Becoming fluent in a second language

[Laura]

As I have mentioned on previous threads, my DD is going to graduate a semester early so she can spend 4 months in France before heading off to college. While she will have had 3 and one-half years of French by that time, and she has always had high As in her classes, it is still high school French. Because she is working this summer and is taking a full load next fall in order to graduate early, she can't take any additional courses at a community college. She is really worried about not really being able to converse while there (mind you she knows that she will be able to speak in English with the family with whom she is staying, but she doesn't want to). I have told her to watch DVDs in French, to get used to French conversations, but I don't really have other suggestions. I wouldn't mind investing in a language program, but I am not really sure where she would fit in terms of her current fluency. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[juliew]

I studied abroad in South America for 6 weeks, but had taken 4 years of Spanish in high school and another 1 in college (last class was taken 2 years before I went). Really, the only thing that made me "fluent" was being there and immersing myself in it. I had watched a few movies in Spanish before I left, but nothing prepared me for full time Spanish speaking. On the other hand, nothing could have taught me Spanish as well as being there either.

It sounds like she enjoys and has an affinity for the language as long as she is brave enough to use it (and make the inevitable mistakes), I think she will be fine as is.

[Clover]

Are you near a college with a French department? When I was going to go to France on my own--many, many years after taking high school French--I called the French department at Stanford and asked if they could recommend a tutor. I met once a week with the Parisian wife of a graduate student, at her home. She also did substitute teaching in French at a local private high school, so she had some teaching experience. I got so much more practice working one on one with her than I ever got in a class that, while by no means a fluent speaker, I was confident enough to be able to speak and understand sufficiently well to get along. Having someone to practice with before she goes could be a big help to your daughter.

[cangoss]

I lived with a French family for a month between my sophomore and junior years of high school. I had three years of french at that point. (7th & 8th grade made the equivalent of one year of high school level). The first week was rough, but after that, I started to "get it" and did much better understanding the accent and figuring out what people were saying. I think she will be fine - and I don't really think that taking any more classes would help if she did have time. It's a matter of getting there and being immersed in it.

[Laura]

Hmmm... Clover you gave me an idea that if in the next round of foreign exchange students there is someone from France, maybe that person could tutor Paige.

[wallycat]

I only took a 4 week Berlitz course and it helped a lot.
Maybe she can get tapes and play them in the car/headphones. Just listening to a language helps re-wire the brain to "get" it. She can also find French magazines/newspapers at local colleges that she could read.

In our area, there is also a french club of sorts and they offer lessons. Maybe she could spend a day a week there to keep up.

[LaraW]

My sister and BIL lived in France for about 2 years, and neither of them spoke French before they went. They'd had a few classes, but certainly nothing that would completely prepare them. THey did fine, and I think it was the immersion that really helped.

It sounds like Paige is ahead of where my sister was :)

[funniegrrl]

A few points ...

I had HS and college Spanish but could barely bring myself to open my mouth when I lived in Guatemala. That is, until I took one-on-one Spanish lessons, an hour every day for a few weeks. It wasn't that I learned the language better, but that time of focused, continuous conversation helped me drop my fear. So, if there is opportunity to engage a native speaker for conversation/tutoring, that would help.

Second, I agree that watching French movies (without subtitles) or listening to books in French would be very helpful. There is also a very well-regarded audio magazine series, http://www.champs-elysees.com/, that many people swear by.

[Becky13347]

Hi! I did my student teaching in Belgium and lived with a French speaking family who only spoke French. The 11 yo daughter spoke a few words of English but not enough for an actual communication to take place :D . I had taken 5 years of French but none through my 4 years in college.

Do not worry! Actually living in the country is the best thing for her to do to master the language. Plus all I learned in HS came back so quickly once I was there. My French conversation still remains with me after 12 years (we've been to France 4 times since then) and it is all from being forced to use and listen to the language every day while I was in Belgium. Tell her to really make the effort to speak French to everyone. Many French people will switch to English-esp. the younger ones- once they realize you are making an effort to speak French. (the French are not so snotty as portayed in America....they merely want to see Americans make some attempts to speak their language....which is what alot of Americans expect of foreigners who don't speak English....Let me step off my soapbox now... :) ) But tell her to ask them to keep speaking French with her. I had to do that all the time. Belgians would tell me that English was the more universal language and they wanted to practice their skills on me but I always stressed how important it was to me to master the language.

I would also recommend getting her something that explains local/national customs. Just to help her along in everyday living. For example, whenever you walk into a store, you always, always, always say Bonjour to the store keeper and Au Revoir when you leave. It is very rude not to do this in France.

How I wish I could spend a semester overseas again! It was one of the greatest times of my life! I hope she gets all she can out of every minute!

Becky

[Canice]

I second the suggestion of finding someone with whom she can speak, even if it's just an hour a week or so, I think she'll feel more comfortable when she arrives in France, and it will help keep her skills fresh. It sounds like she doesn't have time for much coursework/study per se, but one thing I used to do was to buy (in my case Italian) news magazines and read some of the shorter pieces and then discuss them in-language with a native speaker I met with weekly.

'course everyone knows the BEST way a girl improves her French skills...is to meet a French BOY! :D

[mbrogier]

I second the suggestion of finding someone with whom she can speak, even if it's just an hour a week or so, I think she'll feel more comfortable when she arrives in France, and it will help keep her skills fresh. It sounds like she doesn't have time for much coursework/study per se, but one thing I used to do was to buy (in my case Italian) news magazines and read some of the shorter pieces and then discuss them in-language with a native speaker I met with weekly.

'course everyone knows the BEST way a girl improves her French skills...is to meet a French BOY! :D

:D ...of course it helps if the French boy speaks French. :p (not that you'll do much talking...but um, that's not the point here ;) :o :p I married a Frenchman.)

When I lived in Detroit, we could get French-Canadian radio. The accent is much different, so get French recordings if possible. (I don't mind French Canadian because one of the students in my college French Conversation class was from Quebec.) I kept up by listening to the radio a few times a week. I can read French pretty well, but I can't converse that well right now. I think if I were immersed again, I would pick it up within days. Immersion is the best way to learn it. My best friend went to France between high school and college. She is much more fluent than I am. It wasn't the classes she took, but the immersion.

[honeygirl1971]

Do not worry! Actually living in the country is the best thing for her to do to master the language. Plus all I learned in HS came back so quickly once I was there. My French conversation still remains with me after 12 years (we've been to France 4 times since then) and it is all from being forced to use and listen to the language every day while I was in Belgium. Tell her to really make the effort to speak French to everyone. Many French people will switch to English-esp. the younger ones- once they realize you are making an effort to speak French. (the French are not so snotty as portayed in America....they merely want to see Americans make some attempts to speak their language....which is what alot of Americans expect of foreigners who don't speak English....Let me step off my soapbox now... :) ) But tell her to ask them to keep speaking French with her. I had to do that all the time. Belgians would tell me that English was the more universal language and they wanted to practice their skills on me but I always stressed how important it was to me to master the language.

I would also recommend getting her something that explains local/national customs. Just to help her along in everyday living. For example, whenever you walk into a store, you always, always, always say Bonjour to the store keeper and Au Revoir when you leave. It is very rude not to do this in France.



I agree with Becky. She can watch movies, read magazines, etc., to get ready before she goes, but once she's there and immersed in it, she'll sharpen her skills really fast. Since the family speaks English, she'll should definitely ask them NOT to speak English to her. I agree about the culture stuff too--there's nothing really unusual to learn, but little things like saying bonjour and au revoir can make a big difference. Frankly I wouldn't bother with tutoring etc. unless she has specific issues she wants to address (like grammar etc.). It's not that tutoring wouldn't be useful, but I don't think it will make a big enough difference to warrant the time commitment when she already seems to have a pretty full schedule. Some universities do designated informal conversation nights for French speakers, though, and that might be useful for her if she really wants to do something more to prepare; you could find out about that by calling the university French department. I know Univ of Colorado at Boulder does have a Table Française night, and non-university people are welcome at it.

Also, since as Micah said, the French-Canadian accent, slang, terminology, etc., is VERY different, I would definitely stay away from French-Canadian stuff while she is getting ready--it will only confuse her.

[vbak]

When DD and DSIL moved to Germany 6 years ago neither one of them spoke German. But by living there and immersing themselves into everyday German life with friends and work they are both very fluent in the language [so is DGS who is 5 years old}. Your DD has some background, so I think she will fit in and get it. Reading and watching anything French will certainly help her to prepare.

[erinlovesmarc]

:D ...of course it helps if the French boy speaks French. :p (not that you'll do much talking...but um, that's not the point here ;) :o :p I married a Frenchman.)

When I lived in Detroit, we could get French-Canadian radio. The accent is much different, so get French recordings if possible. (I don't mind French Canadian because one of the students in my college French Conversation class was from Quebec.) I kept up by listening to the radio a few times a week. I can read French pretty well, but I can't converse that well right now. I think if I were immersed again, I would pick it up within days. Immersion is the best way to learn it. My best friend went to France between high school and college. She is much more fluent than I am. It wasn't the classes she took, but the immersion.

Was this student in one of your classes recently? If so it could be my sister Jenny...she lives in Chicago now but we are originally from Quebec...I know she was taking french courses in college, never know, could have been her! Of course, it was for easy credit since we are fluently bilingual already *wink*...

[erinlovesmarc]

I agree that immersion is the best way too learn a new language...when you are forced to communicate in a language you will learn faster because you have no choice...you can take all the courses and you'll be no further ahead until you use the language on a daily basis. I live in Quebec but speak english at home and at work so, even though I had courses all through school in French, I find myself searching for words sometimes in french because I don't use it as often anymore...I am considered fluently bilingual in french but the less you use it the easier it is to lose it...

3 and a half years is a good base for your DD...I took Italian in college for one year and I can still get by if I really had to...I think she'll be fine

[Laura]

Thank you everyone. I think she will do fine, but as she said to me, she is used to being the outgoing one, and she feels her language skills might change that. She will be living with my roommate from college who has lived in France for 20 years. While her kids and husband do speak English, my girlfriend knows that Paige wants the "total immersion" experience.

I will check if any of the local universities have conversation nights. We are not close to Boulder, but are close to Colorado College and UCCS.

To those of you who suggested she meet a French boy to help with her French, well I am just covering my eyes and ears and burying my head in the sand. ;)

[mbrogier]

To those of you who suggested she meet a French boy to help with her French, well I am just covering my eyes and ears and burying my head in the sand. ;)

:D I met mine in SC. No worries. The French are actually very warm people, and I think your daughter will have a great experience in France. I was not fluent when I went, but the people were more than kind to me.

Erin, I went to college in SC from 96 to 2000. I've just lived all over. I have not spoken French in so long I'm afraid I lost a lot of it. I would love to visit Montreal someday. I didn't have that much of a problem understanding the accent. I don't know why.

[erinlovesmarc]

:D I met mine in SC. No worries. The French are actually very warm people, and I think your daughter will have a great experience in France. I was not fluent when I went, but the people were more than kind to me.

Erin, I went to college in SC from 96 to 2000. I've just lived all over. I have not spoken French in so long I'm afraid I lost a lot of it. I would love to visit Montreal someday. I didn't have that much of a problem understanding the accent. I don't know why.

Montreal is such a great city, I'm sure you'll love it if you ever have a chance to visit...there is so much to do...and the shopping is just AMAZING! Everyone speaks french here but because there are so many tourists year round, most everyone also speaks english, especially downtown...no need to be fluent in french but of course some is good to get you by...if you ever have any questions about Montreal feel free to PM me...I can make some recommendations...