I’m trying to do that but not finding it easy! We decided to cancel two Spanish trips this year so that hasn’t helped. I use Lawless Spanish by Kwizik.
Probably - for me it was mainly a sign of having lots of small children 
Great thread! Alas my efforts have been very poor up until now. I learnt all my French chatting with friends over coffee / wine etc. I did do some French at school but dont’ remember much of it. I am determined to lift my level as while I speak reasonably vocab wise (I did a test that said I’m B2 advanced or plus or something) I’m frustrated that I can’t write easily or always express exactly what I mean (sometimes feel like a child) which can make one feel lonely.
I’ve just decided to start reading novels in French so glad to hear this is a beneficial way to go about things. I like the idea of having a little book as well to write things down as I learn them.
I tried this book thing but I usually forget the book or can’t find the word in it. If an index book, where do I enter the word? In its alphabetical order, or in its translation? 
Bah, humbug! 
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I m similar to you in a way, as I learnt my French by talking to people (although I did do a DALF diploma about 15 years back to get the grammer basics in). I read very fast in English, so found reading French literature frustrating as it took me too long or I didn’t get the nuances, so would get bored. Then I asked my lovely local librarian and she chose books for me, quite often aimed at a more adolescent market than I am (!) but good language structure and engaging stories. It made a big difference - so don’t start with Proust!
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If you’re using Duolingo this is a useful extension that lists all the currently acceptable answers. However, these are continually being added to, and if one reports rejected translations, one often gets a confirmatory email a few months later that makes one feel very smug for a few seconds (this may seem a long wait for affirmation, but it is free learning)
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Our new (French) French poodle has a trainer who, not surprisingly is also French and so our caniche is learning all the French dog commands (as are we). However, it seems there’s yet another branch of french in addition to those we’re learning already (Parisian French and Ayeyronnaise). so in dog training French, the command, ‘heel’ has becomes something like ‘oppié’ (au pied?). I suspect there’s a whole world of langue de chien français that we’ve yet to encounter, so would be grateful for any examples to put me one up on my OH…
Yes, it’s ‘au pied’. Sit = assis (or in local accent here arse-ee). Couché = lie down, reste = stay. But the one we find most useful is “pas toucher”to get him to not go near or pick up whatever it is, and ”lâche” for drop when he has found something. He has never learnt the dog club’s preferred “apporte” for bring it, which I personally thing is because the sound is wishy-washy so we use vas-y.
Not an indexed book, they are the devil’s looroll - just put down your new words with the date - and maybe a bit of context - as you come across them, then you can look them over the next day.
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Good move to read novels in French - but in my experience (reading the Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy novels cutrrently) you need a better dictionary than for reading fact books in French! I sometimes wonder where the Translators find some of these words!
You refer to loneliness by not having perfect French. That’s sad, I am almost totally deaf, but once I get the subject matter of something I can make a contribution, but regrettably can’t hear or understand the answer. This is compounded in the medical area,where I am currently spending more time than I would like, as masks make even a facial expression hard to read let alone hear (was that good news or bad?)
Most people get irritated by the deaf, and avoid them as it is too much effort. That leads to both withdrawal and isolation for most of us. Subtitles on films are essential, even if they are bad, they provide a bit of continuity. Youtube is generally not bad in this regard, and yes I have learned a lot about how to communicate through the now unbiquitous Emoji method.
Fortunately I am a visual person above all, so keep my fingers crossed that I keep my eyes! I had a six-week sudden onset of blindness almost two-years ago, but which happily has been almost 90% corrected. It is a mental thing I am sure, but since my accident, I am intensely vulnerable now, and take time to adjust to everything which I never even thought about a few months ago. When taking my now short daily walk. I stop when I see a car approaching and press back to a wall.I now assume the driver will not or cannot see me. I stop at steps and calculate the way up them, is there a balustrade etc. I still battle with in-store lighting and it takes a good five minutes to adjust and see where I am - apparently this is the result of having one major cataract operation which fixed the blindness, but both eyes do not synchronise any more, which means I find myself in people’s way when they want to get in - another point of irritation for others - and a good excuse to not go shopping with my wife - and much to her relief!
So still lots of challenges over and above trying to get my left arm working again. Grateful to the Gods that it wasn’t my right arm.
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This looks useful. Thanks
Oh heck, my dog responds to English and Welsh so far, will have to widen her vocab when we move here! It’s bad enough that if I don’t know a word in French I automatically substitute it in Welsh, to everyone’s confusion, except mine! Bet the dog picks it up quicker than me…
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You’ll be fine in Brittany - they speak Welsh there too but call it Breton…
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That’s a very moving and explicit description of your situation, and I salute your intrepid courage and determination. Sorry for my side remarks too. I don’t think I would ever be capable of such fortitude myself, and hope that I’m not put to the test, though one never knows what’s in store, or how one will cope.
Thanks for all those commands, particularly ‘pas toucher’ and ‘lâche’ - though it might take a while for these to be heeded. However our newbie has aleady learnt ‘apporte’ and will scurry to bring back anything you throw.
Apparently our professeur’s own dog can understand over fifty commands, but I can’t think of fifty different things one would want to say to one’s dog…
“Chewed any good bones lately?”
I’m sure ours knows 50…
Non
Descend (from sofa, worksurface, people’s faces)
Monte/hup (into car, onto bench to be brushed)
A gauche, à droit, devant (especially useful when out and he’s ahead of us at a crossroads)
Saute, place, reste, stop,
Assis, couché, debout, pas bouger, lâche,
Good boy
Baaad boy
Viens, au pied (also passe/pied when going round obstacles)
On retourne (when time to turn round in a walk)
Recule (for get out of my way), and sortir (for get out of the room) and salon (for go into the salon)
Doucement (when getting too excited)
Look (for pay attention you dozy dog)
Teeth (time to sit and let me brush his teeth)
Walk
Enough (for stop barking)
Go to your box
Then he knows the name of his two best girlfriends, and their humans. He also has a very good food vocabulary and knows the difference between cheese (the favorite) jambon, carrots and beans when you ask “do you want a…”. Plus picnic, dinner time, biscuit.
He also knows the names of his favorite toys, and will go and get the right one - Father Christmas, John Prescott, and pink hedgehog reliably, others he’s less accurate.
So I reckon that’s about 50!
Ours KNOW these words. It’s whether they take any notice of them that’s the problem. 
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There are a lot of mistakes on there…but if you actually recognise the mistakes, maybe you’re doing really well!! I did O and A Level French and it has been a useful refresher…bit repetitive though!!
I’m suitably impressed, though it might be some time before we can top that. At the moment our pup seems to be learning more from our kittens than from its prof. Keeps trying to (unsuccessfully) climb trees and stone walls…
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Any suggestions please for a French / English parallel reader pitched at lower intermediate students (I’m optimistic on the level)?