A beginner’s journey of learning French
«Je de coup Clow»
The series, F.R.I.E.N.D.S has inspired me in many ways, but most importantly, it inspired me to find a new skill to improve that will benefit myself if I do not give up on it. Remember the episode where Joey learns French from Phoebe? (TOW Joey speaks French) Joey’s failure to learn French became my inspiration to start learning French.
Google- the one who knows everything
There were only a handful of “useful things” which I have done in the quarantine period to benefit my future self. Starting to learn French is one of those things. So, I felt this sudden urge to start learning French, but how? That became the question. To find an answer, I did some digging on Google. (Oh Google, how I’ll survive without you?!) There were plenty of options: websites, YouTube tutorials, mobile app suggestions, blogs, etc. It took me several days to select the platform to start my learning experience. I read several articles and blog posts on how to start learning French, I searched for tips on selecting the best method to learn a language, I read reviews on apps which were suggested by Google as apps for learning languages. Doing that background research helped me figure out what kind of options are available for different types of language learners based on their skill levels, financial background, the languages they want to learn and how seriously they want to learn those. As a beginner and not-so-much-serious type of a learner, I ended up choosing Duolingo, a web and mobile-based application which offers a free and interactive language learning experience to its users. I love to learn in an interactive environment rather than following a strict, monotonous learning process. This application offered me the chance to learn comfortably at my own pace.
Learning French with Duo, the friendly owl
I got registered in the app, enrolled in their French course and started my journey of learning French as a total beginner. I even prepared a notebook to jot down important things. (Still old school. I know, right?) Each lesson in Duolingo based on a simple topic such as greetings, shopping, breakfast, covering a range of vocabulary and grammar components. Lessons were a combination of writing, learning, listening and speaking activities which covers the aspects of a typical language course/class. Duolingo evaluated me against the other learners based on the XP value I have earned in each lesson.
The factor that motivated me to keep learning without breaking the flow was the concept of maintaining the “streak”. Learners should log in to the system every day and complete a lesson or more to keep their streak active. If not, it’ll cost them their virtual rewards to reactivate the streak which I didn’t want to happen since I was a free user (Perks of being a citizen in a third-world country). Once I have maintained a 100-days streak, it was tough for me to give up learning even for a single day. Because if I did, I would lose all the effort I spent on maintaining the streak. It was the reason which kept me engaged in learning French even though I had my end-semester examinations at my university. Another fascinating feature in this language learning app (which I enjoyed a lot) was “Duolingo Stories”. These Mini stories on different scenarios helped me a lot to identify the way how the French talk. It also improved my listening skills.
However, being busy with attending to full-day lectures at the university, doing assignments caused me giving up on taking notes. It resulted in me trying my best to memorize things I learned each day; words, grammar patterns, pronunciation, and IT WORKED. I’m still using Duolingo daily, and in the process of improving my language skills. Believe me, daily practice DO make a real impact on your learning.
Is that all I did to be familiar with the language?
NOPE. Apart from the app, I watched some French movies (with English subtitles), listened to some French radio stations, did some quizzes on the internet, watched YouTube videos in French and many more. We cannot depend on a single mode of learning if we need to improve our skills. It isn’t hard for a person in the 21st century since the internet made it possible to access many different learning materials.
Where I stand now
I recently took a language level test approximately assessed my level of proficiency in French as A2-B1. (CEFR levels) Since I’m from a background where no one speaks French and I learned the language for the very first time, these results turned out to be quite impressive for me. I’m still following my lessons in Duolingo, trying my best to complete the “Golden Tree” by achieving golden crowns for each lesson in the course.
I started as a learner who only knew the French word “bonjour”. Now I can introduce myself, form simple sentences, answer questions in French. Still, there’s a lot to improve, and for that, I should follow an academic approach to learning the language. However, I believe that all my effort to build a foundation to learn a foreign language and be familiar with it was successful. One thing which limits me is that there are lesser opportunities for me to use the language in conversations. The more you use a language, the more you become fluent in it. Therefore, I’m searching for a way to overcome that.
Advice from a beginner
My advice to beginners in language learning is; try to find methods which motivate you to keep learning. It would surely help you to stick to what you do. Make it a habit to engage in learning daily. (Maintain your streak for 100-days, then it would be a piece of cake for you.) Don’t limit your learning experience; use every possible way to improve your skills. Most importantly, don’t give up learning whatever the language you are learning as Joey did!
