I passed a second-language milestone yesterday: I had my first telephone conversation in French. It was a simple conversation lasting barely two minutes. But necessary information was successfully exchanged.
Talking on the phone is without a doubt the hardest skill to master when you are learning a second language. All of the non-verbal clues that humans put into a conversation are missing.
My French is coming along well. Now when I'm reading, I rarely translate written French into English--as long as the material is simple, like the stories in Paris Match, a magazine I buy specifically because it is written using very simple grammar.
However, I do rehearse things I want to say, sometimes even writing them down to make sure the grammar is correct (and to make sure I selected the right verb and conjugated it correctly). And yesterday's phone conversation was no different: I practiced what I wanted to say a couple of times before I dialed. I still speak with far too many pauses and ums--I'm not quite at the point where my brain and mouth are synced.
But these little successes suggest that I'm on the right track!
Talking on the phone is without a doubt the hardest skill to master when you are learning a second language. All of the non-verbal clues that humans put into a conversation are missing.
My French is coming along well. Now when I'm reading, I rarely translate written French into English--as long as the material is simple, like the stories in Paris Match, a magazine I buy specifically because it is written using very simple grammar.
However, I do rehearse things I want to say, sometimes even writing them down to make sure the grammar is correct (and to make sure I selected the right verb and conjugated it correctly). And yesterday's phone conversation was no different: I practiced what I wanted to say a couple of times before I dialed. I still speak with far too many pauses and ums--I'm not quite at the point where my brain and mouth are synced.
But these little successes suggest that I'm on the right track!
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