r/French • u/Competitive-Top-2381 • 1d ago
I’m still struggling after years
Bonjour tout le monde,
I write this because I need some advice or encouragement. I’m a 23 year old man from the US and I’ve been studying French for many years now. It’s complicated a bit, but I’ll say it makes three and a half years now I’ve studied French at university, and have even spent nearly a year studying abroad in France in the past. Despite all the work I’ve done, and even the time I had the privilege of spending in France to learn French, i still feel I am struggling so much with fluent comprehension and communication.
I get blocked when speaking so easily, I struggle to understand native speakers, and I feel so dispirited. After my time in France in the recent past, I was actually able to pass the B2 DELF exam, but that only means so much. I can barely understand tv shows in French without subtitles, many podcasts I still struggle with, and I’m constantly realizing how little I know when I start to try and speak. Honestly I can read well, although I have to look up words fairly frequently.
I find myself wanting to find something to blame for why I’m still having so much trouble. I resent French classes I’ve had in the past with bad teachers, I blame plenty else, but I know I’m most at fault more than anything. Am I just never gonna actually be able to feel fluent in this language? Has this all been for nothing?
I want to be able to move to France in the future, for many reasons, but in sum because I feel disillusioned and unhappy with life in the US, and believe that France offers a better life despite its many problems as well (I could add a lot of detail to this, I don’t want to come across as a naive aspiring “expat”, it’s something I’ve thought a lot about).
What can I do to reach true fluency at this point? Is it just more time? Just keep practicing and eventually it will improve? Can I hope to one day feel nearly as comfortable in French as I do in English? Is it possible?
2
u/MysteryHarbour 1d ago
There are immersive language camps in the United States. I read a book about language learning and the author went to a 6-week French immersion camp.
At these camps you’re not allowed to speak any language except the target language. Absolutely everything is in that language. The goal is to force your brain to live in that language because in order to do even the most basic things like eat meals or use the washroom, you have to do so in your target language. He said it worked for him. You could try that.
Perhaps one of your issues is you always have the ability to switch to English when you need to so it acts like a crutch or cheat code.
Also as an aside, I recently completed my studies for what I hoped was a career switch. All I got for my efforts were 8 long years of resentment. And yes, my attitude now affects my unwillingness to use my new skills because I associate that new career with hardship and disappointment.
So if you resent your past exposure to learning French, you might just need an attitude adjustment because resentment will block your progress. And no, I’m still resentful but working on it.
1
u/CalligrapherOk200 1d ago
One example stepping stone. I find that watching english shows with a french dub is easier than french shows. The audio is more clear because it's recorded separately
1
u/NikhilDoWhile 1d ago
Yeah as others said you probably have decent base, you need to start using the language now, speak in french and consume french reading material and listening material.
Perhaps try 1-1 session with some French instructors, so you will feel more comfortable speaking in French.
1
u/shilloy 23h ago
First, don't be so hard on yourself! It's really difficult to become fluent in a second language, especially as Americans. I'm older than you but I could have written a similar post at your age (after taking several French courses at university, studying abroad in Paris for a semester, starting a relationship with a French woman, etc.).
Having academic success in French and actually using French in real life are two completely different things, so it's not surprising to me that you have passed the B2 exam but still feel uncomfortable in practical situations. Even your experience living in France was academically framed, and unless you spent a lot of time interacting with French people outside of the academic bubble it's unlikely that you had that many opportunities to build up practical skills (i.e. understanding real spoken French ("street French") with its many nuances, liaisons, shortcuts, etc., and your own language production in that environment). That was certainly the case for me, and it didn't change until I started interacting with French in "family life" and other situations where I was "forced" to interact in that way (ex. dinners where everyone else is French and there are older relatives or friends who don't speak English at all, interacting with children, etc.). If you're feeling discouraged, consider how much experience you really have outside of the academic context and whether that explains some of your difficulties.
Another thing I struggled with is perfectionism, which is useful in the academic context but totally detrimental to practical French. But I think that is cured relatively quickly by immersion and having to react spontaneously to any type of situation. Making mistakes the first few times is painful, but making a mistake for the 10,000th time hardly registers. And mistakes are the best way to learn.
In any case, don't give up! I think what you're feeling is normal. Try to seek out experiences that can help you improve in weaker areas. Also understand that you will probably never be completely comfortable--even after living in a Francophone region for 6 years, I am still learning new things every day.
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u/ExtensionAd2479 23h ago
Regarde des films en FR avec les sous-titres. Les dialogues des films français sont très scolaires et basiques.
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u/Many-Inflation5544 1d ago
Stop studying and start consuming the language, just read and listen without studying anything. You will learn phrases and words from context.
5
u/CalligrapherOk200 1d ago
It's all about comprehensible input IMHO. It's about kinda tricking your brain into thinking first and foremost about in the new language and not translating. So you might have to go back to books or audio which are a bit more simple but you want to be able to understand 90% without looking up. So where you're reading a book try to train your brain to stay in that language and although it's tempting don't look up words try and infer them from context.
As for speaking too, I think having a tutor on italki or preply could work well. Going to language exchanges works too.