1. purchased a book from Goodwill stores for $1.34
2. uploaded free app. 6 months ago

I’ve always wanted to speak french. I learned it when I was younger, but after having no one to talk to on a regular basis, I lost most of the language. I think it is a beautiful language and something that my grandmother and I can connect on. 10 months ago

Is it possible to be a “fluent listener”? I just got back from a 5 day trip to Tunisia and because it was clear the people I was meeting with were more comfortable speaking in French I told them to go ahead and if I couldn’t follow I would ask them to repeat it in English. For the most part I did OK – again, as long as I knew the context of the discussion. As soon as it switched to social conversation I became more confused.

In the taxi on the way home from the airport, I must have sounded like I knew what I was saying because I think it was one of the few times the driver didn’t automatically switch to English after my attempt to speak French. 11 months ago

I’ve been so self-conscious about speaking French that I haven’t been practicing. So – this weekend I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give it a try.

I picked two very predictable situations where I could plan ahead the words I needed to say and where the context of the responses would be fairly predictable.

The first was the taxi ride back from the airport: “Je voudrais aller …” and then my address and the name of the closest cross-street. Later in the ride to make sure I had been clear, I asked if the driver know the patisserie that is right next door to my apartment (“Savez-vous Le Pain Quotidian a Louis Le Poutre?”) and I understood the response even though it was in French (‘Yes, my daughter works there’)!

The second scenario was a little more difficult. I needed to get my hair cut (“Je voudrais quelque chose court et facile coiffer.”) Luckily I’m not picky and didn’t need to describe very much to the hairdresser. She tried to make a little conversation and when she switched to English I still responded in French as much as I could. I’ve now memorized how to say that I need to practice my French so that people won’t switch to English in an attempt to be helpful. She made a point of telling me when I did well with a phrase.

This is less intimidating than trying to make conversation at work where the context and topics could be anything. I just don’t have the vocabulary to hold up a complex conversation yet. It’s more like talking to a 3 year old that can only make demands for things or understand only simple words.

I did notice that I could understand more of the conversations around me than before – it’s just that by the time I’ve processed what was said, they’ve moved on to new topics. 12 months ago

....and I feel like I’ll never get where I want to be. I’m too self-conscious to practice speaking outside of class and there’s no way to proceed if I don’t practice.

I think I need to start watching kids cartoons in French to help hear the pronunciation of simple words over and over again. Problem is that all the cartoons I find on TV are voiced in an irritatingly high pitch that I can’t stand to listen to for very long. I’ve got to go online and look around – there must be some better options. 12 months ago

I took Beginner’s French in high school and college. So, i want to develop the little i learned and add to it to achieve this goal 12 months ago

...once I got there! I managed to get lost and ended up half an hour late. I was so flustered and anxious but the instructor was really good about giving me time to calm down and encouraging me to relax. Part of their training approach is to have a calm and safe classroom atmosphere.

Now I wish it met more than once a week. I feel like there is no way I’ll ever get to where I want to be without some intense time spent working on this. Plus, I’m going to have to miss 2 weeks in a row while I’m on holiday :( 13 months ago