Learning foreign languages: Your stories
updated the 13 June 2014 à 23:40Not easy to learn a foreign language at 40? Our readers beg to differ.
“ I finally found the method I needed!”
Mariana, teacher, 38 years
“French and I have long been at loggerheads, through secondary school and even University, when I returned to school later on. I never got a thing in spite of my good intentions in my group lessons, or those paid courses on the Internet… When I was faced with a native speaker, I panicked. In short, for a moment, I lost courage, especially as my children laughed at me when I tried saying even “no thank you”… It was finally after discussing my complex on a forum, two years ago that I decided to change the method. What if I tried private tutoring that would force me to talk? It was a revelation. Thinking about how to complete my sentences grammatically stupidly interfered with my confidence and abilities to speak. But finally, I found someone with whom I could actually practice speaking and really progress. Since then, much of my resistance fell and I started to get better, rather than just getting by. Well, okay, I must admit that my teacher’s eyes were a very good reason to commit to it as well. They are so blue…everyone finds their own motivation!
“I started learning Chinese because it is rewarding. “
Ce line, businesswoman , 42 years.
“Why did I decide to learn Chinese, when I had never set foot in China and it was unlikely that I ever would? Just for the pleasure of learning and cultural interest. For 18 months, I was thoroughly into it, I did 2 hours of reading per week, outside of my working hours. And I work on it every day, despite my 2 children. As a result, I am able to say a few words (grammar is not very complicated and there are no conjugations, masculine or feminine, singular or plural), I have learned to read and write 300 out of the 3000 to 5 000 characters that are required in modern-day Chinese… Okay, at 42 years, maybe I’m a little slow, but still: what pride! How rewarding learning is! And, I’m sure, it is a good example for my children as well.”
Read the rest of our report:
Learning foreign languages: Is it harder after 40?
Speaking a foreign language: Is it a gift?
What is the best method to learn a foreign language?
Should we spend time learning a foreign language?
Stephanie Torre
