OK, so that’s not me in the photo.
First of all, I would never wear a cardigan like that.
Second, I hate those glasses–mine have those clear lenses, so I can see where I’m going.
Third, my colander is plastic, which, of course, doesn’t conduct electricity very well.
(And…oh, yeah, I’m not a man.)
BUT–I digress. This post is about how I, Cindy, as a native English speaker, got some French cemented in my head. A few decades ago.
It’s still there, after all these years. I can’t seem to get rid of it, not that I want to. And I want to help you get a language cemented into your head. If you want to. Without a colander (plastic OR metal).
So here’s what happened
As a young college student, I fell in love in Paris.
There are at least 11 cities in the world named Paris. I fell in love in that Eiffel Tower one, while I was going to school there. The medical student I fell in love with didn’t speak English. A few words here and there, maybe. When I got mad, he’d tell me, “Cindy, speak English!”, just so my head wouldn’t explode.
For about 6 months, I spent every day immersed in that incredible language and culture, speaking French with someone I loved.
When I had to come back to the States, and we were separated, I spent hours writing letters to him, poring through an enormous English-French dictionary to find just the right words. I’d use that giant red book as a 3-pound doorstop in between the letter-writing.
What eventually happened to Monsieur Med Student and me is a story for another day. Lots of calendar pages flew by…and I barely ever used my French again. Not for work, and not in a classroom. I did use it as a tourist a couple of times.
But because I had a reason to use it all those years ago, and I used it consistently, the language got stuck in my head. Even today, I’d be OK if I got dropped back into a French-speaking city for a week on my own. I could easily tell someone, “Ne mets pas cette passoire sur ma tête.” (Do NOT put that colander on my head.)
Which brings me to you
If you want a language to stick in your head, you don’t have to fall in love. You don’t have to go live in Paris, or Berlin, or Madrid. You no longer need a dictionary that will throw your back out every time you pick it up.
But you do need to stuff your brain regularly with words, not just grammar lessons. I assure you, Monsieur Med Student did not teach me anything about the subjunctive verb form.
A long time ago, it used to be a lot harder to find foreign language content. On the internet now, there’s a river of it.
That’s what the Foreign Language Library Online is for–to help you find what you need in the river.
P.S. Want to start reading some French (or German) from the FLLO? Check out the Blog on this website for very short free articles, or go to the Shop for collections of longer articles.
No cardigan, goggles or colander required.