Parlez-Vous Francais? Not this semester

     So the thing that's been weighing on my mind lately is French Class. I am a huge language advocate, co-founder of Les Amis Francophones in Columbus Metro, and a French student of almost 10 years... and my French kind of sucks a little.



     Until Spring of 2010 I hadn't taken a French class in about 10 years (if you're trying to work out the math, I studied French from middle school through my first round of college with a 10 year breather). It wasn't that I didn't want to study during that time, but it sure seemed hard to find French speakers to practice with, and being on hiatus from school to track my wayward path through life made lessons impractical. When I decided to go to school I vowed to minor in French Language and to reach fluency in this lifetime!



Language is Important



    Unfortunately, since language isn't a popular major in America (and advisers try to steer students away from language minors, at least at our institution) , the classes I need only come about once a year, meaning if I miss them I have to wait a year. To exacerbate the problem most 3000 level classes are 3-4PM or later in the evening. With my little one going into Pre-K and getting out at noon that makes it very hard for me to get to class. It's too expensive to hire a sitter to keep her at home; and honestly I know some people can make the sacrifice to keep kids in school longer for a couple of days a week but an extra 3-4 hours in her day is going to make everyone miserable. Baby is tired, momma is tired, baby cries, mommy cries, dad & big sister get cranky, and  everybody goes to bed upset... You know how it goes.

     So I'm left in this stagnant learning cycle. My broken French gets me by -- I *was* able to CLEP out of my 1000-2000 level courses with that 10 year break -- but, I struggle, especially with writing and comprehension. Don't tell my French teacher but I'm forgetting how to conjugate!

     The solution is time, and continuing to practice. I *know* that, but I was so close to getting the course I need to comfortable in language again, now I have to wait. If I had the time I'd supplement my day with some audio courses, but I really don't have the time :( I guess maybe I can work on that. But until then, these are the challenges that I must endure to get my degree. I knew it was a long haul, but I'm NOT dropping the French Minor even if it sets me back a couple of years... because even though I can't always make the time I want; language is still *that* important to me!