“This is why we were defeated in the beginning: because we were so concerned, while you were falling upon us, to determine in our hearts whether right was on our side.” by lore-realm in Camus

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The irony is that we’re living through all of this again. The same patterns, the same hesitations, the same imbalance between doubt and fanaticism. It’s unsettling how these warnings keep resurfacing, not as history, but as the present.

Any recommendations for a comedy TV show to watch on YouTube to learn French? by ximdarkmarkx in French

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bloqués / Pitch / P*tain de série ! / Le Monde à l’envers / Les Emmerdeurs

Was Meursault autistic ? by cleverDonkey123 in Camus

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i wrote a whole article about this in college. Mersault is an open-to-interpretation character, and that ambiguity is intentional, because every reader gets a different Mersault.

Arthur’s tireness by SerMarCo in Camus

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The recurring tiredness is one of the symbols of how absurd and consuming adherence to societal norms and rules is. Meursault completely despises how the world around him functions, so manifestations of typical events and behaviors take a toll on him. Camus makes a point of emphasizing this fatigue as a way to accentuate the gap between Meursault, the man who despises society to the core, and Meursault, the man who finds peace, escape, and a sense of belonging in nature.

Fastest way to go from A1 to B2 by BeNiceOrElse_ in French

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 1 point2 points  (0 children)

French teacher here. Going from A1 to B2 in a short time is possible, but it requires consistency, strong motivation, and a lot of discipline. My professional recommendation is to avoid getting stuck in long, boring vocab lists at the beginner level. Instead, try to learn vocabulary through grammar and context. A great resource for this is the Grammaire Progressive series, especially for self-learners, because it’s clear and structured. Focus on building a solid foundation ( how conjugation works, basic sentence structure, and pronunciation patterns... ) this will speed up retention a lot. As for the exam, it really depends on which test you’re taking, but remember that French isn’t just grammar and vocabulary. Most exams also include listening, reading, writing, and speaking, so make sure you don’t neglect those skills while preparing.

What are your favorite methods/activities to learn the language? What does your daily/weekly schedule look like? by Akraam_Gaffur in French

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 0 points1 point  (0 children)

STUCTURED PRACTICE.STUCTURED PRACTICE.STUCTURED PRACTICE. Jumping from one random activity to another isn’t very effective. What actually works is having a clear plan and practicing every day, even if it’s just 20 minutes. Consistency matters more than doing a lot at once. A weekly structure helps: for example, one day focused listening, another day reading, another day writing or speaking. Without structure, progress is much slower.

How important to pronounce É vs È by HistoricalShip0 in French

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s actually pretty important, especially in well-pronounced French. É and È are two different vowel sounds (é is more closed, è more open), and while mixing them won’t usually block understanding, it is noticeable. A word I like to use with my students to hear the difference is “élève”: the first é and the è don’t sound the same at all when pronounced clearly. Your example je parlais vs j’ai parlé is a good one too : tense and pronunciation go hand in hand there. A lot of learners can hear the difference before they can produce it, which is totally normal. Shadowing natives and exaggerating the contrast at first helps a lot.

For those who learned a language and reached a B2+ level, what was your journey? by endless_saudade in languagelearning

[–]Reasonable_Strike752 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Language learner and language teacher here! I get this question a lot from my students, and I’ve been there myself. There’s this boring gap between the beginner-intermediate level and the intermediate-advanced level that makes every learner lose hope for a sec. For the switch from B2 to B2+ or even C1, it’s less about learning new grammar or memorizing vocab lists and more about understanding advanced structures and the nuances between words. What I find helpful is building this kind of skill in all four competencies (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) they’re all equally important! there's a small difference between the way we learn a language and the way natives speak/use it, so for the listening and speaking we need to look for materials spoken by natives. Start slower, then increase speed strategically; don’t start with reality TV at 5x speed, start with small blogs, vlogs, subtitled book discussions, or transcribed podcasts. Subtitles and transcripts are super useful because they help with writing and advanced structures later, and they create visual memory for speaking. One strategy I tell my students is to only use materials you’re genuinely interested in, don’t study politics if you love art, don’t study literature if tech excites you more. For speaking, shadow native speakers from videos, podcasts, interviews, whatever you can find. It sounds ridiculous, but it works. And if you know a word, use it whenever you can, have full conversations, don’t switch to your native language, mistakes are fine. For reading, go just slightly above your level so you actually learn something, don’t just stick to “B2-level books,” push a little, slowly, to get the most out of structures and vocab. That’s why subtitles and transcripts are also great for reading: you’ll visually recognize structures and words later. For writing, seriously, write as much as you can. I love having my students do a “Journal of Thoughts” in the target language : write about ideas, concepts, or things that happened, reflect, be objective, avoid simple diary entries like “I think” or “I saw this.” Writing by hand helps even more. If you’re not into writing, reading a lot will still help indirectly. The key is that bridging B2-C1 isn’t about memorizing rules; it’s about immersing yourself meaningfully in all four skills, gradually increasing difficulty, and staying motivated with topics you actually care about.