Pimsleur french graduate

[swordfish775]

I've completed both levels one and two of pimsleur french. I'm however left with three lessons before level three is also fully completed. At this stage, should I consider my french fluency level to be in the intermediate or beginner stage?

My comprehension of the courses in all three levels have been impeccable so far. Nevertheless, I find that in most circumstances I have to think and translate the words or phrases (in my mind) into english before understanding what the speakers are talking about. This slows me down considerably. I find that I speak better than I can understand, is this normal?

I live in English Canada (Vancouver) but I'm lucky to have access to three different french tv networks 24/7 which I watch almost as much as I watch the English networks.

With pimsleur, I find that I'm able to understand normal everyday conversations (movies for example) better but its hard to follow the news coverage and talk shows.

I'm eager to continue pursuing understanding and speaking french as much as I speak english. So the question is - where do I go after pimsleur level three? Wish there are much more levels in french.

swordfish

[Guest]

I have the same problem, where i need to think about what i'm about to say in English, before i translate it in French. I am assuming the more i use it in the future, the more natural i will be.

I'm only starting the second set of 30 lessons now... so i've still got a long way to go. But, i because it takes me a bit of time to think before i talk, the responses arent automatic. Am i going through it too fast (because i understand what is being said, i just need time to think about what i'm about to say)... or will i get faster as i go through the lessons?

Also, if there is a conversation at the start of a lesson (at the end of lesson one), i can pick up most words, but because i am thinking about them, i miss words... once again, do i need to go over past lessons, or will it come over time??

[Jamie (K)]

In my opinion, once you've finished Pimsleur level 3, you're still a beginner. You know how to say a lot of things tourists need to say in everyday situation, but even there you don't understand most of what you would need to.

The reason for this is that Pimsleur is terrific for developing oral fluency, but it doesn't give you much of a vocabulary load. This is why the news is a challenge after the course, for example.

I've got four suggestions for your study after Pimsleur 3:

1. Barrons "Mastering French". This is really the old US Foreign Service Institute French course. Level 1 starts from the beginning, but even after Pimsleur level 3 it will be a challenge, plus it will drill you in grammar. Once you finish level 2, you'll be pretty good.

2. Living Language "Ultimate French". This does not drill you much, but it gives you all the vocabulary and structures that were missing from Pimsleur. In fact, I usually combine Pimsleur with something like this.

Both of the above are much cheaper than Pimsleur.

3. There are two competing French audio magazines that come with transcripts. Champs-Elysees (http://www.champs-elysees.com) is more or less broadcast French. It's got news, culture, current events, etc. It improved my vocabulary and listening ability a lot. Fluent French (http://www.fluentfrench.com) is more naturalistic French from the mouths of ordinary people. I haven't tried this one, but the samples on the website look good.

4. Study from grammar books and READ, READ, READ. In the pre-Internet days, I subscribed to a French newsmagazine and just read it all the time. Now you've got the Internet, and endless sources of up-to-date text from all francophone countries. I also enjoy reading children's encyclopedias when I'm learning a language.

[Guest]

approximately how long does it usually take to get to level 3?

[Jamie (K)]

[Rdear]

Swordfish775... The best thing that I found was to somehow try to immerse yourself in the environment. For example, I used to live in rural Kansas... town pop ~ 432. My Chinese became so bad that when I spoke to my father... he would tell me to speak in English. When he passed away, I had to go back to Chinatown (NY). Since Chinese was my first language, I had a foundation to work on... same as you. Since the only language spoken at the wake/funeral/dinner was Chinese, it took only a week to become fluent again. I had a similar experience with Russian, but that's another story. Good luck!