Friday, February 26, 2010

My French Language Quest: The Tutor

I am DETERMINED that I am going to learn to speak French.  
Those of us who are trying to learn a new language often have trouble when we try to speak that language in an ongoing conversation.  I know that this is my worst problem.  I can read ok, and I can often pick up the general idea when I am listening.  I can even speak in isolated phrases when I think it out.

But heaven help me if someone actually answers me after I speak! When it comes to an ongoing conversation...Yikes.  The problem for me is that I cannot think fast enough to figure out what someone else is saying and then put together my own thoughts for what I should say next.  

The only way to get better at this is to practice, practice, practice.  Then practice some more.

So I hired a tutor to work with me on my skills in speaking.  Her name is Ly.  She was born in Laos, but her parents moved to Besançon, France when she was little.  She is just fantastic.

Here is what a typical one-hour lesson is like:

Ly gives me homework to watch a French film on my own. (Yes, I still need the subtitles).  I either order the film or watch it instantly on Netflix. (Netflix has lots of French films that you can view instantly.  If you have not tried this yet, check it out)  Sometimes Ly lends me her copy of the DVD.  

For my lesson, we discuss (all in French!) the characters in the film, the vision of the director, the costumes, scenery, colors and how they contribute to that vision, and so on.  It is quite a workout for me.  She helps me if I get totally stuck, but she makes me try hard to express myself without her prompting. 

After that, we spend some time on grammar.  Ly makes note of what I need the most help on from the last lesson, and she brings me oral and written work for that grammar area. (She has many areas to choose from, believe me). 

Next I read aloud from a poem or fable or news story that Ly has emailed me so I can work on pronunciation.   This exercise is designed to get me out of some bad habits.  Ly tells me that my "nasals" need work and that I need to slow down my speech.  She says when I talk fast, I slur sounds -- too much like an English speaker. (She calls it too, too  Eegleesh.)

By the end of the hour, I am exhausted but happy that I am starting to make progress in MY FRENCH LANGUAGE QUEST. 

56 comments:

Corine said...

WOW that is quite impressive that you can discuss a movie in French and literature too. I need Ly to go to France with me and be a translator. Might be easier. Tell her we eat really well and like to visit nice places...LOL!
I am open to French movie recommendations. Good luck on your French...you sound a million steps ahead of me.

Sara Louise said...

Ly sounds fantastic!
Have you seen Hor de Prix (Priceless for the English/ American release) with Audrey Tatou? It's really cute and funny =)

Annette (Liquid French blog) said...

Corine,
It is fun learning, but I have many miles (or kilometers) to go.

Sarah Louise,
I love Audrey Tatou, and I will definitely look for that film.

Thank you for posting.

Karin B (Looking for Ballast) said...

I need to do a program like this, and jeez -- I live in Paris so you think I could figure out how to do this! This is a great idea, though -- the format of your tutoring, and so I hope that it works well! Thanks for sharing your process.

Also, have you seen Cédric Klapisch's "Paris" yet? I really liked it.

BonjourRomance said...

This sound like a fun way to learn French, and I need all the help I can get. I live in France and I'm still stumbling along...
THank you for following my blog. I'll be following your great blog too, and be back soon to see how your French is coming - I'm sure better than mine!
Bonne chance,
Mimi

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