Language Lessons

What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages? Trilingual. Someone who speaks two? Bilingual. One? American.

Bad joke, but like most jokes, it’s rooted in reality.

I was always a good student, but French was my least favorite subject. In hindsight, I didn’t like it because I didn’t have a big WHY: I was studying it because I had to, not because I had a bigger goal in mind. I loved learning about and visiting other countries, but I never planned to live any place where English wasn’t the mother language. I studied abroad, but chose to go to London. I used my high school French credits to avoid college language classes. If you had told me 20 years ago that I would live in two non-English speaking countries, I would have laughed.

Learning French is still hard, but now I have a different mindset, and I’ve learned that success comes down to a few things: motivation, time, and consistency.

Find Your Motivation

What’s your goal? Why are you trying to learn another language?

This is the biggest factor for me. I learned this in Japan because I lacked the right motivation to learn Japanese. I had the time, but my why didn’t match up with reality.

I learned enough to get the basics: say hello/goodbye, introduce myself, navigate in a taxi, ask for directions, order in a restaurant. But once I got that down, I stalled. I knew it would take years to get even to an intermediate level, and we only planned on being in Japan for a year. I wanted to be able to chit-chat with my neighbors, but that skill was years away and I lost my motivation.

Advancing in Japanese also felt insurmountable because I couldn’t read. Did you know there are 3 alphabets in Japanese, and you can use all 3 in the same sentence? I tried various ways to learn the alphabets, and got to a point where I knew some of the most simple one, but mostly they didn’t stick in my brain. Tons of people move to Japan and successfully learn Japanese. I just wasn’t one of them.

Now that we’re in France, I’ve found my motivation:

• Talking to my kid: I have a daughter now, and she’s learning French at crèche. I want to understand her no matter what language she’s speaking.

• Building a family skill: I have a baseline level of French and the time to study, so becoming fluent actually feels possible. It’s a big motivator to feel like I can develop this skill for our family and make our lives easier.

• Avoiding illiteracy: In Japan, I was fully illiterate. It was jarring. I am not keen to repeat that feeling.

Your motivation can be anything. Here’s a list of some reasons my friends have for learning another language:

• Fluency to become a permanent resident: in France, after 5 years you can take a test to become a permanent resident, and you need to be a high intermediate level

• Getting dates: the dating pool opens up when you speak the native language

• Making people laugh: you don’t even need to be fluent if you do it right. Learn a few funny or inappropriate phrases and deploy them at opportune times. Just ask my husband.

• Gamification and streaks: I’m not one for gamification, but some people love those streaks in apps like Duolingo.

Time, consistency, and what’s helped me (or my friends)

Once you’re motivated, it’s all about making the time to study and being consistent.

It’s not always easy to find the time, especially if you’re working. And it’s hard to be consistent with studying and practicing, especially if you aren’t immersed in the language. But you’ll see much better results if you can try to weave language learning into your regular life.

Formal training

These range from free, online resources to pricy, full-time in-person courses. My friend swears by the Learn French with Alexa courses on YouTube. On the other end of the spectrum is Alliance Française, an expensive but well-known school with locations around the world.

I’ve done formal in-person courses, self-study online courses, live online courses, private tutors, apps, and textbooks.

My favorite so far is what I’m currently doing: a 4-day-a-week course sponsored by our local mairie (mayor’s office). I had to apply months in advance and take an entry test to confirm my level (B1). It’s almost the same content and format as Alliance Française but it’s only 300€ for 4 months vs 1,000€ for one month. I am surprised by how much I like the Zoom format. I thought I’d hate being at my laptop, but the ability to have the professor quickly correct sentences or spell new vocabulary in the chat has been really helpful.

Do what you already know

Take a class for something you’re already good at. Watch your favorite sport in another language. When you already understand the concepts, the language becomes easier to parse. Taking a pottery class or going to pilates makes me feel like I’m fluent in French, even though I’m not.

It’s also easier to learn new words because you start to match the vocabulary with what you know. In my pottery class, I learned that the word for the pottery wheel is “tournage.” Translation apps would translate that as “filming” or “shooting” (a film), and now I know an entirely different context for the same word.

Let them correct you

In French, it’s almost Pavlovian how they’ll correct your spoken French. Say “un fois” (“one time”) and the response will be “une fois”.

It made me self-conscious when this happened when I was younger, but I don’t get embarrassed anymore. Annoyed, sure, but not embarrassed. I think the French are proud of their language and they’re trained to get language right. And maybe they’re judging a bit, but I don’t really care. I’m actually grateful (most of the time) for the help so I can learn on the go and not keep making the same mistakes.

Entertain yourself

Learning a language as a kid never seemed fun to me. But you can have fun with it.

Watch your favorite show in French with English subtitles. Or if your a true beginner, watch Peppa Pig. Even if you don’t have a toddler, Peppa Pig is perfect for novices because the language is so simple.

Read comic books or Harry Potter or whatever. I have friends who swear by their Duolingo streaks. Some only go on dates with French guys so they can at least practice French even if the date is a flop. Do whatever will keep your attention.

Apps

And of course, apps always help.

• Translators: Google Translate for quick searches and DeepL for more native sounding translations

• Duolingo: good for gamification and consistency to start out

• Anki: flashcards to learn vocabulary. You can download pre-made decks of cards.

• Preply: online tutors to help advance your speaking abilities

And still, languages are hard

Even with the motivation, time, and consistency, it’s still a challenge. You’re using your brain in a way that isn’t part of regular adult life. The actual tasks are really tough: memorizing vocabulary, focusing your attention long enough to study, learning new grammar that doesn’t line up with English grammar, learning the subjunctive.

I just have to remember to give myself a break, and be happy that at least in France I know my ABC’s.