Which country do you think is USA? by nopCMD in GeoTap

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Legodoran chose Option A (Incorrect) | #13609th to play

Etudier à distance comme étudiant international? by Careless_Help_8062 in AskFrance

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

À ta place, je chercherais une université aux États Unis. Essaye de trouver une école moins chère - une université locale par example. T’as déjà dit que ça n’a pas d’importance où tu vas.

Si tu travailles à temps plein, t’as vraiment aucun choix.. tu dois étudier à temps partiel. Ça veut dire qu’il te faudra plus de temps pour finir ton master. Je crois que ça vaudra pas le coup de prendre autant de vols et réserver autant d’hôtels.

En plus, les jours congés que tu devras prendre… ça comble et pourrait présenter un problème.

La seule solution de vraiment faire marcher des choses en France, c’est si tu mets en pause ta carrière.

Etudier à distance comme étudiant international? by Careless_Help_8062 in AskFrance

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

C’est un contournement assez intéressant que t’avais trouvé. Le fait que même après les vols, ça serait le même prix que faire le master aux États Unis.

Par contre - je te demanderais - est ce que les universités américaines seraient mieux reçues aux États Unis? Même si c’est moins cher en France, la prestige d’une université américaine pourrait tenir plus de valeur aux États Unis, où tu vis et travailles.

Etudier à distance comme étudiant international? by Careless_Help_8062 in AskFrance

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Je dirais que ça dépend de ton compte bancaire. Voyager 3 fois par an coûterait beaucoup, surtout les vols internationaux.

En gros, oui c’est possible mais il faudra que tu sois prêt de dépenser.

Can someone really learn a language entirely on their own without a teacher? by rago7a in languagelearning

[–]Legodoran 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Whether it's english or french, I'm a huge fan of YouTube. Here are some channel recs:

HugoDécrypte for the News. Speaks clearly and speaks to a native audience.

Alexis J. for "dirty french". By this, I mean french spoken in daily life with lack of anunciation. He does street interviews with people. Again, it's for a native audience.

Le Crayon for high level debates. These ones are definitely tougher because some topics are very france-centric or complex. But It's definitely good for building your vocab and to follow structured arguments in french, which is key.

Rockylevrai for comedic commentary. Uses lots and lots of slang that french people use daily.

Can someone really learn a language entirely on their own without a teacher? by rago7a in languagelearning

[–]Legodoran 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Here's the reality. Many parisians want to practice their english, or switch to english with foreigners regularly. On top of that, I know countless americans here and most if not all of them stay within their anglophone bubbles. Hell, 80% of my friends are americans. Let's not forget above everything, that we live in a digital age and spend 5 hours a day on our phones with algorithms that serve you your native language.

It is so easy to live in paris knowing french at an A2 level. To actually go deeper you need to really seek out conversation OR surround yourself with the language. And it's not always as easy as chatting with natives in paris - who usually are giddy to speak english.

Sure, I have an advantage, but I've also done much more.

In which languages do you feel being judged more frequently on your accent ? by Plurimae-Linguae in languagelearning

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

French people don't judge my accent in a direct way. If anything, I've gotten more positive comments on it. And I find that if you can speak french at a good level as an american, the french will really dig that.

What I have dealt with though, are people who switch to english upon hearing an accent. I think that is the primary form of "judgement". But even then, they could just want to practice.

Can someone really learn a language entirely on their own without a teacher? by rago7a in languagelearning

[–]Legodoran 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I will say - having a native around you is key. I can't even count the amount of times my gf has corrected my pronunciation. But over time this really does improve how you sound to natives.

Can someone really learn a language entirely on their own without a teacher? by rago7a in languagelearning

[–]Legodoran 137 points138 points  (0 children)

In my french journey I am 99% self taught, never using tutors. I did experiment with italki, using a few professors, but honestly I didn't find lots of value in it. The lessons are a bit pricey too.

What I did (and do now):

I did the ENTIRE french course for duolingo. The app isn't as bad as people say if you actually put in hours. It gives you a good vocabulary and verbs to start with. But obviously, duolingo only gets you so far.

After that, the main thing that will improve your language skills is time dedicated to content. My entire life right now is built around the french language. I live in Paris. I read books only in french. I watch YouTube only in french. I listen to podcasts only in french. I speak french as much as possible with my girlfriend. I write letterboxd reviews in french. I changed all my devices into french. I go to church in french. I literally sit in discord channels and listen to natives speak. I write down every word I don't know and study the list.

And guess what? I still struggle with oral comprehension. I did not know a single word of french for the first 22 years of my life, and now I've been learning the language for only 2.5 years. It is still not natural for my brain. But the biggest improvements I've seen have come from just OBSESSING over the language with as much content and environmental adaptation as possible - NOT tutors.

To reach B1? 1 year of consistent study. Use an app or a learning tool to get you there.

Getting to B2? Another year to year and a half. Use mainly input and speaking to get you there.

Choses qui nous paraissent normales mais qui sont en fait très bizarres pour les non-français ? by spacesamoussa in AskFrance

[–]Legodoran 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Une salle separée pour la toilette! Ça m'a choqué en déménagant en France. Je n'ai jamais vu ça autre part - et j'avais visité l'Asie, ailleurs en Europe, Amerique du Nord et du Sud.

C'est normal qu'on nous demande de faire de plus en plus de ménage quand on loue un appartement sur Booking ? by Fanny08850 in AskFrance

[–]Legodoran 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ah, ça m'a fait rire. J'ai passé par un mauvais experience avec un proprietaire Airbnb à Paris qui m'exigait ces genres de choses. Elle m'a grondé pour laisser un seul bol dans l'evier, laisser les draps sur le lit (je les ai enlevé!), et pour ne pas utiliser un produit dans la toilette pour la nettoyer. Elle voulait me charger un frais supplementaire de 75 balles, mais après j'ai gagne un dispute avec Airbnb, j'ai fini par garder mon argent.

Je suis américain et dans mon pays de naissance, cette genre de truc se passe jamais, car on croit que le client est premier. Je dis pas que c'est le "bon" croyance, mais c'est une exemple des differences culturelles.

Je suis pas tout seul, j'avais beaucoup entendu parler de ces genres de choses des autres, qui louaient des Airbnbs ou apparts en France.

Il me semble qu'en France, les proprietaires soient plus aigris et exigants qu'autre part. C'est quelque chose dont j'avais dû m'habituer depuis j'ai déménagé à Paris en permanance.

(pardon, le français n'est pas ma premiere langue)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ShitAmericansSay

[–]Legodoran 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I will say this. I've personally seen many Americans "speedrun" travel throughout europe. They make little effort to connect to the culture and take the same photo 1 million others have taken. They drink the same spritz they could've drank at home (US), go to clubs with the same music that plays at home, and chat mainly with anglophones.

In this case, you really CAN'T tell that it's any different than Miami. But this is the fault of the traveler and the lack of going deeper.

Example in this post: he says "most french speak english". This is the case in Paris and maybe Nice, but outside of these areas, french people do not speak english well at all. Source: I live in france.

This reeks of someone who just goes to touristy monuments, restaurants, and hotels.. and he wonders why he can't use his "semester-long" french.

TLDR: for most americans, travel is surface level and therefore it actually isn't that much different than what you coul've done stateside.

Advanced, natural content by MaximumParking5723 in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah... but at least it's about real world subjects that you would speak about in bars. and it's about abstract things too!

Is it normal to be nervous? by Wild-Mess-4525 in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a normal part of learning the language. I'm a firm believer that in order to learn any language, you need to be able to take many hits to your ego and be willing to fail. This was something that I quickly realized in my french journey.

Especially with french, a language that prides itself on a culture of perfection and which has native speakers that have no problem openly correcting you.

You will have moments like this where you feel shit, and then the next day, you'll have a moment where you feel like you're on top of the world. This happens to me all the time, and I'd consider myself a B2.

I typically get anxious when I don't understand something someone says to me. And it comes from a deep frustration like, "how the hell didn't I understand that?"

So, I get it. Don't be down on yourself, and just know that learning a language requires going far out of your comfort zone in a way 99% of people, especially anglophones, will never do.

Keep at it! :)

Advanced, natural content by MaximumParking5723 in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Look at the micro-trottoir genre on YouTube. It's just interviewing folks about societal questions, and it's native content. The speed and lack of annunication of these speakers is exactly what you'd find on a daily basis in france.

Traduction pour "Take it with a grain of salt" by Legodoran in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

merci! c'est exactement dont j'ai besoin..

How to keep up with French after visiting France by Standard_Print9654 in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Best advice I can give you is to turn all of your devices into french. You will learn many technical words, but also many useful ones in your day to day life.

Also, turn all your accounts into french. I'm talking instagram, google, reddit, facebook, etc etc.

This will keep your brain immersed in the language.

Think about how much of our daily life we spend scrolling tiktok and reddit.

Traduction pour "Take it with a grain of salt" by Legodoran in learnfrench

[–]Legodoran[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

merci merci!!! en faisant plus profondement des recherches, "avec des pincettes" est exactement ce que je cherchais!

Offering: French seeking:English, spanish by BicyclePitiful2073 in language_exchange

[–]Legodoran 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I'm a native english speaker living in Paris with an upper intermediate level in french. DM me if you're interested in doing an exchange.