MadmoiZelle speaks English

[Avallach]

@MadRose No, it is not to improve my English, although it would be a very nice bonus =D
I want to start studying again to obtain a bachelor/master in psychology or law (I really want to work in the HR-world). For the moment I am a Management Assistant, and I am (already) sick of how people see MA's in general (brainless things that aren't even worth talking to)..
I was lucky enough to study abroad (in the US) for a year, and that is where I improved my English skills,so there's that.
And I might have to take a look at the novel you're talking about on my Kindle (bless them!).
It is such a shame that sometimes, you lose your connection with your origins (my fiancé is half Italian, but doesn't speak it because his parents never taught him).. A pity, really. So I wish you tons of luck for your future

 

[MadRose]

Thank you

 

[Primula]

Hi girls
I had seen this topic a while ago but I didn't really have anything to say so I didn't dare to come and write until now.
So I just came to say I can totally relate with you @Pitsch' and @Romilly , concerning the gap between the english and the french vocabulary.
I always find a way to translate a french word into an english one, but the contrary is so tricky sometimes ! There never is the perfect word so I just end up saying the english word anyway... It often happens with "awkward" (which could translate to "gênant" but still, it's not always exactly the same feeling) and "to acknowledge" ("reconnaître" is not good enough) and there are others.

A funny thing also is that I notice that there's more and more people using "what" (usually it's more like "whaaaaaaat" ) while discussing in french, and I feel it conveys so much more meaning than just "quoi".

 

[Selby]

Hello everyone !
I'm just arriving here.. I'd like to practice my English for the purpose of sitting the Cambridge Advanced Certificate. If any of you know this exam and can give me some information about it, it would be great !
I'm only 15 and I speak English this way because my parents lived in England... So I read English classic books and watch movies too.
I can't wait to read from you !

 

[Ewillyon]

Hi girls,
I'm come back on this topic (?). Last time I was looking for link (for to speak with an other people who's english/american), but i don't found a "good" interlocutor. So I have decided to discuss again here.
I'm still bad in english so .
I am learning english conjugation because I've realized that I lack basics, so now I'm trying to catch up the level !

(Désolée pour les possibles fautes mais j'essaye de faire de mon mieux , je" sais" lire en anglais mais écrire moi-même c'est assez laborieux ahah, en tout cas j'espère pouvoir parler avec vous prochainement).

 

[Heran.]

Since I'm with my german boyfriend, I realized that I'm more and more fluent in english (), which is a good point. But now I also start to randomly speak english when I should not. Last time I picked up my phone, I started the conversation like "Hello, who's on the line ?" . Or I'm telling sentences/words in english in the middle of a conversation in french, because it's coming to my mind faster than the french version.
So I'm still living in France, but already losing my french.


@Ewillyon : I'm allowing myself to correct your first sentence since you put a question mark () : you can either say "I'm back" or "I'm coming back". You always use a verb with -ing behind "be". (But I assume you know it since you're doing it in the next sentence. ) What are you using to learn conjugation ? A book, a website or something else ?
And don't hesitate to write here, you'll learn a lot by practicing, it'll get easier with time and exercising.

My writing skills are not so good compared to my speaking ones, I'm mostly writing like I would speak it. (Which is definitely not good.) Would one of you know how I could improve this ? Are there any books dealing with this problem ? The only idea I had for now was reading and noting down interesting structures, vocabulary and so on, but it doesn't seem super effective to me.

 

[Heran.]

@Ewillyon You're welcome !
Well, if you use structures without knowing why, that means that you have them implanted in your head because you listened/read it enough. And that's the best strategy to learn. In fact, I learned grammar mostly by listening to english songs or reading books, and not with a text book or school lectures. So I'd say the best strategy is to study grammar but also to get yourself exposed to english as much as you can, you will see the structures ans rules you learn in different contexts, and learn them way more easily.

(I tried to find an english equivalent for "preneur" but didn't find anything. Apparently the best way is "heavily interested" . When you look for an expression like this, you can try to look on linguee, it's quite helpful because you can really see if the context matches what you need. )

 

[Ewillyon]

Edit

 

[No_Joke]

I have an exam in English grammar next Wednesday. At first you can think that is easy because you use it daily but when you must explain some rules (like "when do you use "this" and "that" and WHY?"), it becomes more difficult... Yeah I hate english grammar classes but at the same time it is so important to learn it... Maybe it will be better if I don't have exam on it
Oh and I subscribed to Netflix, omg this is the heaven ! The only problem is I can't watch a series without the french subtitles, it's too bad because I know this is better to watch without subtitles or with English subtitles.

 

[Heran.]

@No_Joke : Oh, I am currently wondering if I should subscribe too ! Is there really a huge choice for TV shows ? (I'm super afraid to subscribe and then be disappointed because there won't be enough shows that I like ) And can you look at them with english subtitles ?

(And good luck for your grammar exam, I always look stupid when someone asks me a question like this, and I always end up answering : "Mmh, I do this because it sounds nicer, that's it !" )

 

[No_Joke]

@Heran. Well the French catalog has some good series but it is less important than the US catalog...But you know you have one free month to try it, you should see by yourself ^_^ And yes, you can watch with the english subtitles
(Aah thank you, it's funny because I have the same kind of answer lol!)

 

[DaphneeRose]

Hi girls
I was wondering if I may join you on this topic, I really love the idea of it! I'm currently in my first year at university, studying English (LLCE degree). I figured a little practice wouldn't be bad, because honestly, in class we don't get a lot of chances to really have conversations in English...
@Heran. I agree with @No_Joke, there's a free one-month trial for Netflix so you can do that and see if you're satisfied with the TV series they offer I suscribed about three monthes ago, and while the choice is quite important, you don't have as many TV series as in the US. But the offer is still decent, at least more than the choice of movies, which is, in my opinion, not that good. And if you're wondering about whether certain TV shows or movies are on Netflix or not, I can check for you if you'd like