Rosetta Stone
I think Rosetta Stone is not a good tool to learn foreign languages because of the following problem.
corrected August 14, 2010Original textThe problem is that I have no occasion to
speak something like "the boy is in the
airplane." when talking with native speakers.
I prefer to learn something like " Nice to meet you, I can hardly hear you, I don't understand what you said, etc"
Corrected oneThe problem is that I have no occasion to
say something like "the boy is in the
airplane" when talking with native speakers.
I prefer to learn something like " Nice to meet you, I can hardly hear you, I don't understand what you said, etc"
The stroke orders of certain Chinese characters
The stroke orders of certain Chinese characters
I realized that I made mistakes at the level of composition after reading mine.
I have certain problems of the appropriate stroke orders even if I recognize more than two thousands of Chinese characters we use in Japanese. Some characters are quite different, so I often use my electronic dictionary to look up the characters' stroke order. I write them many times on my notebook, reading aloud their pronunciation.
The stroke order of certain Chinese characters
I realized that I made mistakes at the level of composition after reading mine.
I have certain problems with the appropriate stroke order even if I recognize more than two thousand Chinese characters we use in Japanese. Some characters are quite different, so I often use my electronic dictionary to look up the characters' stroke order. I write them many times in my notebook, reading their pronunciation aloud.Corrected May 06, 2010
Literal errors
My text
I think we must not respect original texts too much, especially in case that we are can not find appropriate words in dictionaries. There are sometimes literal errors.
Corrected one
I think we do not need to respect original texts too much, especially when we can not find appropriate words in dictionaries. There are sometimes typographical errors.
Corrected April 29, 2010
Is it effective to study 2 or more languages at the same time?
Learning a target language with an explanation in a language that we already know is an effective approach to learning two languages simultaneously
I occasionally watch Chinese lessons in French on the CCTV: the Chinese TV channel. Thanks to the situations they present with French subtitles, dialogues from daily life can make me feel as if I were really there. After watching a short dialogue, an instructor explains the details or annotations in French so I get familiar with the basic phrases and their social and cultural context. Then she or he explains the grammar used in the dialogue and shows other similar phrases containing different basic words. These exercises are also helpful.
Next time, I will try to watch more difficult content such as Chinese TV dramas with French subtitles on the CCTV.
Corrected April 20, 2010
What is a cat?
Think About It, 01.3 Socrates: What is a cat? - AdvancedK: Excuse me, sorry to bother you.S: Yes, what can I do for you?K: Well, I happen to be looking for my cat. You haven't seen one in these parts recently, have you?S: Please pardon me, but you say you're looking for a cat?K: That's right. You see, she's been gone for some time now and I haven't a clue where to find her. Something told me to look in this direction, though. S: Ah, I see. K: Her name's Tiger. She's quite small for a cat, but then she's only around nine months old. I've been worried to death about her, actually. ...Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. The name's Kelsey. S: If you don't mind my asking, what is a cat per se? K: ...I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. S: What do we mean by 'cat'? What must something be, or what must something have, to be a cat? K: ...Um...Well, I suppose it would need four legs. S: You mean like something resembling a table? K: No. That's absurd! A cat is nothing like a table. It's a living thing, you see, and a table is completely inorganic. Plus it moves, as you know. A table is static and just sits there. My cat happens to move rather quickly, at that. She's one of the fastest cats in the neighborhood. S: You mean fast in the way a horse is fast? K: That's silly! A cat doesn't resemble a horse at all! I've already mentioned that my cat's a small thing! A horse's size doesn't compare. But this is beside the point. Have you or haven't you seen my cat? S: Let me get this straight. You're trying to tell me this small cat has four legs like a table but is a living thing which is unlike a table. And that it is fast in the way a horse is fast but doesn't compare to a horse's size? K: Yes! That's what I've said, point for point! S: But you've left my question unanswered. If a cat is like these things in some ways but not like them in other ways, then what can we say a cat is? You leave me asking, 'what must something be, or have, to be a cat?' K: ...I'm too perplexed to answer. I haven't any idea what a cat is now... In any case, I'm still wondering whether you've seen my cat or not. S: Ah, right. Indeed, I've seen your cat. She was heading that way earlier. K: *Whew* Thank you.This conversation is available on the following site.
LingQ
(You can listen to this conversation here)My comment
There are, I think, in this conversation, certain rules of sound in intonation and pronunciation to learn in the way Kelsey talks which are quite challenging to shadow or to imitate exactly . For almost every Japanese who has been learning in the traditional way at school for at least 6 years, it is unfamiliar or stressful to understand natural sounds to English. Generally speaking, if we can pronounce the sound, we can understand the sound. So, I am trying to imitate natural English pronunciation and intonation.
Also, using academic words is tricky. I don't have a clue when to use simple words versus academic ones. I know it depends on listeners or situations but... I cannot use academic words naturally in daily life . Even native speakers don't usually use them. I only know the meanings of these words.
That is my comment about this content.
Corrected August 09, 2009
Marcel Mule's Last Interview, 1990, Interview 2
Marcel Mule's Last Interview, 1990, InterviewInterviewed By David J. GibsonThis never before published interview with Marcel Mule was recorded April 18, 1990, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Mule’s home in Sanary, France. Marcel Mule was 89 years young. He answered my questions with energy and enthusiasm as I asked the questions in English and he answered them in French.My commentAfter having read this article, I was very impressed
with what this great saxophonist had done for us.
As for me, I did not
place or get awarded a prize to be able to graduate from the Paris Conservatory in 1988. There were three imposed pieces
from "Concour de Prix" (
somewhat of a graduate examination), which included contemporary music. I disliked this kind of music
. So, I did not study or
practice it very well. As he said in this article, players must
be able to play a great piece, like Mozart's, marvelously to the public.
corrected, July 15, 2009
vocaburary
Thank you very much for talking with me. I must say that vocabulary
skills are a precondition for foreign language learners. So, I will save
the LingQ words - political unrest, swine flu, etc. that you sent me in the chat box. I see that
the system is very efficient
, because we can find all
sorts of examples and phrases with
the new words that we saved.
corrected, July 07, 2009
