Fromage. You can’t escape it here. As such, it seems fitting to use a cheese metaphor to explain the progress of my fluency over the course of this semester. At the beginning, I was Swiss cheese. Holes all over the place, in every facet of learning a language. Then after about two or three months, those holes started to fill and now, after four full months of living in France...I finally feel like I'm a Mozzarella.
Honestly, things fell into place without my realizing it. I would say that what helped the most were the French people that I met, be it professors, ma mère française, or friends my own age, all of whom I grew to trust and be comfortable speaking to without fear and without a filter. I think back to 6 months ago when I was not even able to express myself on the simplest of subjects and I cannot even recognize myself. Now, I speak French without thinking, without second-guessing, without pausing to flip through my mental dictionary of terminology or verb conjugations. It just flows out from the area of my brain in which this new language has built itself a permanent space. I am eternally thankful for the patient people who I've been lucky to meet, who opened their ears to listen to me.
Listening to native speakers has also proved valuable to this process of fluency. Just by paying attention very closely, I’ve learned the correct complex structures of sentences that before I came to France would come out of my mouth like a jumbled mess. I still make mistakes, but the difference is now, I realize the error much more quickly and oftentimes I’m able to re-say it in the correct way (or, if there’s not an opportunity to, kick myself for messing up something that I knew...). Everything is a lot more natural now, especially in conversations, as there is no longer the need to first process what the French person said, then translate it into English in my mind, and then finally understand and respond orally. I understand immediately and respond within seconds. Then I reflect on what just happened and I can’t believe it ! In fact, everything I have learned this semester has come as such a surprise ! I think it’s safe to say I chose the right school, the perfect program for me, in the most lovely city in France that will always hold my heart. I will come back someday in the near future ; mainly for visiting people, but of course the cheese will be calling my name as well. : )
Honestly, things fell into place without my realizing it. I would say that what helped the most were the French people that I met, be it professors, ma mère française, or friends my own age, all of whom I grew to trust and be comfortable speaking to without fear and without a filter. I think back to 6 months ago when I was not even able to express myself on the simplest of subjects and I cannot even recognize myself. Now, I speak French without thinking, without second-guessing, without pausing to flip through my mental dictionary of terminology or verb conjugations. It just flows out from the area of my brain in which this new language has built itself a permanent space. I am eternally thankful for the patient people who I've been lucky to meet, who opened their ears to listen to me.
Listening to native speakers has also proved valuable to this process of fluency. Just by paying attention very closely, I’ve learned the correct complex structures of sentences that before I came to France would come out of my mouth like a jumbled mess. I still make mistakes, but the difference is now, I realize the error much more quickly and oftentimes I’m able to re-say it in the correct way (or, if there’s not an opportunity to, kick myself for messing up something that I knew...). Everything is a lot more natural now, especially in conversations, as there is no longer the need to first process what the French person said, then translate it into English in my mind, and then finally understand and respond orally. I understand immediately and respond within seconds. Then I reflect on what just happened and I can’t believe it ! In fact, everything I have learned this semester has come as such a surprise ! I think it’s safe to say I chose the right school, the perfect program for me, in the most lovely city in France that will always hold my heart. I will come back someday in the near future ; mainly for visiting people, but of course the cheese will be calling my name as well. : )