I just heard about Clozemaster and I thought I’d give it a try. Clozemaster is “gamified language learning” based on filling in the blanks in sentences in your target language. I tried a little bit of N4 and N3, but I didn’t play for long so this is truly a first impression.
Here’s what the site looks like while you’re using it. The default is black text on a white background, but I like how you can switch to white text on a black background!
First of all, I really appreciate that this site has recordings of actual Japanese people saying every sentence. The recordings play automatically after you finish each question, but you can quickly skip ahead if you don’t feel like listening.
I also like how the whole system is repetition-based, so sentences will keep coming up until you get them right.
My first criticism would be that the words are written in kanji, so you need to be able to read kanji in order to select the right answer. (Just knowing how to say the word won’t help you.) But that’s not necessarily a bad thing! Just depends what you’re trying to achieve.
Since this is a game, you get points each time you get a question right. Getting a question right in the multiple choice mode (pictured above) gets you 4 points, but getting a question right in text input mode (pictured below) gets you 8 points.
If you get stuck, you can click the question mark on the right to make choices appear.
The next issue I encountered was related to the words being written in kanji – you can’t just type the answer in hiragana if there’s a kanji for that word. As you can see below, I got the answer incorrect because I typed は instead of 葉.
There’s an option to take away the English translation, and at first I thought this made the game way too hard, but I realized it’s actually pretty cool. The whole idea behind a “cloze test” for languages is that you’re able to really process the sentence as a whole and think about which word would make the most sense, rather than just translating the one English word that’s missing from the sentence.
Finally, here’s a look at the dashboard that keeps track of your progress:
Overall, I think Clozemaster is great. It’s not a stand-alone tool for studying Japanese (or any other language), but I already feel like I strengthened my Japanese from the 30 minutes or so I spent playing around with it.
Indicatif: je sais que – I know that je suis sûr(e)
que – I am sure that je
suis certain(e) que – I am certain that je
crois que – I believe that je pense que – I think
that j’espère que – I hope
that il est certain(e) que – it
is certain that il est clair que –
it is clear that il
est évident que – it is obvious that il
est exact que – it is exact that il
est probable que – it is probable that il
paraît que – it seems that il
me semble que – it seems to me that Il
est inévitable que – it is inevitable that
Subjonctif: j’ai
peur que – I
am afraid that
je veux que – I want
je ne croix pas que
– I don’t believe that
je ne suis pas sûr(e)/certain(e) que –
I am not sure/certain that
je
suis désolé(e) que – I am sorry that
je
suis heureux(-euse) que – I am happy that
je
suis fier(e) que – I am proud that
il
est amusant que – it is amusing that
il
est bon que – it is good that
il
est dommage que – it is a
pity that
il est douteux que –
it is doubtful that
il
est essentiel que – it is esencial
that
il est étonnant que – it
is astonishing that
il est gentil que
– it is nice that
il
est impératif que – it is imperative
that
il est important que- it
is important that
il est
possible que – it is possible that
il
est improbable que – it is improbable
that
il est indispensable que –
it is essential that
il
est injuste que – it is unfair that
il
est juste que – it is fair that
il
est intéressant que – it is
interesting that
il est ironique que
– it is ironic that
il
est naturel que – it is natural
that
il est nécessaire que – it
is necessary that
il est normal que
– it is normal that
il
est préférable que – it is
preferable that
il est rare que
– it is rare that
il
est surprenant que – it is surprising
that
il est (grand)
temps que – it is (about) time
that
il est urgent que – it
is urgent that
il est utile que
– it is useful that
il est inutile que
– it is useless that
il convient
que – it is appropriate that
il
faut que – it is necessary that
il
se peut que – it is possible that
il
semble que – it seems that
il
suffit que – it is enough that
il
vaut mieux que – it is better that
ce
n’est vaut pas (cela ne vaut pas) la peine que – it
is not worth the trouble that
il n’est pas sûr(e) que – it is
not sure that
il n’est pas certain que – it is not certain
that
il n’est pas vrai que – it is not true that
il
est étrange que – it is strange that
c’est formidable/génial
que – it is great that
Icivous avez le reste des expressions après lesquelles on utilise soit le subjonctif soit l’infinitif.
GUYS!!! I found this show on YouTube called “Extra French” and apparently it’s aimed at people learning French. People say it’s like a horrible, cheap, parody of the show Friends and it is but I think it’s funny 😂. Anyways, the French that’s spoken in it is so simple! And it has subtitles as well so you can practice your listening and reading at the same time (and learn a few phrases!). There are only 13 episodes though. Also available in Spanish, German & English (but the English version has 30 episodes).
We used to watch this in both my French and Spanish classes. It’s nice because the plot is the same regardless of language so you can watch it several times if you’re studying more than one language! (Also, the actor who plays Sam in the French one also plays him in the Spanish one… Not sure if he’s in the German/English ones though?)
here’s a little guide I made for knowing when to use the present subjunctive after ‘que’ in spanish 🙂
Let’s take three sentences to begin:
La verdad es que bebes la suficiente cantidad de agua.(The truth is that you drink enough water)
Pienso que bebes la suficiente cantidad de agua. (I think that you drink enough water)
Es crucial que bebas la suficiente cantidad de agua. (It’s crucial that you drink enough water)
If you cover up everything before ‘que’:
Sentence #1 is presented as a factual statement (regardless of whether the statement is actually true, it is presented as the truth).
Sentence #2 is presented as an opinion, i.e. something which the subject believes to be true.
In both sentences, the statement which follows ‘que’ is presented as a truthful statement or is believed to be true by the subject, regardless of whether it is a fact or an opinion.
In sentence #3, however, the statement which follows ‘que’ is not necessarily true. There is no implication from the sentence alone ’(It is crucial that) you drink enough water.’ that you do in fact drink enough water.
This is the element of doubt which triggers the use of the present subjunctive.
And that’s how you find out if you should use the subjunctive after ‘que’ – simply cover up whatever comes before the ‘que’ and determine whether or not what comes after the ‘que’ is being presented as the truth by the sentence as a whole. If yes, use the indicative. If you are not sure, use the subjunctive.
These are my favorite programs to watch online in French (plus a couple of extras). I chose them because they’re relatively easy to follow at an intermediate level, and they aren’t difficult to find or geo-blocked.
A general tip: if you’re looking for TV programs in French, you can find a lot by going to YouTube and typing in words like “saison” and “emission.” You’ll find a lot of full-length programs that way, listed by their season and episode number.
This is a fun talk show program similar to Ricki Lake or Sally Jesse Rafael in the U.S. (if you’re old enough to remember those). Full-length, new episodes are uploaded all the time, the quality is decent, and you don’t have to worry about them being taken offline for copyright issues because this is the official YouTube channel for the program. The program itself is kind of stupid and usually deals with topics related to dating, sexuality, personality quirks, or makeovers. There are titles like “I have a big mouth” or “I make more money than my husband” or “I won’t let my wife wear sexy clothes.” This program is best for learning slang and casual speech. People argue from time to time, but the mood is usually silly and light-hearted.
2.Envoyé Spécial [search for the program title on YouTube]
This is a TV documentary series with a huge range of topics to choose from, from the serious (ISIS, education in Shanghai) to the light (the singer Mika, famous YouTubers). These are made for television, so the quality isn’t particularly high, but I think that makes it easier to understand, and the quick production time means more variety in topics. When searching on YouTube, some episodes are listed with the topic, but many are only listed with the air date, so you’ll have to watch those for a bit to figure out what the topic is.
3 Tellement Vrai [search for the program title on YouTube]
This is the trashy cousin of Envoyé Spécial. It deals with less serious topics, usually relating to sex, relationships and personal appearance. There are episodes about jealous boyfriends, plastic surgery, sexual fantasies, prostitution, teens moms, and even one about Wicca. They’re meant to be kind of shocking, so that can be a motivation to watch, even if the quality of the program isn’t particularly high.
Projet Fashion is the French version of Project Runway. It has a smaller budget than the American version and doesn’t seem to have made it past its first season, but it’s fun to watch. You’re introduced to some creative and talented French people, including not just the designers but also the guest judges. The program is easy to follow, especially if you’ve seen Project Runway before, and the YouTube channel is an official one, so you don’t have to worry about episodes being taken down for copyright violations. I definitely recommend this one!
Someone else made a great post on here about Le Petit Journal, and that’s how I found out about it. It’s a news program similar to The Daily Show in the U.S. with a host that makes jokes about current events. They also have field reporters, though they’re more serious than the ones on The Daily Show. Each episode also has a musical performance, which is almost always very good and includes a lot of up-and-coming talent. The bands aren’t always French, but when they are you get the bonus of finding new music to listen to in French! Finally, each episode also includes a guest interview, and they consistently manage to pull some very famous and talented people, including Roman Polanski and Grace Jones (who was amazing!!!). In between segments, there’s a bit of sketch comedy. Unfortunately, it’s usually either not very funny or too difficult for me to understand (humor is always one of the last skills to develop in a language, right?). I love Le Petit Journal: it’s free, high-quality, available with a new episode almost every single day, and can be streamed to my TV on Chromecast using the CanalPlus app on my phone. Sometimes it can be difficult to follow, especially if you don’t follow French politics regularly, but the bonus is that you get to learn about that some through the program, and that could be tremendously helpful if you want to talk to native speakers.
This is the more serious cousin of Le Petit Journal. To be honest, I’ve never watched a full episode, but it seems interesting. It includes a panel of people talking about current events. I thought I’d include it because it seems like a good program and isn’t geo-blocked by CanalPlus.
This is a website full of French films with French subtitles. I’m pretty sure it’s a copyright violation to have these available online like this, so who knows how long it will be around, but it’s lasted for at least a couple of years now. My goal is to move away from using subtitles, but I watched a couple of French films on here when I was still a relative beginner, and it was tremendously helpful. I would pause the movie after almost every line and look up the words I didn’t know, which took a long time but improved my vocabulary a lot. It’s something that could still definitely benefit me, so I’m going to try to watch more things here. Not all of the movies are French (some are dubbed American movies), but there’s still a very good selection of original French content. The best part is there are no tricks or weird pop-ups you have to deal with when you want to watch these movies: you just click a button and watch. You can also follow FilmFra on YouTube to get alerts when a new movie is posted.
8. Mon incroyable fiancé [search on YouTube]
This is a reality show that’s had more than one season already, and you can find most of the episodes on YouTube. To be honest, I couldn’t make it past the first couple of episodes, but if you like shows like ‘The Bachelor,’ this might be something you enjoy. It’s about a woman who is pretending to be engaged to a person she’s never met, played by an actor who pretends to be a huge buffoon in every episode. The woman has to lie to her friends and family and convince them to support her decision to marry this person and come to the wedding. If she succeeds, everyone wins money.
9. Moundir et les apprentis aventuriers [search on YouTube]
Another reality TV show that I can’t bring myself to actually watch! This one is a Survivor rip-off. If you like seeing attractive people in swimsuits compete to win money, or if you’re a fan of the American show, you might find this interesting. Not my cup of tea, but I wanted to include it anyway!
326 Miles 