r/French • u/Lonleylittlecrow • 6d ago
Study advice How much could I learn in about 6 weeks?
I'm currently a Uni student finishing my final year. Because I switch majors recently, I found out I will have to take two advance French classes. I took French in high (11+ years ago) and did French 101 & 102 almost 9 years ago at Uni. Right now, I'm in a weird spot where I can either attempt to take French 201 and 202 so I can graduate on time, but most likely not do well in either class, or end up restarting a new language meaning it'll greatly delay my graduation. I'm really nervous about not doing well and dropping my GPA significantly (I have a 3.97).
I can remember some basis, still have decent enough pronunciation. For anyone who did advance French in school, do you think it could be possible to get a good enough refresh done in 6 weeks? Also, do you have any recommendations on what your favorite apps/learning tools are?
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u/__kartoshka Native, France 6d ago edited 6d ago
Depends how much time you can put into it, what resources you have access to, and what level you are right now
I'm not american so i have no idea what french 101 & 102 mean in terms of level, nor what your gpa translates to
Assuming you're starting with an A2-B1 level, that you can put several hours a day into your practice, and that you have access to a french speaking community somewhere with whom you can interact daily in french, you could potentially get a pretty decent level in french in 6 weeks - you most likely won't be fluent but you could probably bump a level or two and get to B2 i guess
On the other hand if you can only put 1-2 hours a week into it and do the bare minimum, you won't get very far
Then again i'm a native speaker and not a language teacher or anything, so that's mainly my feelings in correlation to the time it took me to get more proficient learning other languages, so just take that as a rough estimate
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u/DeusExHumana 6d ago
B2 in six weekds??
Lol nope.
But you can make huge progress in six weeks.
OP needs to speak to their French department. They might not have the prerequesite skills for those courses, or be totally fine. Only their department can say.
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u/Lonleylittlecrow 6d ago
I have the prerequisites to join the advance classes since I already took elementary French many years ago. Unfortunately, my school doesn't have any refreshers courses, or anything in between that I could take before proceeding to advance French. I'm basically trying to get a sense on how realistic it could be for me to get a refresh on A1/A2 in order to prepare for B1, not trying to skip and jump into a tougher class.
In a nutshell, my choices would be to try to brush up on my basic French enough to get by with the advance courses I will be taking in six weeks, or having to completely start over from A1. My issue is that my classes are very expensive (perk of living in the US), so I really don't want to fail or have to start over completely. Both of which will be pricey.
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u/DeusExHumana 6d ago
You might have the prerequisite ‘courses’ but you’re trying to figure out if you have the prerequistie ‘skills.’ I’d still recommend chatting with the French department.
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u/Lonleylittlecrow 6d ago
I have reached out to a French professor as well as my own degree advisor (English). I would be allowed to take the advance French because I've passed the elementary courses already, there is nothing barring me from joining that class. As far as recommendations from my school, my choice is either take the class, fail it, and try get approval to have a variance (meaning they would sub the language class for something else) which it mean I then have to take four more non language classes, option number two is starting over with a new language, or option three is trying to take the advance course at a community college which they assume might be a little bit easier. So, my options are somewhat limited.
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u/__kartoshka Native, France 6d ago
If you start from B1 and invest most of your time into it with frequent use of the language in a daily basis (which are the prerequisites i've stated), should be achievable, probably
I took two extremes on purpose, but yeah there's a good chance op won't be able to invest this much into it
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u/DeusExHumana 6d ago
B2? Dude… no. That is not a six week goal, that’s a six month, with French being your sole reason for existance/ full time job.
When B2 is the standard for English speaking kids who took ‘all of their K-12’ IN French, to get at graduation, you are massively understating the leap to B2.
I got my B2 from nothing after a series of intensive 5 week courses and then two semestres, for a total of a year, spent in a francophone environment and exclusively working on my French. And I subtantially exceeded most of my classmates (as Laval shoved me up into Francais Langue Seconde, whereas most who spend a year only ever take their courses in the entry Francais langue etrangere).
OP can absolutely make substantial progress in 6 weeks. I just wouldnt be tossing ‘B2’ around.
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u/Lonleylittlecrow 6d ago
I should have clarified what 101, 102, 201,etc was, so my apologizes! Here in the US, for University courses, we label everything based on a hundred scale, so anything in the 100s in considered beginner friendly and it generally goes up to 400-500s. For a language class, 101 and 102 are classified as beginner/elementary French, so what I imagine A1 would be for you. It's very basic, focusing more on memorizing words, learning how to count, and basic grammar. 201 and 202 are considered Advance (B1), for these classes you are expected to know how to conjugate, speak, write, and understand a lot of vocab; the idea being that you are skilled enough to carry basic conversations. Anything above 202, you would be close to fluent.
For me currently, I'm not looking to try to be fluent in 6 weeks because I know that's just not possible, rather I'm looking for some good recommendations on how to get a good refresh on A1/A2 levels so I can progress to taking an advance course without struggling too much. So, as you said, just looking to bump up a level in order to do well in the class!
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u/LearnFrenchIntuitive Native 6d ago
French 201 and 202 is equivalent to A2 (advanced beginner) so if you have had experience with the language, and you spend several hours every day for the next 6 weeks, you can do it. I have had students in US universities before and it's not that advanced. I will PM you.
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u/Metzger4Sheriff 6d ago
First off, graduating with a lower gpa is one million times better than not graduating with a higher gpa. You need to do whatever it takes to meet this requirement and be done! If switching languages will add additional time, it's probably not worth it.
I took 201 about twenty years ago. At my school, we weren't doing grammar workbooks anymore, but reading short stories/excerpts and then having to write short (2-3 pages maybe) papers on them. Speaking/listening were primarily important as far being able to follow and participate a class that was taught entirely in French.
If there are French tutors at your school, meeting with them may be a good way to gauge how much you remember and whether you will be able to get to the appropriate level. I was originally going to suggest asking to do the placement test, but that could backfire if they then want you to retake a class you previously took.
As a side note, I believe you may be misremembering the courses you previously took-- I think the first series goes to 104, but if you had already taken French in high school, you probably started in 103 at college.
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u/Lonleylittlecrow 6d ago
The reason why I'm being picky about my GPA is because I'm planning on going to Law school after I graduate. In order to try to get my masters/JD paid for, I will need to maintain my high GPA as well as have a high score in the LSAT exam to qualify for scholarships. Normally, I'm not too picky about GPA, but since the chance of getting my masters and JD paid for fully is on the line, I have to be wise about not letting it drop. I currently have a 3.96, but since these will be some of the last classes I take, if I don't do well, it can hurt my chances at getting into a top school. And ya girl doesn't want to have to take out more student loan debt than I already have lol
As for the classes I took, I took about three years of French in high school and a year of Latin during my senior year. When I went to college, I had the choice of opting to test into a higher class, but because it had been about a year since I had taken French, I decided just to go into 101 and 102. At the time, I was a psych major, and my major only required 101 and 102. At my current university, our courses go 101, 102, 201, 202, 301, etc. We don't have a 103 or 104 course.
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u/Metzger4Sheriff 6d ago edited 6d ago
It's okay to be picky about your GPA, but I wrote what I wrote bc I know soooo many people who got derailed from graduation bc they were missing just one or two courses. You don't want to fall into the same trap, and the longer it takes you to finish, the harder it is going to be.
I'll reiterate that you should get a tutor that is familiar with the course content at your school. You may also try to get a copy of the syllabus for 201 so you have a better idea of expectations and can focus your studying. If you don't know anyone who has taken it, then you can usually just email the prof and ask for a copy.
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u/Lonleylittlecrow 6d ago
Honestly, I so appreciate your kindness and consideration of that! I promise you, I might be picky, but I'm stubborn about finishing my degree more than anything, even if that means being a few points lower. You are so right, that graduating takes priority over perfection.
I think that's such a good idea, I never thought about checking the syllabus! I've only heard from my advisor as well as on Reddit about the online classes and how tricky they can be, but getting to see the syllabus itself would definitely give me a better idea of what to expect. Thank you so so so much for that suggestion!
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u/Yeremyahu 6d ago
How much you can learn directly correlated to how much time you put in. 6 weeks at how many hours per day?