Une deuxième langue

2007-03-23

in Daily updates, Oxford

With the intention of stemming the rate at which I am forgetting my French, I am thinking of taking a refresher course at the Oxford Language Centre next term. Specifically, I was thinking about the intermediate-level LASR course (two hours a week). The LASR courses are less intensive than the OPAL ones and do not yield a formal certificate. That doesn’t matter to me, however, since I would be doing this simply to retain my own ability to work in the language.

Has anyone done a language course there? Did you find it useful? Any tips for getting accepted into one of the courses, as I am told they don’t always have enough spaces?

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Tim March 23, 2007 at 5:15 pm

You are quite unlikely to get into a LASR course for next term, unless you can get a letter saying that you need it for your course.

French news podcasts may be a better way to brush up, at least on spoken language comprehension.

Milan March 23, 2007 at 5:50 pm

I dropped in on the language centre this afternoon and they agree that it is unlikely I could get into a LASR course, at this point.

They do have some intensive weekend courses, though unlike the free LASR courses they are £40.

Also, there are informal lunchtime discussion sessions on Tuesdays in term-time, from noon to 2:00pm.

Ben March 23, 2007 at 10:46 pm

I was at a conference at the Maison Francais this afternoon – more tomorrow morning – and three people spoke almost entirely in French. I was surprised how much I could follow of the first actually, but then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Anonymous March 24, 2007 at 12:17 am

Perhaps your supervisor could say that you need French to read… Canadian government documents?

Brett March 24, 2007 at 9:10 am

I find listening to French talk radio while I study to be an effective way of picking up the accent and training my ear.

Mike Kushnir March 24, 2007 at 1:11 pm

maybe there’s something for free outside of the university structure. usually in big cities (or smaller ones with internationally-renowned universities), these kinds of things exists pro bono.

Milan March 24, 2007 at 3:41 pm

Anonymous,

I considered that. I don’t think it will fly, particularly since my thesis will be submitted before next term begins.

Brett,

This I will definitely try. Does anyone know any good news podcasts in French? I am sure CBC must have some.

Mike,

The Language Centre has two-hour informal discussion periods on Tuesdays in term-time. If I cannot get into one of their actual classes, I will give that a try.

Claire March 25, 2007 at 7:49 pm

I did the LASR course in french at the language centre for 1 and a half years, only giving up this term due to the BL@*DY thesis. So if you have any questions, i could be the person to ask..

Claire

Milan March 25, 2007 at 11:04 pm

Claire,

Was it tough to get into? Was it useful?

What level did you take?

Leave a Comment

{ 1 trackback }

Previous post:

Next post: