Une semaine in France using only French... | My language mission and my log | Forum

I have been learning French using Rosetta Stone for about a year now and, having come across this site, realised I'd fallen into the classic trap of 'waiting' until I'd reached the 'right level' before trying to speak with people. So I needed to set myself a mission… a goal to aim for…

Conveniently, I have 2 weeks off work at the beginning of September… so I intend to spend one of those in France using only French!

In preparation for this I am going to set myself at least one 'immersion hour' a day. During this time I will continue with Rosetta Stone to help build my vocabulary; seek out and make use of online resources (any recommendations?); and generally speak with as many people as I possibly can!! (if you'd like to do a conversation exchange please get in touch! My Skype username is 'andautumn'… or if you live in or around Cardiff, South Wales, come meet me pour un café!)

This plan is in it's very early stages. I'm not even sure where I'm going to go; whether to camp or stay in youth hostels; whether to drive or use public transport…?! Any suggestions or general encouragement is more than welcome! 

Andrew

Randybvain said
First of all, I suggest you to join South Wales French Speakers. I myself from time to time go to Bristol to meet with the similar group and it is always very good, as the people are on various levels, so if you tired with speaking with somebody really fluent you may always find somebody just learning and feel more comfortable.

Je vais fréquemment à Cardiff donc je pense que nous pouvons bavarder un peu tôt

Merci beaucoup!! C'est exactement que je besoin! Je vais rejoindre ce groupe  Et j'aimerais bavarder (merci pour ce nouveau mot!) un jour… dit moi quand vous êtes en Cardiff.

(Corrections or improvements to any of the above are welcome – I am trying to resist using Google translate!)

I have been trying to figure out my plan for my week in France… does anyone have any experience of 'couch-surfing'? I am as new to travel as I am languages (but I am an enthusiastic learner!!)

Progress so far this week…

Still keeping up the studying, focusing mainly on grammar guides at the moment (rapidly losing interest in Rosetta Stone but don't like to 'give it up' when I'm very near the end!) Have joined easylanguageexchange.com and made friend requests (merci Chayal!)… the problem is bumping in to someone online. I'm very much a morning person and this is when I do most of my studying, so I think I need to try and adapt my routine. 

I have also started listening to French Radio London whilst studying, and have changed my browser language to French(!) I'm not sure how much these subtle changes will help, but I now know what a 'nouvel onglet' is!

I just had my first French lesson on italki!

This is a really big step for me. I have been learning for about a year now and, whilst I have built a fairly good understanding of the language, much of this time has been spent avoiding the one thing thing I needed to do, the reason I am learning in the first place: talk to people!

I was really nervous beforehand (I felt like I do before a job interview!), but my tutor* put me at ease and was patient with my attempts to use French as much as possible. It's a really great feeling to say something in another language and have the other person understand what you are saying. I know that sounds like a simple, obvious thing but it really helped with my confidence. We both reverted to English towards the end, maybe sooner than I needed to, but I'm not going to be too hard on myself: breaking the ice was the challenge I needed to overcome today. This was only a trial, I have a full hour session booked next week.

One major issue I have is that I tended to panic when she was speaking to me. All the while she was talking, all I could hear was my brain "what's she saying?" "I can't understand!", which got in the way of me actually attempting to understand. I don't think this is a general language issue, more of an overall confidence issue. I tend to tell myself I can't do something before actually attempting it.

Next steps: finish Rosetta Stone (I will have completed all 5 levels by the end of this weekend); book one or two lessons a week on italki; and, most importantly, seek out language partners and TALK TALK TALK TALK TALK!!

*http://www.italki.com/teacher/T006637023.htm

Whoops, it's been a while since my last update!

Over the last month I've continued my tentative steps speaking French. I have been having weekly lessons on italki, and have had skype conversations with some very patient and understanding language partners. My problem at the moment is maintaining the momentum. I keep frustrating myself by having a difficult but incredibly satisfying conversation on Skype… but then not going on Skype again for another week, by which point I feel like I'm 'back to square one' again.

As for the actual studying of the language, I think I am doing pretty well. I have adopted many of Benny's tips in order to fit language learning around the long and irregular hours I work. I make sure I get a 20 minute siesta everyday (even if it's on the train with headphones!), which enables me to get up at 5 every morning. This way I can ensure that whatever happens in the day I still always get at least an hour and a half of language learning per day. I have also given up caffiene completely which has made a HUGE difference. I sleep better and generally feel a lot more 'regular'. The rest of the day depends on my work schedule. I often I work late into the evening, and this, unfortunately, is my biggest problem. The evenings are the best time for me to get speaking practice which is what I need more than anything right now. I guess I need to really push myself at times when I am free in the evening to ensure that I get this practice time, regardless of how tired I am and how hard a day I have had!
Any spare scraps of time I spend doing Anki flashcards – I have built up a huge collection, based on the imagiers videos I have been working through. I have also been downloading the news in slow french podcasts and listen to these when walking to my local pool (an episode fits the duration of my walk perfectly!) I have also discovered that a colleague of mine is also learning, so we are going to try and meet up regularly to practice.

Overall, I am pleased with my progress. I am by no means aiming for '3 months', but I am aware that I should be setting myself a new challenge in order to have something to aim for. By my next post I will have thought of something…