I’m giving myself five years to speak French… this is my blow by blow account… chapter 3
Well, it’s been 36 days since my last post and I think in that time I’ve experienced the full gamut of emotions that comes with learning a language.
Am I further advanced than last time? I’d have to say yes.
Have I improved so much that people now mistake me for a native French speaker? Noooooo.
Have I been disciplined and stuck to my one-hour per day goal including learning set texts, listening to the radio, doing Duolingo and News in Slow French (my online learning program)? The one hour per day, yes… mostly. The rest, no.
Do I feel great about where I’m at and where I’m going? Truthfully, no.
Do I realistically think I can achieve my goal? Well, yes. But it feels a long way off.
Ok. It might seem like I’m a tad skeptical with where I’m at in my pursuit but that’s not exactly true. The most accurate way to describe my progress is probably two steps forward and one step back. Or maybe one step forward and two steps back. It’s hard to know.
One thing’s for sure and that is my motivation and eagerness to learn has taken a hit as I’ve delved further into the French universe. It seems the more you learn the more you realise you don’t know. This can be demoralising and I’ll admit to feeling pretty helpless at least several times this past month when the idea of becoming conversational in French has seemed impossible, not unlike during my intensive classes when it all became too hard.
Focusing on what I can’t do rather than what I can is definitely a pitfall I need to avoid, as I’m fully aware that a negative attitude will only impact my motivation. I’m the type of person who struggles to remain patient when their learning curve is not on a sharp incline and I have a habit of becoming my own worst enemy. I get emotional and struggle to focus on the positives which in turn makes learning a hell of a lot harder. But I realise that I knew all of this when I started and I’m committed to not getting too down on myself. Or, if it does happen, then taking a step back (like I’ve mentioned before,) remember that it’s normal to feel this way, taking a deep breath and continuing on.
By way of a time-line, this past month started off very much the same as the one before. I was doing Duolingo and News in Slow French and trying to talk as much as possible. Then I met a friend for a beer who gave me some tips on how to attack learning French. Her advice was not to focus so much on grammar but more on speaking and listening — but specifically speaking. She said to use whatever words I have at my disposal to try and make myself understood, even if it means I sound like a five-year-old. The idea behind this method is that over time, speaking comes naturally and is not a matter of translating sentences in my head. She said people would correct me when I made mistakes and eventually I would get there if I kept at it.
I have since met other people who all agree with this method of diving in at the deep end or “don’t think just speak”, with some minor adaptations here or there, is the best way to learn.
I have been trying to put this into practice with varying degrees of success. I still find myself reverting to English if I can’t find a pathway to say what I’m trying to say in French. Maybe this means I need to practice more on these troublesome sentences and thoughts. Maybe I should battle on in French even if it’s gibberish. Maybe it’s a combination of both?
The highlight of my month was attending two French-speaking ‘Meetup’ sessions. Essentially, these are evenings where groups of people get together and speak French, with the aid of one or two native speakers or ‘helpers’. I left the first one with my brain feeling like mush (which I’m told is a great thing) but on a huge high. Getting together with a group of strangers is far from my ideal way to spend a night but these sessions were so beneficial for practicing speaking and listening and the environment was very friendly and supportive.
I also started listening to a new podcast called Inner French, which was a recommendation from someone I met at a party. He, like me, is learning French and said the podcast had helped him through the (often awkward) transition from beginner to intermediate and beyond. For those who are interested, the podcast is an excellent resource and free. It’s created by a French guy (Hugo) who deliberately avoids grammar, preferring to focus on a wide range of interesting topics during the 30-minute episodes. The podcast is at a slower speed than native content and fairly easy to follow along. Hugo’s theory is that by listening to topics we find interesting, we’re more likely to want to understand the new language and this, in turn, helps us to learn organically.
What caused much of my frustration towards the end of the month was, after some nice breakthroughs (like the Meetup sessions), I found myself spending a lot more time on a project I’ve been working on which is unrelated to French. Due to this, my French output took a bit of a dive, I felt like I was going backward and it’s been a bit of a struggle to get back into the groove since then.
At the time of writing, my daily French incorporates some or all of the following: watching Netflix in French (with English subtitles), Duolingo (although it’s taken a bit of a back seat recently), News in Slow French, listening to Inner French podcasts and attending a Meetup session at least once a week. I haven’t learned a new French text for some weeks and I have also stopped listening to the radio quite as often.
I haven’t noticed any huge breakthroughs in my French comprehension however the Inner French podcasts have been relatively easy to follow. Certainly not every word but I can get the overall gist of the topic without too much trouble.
Right now I must admit I feel like I’m in no man’s land. what I mean by that is; while I think it’s great focusing on speaking and listening, it feels like I’m losing my grasp on any structure that comes with learning from a book. I have no idea what level I’m at either and for someone who craves structure, it’s a little disconcerting.
On Duolingo and News in Slow French, I’m up to learning about past tense, which I’m thankful for as I’ve been completely lost when trying to describe events that have happened in the past. I have used flashcards to memorise sentences, words, and phrases before and I think I will try and do that again to help with the past tense.
If this post has come across as a jumble of random thoughts, it’s not intentional but it might give you an idea of what I’m feeling in my journey. It’s been an up and down month but I’m optimistic about what the next four weeks will bring.
Thanks for everyone who’s commented (Nat, I owe you a reply!) and has taken time to help, whether it’s a comment, advice over a beer or something else.
Passez un bon mois et à la prochaine
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