my language journey | preparing for France

10 May 2019

Never have I felt so much pressure to study French. Knowing that in less than a month, I'll be living with a French family and studying French in France makes what I'm learning so much more real than it ever has been before.

While I've been studying French in school and on my own, it has always just been something that I memorize and deconstruct in a way that I can understand it. It's hard to imagine it being a real, tangible, living language that people actually use every day without thinking about it.

Lately my studies have become slow and a little bit tedious. Once you get past the beginner status of language learning, it turns into a repetitive process where progress is hard to identify. I'm constantly just going over vocabulary and sentences structures over and over again until they stick.

I must admit, besides my classes, it's been hard to feel motivated to keep studying on my own. I feel like I've hit a wall that I need to break through, but the only way to get there is to keep practicing over and over again. But the fact that I'm finally going to France is giving me a new hope and a new perspective which is exciting and scary all at once.

I'm trying to view French like a native would. I can get caught up in using the correct grammar and the the right verb conjugations that I get too paralyzed to put myself out there and actually talk. As I'm preparing myself for France, I'm trying to turn my mindset away from perfection. I will never advance in what I love if I focus on doing everything perfectly the first time. I want to let the immersive experience take me away.

I also know there's a chance I will never be able to go to France again. I don't know where the future will lead me. So I want to take full advantage of this opportunity and not let it be wasted. I want to embrace curiosity and to not be afraid of asking questions or admitting when I don't know.

I'm hopeful that my travels will be fruitful. I'm hopeful that through this experience I'll be able to do things I never expected I'd be able to do. I'll see things that amaze me. I'll become more confident in my language skills than I've ever been before.

8 comments

  1. I hope you have a great time in France! I'm so impressed that you're even attempting to learn another language - especially French, which I just couldn't wrap my head around at school. Keep it up, and I'm sure if you persevere you'll be reaping the benefits in no time (and if you need a hype squad you know where to find me:))

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  2. As someone seriously considering being a Spanish major in college, this post really spoke to me. And although I'm not studying another language at a college level yet (still in high school!), I can relate to a lot of the feelings you described. I pray you have an AMAZING time in France! I know you will. <333

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    1. I'm glad you could relate! It's nice to hear from another person considering studying another language in college. It's definitely a struggle at times, but it's been a great experience for me. Good luck with your Spanish studies!

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  3. That is so exciting that you are headed to France and are going to get to immerse yourself in the language and the culture! Definitely don't get too caught up on perfection because it's all a learning journey. I hope you have the best time. :D <3

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    1. I'm definitely going to try not to. I just want to soak up every minute!

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  4. "I will never advance in what I love if I focus on doing everything perfectly the first time." I love this so much. This concept can be applied to many other things, too. I've been learning Spanish this past year in college and I relate to the struggle of feeling the need to speak perfectly. It's so hard to just jump out there and talk, but really, that's the only way you'll really start learning and growing in the intermediate stage. Best of luck to you in France! You'll be amazing, perfect conjugations or not :)

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    1. I'm so glad you were able to relate and find encouragement. Languages are so intimidating the more you study them. It's hard to push past it, but I hope we both can as we persevere.

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