When I started travelling after getting my master's degree, I could not speak english at all.
Sure, I had learnt it at school for several years, but I was not able to actually speak.
I knew the grammar, the syntax, spelling and I had vocab but when actual people talked to me I was completely incapable of answering and would always mumble some nonsense which got people to stop talking to me and left me extremely frustrated. I started to think that me being overseas was in vain and that I might as well go home and settle for an uneventful life of false comfort and stop chasing a fullfiling life and wanting more for myself.
The worst part was, I kept meeting other non natives who were speaking fluently which was a painful reminder of my inaptitude.
After a month of suffering, I decided it was time for me to start speaking even if it meant feeling embarrassed and stupid. That was the first step of a long journey to fluency.
I faced many struggles along the way but I now live in New Zeland, where I am raising a bilingual child and I am even learning a third language.
In this article you will find a breakdown of the steps I took to achieve fluency.
Before we start, I just want to say that if you set out to become fluent in French or any other language it won't be easy but it IS feasible if you are dedicated and have a strategy to achieve your goals to fluency.
Here are a few takeaways from my own journey to help you kickstart yours.
1. Listen, listen, listen.
When babies go through language acquisition there is a long phase of input before there is any output (the production of language). Same goes for us, adults, when we are acquiring a second language. We need to be exposed to the said language A LOT before being able to produce that language ourselves. Language exposure can be frustrating because before our brains make sense of the information it is receiving through listening or reading (aka the receptive skills) we just feel overwhelmed. That is so normal. But trust the process and keep reading and listening until you feel comfortable enough and understand a good chunk of it.
2. Speak, speak, speak.
While you are in this input phase you can and should also experiment with the input you have been taking in and start speaking and or writing (aka the productive skills). Take any opportunity to put what you've learnt into practice. At first, it might be easier to talk to other learners like you, as they speak slower and probably use a graded language. Then build up to gradually speak more and more with natives, who use a fast-paced language known as authentic language.
3. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Pronunciation is key to master fluency, so it should be put in the forefront of your strategy to unlock confidence and improve your communication skills (receptive and productive). There are a few things you can do to work on pronunciation. You can drill single words and full sentences. You can also speak in front of the mirror and really accentuate the movements of your mouth. Because, in order to make the sounds that your mouth isn't used to produce, you really need to train your face muscles: mouth, tongue, lips, zygomaticus... It is a full workout! And you need to be doing it a little everyday to build muscle memory. Another good thing to do is to record yourself and listen back to it. This will help you hearing the mistakes you are making and will in turn prevent you from making them again.
4. Make mistakes
As Voltaire said perfect is the enemy of good. As I mentioned above, that's exactly what happened to me when I first moved to Australia. I was terrified of making mistakes so I didn't even try to speak for a good month. I was so affraid of making a fool of myself. But in doing so, I wasted precious time to practice and therefore learn. Because making mistakes gives you a better understanding of the target language as you are using it and experimenting with it. It also helps you remember grammar rules better and use them more appropriately. It also is super important because as we learn a new language we create new neural connections and making mistakes is feeding more information to your brain and solidifying the neural pathways it has built. So go ahead, make all the mistakes, and consider them as being opportunities to refine your skills.
5. Get creative
When we first start using a second language we try translating directly from our first language and as we lack vocabulary it often leads to frustration and we end up giving up on what we were trying to say thus cutting off communication. But it is imperative to try and find other ways to say it anyway. That way you will be forced to go through a process of searching for information in your brain and by accessing it you will strenghten these neural connections further.
These are my five top tips to building confidence and increase fluency. You really need to set goals as this will set you up for success and help you keep track of your progress.
In the meantime you can check out the resources on Bonjour Brilliant to reinforce and expand your knowledge of French.
Don't forget learning a language should be fun, so get out there and have all the fun!
Comments