Year 7 tests

[Amber]

I would advise against google translate. Apart from being prone to laughable inaccuracies, words acquired in this way are unlikely to be retained. DD's grammar school has (not for the first time reminding me of the PRC, but that's another matter) blocked it on school computers, so strongly do the staff feel. Anyway, get a decent dictionary instead is my advice. And I don't think there is any substitute for good old fashioned learning when it comes to vocab. I had to do this for all the languages I've learned, and certainly never sought or had any parental help in doing so. Write the words down and learn them. Alone in your room. Good habit to get into so start now. End of.

[southbucks3]

I would advise against google translate. Apart from being prone to laughable inaccuracies, words acquired in this way are unlikely to be retained. DD's grammar school has (not for the first time reminding me of the PRC, but that's another matter) blocked it on school computers, so strongly do the staff feel. Anyway, get a decent dictionary instead is my advice. And I don't think there is any substitute for good old fashioned learning when it comes to vocab. I had to do this for all the languages I've learned, and certainly never sought or had any parental help in doing so. Write the words down and learn them. Alone in your room. Good habit to get into so start now. End of.

Did you wander into my home by accident yesterday afternoon and overheard me "talking" to my son...who was moaning he could not get on the family pc to revise. Perhaps we could make a CD, or better an app, with the same nag repeated over and over, called "how to cheat in revision" to trick the little so and so' s into triggering it off, it would save our voices

[Okanagan]

I don't think Bromleymum1 was suggesting using Google translate to get an accurate translation but for the audio links.

I do something similar to this to get ds1 to listen to the sounds of new words too he comes across, although we use the online dictionary from Larousse, not google. This seems to make it stick better for him than just seeing the written words. In fact if he comes across new words he'll often write them down phonetically, and then he'll have to look them up in a dictionary later so that he knows how they're written too.

It probably just comes down to learning styles - some people will have a preference for audio, followed by the written version (which is after all how you learned English!), whereas others will do it the other way around.

[Amber]

Thing is, it is hard. And there isn't really a way to make it easier. But why are we trying to? Some posters on here (not this thread) complain that their children are bored witless at primary school; so what is wrong with a bit of hard work at secondary? Learning vocab is hard. It's meant to be. As a linguist, I have learned every one of my languages by sitting down and memorising vocabulary. It is tedious and while it does get easier when you start to understand the language, it is still no picnic. But there we go. If you want results, you have to work. Alone. And the family PC is no substitute for the human brain, as I am sure you have pointed out, SB3 .

Cross posts okanagan. I wasn't suggesting she was suggesting that- just saying it has extremely limited use and virtually no use for a child in the early stages of learning a language. Sorry Bromleymum if you thought I was being critical.

[Okanagan]

I think at this stage they're probably not familiar enough with the language to be confident of working out how things would be pronounced just from seeing them written down, so having the audio files available is helpful. Later once they're familiar enough with the language to make that mental jump from word on a page to the sound then it's probably not as necessary.

[mystery]

Are they conjugating verbs in term 1 of year 7? A close relative of mine recently did Spanish right the way through school and got an A at a level. This person is not great at languages by any stretch of the imagination but enjoyed Spanish. I do not remember anything of substance in year 7. Are you maybe expecting more than she is being taught at school at the moment Ginx?

What is the flash card sight you mention Southbucks that tests you on the basis of the info you put in? Are there similar apps too please?

I am not a linguist like Amber but I did find that in a couple of languages that once I was at the point I could read a book of interest for pleasure ( round about o level standard maybe) that this then built up my vocabulary in the same way an English child who reads English extends their vocabulary.

When languages are a bit more advance I find dictionaries for foreign leaners of the language very good which give definition in the language rather than translation into English. If you choose a good one for your level it only uses a limited vocabulary in the definitions. They really help as you learn more of the language and get more of a feel for it while reading the simple definitions.

[southbucks3]

Mystery I pm'd you the site.

I particularly remember reading one book about three friends having a summer of love...Two boys and a girl. It was very good, and quite graphic in a French arty way, I could read it in the living room, with mummy oblivious to her 15 year old daughter's choice of French genre.

[TigerMum]

Mystery I pm'd you the site.

Could you post or pm me that site too, pretty please? Just out of interest Thanks.

[Amber]

I particularly remember reading one book about three friends having a summer of love...Two boys and a girl. It was very good, and quite graphic in a French arty way, I could read it in the living room, with mummy oblivious to her 15 year old daughter's choice of French genre.

Whereas those of us who did German ended up with the kind of wrist-slitting existential stuff teenagers really need when they hit their identity crises; and in Russian you spend so long working out who is who with all the different names/patronymics for every character that you lose the plot totally. Maybe it's the name of this French novel you should be pm-ing SB3.

[fairyelephant]

My DD has just started conjugating verbs in term 1 of year 7 (avoir and etre) and is learning them by writing them on those little coloured filing cards and keeping them in a box. In fact this was the method advised for all revision (she has done it for voacbulary tests and tests in maths etc., all the subjects) creating a set of revision cards as you go through the year. DD has also used post -its (firstly she stuck them on the bathroom mirror to learn when brushing her teeth, but they fell off when it gets steamy)!
They did also say I think that if you are an auditory learner, you might need to record yourself or someone else saying it and then play it back to learn, but that won't help with spelling.
I agree that French at primary school was just a box ticking exercise and they don't seem to have actually learnt anything, DD has a lovely accent but that's about it!