It took me some time before I finally decided which language I wanted to study. I remember when I was in high school, I borrowed an instructional CD on French and back then it was one of the latest for you could listen to the pronunciation and then record your own voice to see if you managed to mimic it. I never got past "bonjour" and "comment allez-vous" though.
Fast forward to my mid 20s, someone suggested I try Chinese Mandarin since I did ran a small online business. I borrowed materials from a library, bought whatever I found in ukays, and enrolled myself in a small class. The only phrase that lingered with me was "xiexie."
I worked as an English instructor for a Korean company but I never really fell in love with their language. I didn't like the intonation. Well, their actors were very cute but working with them proved a little challenging especially when it comes to seniority.
Years passed and I set aside that dream. Besides, finding the right class and the right material proved difficult enough, what more to have someone to practice with?
One day, it came to me that I might really have an affinity with French. I like the way it felt on my lips and tongue and I never really struggled with the pronunciation once I heard it clearly. Looking back, I did happen to like a lot of French stuff:
Fast forward to my mid 20s, someone suggested I try Chinese Mandarin since I did ran a small online business. I borrowed materials from a library, bought whatever I found in ukays, and enrolled myself in a small class. The only phrase that lingered with me was "xiexie."
I worked as an English instructor for a Korean company but I never really fell in love with their language. I didn't like the intonation. Well, their actors were very cute but working with them proved a little challenging especially when it comes to seniority.
Years passed and I set aside that dream. Besides, finding the right class and the right material proved difficult enough, what more to have someone to practice with?
One day, it came to me that I might really have an affinity with French. I like the way it felt on my lips and tongue and I never really struggled with the pronunciation once I heard it clearly. Looking back, I did happen to like a lot of French stuff:
- Beauty and the Beast was set in France.
- I tend to collect Eiffel towers.
- Lili is from Monaco and she speaks French!
I really wanted to get into French school but I wanted to start off the cheapest way possible so I could maximize the classes :3
I found that the Pimsleur program worked well for me and I managed to reach Lesson 9 during my daily commute to work. I also used Duolingo for reading and writing.
I started a special saving tactic in order to come up with the tuition for my class...
I collected bills with insignia and told myself to never spend them until I came up with the right amount to fund my schooling.
à suivre (to be continued...)
Hopefully you would achieve that soon :) Looking forward to see you write fancy poems in french (With English translation ofcourse :))
ReplyDeleteMahirap nga mag-aral ng new language if hindi mo nagagamit constantly. Good luck on your French, Seth! :)
ReplyDeleteNow lang ako nakakita ng ganyan collection. Cool!
"One day, it came to me that I might really have an affinity with French. I like the way it felt on my lips and tongue..."
ReplyDeleteI was like, oh em gee! Lips? Tongue? Is Seth alluding to...?
Then I realized I was wrong. Sorry. -.-
Anyway, Pimsleur! There's also Berlitz and Rosetta Stone. We used these three in my previous job. Good luck, Seth. I'll serve you French cuisine once you're good with the language already. You take care of describing them in French. :)
Pwede bang ganito na lang muna : "je veux ce quelque chose quelque chose...." hehehe
DeleteDe toi a moi, I am studying Italian now. Good luck studying. It requires a lot of effort. :)
ReplyDelete