Bonjour! That summarises the extent of my French ability at the start of last week. However, much changed over 6 days! Because my employer made French fluency my top development goal, I found myself locked in a Wallonian château last week for intensive lessons. Intensive translates to 12+ hours a day of nothing but speaking and writing French! Dinners meant professor driven conversations covering all topics – from travel plans to art. An example of my dinner bumbles (French translated to English):
Professor: What art periods do you most enjoy at the museum?
Student 1: I like the impressionists like Monet.
Student 2: I prefer the Da-Da movemment.
Ken: My DaDa does cool impressions.
(Long pregnant pause at the dinner table of 8)
Anyway, the die is cast, and I’m now learning with the help of a weekly tutor. Honestly, I first found myself stunned when tasked to learn a new language. Wow guys, I’m turning 40 next year! But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. When else can you actually walk outside your front door into the world’s largest living language lab? And like everything else, my employer coupled a high goal with the resources to succeed. So wish me luck, and let’s talk français!
1 comment:
Isn't your DaDa the coolest person you ever met?
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