Learning to speak French

I'm not a natural linguist, and because of this, learning to speak French is one of the hardest things I've ever done. Some lucky people can go out, mingle with the locals for a night or two, and pick up enough of the language to apply for a job as a waiter the following week. Then there's me, on the other end of the language learning scale: I have to see it, hear it and say it several times before I remember how to use it in conversation.

I studied French in a desultory manner for the first four months, but by Christmas time I finally settled into a structure that includes a variety of experiences.

They are: (links provided if you want to learn some French)

• Reading kids' books (short chapter books for kids about 8 - 9 years old are great)
• Listening to French language teaching podcasts (I know, the guy's Irish, but he has some great conversations with Amèlie, a native French speaker)
• Practicing French over the internet with free language teaching tools
  
Note: I see they're not free anymore -- darn!
• Listening to French TV and news podcasts on the internet
• Interacting with people "on the street"
• Going to school for two-week sessions
• Establishing a "French hour" at home each day
• Copying down important words and phrases on flash cards and reviewing them regularly
  

I have certainly confused people with my feeble attempts at French. Before I went to school the second time, I registered over the internet but hadn't heard back from them for a while. Foolishly, I decided to go in person to the school to see what was up. The only phrase I memorized for the occasion was, "I registered for the course on Monday - is it ok?" Armed with this snippet of conversation, I boldly went to the office on the first floor of the school... only to find out that the office had moved to the third floor, after I was reduced to saying, "École Français?" In the third floor office, I received a blank look from the woman at the desk after spouting my prepared statement. Finally the light dawned for her when I said, "La classe lundi?" (The class on Monday?) and gave her my name. (After I had been in class for a week I learned that I had been telling the office people that I had videotaped (enregistre), not that I had registered for the class.) The nice woman at the office flipped through a stack of registration papers the size of a small mountain before she came to mine.

She picked up the phone, and I understood that she was sending me down to "a colleague", which turned out to be an interview with the director of the school. The director asked me some questions, which I answered in very bad, halting French, asked me some other questions which I didn't understand at all, and then reverted to English (which, unlike my French, was pretty darn good.) She told me in no uncertain terms that my French was very bad. She told me that I would never learn French properly if I didn't stay at school longer, that two weeks here and there was not enough. When she was finished with me, I left wondering why she felt obligated to tell me all those things. Was this punishment for telling everyone in the building that I had videotaped? Had word traveled that fast? I left the school thinking, "This is not a good French day." Looking back, I'm still not sure why she had that little conversation with me. The class was already scheduled, I was registered, and we were good to go. Perhaps she thought to encourage me to register for more sessions -- but if that's the case, she needs a little more work on her selling pitch!

Although apprehensive, all was good again when I went to my class on the following Monday. There I was in the middle of the pack -- far better at grammar than some, but about average in terms of comprehension and speaking. We picked up where I had left off in October, and it was a very good experience. Taking a French class in France certainly forces you to listen to your classmates very carefully, as they speak French with various accents, including German, Italian, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese (that was just the last class!) I was very happy to find that my oral comprehension had improved immensely. Whereas the first time I understood about half of what the instructor said, this time my comprehension was almost perfect. I remember coming home one day and proudly telling Mark, "I understood everything the instructor said today except for two sentences!"

It has occurred to me several times in the past few months that people think I am either somewhat deaf or just not very smart. This actually makes me feel pretty good, because it represents a huge leap for me in my acquisition of the French language. That's because when we first came here and people spoke French to me, I would immediately break down and mumble with chagrin, "Sorry, I don't speak French." Now, however, I give it a try.

"Pardon?" I say, in an effort to buy some time to either formulate the answer in my head or get them to repeat what they said. I find it works much better than hesitating before you speak. When I went to make the appointment to get my hair done, and they asked me whether I would like the morning or the afternoon, it wasn't the French language that was the issue. I was just busy thinking what time would work best for the family. I finally decided that it didn't really matter and said, "Matin" (morning), but by that time I'd been pegged. The guy pencilled me in to the book, then turned to me (I was standing right in front of him) and yelled, "Dix heures!" (10 o'clock) while flashing his 10 fingers at me. I'm still wondering if he thinks I'm a little deaf or just not very smart. : )

Before we came to France -- back in the homeland -- when people asked me if I spoke French, I would say, "Un petit peu" (a little bit). It wasn't until we arrived in France that I realized how little that bit really was! After almost six months here, I usually have good French days; I understand most of what they tell me at the library; I can tell the courier guy that I will come downstairs and sign for a parcel; I can go grocery shopping and cash in my points; and I can go to a restaurant and order wine and green beans. Now when someone asks me if I speak French, I say with confidence, "Un peu"!

Contact us: christinateskey @ yahoo.ca or mvieweg @ gmail.com