In exactly 3 month I'll be defending my thesis at a university.
Thesis is written in french and I also will be defending it in french, and here lies my problem.
My french is absolutely shitty. Maybe B1 at best. I was able to write the thesis thanks to dictionaries and google translator and afterwards it was corrected by my supervisor who is french himself and he definitely elevated level of language but didn't make any changes to my arguments.
Now I have to prepare for defending it, I have difficulties in speaking and formulating long sentences, I tend to mix English syntax with the French one, and without dictionary at hand I build them rather simple. What can I do to drastically improve my language to successfully defend my thesis? Should I only focus on a part of the language related directly to the subject of my thesis? I firmly believe I can succeed; I have all the needed material to study, access to the internet, motivation – just please Veeky Forums tell me what is the best strategy.
Tl;dr How can I improve my French in 3 months?
In exactly 3 month I'll be defending my thesis at a university
Kys
stop being a cancuck
Prepare premade answers for any question you can think of, when you don't understand the question, prepare some extremely general answers, vague enough to make the questioner think you know what you're talking about but he just doesn't understand you. Repeat with emphasis some of the answers when they seem to push on a certain subject.
really great answers guys, thanks!
and for the record I'm not a leaf and french is my 3rd language.
>Prepare premade answers for any question you can think of
that's a good one, I was also thinking about it and will definitely do this, thanks!
>Repeat with emphasis some of the answers when they seem to push on a certain subject.
also a good protip, thanks
then why are you in Leafland?
is french taught exclusively in cuckland?
there is also France, west african and various European meme countries but why would anyone be studying there?
I've been thinking about grad school in France for a while now, but I was concerned my French isn't good enough. I'm also around B1. Can you talk a bit about what that was like for you? How did you keep up with classes/readings/assignments with only B1 French? Also, what field are you studying and is that relevant to how you got away with this? I would be studying philosophy.
lads, I've never even been to France.
> Can you talk a bit about what that was like for you?
I have courses in french with natives but I'm nowhere near France. Just french studies outside of France
>How did you keep up with classes/readings/assignments with only B1 French
Well, my passive knowledge is on a very good level so I understand most of what speakers say so classes and lectures aren't that difficult. But I'm bad at reading and speaking so it sucks that's why I made this thread.
>what field are you studying
french studies i.e. culture, literature, language, history etc., everything related to france.
are you writing a thesis on french culture, language and history without speaking good french? how does that even make sense? especially the language part
I wrote it about Godard in my native language and then translated it to french, horribly arduous task that took me more time than writing the thesis itself.
>how does that even make sense?
well, it doesn't really. I just want to leave it behind me already.
Did you not foresee this being a problem when you applied for a course in French?
I didn't really think about it since they had promised intensive language courses which turned out to be a lie. I have now 3 month to learn it myself.
bump
I guess your best bet would just be to study as much French with a good teacher or two as much as possible. Are there other things you have to do between now and then, or do you have a lot of available time?
I still study, it takes about 13 hours a week. For now I have to write about 2000 words essay about some french writer. In late june I will also have to study for linguistics and contrastive grammar before final exams + general french exam. I don't work, so I have plenty of free time. Maybe I will take private lessons once a week just to talk with someone
As soon as you don't understand a question, I would be honest and apologize for not understanding spoken French that well. They'll be embarrassed that you got so far without really knowing the language and likely softball you, but it won't affect their opinion of your thesis. If anything, their expectations will be lowered.
the problem is not understanding a question but answering to it. I'll be asked 3 questions, 5 mins for each.
>They'll be embarrassed
that would be a gigantic embarrassment to me, not to them. I think I just need to nail down perfectly one question and it's all gonna be good
Of course it would be embarrassing to them. They promised to teach you French and failed, despite you trying your hardest, as evidenced by writing a decent thesis in a language you don't know.
Would any of these native speakers you mention be available for conversation practice with a focus on your thesis?
Basically to go over your topic from every angle you can think of, let them pester you with all kinds of questions about it, etc?
I have to know Dari for my job, and it decays very quickly if I do not have conversations in Dari. The only suggestion I have for you, is to speak French. Speak as much as you can whenever you can about high level subjects with friends who know French. This is the only way to improve speaking and fluidity with grammar and complex sentences.
I want to add to my comment. I have been reading this thread more, and it seems to me that you are lazy. You cannot learn a language like you learn other subjects. It is a skill that requires 100% of your effort. They military put us through a one year intense Farsi course. People dropped out like flies after the my taught us the grammar. They dropped out because after a certain point it is all you. The teachers are there only to guide you or to speak with you, and answer more abstract questions. If you expected to learn French because they told you we have intense courses, but you didn't try your utmost, which is what I am seeing, then you only have yourself to blame for your inability to speak one of the most accessible language in the world after years of study.
I don't understand why you're wrtiting your thesis in French if you're at a B1 level in the language.
It just seems like you have no business at all doing this and that if you somehow manage to get your thesis approved, it will just mean the whole thing is a sham and not worth the having, anyway.
>workinonit.mp3
You are absolutely right, at some point I did lose my motivation, I got sick of french, and probably yes, I'm lazy. Now I have 3 months to make up for it. Thanks for your post m8, means a lot to me.
seems like you cracked it, that's how it looks at my university, after years of studying you end up with worthless diploma, well not exactly worthless as you finally have a higher education.
OK, I don't have more time to waste on Veeky Forums, thanks everybody! I have a great plan to follow, you all motivated me in a way.
>and for the record I'm not a leaf and french is my 3rd language.
why the fuck did you write your thesis in french
if the institution granting your certificate is french you deserve to be btfo and poor forever.
other than this i can only say: immersion. say goodbye to your next three months. read/listen to all the french you can. go over your thesis and explore native literature for any technical words or phrases you do not understand.