For this edition of “Adam Re-learns French,” I wanted to listen to a podcast. There is a Canadian podcast I had listened to a number of years ago called, “Aujourd’hui L’histoire.” It is a history podcast in which the hosts discuss historical Canadian historical events, as well as global histories.
The podcast episode I decided to listen to was called, “Nicolas Machiavel et l’art de la guerre.” Unfortunately, I found that I was not able to retain enough information to be able to summarize the episode. I often felt that I could understand what was being said during the podcast, and I even knew various historical figures that were being discussed. It seems, however, that there were various crucial pieces of information that I was not able to retain.
Listening to the podcast proved to be an easier task than watching the movie from my last journal entry. Because there was no visual component to the episode, I was able to focus more intently on what was being said. I would say, however, that my comprehension of the short-film I watched was greater than my comprehension of the history podcast I listened to. Even though I could not understand the dialogue in the film as well, the visual storytelling the filmmakers used filled in the gaps where my understanding was lacking. In a podcast without a transcript, every piece of audio is important for understanding the overarching message of the episode. I will continue to explore various forms of media, and revisit some effective ones, in order to deepen my French proficiency.
