and control. No text is perfect in its first version. Above all, writing means writing and rewriting. Give yourself time: When you’ve written a text, leave it for a few hours, or even a few days, and revise it again, asking others for their point of view: your peers, your tandem partner, may have an outside view that quickly perceives aspects that you wouldn’t have thought of.

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    You can learn to write by reading, but the transfer is not automatic. You need to go through a number of stages and practise, so try to find as many writing tasks as possible that correspond to your level. For example, take notes when you read or when you listen to something and write about it. This will help you overcome the fear of writing in a foreign language, gain confidence in your ability to express yourself and, above all, clearly improve your writing skills. Use every opportunity for real exchanges. Write to and exchange emails with acquaintances, friends and teachers. Or take a text that interests you and summarise it in writing. Ideally, you should be able to send these writings to a third party who can give you constructive feedback on your work. on your work.

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    In addition to professional and academic writing, you can also engage in a correspondence project or a long-distance exchange with a foreign interlocutor, tackling themes that are specific to you and encouraging feedback on your work at the same time. As part of the exchange process, by submitting your own texts, your motivation to learn will increase and you will enjoy discussing subjects that you have freely chosen together. Without any external pressure, this type of activity gives you feedback on your work and allows you to see how much progress you have made.

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What does it mean to express yourself orally?

Hello.

So, what does it mean to express yourself orally?

First of all, to express oneself is to : intervene in a communication situation

For example: Asking for information

Giving information

– It also means proposing

– Or refusing

In fact, we express ourselves to help someone, to inform them, to advise them, to invite them, but also to apologise, to say what we are going to do, to ask for a favour, etc.

How do we express ourselves?

When you want to express yourself, you first have an idea of what you’re going to say:
saying you want a hotel room or explaining a recipe or saying you have work to do.

So to express yourself is at least to have an intention: to inform someone, to know what they want, for example.

And this idea is gradually shaped.

We start with the vocabulary and the rules for combining words in the language.

Then we choose the ones we use according to the situation and the person we are addressing.

Par exemple, vous êtes étudiant et vous voulez inviter quelqu’un. Vous avez a priori de nombreuses possibilités d’expression, comme par exemple : “On pourrait aller au restaurant ce soir “, ou alors” Et si on mangeait ensemble ?”, ou encore “Tiens, on se fait une petite bouffe ? “.

Learning to express yourself in a foreign language means :

→ on the one hand, to automate and perfect the mechanism of linguistic formatting, to say what we have to say ;

→ it also means choosing and learning a limited number of formulas that can be used to express ourselves in situations that concern us ;

→ is learning useful words and expressions, and learning how to use them appropriately. For example, if you’re travelling, you need to know how to ask for directions, order a meal or buy a train ticket. ;

→ And finally, it means learning which forms you can use with different people:
We’re going to vary the choice of words we use… We don’t speak in the same way to a friend as to someone we don’t know very well.

Now you have a few ideas for expressing yourself orally in the languages you are learning.

Now it’s your turn !

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