This is my second attempt to learn French. The first was in the summer of 2013. Now it is May 2024.
I thought that learning French would inspire me to write more for my blog and to distract from the war, as I live in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Basically, those are my only goals in learning French. I am not planning to learn French to be able to use it for work or other purposes. No.
I am fully aware that people who set goals remain focused. Also, they get distracted less by all the things that will need to be learned in the future. In addition, they are likely to make faster progress and gain invaluable skills by concentrating on the small bits of language learning. However, I believe that having those two goals for me is enough.
Table of contents
French vs. other languages I know
I know English (C1), Spanish (B2), German (B2), Ukrainian (native), Hungarian (A1), Turkish (A1), Italian (15 words), and Greek (10 words).
Here you can see that I used my knowledge of other languages I know.
In my opinion, Spanish is the most similar to French; especially vocabulary, and grammar.
Grammar:
Pronunciation
I can also see that some sounds are similar to German. For example, /ɛ/, /œ/, /ɛː/, /øː/.
| sound | French word | German word |
| /ɛ/ | baie | hätte |
| /ɛː/ | reître | spät |
| /œ/ | jeune | öffnen |
| /øː/ | ceux | Österreich |
| /ʁ/ | regarder | reden |
Also, I have found similar pronunciations and meanings in French and Spanish words.
| French word | Spanish word |
| étudiant | estudiante |
| écrivaine | escritora |
| elle | ella |
| professeure | profesora |
Spelling
Currently, my biggest challenge is to memorize the spelling. That is why I copy words and pronounce them while writing.
I am a visual person, so copying words helps me.
However, copying words is not the best approach.
I have found an interesting blog post by Mrs. K and Mrs. A. (unfortunately I could not find their full names) – “Is copying words the best way to learn spelling?”
“Research shows that the use of word memorization is much less efficient than phonics in teaching reading. There’s a strong link between reading and spelling. So it’s a better way for most children to learn to spell by using phonics, which shows how the sounds of letters can be combined in order to make certain sounds.”
However, this approach works well in my case.
4 types of spelling:
According to Beveridge, L. and Lieschke, J., there are 4 types of spelling:
“Phonology – how words sound;
Visual – how words look;
Morphology – parts within words that signify meaning, grammar;
Etymology – the historical, cultural origin of words.”
I use this knowledge to learn foreign languages, especially French.
My French teacher is a polyglot, too
During the second attempt in 2024 to learn French with my colleague, I realized that I needed a teacher who knew Spanish. As I mentioned before, I felt like I wanted more associations with the Spanish language.
I am lucky as my Spanish teacher has agreed to teach French. In addition, I must say that it felt like a small victory.
She can feel my vibe. For instance, if I am tired or being slow, my teacher slows the pace of the lesson down. Or when I ask her to explain something again and again, she explains to me again and then asks me to tell her what I wrote down as a part of the explanation. When I am in the mood only to read dialogues and my own sentences, we do it.
I also take photos of the page in my notebook with copied words from lessons. Then I send them via WhatsApp and she is happy to see my messages, even though they are just copied words.
She was my Spanish for four years and knows not only my learning preferences but also how I learn foreign languages.
My teacher teaches English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French; and her native language is Ukrainian. So we have many languages in common. She uses this shared multilingualism masterfully during the lesson to make my understanding more effective. For example, I couldn’t understand the meaning of the word “vous.” Honestly, it seemed impossible for me to understand. Nevertheless, I was able to understand it because we found analogs in German and Spanish. Just like that! In 15 seconds.
She can make all of these adjustments during the lessons without losing the main focus of the lesson.
Learning in the midst of the war in Ukraine
Learning amid the war is hard and I won’t deny it. My focus is not the same as it used to be. I used to be more concentrated. Now, I can take my phone and stare at the screen wondering what I wanted to do.
The energy level is getting lower and lower, unfortunately. Especially if there are explosions, I not only cannot concentrate but also do not have the energy to do anything. When I am exhausted, I just cancel my lessons.
My memory got worse just when the Great War broke out. You can check my blog post about it — “Memory, vocabulary, and stress.“
Learning French distracts me from the war a bit. During the lessons, I do try to think only about French.
In case of air raid alerts, it means that russians have launched rockets or missiles or drones, and I must seek the nearest shelter. So, we stop the lesson and I go to hide in the nearest shelter I have — my corridor. [Blog post — “Teaching during the war.”
If there were explosions during the night, I cancel everything and do my best to have a light schedule.
In case, there is no electricity, there is no Wi-Fi, no mobile internet, and my mobile coverage is not stable. On average, there is no electricity for 12 hours a day: 4 hours in the morning, 4 hours in the evening or at lunchtime, and 4 hours at night.
That is why I can’t have French lessons online. However, I can do some extra exercises by myself and then send them to my teacher.
Homework
I have learned to forgive myself if I am not ready with my homework. As a teacher myself, I understand that doing homework is important. However, I live in a new reality where circumstances do not always allow me to do my homework.
My strategy is to do something whenever I have some free time. Even if it is just for 5 minutes.
My homework consists of copying words and sentences; making my own sentences; reading and listening to dialogues, and learning new words and phrases. In addition, I compose some additional tasks on Canva. For example,
Maybe it does not sound like something fun, but it is fun for me.
List of used sources:
Beveridge, L & Lieschke, J. (2019). Let’s look at spelling. Scan 38(1)
Elam. (2022, April 21). Why setting goals in Language learning is vital. ELAM. https://elam.ca/en/language-courses/learning-goals
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