Monroe Mann – 7 Years of French To Finally Learn The Basics!

I look back and am not sure initially why I was interested in French. I believe my high school offered French and Spanish, and I preferred French. I think I just stuck with it because it was offered at my high school and it seemed like a fun thing to do.

French wasn’t the first language I studied. I first studied Spanish in 6th grade. Then I moved to Maine (from New York) and the middle school up there did not offer foreign languages for middle school students (as far as I remember), so I either stopped or did self-study.

For 9th grade, I was back in NY and ended up studying Latin again. Finally, sophomore year of high school (again back up in Maine) is when I believe I finally started studying French. I was the only guy in the class. Was that why I chose it, haha? I think it was because French seemed more interesting to me than Spanish.

French for me took SOOOO long until I was even remotely confident in my abilities, even at a basic level. I had trouble speaking, my pronunciation was terribly American, and most importantly, I couldn’t understand what ANYONE was saying to me.

Even though I eventually became quite the linguist in the years to come (French, Chinese, Italian, some German, some others), learning this first language even at a basic level was tough for me. I did well on my exams, but I couldn’t really do anything with the language. I’d say it took about two years, maybe three, of high school French before I even had a basic ability to communicate. And I mean basic. I still could barely understand what anyone was saying even after a few years studying French.

The hardest parts: the pronunciation of the French language, and the weird spelling that makes the weird pronunciation even weirder, making listening comprehension even more of a challenge. Looking back, I wish I had studied Italian first, and then French. Italian pronunciation is a lot easier. I lost a lot of confidence in myself thanks to French pronunciation and my inability to understand what others were saying to me.

Truly, choosing the right FIRST language is so important because the hardest foreign language to learn is always going to be… your first. After you learn one, the second is easier, and the third, even easier. It’s the same with studying computer languages, and my advice there is the same: start with an easy language to start, and then move on to the more difficult ones. Otherwise you risk nearly giving up, as I did with French (and computer programming as well).

You see, one of the first object-oriented programming languages I studied was C++. It destroyed my self-confidence. Decades later, I found Ruby and Javascript, and suddenly, I didn’t feel so stupid. Going back to C++ (and now Java) today, I am not so overwhelmed. It’s the same with linguistic natural languages: build your confidence up with a relatively easy language first. Then go on to the tall mountain. But… if French is truly your only love, then go for it with a boat load of patience.

Also difficulty I had: back in the day, it was very hard to find anyone to practice with. Even today, it’s hard, but thanks to the internet, and sites like BreakDiving.io, more and more opportunities abound. These days, I now have opportunities to practice my French each week… even in good ol’ coronavirus quarantine!

The easiest part about really becoming comfortable with the basics of French was the allure of France. In high school, and then in college, I really wanted to go abroad to Europe, to France, and to ultimately speak French very well. This motivation inspired me to work hard and keep up my studies despite my numerous frustrations. And it paid off, because today, I speak French at an advanced (though not quite fluent) level—more on that in future French certification posts!

Bottom line: make sure you have a very clear purpose in mind for learning French—why are you learning French (or doing anything)? Make sure you have a good answer, because pursuing any language (particularly French) to any level of competence is going to require a lot of stamina, patience, and dogged perseverence!

Après le lycée, je suis allé au université pendant deux ans aux étas-unis, et puis, j’ai transferé au université en Suisse, à Lugano, en Ticino. Ticino est le partie italienne de la Suisse. C’est pourquoi je parle aussi l’italian.

Alors, j’ai étudié le Français là-bas, et je voulais le faire beaucoup mieux. En fait, je voulais parler couramment. Je l’ai étudié pendant 4 ans au lycée, 2 ans à l’université aux etats-unis, et un ans en Suisse. En totale, 7 ans de Français.

J’ai fini par passer l’été en France, habitant dans deux familles françaises, et étudiant à EFLCA (École de la Langue Française de la Côte Azur), et aussi à la Sorbonne, en France.

Alors, j’étais en train de manger avec ma famille à Paris. En fait, c’était dans les banlieues, dans un village qui s’appelle Boissy Sous St. Yyon. Je ne savais pas ce que s’est passé, mais tout à coup, j’ai réalisé que je ne comprennais rien! Pendant dix minutes, j’étais complètement perdu!

Les émotions ont arrivé! Je commencé à pleurer. Oui, à la table! 7 ans des études, et encore, j’avais des difficultés avec le Français! C’était un moment triste, et un moment humble. Je me souviens ce jour trés clairement. J’en suis sur qu’ils se souviennent aussi!

Je me souviens cet été parce que cet été, j’ai compris le roman, ‘La Firme’ par John Grisham. Ce soir là, j’ai ouvri le roman, et c’était horrible: je ne pouvais pas lire même le premier page!

Pour plusiers années, mon confidence était affecté. Il m’a fallu quelques années pour me rétablir. Après avoir fini mes études en Suisse, je suis revenu aux états-unis, et j’ai abandoné le français pour un peu de temps. Mon ego a été blessé, et je ne voulais pas continuer mes études du Français.

Mais, quelques années plus tard, j’ai changé d’avis. J’ai décidé finalement, “Je vais parler le Franâis couramment!” C’est peut-être aprés je suis revenu du Iraq—oui, c’est ça. Aprés mon retour, mon zeste de la vie était revenu! J’ai décidé que je ferais ce que j’avais à faire pour réussir.

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I won’t ruin the surprise about what happened in detail (that’s for another WYSEguidance post), but I will tell you that I speak French pretty well now. I have been back to France a number of times, and even ended up hanging out with a bunch of French speakers in Shanghai, China for a year. Today, I can have conversations with anyone on virtually any topic, and when anyone speaks to me, I can understand them almost all the time. I am still not fluent, but now, when I watch French tv shows and movies… I can actually follow along and understand what’s going on! And a little discussion at the dinner table… that’s quite easy for me now.

Bottom line: learning French is difficult. But it’s not impossible. Learning that first “second language” is hard too, but once you figure it out, learning 3rd, 4th, and 5th languages becomes very easy and very manageable.

Indeed! The next is Level 3, moving into the ‘intermediate’ category. I look forward to sharing more about how I broke through the ‘basic’ and ‘beginner’ levels to become reasonably proficient.

No Rules. No Excuses. No Regrets.