Coucou les French learners,
C’est le printemps, ça se sent ! It is spring, we can feel it!
Sweet spring comes back, and revives the birds, zephyrs, and flowers, and my voice.
This weekend, Angus shared his French journey in the Community Chat:
When I started my journey of acquisition I had that ‘pressing urgency’ thing in the back of my mind bourne of traditional learning. Now that I am a little over a year into it all that has ‘impatience’ has been replaced with calm. It amazes me that I thought that understanding movies in French was, perhaps, an impossible dream. Sure, I don’t get all the words, but now it just seems so much easier. Like my brain is expecting French grammar, so it can hear a ‘word’ and it knows that ‘word’ is a liaison of two words. It is effortless. I have never studied those words or swatted over grammar since starting with Alice. This all comes from merely listening to the audio of a Baby Stage or an Infant Stage video every day and enjoying the story.
Then Lauren commented:
I want what you have! Je me sens toujours pressée. I always feel in a hurry!
So Angus responded:
Lauren, I know what you mean. The hardest part of language acquisition is pushing the student in us out of the process! A year into it and I would say the most important thing is to enjoy the stories. That gets me out of my student mindset. The thing that amazes me the most is that this all comes from just listening to and enjoying the Baby stage and Infant stage over and over. Learning a language without sweat or tears, who knew!
And then Christine added:
Oui ! to what you wrote. I’m concluding my 4th round of Baby et Infant Stages. The content is ultra-rich in French essentials to build upon, including learning about French tradition, culture, history. Each time the flow of reading et speaking improves greatly. It now flows.
The French learners community is THE BEST!!! I could not have worded the process of language acquisition better!
It is a JOYFUL process but you need to #trusttheprocess and know that #inputaloneissufficient
QUOI DE NEUF ?
C’est possible !
The series of videos to motivate YOU to acquire French toute l’année, all year long is coming to an end. All video scripts are available here!
Our last video of the series shows you can acquire French with joy. It is possible.
” French acquisition requires that you understand input. That means that you must pay attention to the input for acquisition to occur. This happens if the input is so interesting that you may even forget that it is in French. When you get compelling input, your focus is entirely on the message. You are in a state of flow in which your sense of time and even your sense of self is diminished (Krashen, 2011).”
Where are you in your French journey? Are you in a state of flow when you read or listen to French?
Let’s imagine a story together!
Last session, we had fun imagining a girl who had a multicolored swan! Watch the replay.
This coming Friday June, 3
5pm UK / 6pm France / 12pm EST / 9am PST
We will spend the first 30 minutes co-creating a character and plot together. We will then write and discuss. This will get the story in written form, and through the process we will read the story again and maybe even embellish it!
Gain New Friends and Get Involved with the French Learners Community #youarenotalone
Increase your vocabulary and comprehension #storyispower
Reduce your stress #relax
Happy French acquisition!
P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues or clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!