Reddit Reddit reviews French for Reading

We found 16 Reddit comments about French for Reading. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Reference
Books
Foreign Dictionaries & Thesauruses
Foreign Language Reference
French for Reading
Check price on Amazon

16 Reddit comments about French for Reading:

u/schnapsideer · 20 pointsr/French

French for Reading is the exact book you're looking for. It's written for grad students in exactly your position and will teach you in 80-120 hours how to read academic french writing. I've found it to be quite effective.

u/ChocolateEevee · 4 pointsr/languagelearning

There's a review for the French one on Amazon that's fantastic. I've grabbed a quick excerpt of it that I've found particularly amusing.

"I should mention some caveats. First, this book is not a booty call. It is a fairly intense study of written French. You can't just say to yourself, "Well, I haven't looked at this book for two weeks but now I'm horny for a little French so I'll crack it open." No, you must romance this book, pay attention to it each and every day, make it feel like it's the only book you're reading. If you leave it alone for a week or two, you will forget what you have learned and the book will find someone else who is serious about learning a language. It's that French."

https://www.amazon.com/French-Reading-Karl-C-Sandberg/dp/0133316033

u/spare0hs · 4 pointsr/musictheory

First, I would check to see if the language requirements are for entering the program or if they are for achieving candidacy. I know it varies widely by program, but if it is a candidacy requirement (or even maybe a requirement to be fulfilled by the end of the first year), the program you enroll in might have a path to achieving proficiency that doesn't require remedial language courses or self-instruction.

That being said, I am doing this right now. I would recommend a healthy dose of Duolinguo, but also some French for reading books. Karl Sandberg's French for Reading is an excellent resource that is aimed at the academic. Additionally, I have heard that Jacqueline Morton's English for Students of French is great, too. I have also picked up a few side-by-side French/English novels to practice on. After about a month of this (maybe 3-5 hours a week), I am already feeling like I could struggle bus my way through the exam if I could beg another half hour out of the proctor.

There are some informal extension courses offered by some universities for rather cheap, as well. Just googling "French reading summer online" or something like that makes a bunch of them pop up.

Lastly, in the next few weeks I am going to be rounding up some music theory/musicology articles in French that have English translations (or perhaps the reverse) so that I can practice. PM me if you want me to send them to you when I get them.

u/yodatsracist · 3 pointsr/AskHistorians

>if my French were better I'd get more from it

C'mon, reading French is easy! They teach it to divinity students in like 6 months (for many PhD programs in religion, one is still expected to have reading French and German as languages of secondary scholarship, even if there's no particularly good secondary scholarship on your topic in those languages. Some, like Harvard, will let you substitute two other languages if you really need it, but others, like Chicago, demand you pass your French and German reading exams no matter what). Because of this and similar graduate school pressures, there's a little cottage industry of "French for Reading Comprehension". I think people were quite keen on the book French For Reading, though there are competitors like Reading French: For Students of Theology, Biblical and Religious Studies and French for Reading Knowledge.

>It's been a pain because work that I assumed would only need minimal revision needs major revision in light of the direction I'm going now, and that is taking time.

Haven't you realized yet that everything in academia takes much, much longer than you anticipated?

u/kingkayvee · 3 pointsr/languagelearning

You will usually take a language exam to test out of this requirement or 2 years of coursework in the language, or sometimes there is a reading course that counts (which is either 1 semester/2 quarters/1 year long). The language test is usually just before you are awarded your MA on the way to the PhD, which is about 2 years in. So you don't need to worry about knowing them before you enter.

That said, if you want to get started, pick up:

German

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/languagelearning

Practice translating? Three months into learning a language is way too early to be worried about translating. Your goal should be to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible -- that means avoiding English when you study French. Speak French, listen to French, write French, and read French (and when you read, try to turn off the voice in your head that murmurs a running English translation).

Consider downloading some free French-language podcasts (try the iTunes store). This book might be worthwhile. I haven't used it, but the same publisher's Spanish readers are good. Since you said translating, though, I'm wondering if your primary goal is reading French. Even so, I would still say to speak, listen, and write as much as you can -- it will help your reading. But if your primary goal is reading, this book is fantastic. I started using it after two semesters of college French (which were indispensable for helping me internalize the basic structures of the language) and it took me the rest of the way to doing research and reading literature in French (with a dictionary, of course).

u/andrewesque · 3 pointsr/French

Also I don't think this is dumb or weird -- there are also books that explicitly teach "French for reading," since this isn't an uncommon request. In some academic fields (particularly some history fields) there's a requirement to be able to read French (or often German) to be able to read primary sources in the original, but this doesn't come with any kind of speaking requirement.

u/annerevenant · 2 pointsr/French

Are you wanting to speak French or read it? I use French for Reading, it's created for graduate students to pass language exams. It skips typical language learning tropes like "how to talk about your family" "how to order at a restaurant" and teaches you how to read literature and documents. Since I don't need French for communication it's been extremely helpful, within reading 4 chapters I was able to read articles written in the early 1900s about colonization and only had to pull out my dictionary a couple of times. I also combine it with duolingo to try and help with the speaking/listening but I really only need it for reading.

u/WOULD_QUESTION_MARK · 2 pointsr/languagelearning

[shoutout for /r/VeganForCircleJerkers]

um i'm unfortunately not sure what to say that could help. so it's really to make your application more appealing?

if you didn't hate it more than French, i'd just say you should skip learning french to help with latin...and just dive into latin instead. i wish i could lend you some of my feverish adoration of/passion for french.

you could also maybe just take a French-for-reading approach, which would be faster and easier. There's a book with that title, but i also just mean studying in such a way that you're only going for reading comprehension.

book

u/Andrew_Tracey · 1 pointr/French

This book, French for Reading, sounds like exactly what you need, I'm reading it now myself.

I recommend buying used, I got my copy for $33.50 including shipping. It's not a workbook so a used copy shouldn't be marked up too much.

u/Monk_In_A_Hurry · 1 pointr/French

I've got a copy of French for Readng which I've found helpful. Its focused entirely on increasing reading comprehension and French-to-English translation skills, plus it briefly reviews grammatical rules covered by other materials.

Also, English Grammar for Students of French is an excellent resource for improving your grammatical foundations in both English and French.

u/mimnermos · 1 pointr/AskLiteraryStudies

although i haven't used it personally, something like this might be helpful

u/traviscounty · 1 pointr/French

take a look at this book, it is great for translation exams.


https://www.amazon.com/French-Reading-Karl-C-Sandberg/dp/0133316033

u/uufo · 1 pointr/languagelearning

I don't like these novelty-approaches to language learning like duolingo, they seem like a waste of time.

I think the most efficient way is to study the basic grammar structure, acquire a good vocabulary, and get as soon as possible to a point where you can read written text. If you decide for German, I suggest the book "German for reading" by Sandberg or "German quickly", combined with the daily use of Anki to acquire a basic vocabulary (say, the most commonly used 3000 words).

If you choose French, French for reading + Anki.

Even if you want to speak or listen, I still suggest your first move must be to reach reading competency as soon as possible. It can be done in 2-3 months (read the reviews of those books), and after that it will be very easy and enjoyable to work from there toward your other goals. And if you lose your enthusiasm, you can keep on practicing by just reading books or sites you enjoy, instead of just quitting and forgetting what you have learned.

u/psaraa-the-pseudo · 0 pointsr/languagelearning

Why do you want to learn French? The answer can have an effect on what kind of course materials you should look for.

If you're main focus is conversation, than Language Hacking French would probably be the best fit for you in conjunction with italki lessons and videos on youtube.

If you're main focus is reading (to read literature and that sort of thing) than something like French for Reading would be a better fit, in conjunction with something like Duolingo stories.

Language learning, as I once heard, is like travelling. There are planes, trains, cars, and boats, and whatever you pick is based on what you want to experience/personal preference.