She Did What?! So You Think You Can Learn French Faster Than A Sixth Grader
I’ve shared a little bit on this platform about my past She Did What?! moments, but I also think it’s important to share what I’m calling my She Did What?! moments in progress. As I’ve mentioned before, every year I take stock, both of where I am in life and where I want to go in the next year. This year, I found myself coming back to my years-long dream of really learning French.
I took French for four years in high school and then promptly forgot most of it. Since then, I’ve found myself traveling to French-speaking countries and feeling embarrassed about not speaking the language despite those years of lessons. To make matters more embarrassing, we have been fortunate to have a house in a small village in southwestern France for the last 12 years.
Every time we go back to the house, our neighbors speak to me through my husband, cordially asking “You still don’t speak French?”
And so, I decided that this year it was time to finally learn. I’m embracing my discomfort and learning French. I’m determined to reach proficiency, to be able to have true conversations.
To hold myself accountable, I asked my 12-year-old son, Oliver, to take French class with me. So now, every Wednesday evening you can find us sitting together, taking French lessons from Madame Sabrina. Learning with him has been humbling — he’s so much better than I am! But, it’s also been really special as I’ve gotten to watch up close how he learns a new subject. Languages come naturally to him while I have to sit and study before each lesson. I think he’s simultaneously embarrassed by how bad I am while loving the fact that he is so much better than me.
Slowly but surely, we’re learning, and I cannot wait for both of us to be able to have conversations on our own the next time we go to a French speaking country. That’s the real She Did What?! (or maybe in this case “She finally learned French?!”) moment I’m working towards.
Are you working on your own She Did What?! moment in progress? Tell me about it in the comments!
***
Have any feedback or ideas for what you'd like to see included? Reach out to me on LinkedIn.
Subscribe to She Did What?! to receive my next newsletter all about annual goals (are they worth it?) and how to constantly reevaluate and reinvent yourself.