“Oh misery. Maybe I’ll just switch to gardening before Felix makes me feel all shitty inside.” (Oh no you don’t!)
1. “I suck at French.”
Everybody thinks that. Not that you suck at French; I mean all learners think that they themselves suck at French. Take comfort knowing that you’re normal in your suckiness.
Then snap out of it and realise that it’s nonsense! You’ve made a lot of progress since you first began. Remember, there was a time when you couldn’t even count to ten in French.
2. “I’m switching to Dutch. Or gardening.”
Don’t do it. I mean, you can take up Dutch and gardening, but don’t drop French to do it. Even when the going gets tough, stay the course. Don’t get all wishy-washy, switching from French to Dutch to table tennis and back to French for another quick one.
There’s nothing mysterious about learning a language. Be consistent over a long period of time and you’ll get there.
3. “Who do francophones think they are with those silent x’s anyway?”
Fair enough. The letter x is way too cool to be so silent! But don’t let the intricacies of French get you down. You’ll get through the obstacles if you keep at it. With French, good things come to those who are patient.
Photo credit: Geo Martinez
