Coucou les French learners,

The best feedback always come from our Dear Members. This week, Angus commented in the Community Chat:

I do think that it is funny that I can understand much more fluently than I can speak, but I rest assured that when “Le Angus” starts talking naturally, like the English Angus, you won’t be able to shut me up! The other funny thing that I notice is that with the acquisition method, I never forget the meaning of a word. It really is like Alice says, once it’s acquired you have it for life!I enjoy listening to French every day and I never cease to be amazed by how much I have acquired in my short 15 months of membership. At the beginning, I thought understanding French telly and movies was years and years away, but they are instantly accessible with more doors opened as every day progresses. I just LOVE IT.

There is NO NEED to memorize lists of words because your brain is wired to memorize new words subconsciously without you noticing it! As long as you understand what you hear or what you read, your brain will retain the vocabulary FOREVER. #trusttheprocess

Now although Angus can understand a lot, he cannot speak a lot of French yet.

Click on the picture to see it better!

The iceberg image explains clearly why speaking comes later. The top of the iceberg is speech or spoken language. It is only the surface or visible structure of the iceberg. Speech involves the co-ordination of our breathing, vocal cords, vocal tract, nasal tract tongue, jaw, tongue and lips! There are three main components:

1. Voice ( the use of our breath and vocal cords to make sounds);
2. Articulation (the way sounds are produced by the structures in our vocal tract);
3. Fluency ( the rhythm that is required so that we speak without hesitation or repetition of sounds, syllables, words or sentences).

However language is the submerged part of the iceberg and the biggest part. It is:

1. Meaning and content.
2. Form and structure which is also referred to as syntax and morphology.
3. Use. This is how language is used socially; asking and responding to questions, following a conversation and staying on topic.

In order to produce speech, you need to fully develop language which is the biggest part of the iceberg! It takes time and patience but fear not, the joy of understanding a new language is priceless! Don’t worry about speaking. It will come. #trusttheprocess

Read more about the difference between Speech and Language.

QUOI DE NEUF ?

The Teen Stage is done, YOUPI !!!

How does the Teen Stage work exactly?

In each session, I answer a question about myself like where I live, what I do during the day, things I love and things I hate…

I type my answer on a document and comment it as I go along. My comments (all in French, évidemment !) are about the language I use: what do I mean? Why do I use this particular structure or this tense? How it is pronounced and why?

You are listening to rich and abundant French input all along to keep on developing language, the invisible part of the iceberg! (see picture above).

When I type the sentences, you can copy them in your most beautiful handwriting. Your hand is the extension of your brain. Handwriting helps you develop fluency.

Then you can read aloud with me at your own pace. The part of the text I am reading is highlighted so that you can follow through easily. You are developing speech: voice, articulation and fluency.

When the session is over, you can write down your own answer about yourself. BUT don’t worry about the spelling or the grammar. Let it flow. You will be impressed at how much you can produce in French already.

Watch the introduction video in English to understand better how the Teen Stage works: