Learning a foreign language: Immersion vs. Single-classes

"Those who know nothing of foreign languages, know nothing of their own" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If there is one thing that my three weeks in France have taught me so far is that I have taken my language education for granted. By going through Normandale's French Immersion program, I never truly grasped how to learn a language, only the ability to become fluent in one. And it isn't like I've lived in denial about how to learn a language - I have tried to learn a second foreign language with only very mild success. Still, I have come to the conclusion that it is very, very, very hard to learn a foreign language.

This is only further supported by my observations of the French education system. In collège (middle school), the kids are exposed to english as well as a second foreign language (i.e, spanish, german, italian) so that by the time they are leaving collège for lycée (high school), they can supposedly speak 3 different languages. And this is very evident with the different classes I have worked with. The youngest kids, in the 6ème, speak and understand a beginner's level of english and by the time they are in 3ème, their understanding and ability to speak english is very good.

But then they get into lycée and in France, their lycée system differs a bit from the US system. Students have the ability to take two different tracks for lycée: 1) the lycée générale - where there is an emphasis on language and literature and most students then go on to university and 2) the lycée professionnel - where there is an emphasis on learning a trade (so a vocational school) and upon completion, students go directly into the work force. This means that those in the lycée générale generally have better english skills upon completion than those in the lycée pro. So really, those in the lycée pro, more often than not have the same level of english as those students in the collège.

So for me, even though I might be using the same prep work for both schools because the students' english levels are similar, the ability to get the students to talk differs greatly between the two, which often makes one more challenging and tiring than the other.

I guess the bottom line to me is that even though I understand that learning a new language is hard, I have never truly understood just how hard until now - when I am standing in front of a class of 15 students, all with very very blank looks on their faces, trying to think of yet a new way to convey . Overall, it just makes me appreciate more and more my french education from Normandale - so thank you Mom and Dad!

Transportation

"I read; I travel; I become" - Derek Walcott 

If anyone knows me, they know my inability to travel without a bad case of motion sickness. This motion sickness has been known to strike unexpectedly - more often than not in a moving vehicle in the middle of the interstate (i.e. early morning taxi ride to Charles-De-Gaulle during rush hour traffic, friends and family roadtrip from Lille to Bruges, on the way down to the barn drinking coffee on an empty stomach). 

So it goes without saying that here in France I don't have a car, but must rely on public transportation - walking, biking, buses, trains. 

Trains - I've mastered: 1 generic-name Dramamine, a stick of gum and my playlist on shuffle. 

Buses - I have yet to try: the bus system is confusing and thoroughly lacking for when and where I need to go. 

Biking - I've survived: rented a bike for 12€ today with the intent of biking to the local/close-by/its-only-less-than-3km-away-now-that-we-are-in-town cidery Le Père Jules. What wasn't taken into account were several things: 1) I haven't ridden a bike for more than 15 mins in like forever and 2) sure 3km is nothing, except its all uphill and on crazy French country roads where people drive a gazillion km/h with no bike lane. 

Walking - Not only have I mastered this art, but it is now my go-to mode of transportation for in Lisieux. Yes, it might mean I get wet when it rains, or that it takes me twice as long to get there, but it also means I won't be a moving target on a bike nor throwing up on fellow Lexoviens and students. 

To relate back to the quote at the beginning of this post, finally got around to getting more books to read since I finished Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl my first few days here. So now it's time for some reading in french - a travel novel about wine country and The Great Gatsby (I figured since it is my favorite novel hands down, I should probably read it in french). 

Welcome to Lisieux

"I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this --- we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment." -- Hilaire Belloc 

Travel. It seems that that word in itself carries such a heavy weight. It invoke feelings of a well-remembered family vacation, or a road trip where the ultimate goal was to arrive in one single piece, or it can refer to times in foreign countries, be it for pleasure, business, education. In my case, I have strived to make 'travel' much more than its singular definition. A road trip always beats out traveling by plane, a trip to Europe beats out a weekend at a Florida beach, and the ability to survive by oneself beats relying on groups for every single little detail. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Hilaire Belloc quote above defines 'travel' for me and that definition is what has brought me to Lisieux. A remote place in a foreign country where I must rely on the locals. Geez, I make it sound like I'm in the outback somewhere, even though I am really in a small country town in Northern France. 

Lisieux. A very catholic town, where everything takes place in the town center, where the two schools where I am working are located a 20 minute walk in opposite directions from the town center, and where if you don't live in the town center, you need to shop at the big super-u supermarkets that are still not quite close to town. Another highlight of travel: walking. My days consist mainly of walking - to the boulangerie 17 mins away, to the town center 25 mins away, to Michelet 35 mins away. Clearly, I will either be in really good shape or forced to figured out the bus system. 

So, I guess I'm basically all settled in here in Lisieux. Between the welcoming people and the awesome food, I'm looking forward to a year here. Now if only a bus run more than once every other hour, I'd be all set, but for now, I'll walk in order to continue to travel. 

À bientôt, 

Caitlin

PS I promise that next time, maybe I'll include some pictures.