Nervous about language ability

[Suzanna]

Hello! Sorry if this is in the wrong place.. I just need some reassurance and advice really!

I'm starting a 9 month primary placement in Mont-de-Marsan in the Bordeaux académie in October... I'm also au pairing for a French family in Montpellier in August for a month... Now i'm incredibly excited about both experiences and just about being in France, but i'm starting to get The Nerves. Mainly about my french! I'm sure i'm not the only one but I haven't studied it properly for a good few years (my degree was in Psychology, not languages, though I studied french for 7 years at school and took a module at university)... I have been trying to read/listen to as much french as I can but I know it's going to be a struggle at first. I have a pretty good ear for it (helped by the fact that I used to live near Paris when I was younger) but, apart from my accent, i'm SO rusty when it comes to speaking!

I've heard that it helps having pretty good french for the primary placements.... I'm just hoping the au pair experience will really boost my confidence so that i'll feel a bit better about it come October. That is the main reason why i'm doing it anyway.

I know i'm really jumping in the deep end... and perhaps i'm not as weak as I think I am... but does anyone have any general tips/words of reassurance that i'll be okay? I guess my main worry is letting people down or something. Thank you!

[Betsy]

No advice, as I'm sort of in the same boat. Haven't studied French formally since junior year of high school. The two things I have going for me are that my boyfriend is a French PhD student, so he speaks it pretty regularly and I understand a good bit of it. He's also teaching summer school for a month starting July 9th and I'm going to sit in on his class. I'm sure you'll be fine though, I bet you'll improve pretty quickly by working (and living?) with the family you're au pairing for.

[Gwan]

I was in more-or-less the same boat last time I was in France - 4 years speaking barely a word of French since uni, where I only took two papers in French (plus taking it at school). But honestly, it came back, even in a position where I was living and working with English people. You'll be surprised how just being in the French atmosphere opens up the French bit of your brain and you can remember words that you would never have known back home. And the au pair position sounds like a great way to prepare. Also, while opinions vary on speaking French in the classroom, many places have a 'no native language' rule and teach entirely in English from the word go - that's what I did in the Czech Republic & Russia, and even with small children (8-10) it was fine. Maybe more difficult for you as a teacher, but you obviously know at least the basics in French to prevent a complete communication breakdown! As we say in New Zealand, kia kaha (roughly - stay strong/chin up) & good luck, you'll do great!

[julie_in_the_88]

Here's how I improved my French during university:

My biggest tip is to talk to yourself in French every day for at least an hour cumulatively. It doesn't matter if you have the worst grammar or if you make mistakes. If you start thinking in English, stop and refocus on the French. The goal is to get you thinking in French because if you don't translate in your head then you can understand at a faster pace. If during your interior monologue you find you don't know a word, note it on a piece of paper in English and look it up when you've finished. Once you don't translate in your head, start reading things and find French language things on youtube. Once you can understand them speaking and when you can read well then try to do the 2 things together. Once you can understand a spoken clip while reading something, then you know your understanding of French is fluent.

As for perfecting your accent, this may seem bizarre, but speak to yourself again. This time in English, but put on the strongest French accent you can muster. " 'ello, maiy neyme ees ..." and talk to yourself until you're happy with the French accent. Then you transfer the accent. When you speak in French, speak with the same accent you put on in English and you'll end up with a much less anglophone accent. It worked for me, everyone I meet comments that I have a tiny accent but not enough that they can place where I'm from. I've known some people for a year and they only found out I was foreign when I told them. They thought I was from another region in France. But interestingly enough, I have a stronger foreign accent when I read out loud than when I speak spontaneously and more of an accent when I'm tired or pissed off.

Good luck with improving your French!

[AmericanInParis42]

I was in primary school this past year, and at the time I had the same concerns...you probably have a stronger foundation than when I started. In my experience, the less French you speak in the classroom the better. It's amazing what the kids will pick up on, so try to stick to English as much as you can. In theory you don't need French for your job, but it comes in handy if you need to explain something complicated or for behavioral issues. On the other hand your French will improve just by talking to your students and I'm sure you will catch on fast. Bon courage!

[monet182]

I'm in pretty much the same boat. I graduated college in December 2005, and have hardly used my French since then, except for the few classes I took at the Alliance Francaise in the last year. One thing that I think has really been helping me prepare is podcasts! I know this has been discussed on here in the past (it's how I found it), but RFI has a great podcast - Journal en Francais Facile. I have my iTunes set to download it every day, and I listen to the news on my way to and from work. It has helped my comprehension amazingly!

And everyone else, thanks for the tips! I'm trying to practice as much as I can before I get there, but I'm still pretty nervous, especially since I know my level of French was so much higher a few years ago!

[Ozzyto]

I also have a Psychology degree, and I never study french before december of '05 20months before "hitting" France. If you have communication issues with the frenchies in the street, don't worry that is normal and it might happen from time to time...if you have problems understanding words or expressions, ask them to give you and explanation, in french,if they replay to you in english,continue your dialogue in french, is somebody acknowledges your native language is english tell him/her you will really appreciate to improve your french,...just do everything u usually do in french! A day will come when you'll be able to even dream in french!
Somthing else, the people of big cities are more used to talk foreign languages, but not as friendly as the people in smaller towns; the people in your town, for example, will have more patience with you than the regular stranger in Paris, you'll see!

[Suzanna]

Woah, thank you for all the tips and words of reassurance Some good ideas there (such as talking to yourself in french daily!). Monet182 i'm going to try and find that podcast you mentioned, too.

Ozzyto - I think you're right about small towns.. I hope so anyway. I often find in Paris anyway that people always try and talk English, whether it's cos they want to practise or because they're impatient. Not always, but very often.

Americaninparis and gwan- that's interesting about the use of just English in the classroom. I've been wondering about that... did you use French to explain things, or did you try and stick to English most of the time? Has anyone else got experiences to share with amounts of English/French used in the classroom?

Thanks again everyone and goodluck monet and betsy... we'll be fine, i'm sure. I do find that it comes back once in the French environment... and it's bound to be a challenge at first at least, but i'm sure it'll be more than worth it

[AmericanInParis42]

I really tried to stick to English as much as possible, because at the end of the day I was getting paid to teach English, not to improve my French. So if we were doing a game, I would explain it in English with a lot of animation (So if we were playing pictionary I'd point to the class, tell them they have to guess and then make some type of gesture for the guess, and then draw the picture for the easiest word they know. They've caught on, learned some words, and I didn't speak any French). Even for behavior issues, if I spoke in English sometimes it was more effective because even if they didn't know exactly what I was saying, they knew I wasn't happy and I sounded a lot more sure of myself than in French. I did fall back on French if the kids really didn't get the point, but as a rule I tried to get the message across in English first.

However, if it makes you feel better my French did improve a ton over the course of my job. French is going to be helpful obviously while you are here for your personal life and administrative work with the other teachers, you just might not need it as much as you think for your actual job.

[Gwan]

I have only phrasebook Czech and my Russian's not great either, so it really wasn't a matter of "let's try to stick to English", it was more of a necessity! All my classes had an "English-only" rule, I think the hardest was trying to stop the teenagers talking Russian amongst themselves, it was never a problem stopping myself using Russian, even for basic things that I knew the words for. Gestures, pictures, real objects etc. are definitely your friends, and it's really important after you give instructions to make someone in the class repeat them back to you, as them not understanding instructions *is* something that can really derail a class.

(PS I only wound up teaching for about 3 months, so it's not like I'm the voice of experience or anything, but if I can do it, you can do it )

[RoseS]

That is vaguely reassuring - I'm going to be teaching primary too, and haven't spoken (or read, or written...) French for 4 years now. I'm pretty worried about it, particularly in relation to speaking to teachers as if I'm actually a vaguely competent adult rather than a bumbling teenager with the vocabulary of a French toddler, and negotiating red tape tangles.

The UK application process doesn't seem to place much emphasis on actually knowing any French - when I heard that Americans had to write essays in French I freaked out a bit, because I couldn't string a single correct sentence together! Will check out podcasts and hopefully it will start to come back to me...

[jorgelinaortulan]

ey My name is Jorgelina I am from Argentina and I moving to France to study a master. I would like to work there teaching english, please would you give some advices??? how is to find a job over there?? where I should post my messages? I am new using Assistants, please some advice!!! HELPPP!! jiji
Thanksss

[julie_in_the_88]

I would say that you'd have problems finding a job as an English teacher because the companies don't want non-native speakers. My ex-colleague who speaks fluent English and lived in Ireland for 7 years is often turned down by companies because they don't want non-native speakers so she just works where they accept her

[AIMTeacher]

ey My name is Jorgelina I am from Argentina and I moving to France to study a master. I would like to work there teaching english, please would you give some advices??? how is to find a job over there?? where I should post my messages? I am new using Assistants, please some advice!!! HELPPP!! jiji
Thanksss

However, you could try teaching Spanish??