I’ve been brushing up my French language skills since mid-August. It’s going well. My grasp of grammar is not as good now as it was in college, but I’ve gotten much better at reading in French, and I’ve learned some new vocabulary. All things considered, I am probably close to the level I was at when I graduated. That’s not bad. Two months of study to refresh a skill that I abandoned more than 25 years ago seems like a small price to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason I started studying French again was because I wanted to finish what I had started so long ago. I wanted to finally<\/em> learn to speak French. I had always assumed that I would someday, but I hadn’t yet as of earlier this year. I was then approaching my 50th birthday and realizing that my supply of somedays was running out. I knew it was now or never, so I started taking lessons online, and now I feel like I am on my way toward my goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what exactly does it mean “to speak French?” At what point do I say, “OK, now I am fluent”? A goal isn’t really a goal without some mark to let you know that you’ve reached it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I mean when I say “fluent” is being able to comfortably and competently handle all four basic uses of the language: hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. My goal, then, should be to prove that I can do all of those things. I’m not sure yet how to test my writing skills, but the other three should be simple enough. My plan is to . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I will achieve these goals by . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve been brushing up my French language skills since mid-August. It’s going well. My grasp of grammar is not as good now as it was in college, but I’ve gotten much better at reading in French, and I’ve learned some … Continue reading