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Originally Posted by seeker5  When you were in France, did you hang out a lot with people who didn't speak French? From what I've observed with non-English speakers coming to America, as well as my own experience in learning a second language, when you go to a foreign speaking country and you keep hanging out with people who speak your language, it seriously hurts your ability to learn the new language. When you avoid hanging out with those who speak your language and you instead hang out with those who speak the language you are learning, it helps tremendously. |
I know what you mean, seeker5. well, I did try to hang out with French people. Thats how I learnt Italian, full immersion. (I spent a couple of years in Italy before going to France.) with French the main difficulty was my ear was not trained for the language. So many times, even though I knew the sentence from the book, but when somebody was saying it, it took me a long time to figure out what she was saying. It's not an excuse. I should have worked more diligently.
Off course, it does not mean I have given up. IMO, French language is so beautiful and melodious that I have to learn it no matter how long it takes. And then I will go back to France and assault the old ladies (and young ones, too) gossiping in cafes.
