The emotional stages of learning French

Learning a new language can be hard. Who am I kidding, it is super hard! Even though I eventually have come to the conclusion that I want to learn French, there has been more than once I’ve wanted to throw the dictionary at the wall and never say a word French again…

I wrote this back in high school while I was taking French. Although I’m now finally fairly fluent in French, it’s fun to look back at this and remember the struggle of learning a new language.

1. L’amour L’amour

The language of love, oh how excited I am! French sounds so lovely, so sensual, so melodiously…

2. Bonjour, je m’appelle Elise

Well, okay that was fun! I feel classy already

3. Être, avoir, aller

Wait what! You have to learn these by heart? Wasn’t it enough that I learned the english irregular verbs…

4. Je ne parle pas français

And I probably never will. This is stupid! I wish I had chosen German, I’am so switching languages next year

5. Guess I am stuck

Turns out my school doesn’t offer German… Okay, then I am going to spend my French lessons reading blogs – english blogs. The minute I am allowed to leave French it is “au revoir” except we won’t be meeting again!

6. Summer holiday in France by Côte d’Azur

You know what would be really fun? If I actually could speak French with the sales woman, the waiter, the random woman with the cute dog… Okay, okay I’ll buy a new dictionary (the old one may have been burned *ahem*) and I’ll be the best French student ever! I’ll buy French magazines and translate one article every day. I’ll download “learning French” podcasts. I’ll be fluent by the end of the year!

7. Two weeks into the autumn semester after my French awakening

Never mind, forget it! I am never speaking French. And I don’t really like Paris either, so whatever…

8. There is this book called “How to be a Parisian where ever you are”

And it is kind of cool, and I kind of want to learn french again, and Paris isn’t that bad… It has a certain charm. Also the D on my last french test is too embarrassing even for me…

9. One word: DUOLINGO

Actually one app. How come nobody ever told me about this before now?! It is absolute genius! This time I am actually going to be fluent by the end of the year! (They offer quite a lot of other languages if you are struggling with for example Spanish or German)

10. I’ll admit I am the queen of exaggerating (that is actually an exaggeration )

Getting fluent in French will take me more than a year, and more than an app, but I am getting there. For the first time I actually feel like this mess of grammar and rules are making some sense! No wait… “Conditionnel -présent and passé”?! What the...!?