reasonableness of dictée

Question

Wow, I just must say that this one in every sentence had idiomatique phrases of which I've never heard, or seen introduced in any of your lessons.  I'm not sure of the value of having to make so many guesses on what I'm hearing, since context gives almost no clue with those type of phrases.  Isn't the point of these to recognize what you've learned?

Accepted Answer

I think idioms will make our french less stilted which is a good thing, isn't it?
And the list was given at the start to help with understanding.  Thanks Kwiziq team!

Answer

I've grown to discover it becomes a lot easier to truly absorb what you know whilst struggling to comprehend what you don't. When it comes to listening exercises I've often read it's important to maintain roughly 60:40 or 70:30 in your exercises. ie 60%-70% hits you clear as day, whilst the remainder is borderline gibberish. If you fall above or below this ratio then you're not really using your study time efficiently by either not challegning yourself (understanding all of it perfectly), or running into an insurmountable brick wall (having no idea whatsoever what is being said). The "sweet spot" might feel uncomfortable and annoying, but it's an extremely effective use of your time.