Occasional Boost to your Ego

Independent Language Learners need a boost to their egos once in a while. It is necessary to feel that you have come a long way since you first started learning the language of your choice. Since most of us learn a language from books or courses aimed at adult learners (it is claimed that adults learn differently from children; I do not know how much truth is there in this), here’s what you need to do after, say, a year of learning.

Pick up a French text book recommended for, say, grade 5. If you breeze through it in style, you know you have accomplished a lot. It is with this intension that I attacked Encore Tricolore 1 (nouvelle édition) with vigour. So, far it has been a great ego trip. I think I will manage to finish the 10 chapters in two days (today is my second day), and get on to book 2 (there are 5 in total) of the series. In the process I picked up a few words that I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Examples:
Un cartable [hear] – schoolbag
Une trousse [hear] – pencil case
Un dépliant [hear] – leaflet

I do not have any reference point to evaluate how good the text books of the Encore Tricolore series are. But the contents are very well laid out and the text books are very colourful. There are plenty of exercises too. And at least one school in Bangalore uses it as their course book. However, as far as the boost your ego needs to ensure you stay the course, any good French text book should suffice.