French Lessons - ugggh!
From
| June 23, 2011
In Coffee and Convo, Travel Scoop
Part of the plan for spending the summer in Paris was to "brush up" on my French. I studied French as my foreign language requirement all through school and thought I was "pretty good." So I bought some review tapes, some phrase books and began reviewing on my own.
Then my mom agreed to come visit me while I live in Paris. So for her birthday I decided to give her private French lessons. Since she never studied a foreign language, I thought lessons would make her visit feel, well, less foreign. Besides, sitting in on her lessons would be a good review...
Instead, Mom's lessons showed me how much I don't know.
It seems, not only have I forgotten more than I ever learned, my French now consists of Southern English, Spanish and old school French from the 80's. Help! Obviously I'm going to find a tutor when I get settled, listen and try my damnedest to not insult the Parisians that will no doubt suffer through my attempts at communication.
Any suggestions, helpful insights or just general encouragement is greatly appreciated....Merci et a bientot...
Comments
From Zach - June 23, 2011
Isn't it amazing how fast we forget a language from school? I took four years of Spanish, can hardly hold a conversation now, only 6 years later!
From Beverly Mills - June 24, 2011
In all of my trips to Paris, I found that all I really needed to know was a full command of the words on a menu, the verb for "I want," a big smile, and a finger to point with. You can tell that all I studied about France was the food! Good luck and no worries -- it's a vacation, right?!
From Martha in KS - June 25, 2011
Don't beat yourself up. I'm sure I've forgotten much more than I remember from school. Then I realize it's been MANY years since I was in school - in my case almost 40! Oh mon dieu! My niece studied a semester in Algers, France and is now in the Peace Corps in Moldova. Shall I have her pop over to tutor you? lol
From Alicia Ross - June 26, 2011
Merci, mon amis!
From jim - July 14, 2011
I'm heading over to france for several months during the fall, cannot wait! need to learn some more useful phrases before i'm there. i hear they're not real keen on speaking english, especially in paris
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From Sair - June 23, 2011
You're a braver soul than I! tackling a new language is so stinkin hard. I lived in hong kong for awhile, never even attempted to learn their incredibly intricate language, lucky for me English was an "official" language there. Good luck with your French!