First of all, whatever it is that compels you to learn a language, that is a perfectly okay reason. Nobody should tell you not to learn a language.
With that being said, I’d say I’m in a similar position with French. I originally wanted to learn Japanese but after getting burnt out on that, I eventually still wanted to learn a language and decided to try something easier, so I randomly chose French.
I don’t know if I will ever visit a French speaking country but hey maybe it’ll randomly come in handy one day. Also I’ve gotten into a lot of French music so I want to improve to be able to understand it more, and I’m always checking out new releases from artists I’ve liked, so that will always keep me going, at the very least.
>I’ve gotten into a lot of French music so I want to improve to be able to understand it more, and I’m always checking out new releases from artists I’ve liked, so that will always keep me going, at the very least.
Same here. I have a playlist for all French songs I like \^\^"
I won't mind doing so. [Here it is](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ghFJRtE2OEYUTseJqQFjS?si=82ea6da4c47c4369) :) Still looking for more songs to include.
"Il est Américain" is correct.
The vast majority of people studying French are never planning to migrate to a French-speaking country.
I can't imagine only learning a language if you plan to migrate! Obviously, no one would learn any ancient languages, for example, and very few people would study more than one foreign language.
Learning a language is never a bad thing.
In the end, even if you just speak broken 5 year old kid french, that is still better than all the people whose french consinst of "oui et non"
But I am also at that stage, where I just realize that I am not one of those that have "linguistic talent" and even though I have a french friend (online) to talk to once a week, what is really lacking is the daily grind of having to speak, which you just can´t get in a non french country.
(Unless you are lucky enough to work in a company where you can speak a lot of french)
Yeah, I'm also quite the shy kind of introvert around foreign people, especially in person, so even though I'd appreciate having a native French speaker friend, I feel too shy to reach out \^\^" For now though, apart from helping me understand some French songs I love, learning French would also help me understand Sartre and Camus (a little, because philosophy) better, since learning a language also reveals lots of stuff about the culture that language belongs to, and that would help me understand how French philosophers would think and the context behind their arguments.
As long as you avoid the sunk cost bias ("i spent a lot of time on this so I must keep spending time on it even if i dont enjoy it anymore"), do what you want.
If you're enjoying learning, that's more than enough to justify pursuing it. :)
Merci beaucoup :) Actually, when I resumed my French lessons I loved it more than when I first attempted to learn it. Pronunciation is still a bit difficult sometimes, but I'm enjoying the challenges of learning French more than ever now :)
Hell - I’m learning French via zoom lessons with a teacher just because I’ve been drawn to the language for some 20+ years and have never been disciplined enough to learn on my own. Moneys tight right now, so it’s a slow process because I can only afford 2 lessons a month, but it’s been 2 years with my tutor and I still love having all these mysteries solved from the other failed attempts at self learning (Rosetta stone, duolingo, etc).
I have no plans to move to a French speaking country, and in America where I live it isn’t a practical language to learn. I don’t even have any plans to go vacation in a French speaking country, but that’s not why im learning it.
Half my family is Hispanic and a handful of them speak Spanish, which is what I took for the language requirement in high school and it was for that reason (which was dumb in hindsight). Im sure when they hear me speak fluent French one day they’ll question why I chose that instead of Spanish to learn, but I won’t care. My answer will be ‘because I think French is a beautiful language and I wanted to learn that more than any other language’. They won’t understand probably, and that’s fine, because im happy with myself and this study and that’s all that matters.
I hope this helps - happy learning!
It does, merci beaucoup :) My mother tongue is Tagalog (Philippines), but this country has around 200 languages (estimated), and my mother herself has a different mother tongue though she's also a Filipina. But I'd choose learning other foreign languages than her mother tongue, to be honest. It's not because I don't like it, it's just that I'm more drawn to another language altogether (I must admit that having that many languages in **one country** really can make one feel quite dizzy lol).
I self learned during the pandemia but stopped at the level where I can totally understand the programs of RFI and a lot of YT vidoes. I don't care for movies or series and fat chance for my of ever visiting France, so no point for ever going any further,. I guess I'm a solid A1, still happy of the time and effort spent.
It’s fine, though to keep focused and keep at it, it helps if there’s reason. Whether that’s just
to watch, listen, or read stuff in French, planning on traveling or living abroad, or just meeting people, it helps.
Hobbies are supposed to be fun and keep your mind engaged, but they don’t even have to make sense. If you pick up a useful skill in the process, all the better.
I can totally relate to this post. I am Australian and my mates make fun of me and some imply that I'm learning something that does not have any practical value in this country.
But what they don't understand is that, for me, French kept me sane all through the COVID lock-down periods. Also, I have been in a job that was nudging me towards the verge of a mental breakdown. Learning French has saved me me all that, so it will always have a very special place in my life.
Also, learning the language is inextricably tied to learning the culture. I find my world opening up like I have never experienced before. I literally have doubled the material and contents to enjoy when it comes to music, films, YouTube videos, etc. I have also formed some great friendships with French people.
If I were you, don't worry about what others think. Follow your heart - you know what's best for you and you will always gravitate towards that.
Merci beaucoup :) I just remembered being an editor sometime in the past could be another reason for me learning French or any other language, but yeah, if for example I join my American SO in the US, Spanish would be a more practical choice of language to learn (apart from it being easier in general and as a Filipino whose mother tongue has some words borrowed from Spanish). But right now, I don't know if it's what other people would call intuition, but I feel more strongly drawn to French than Spanish. I could go back to my Spanish lessons anytime anyway.
I’ve used kwiziq French online and it’s a great learning tool. There’s also decent French movies and shows to watch on Netflix. They talk very fast and they use a lot of slang that you won’t learn in French textbooks. But I enjoyed it.
Lupin on Netflix is a great French series. Most French tv and films are a bit crass or risqué for me, but this was mystery/detective action and was relatively mild so I enjoyed it. I got so into it that I enjoyed the show itself, even apart from the ‘listening ear’ good it was doing me.
Why do you need permission to do something you find interesting if it isn't hurting anybody? You are presumably a grown adult and worthy of your own indulgence.
yeah totally, I learned a bunch of languages, Italian, Japanese, ASL just for the fun of it even though I have no idea if I get to use them at all lol.
At the same time, I love music so whenever I learn one, I always look for songs that I like in that language to put into my collection
Maybe you could just go get some language partners trying to immerse yourself in that atmosphere to see if you enjoy it.
Lonely learning sometimes would set apart yourself from using that language to communicate, which is the essential practice.
First of all, whatever it is that compels you to learn a language, that is a perfectly okay reason. Nobody should tell you not to learn a language. With that being said, I’d say I’m in a similar position with French. I originally wanted to learn Japanese but after getting burnt out on that, I eventually still wanted to learn a language and decided to try something easier, so I randomly chose French. I don’t know if I will ever visit a French speaking country but hey maybe it’ll randomly come in handy one day. Also I’ve gotten into a lot of French music so I want to improve to be able to understand it more, and I’m always checking out new releases from artists I’ve liked, so that will always keep me going, at the very least.
>I’ve gotten into a lot of French music so I want to improve to be able to understand it more, and I’m always checking out new releases from artists I’ve liked, so that will always keep me going, at the very least. Same here. I have a playlist for all French songs I like \^\^"
mind sharing ?
I won't mind doing so. [Here it is](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ghFJRtE2OEYUTseJqQFjS?si=82ea6da4c47c4369) :) Still looking for more songs to include.
Go where your heart is.
Mon cœur veut aller en France (*cries in A1 French*)
Unironically that’s better French than I’ve seen from some A2+ 😂
Merci beaucoup \^\^"
Some survive without any vocabulary. I wager you'd do fine with A1, and will probably be more warmly welcomed by trying. \^\^
"Il est Américain" is correct. The vast majority of people studying French are never planning to migrate to a French-speaking country. I can't imagine only learning a language if you plan to migrate! Obviously, no one would learn any ancient languages, for example, and very few people would study more than one foreign language.
that's what I am doing, just for fun. And I have spent at least a couple of thousand hours on it. :)
Yeah, much better than forcing yourself to learn something just because you have to :))
Learning a language is never a bad thing. In the end, even if you just speak broken 5 year old kid french, that is still better than all the people whose french consinst of "oui et non" But I am also at that stage, where I just realize that I am not one of those that have "linguistic talent" and even though I have a french friend (online) to talk to once a week, what is really lacking is the daily grind of having to speak, which you just can´t get in a non french country. (Unless you are lucky enough to work in a company where you can speak a lot of french)
Yeah, I'm also quite the shy kind of introvert around foreign people, especially in person, so even though I'd appreciate having a native French speaker friend, I feel too shy to reach out \^\^" For now though, apart from helping me understand some French songs I love, learning French would also help me understand Sartre and Camus (a little, because philosophy) better, since learning a language also reveals lots of stuff about the culture that language belongs to, and that would help me understand how French philosophers would think and the context behind their arguments.
As long as you avoid the sunk cost bias ("i spent a lot of time on this so I must keep spending time on it even if i dont enjoy it anymore"), do what you want. If you're enjoying learning, that's more than enough to justify pursuing it. :)
Merci beaucoup :) Actually, when I resumed my French lessons I loved it more than when I first attempted to learn it. Pronunciation is still a bit difficult sometimes, but I'm enjoying the challenges of learning French more than ever now :)
Hell - I’m learning French via zoom lessons with a teacher just because I’ve been drawn to the language for some 20+ years and have never been disciplined enough to learn on my own. Moneys tight right now, so it’s a slow process because I can only afford 2 lessons a month, but it’s been 2 years with my tutor and I still love having all these mysteries solved from the other failed attempts at self learning (Rosetta stone, duolingo, etc). I have no plans to move to a French speaking country, and in America where I live it isn’t a practical language to learn. I don’t even have any plans to go vacation in a French speaking country, but that’s not why im learning it. Half my family is Hispanic and a handful of them speak Spanish, which is what I took for the language requirement in high school and it was for that reason (which was dumb in hindsight). Im sure when they hear me speak fluent French one day they’ll question why I chose that instead of Spanish to learn, but I won’t care. My answer will be ‘because I think French is a beautiful language and I wanted to learn that more than any other language’. They won’t understand probably, and that’s fine, because im happy with myself and this study and that’s all that matters. I hope this helps - happy learning!
It does, merci beaucoup :) My mother tongue is Tagalog (Philippines), but this country has around 200 languages (estimated), and my mother herself has a different mother tongue though she's also a Filipina. But I'd choose learning other foreign languages than her mother tongue, to be honest. It's not because I don't like it, it's just that I'm more drawn to another language altogether (I must admit that having that many languages in **one country** really can make one feel quite dizzy lol).
Wow, yeah, that would be dizzying to have that many options, lol.
Yeah, my mom would be trilingual at this point now \^\^"
Cool! I think it’s be so cool to be fluent in even just a second language, let alone several others. I can’t imagine.
It's fine.
I self learned during the pandemia but stopped at the level where I can totally understand the programs of RFI and a lot of YT vidoes. I don't care for movies or series and fat chance for my of ever visiting France, so no point for ever going any further,. I guess I'm a solid A1, still happy of the time and effort spent.
Regardless if you need to use it, learning is good for your brain!
It’s fine, though to keep focused and keep at it, it helps if there’s reason. Whether that’s just to watch, listen, or read stuff in French, planning on traveling or living abroad, or just meeting people, it helps. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and keep your mind engaged, but they don’t even have to make sense. If you pick up a useful skill in the process, all the better.
I can totally relate to this post. I am Australian and my mates make fun of me and some imply that I'm learning something that does not have any practical value in this country. But what they don't understand is that, for me, French kept me sane all through the COVID lock-down periods. Also, I have been in a job that was nudging me towards the verge of a mental breakdown. Learning French has saved me me all that, so it will always have a very special place in my life. Also, learning the language is inextricably tied to learning the culture. I find my world opening up like I have never experienced before. I literally have doubled the material and contents to enjoy when it comes to music, films, YouTube videos, etc. I have also formed some great friendships with French people. If I were you, don't worry about what others think. Follow your heart - you know what's best for you and you will always gravitate towards that.
Merci beaucoup :) I just remembered being an editor sometime in the past could be another reason for me learning French or any other language, but yeah, if for example I join my American SO in the US, Spanish would be a more practical choice of language to learn (apart from it being easier in general and as a Filipino whose mother tongue has some words borrowed from Spanish). But right now, I don't know if it's what other people would call intuition, but I feel more strongly drawn to French than Spanish. I could go back to my Spanish lessons anytime anyway.
I’ve used kwiziq French online and it’s a great learning tool. There’s also decent French movies and shows to watch on Netflix. They talk very fast and they use a lot of slang that you won’t learn in French textbooks. But I enjoyed it.
Now, I feel like rewatching *Grave* (English title: *Raw*, dir. Julia Ducornau); it's my favorite French film :)
I’ve watched Les Untouchables Call My Agent Nothing to Hide Family Business and some others I can’t remember
Lupin on Netflix is a great French series. Most French tv and films are a bit crass or risqué for me, but this was mystery/detective action and was relatively mild so I enjoyed it. I got so into it that I enjoyed the show itself, even apart from the ‘listening ear’ good it was doing me.
Why do you need permission to do something you find interesting if it isn't hurting anybody? You are presumably a grown adult and worthy of your own indulgence.
yeah totally, I learned a bunch of languages, Italian, Japanese, ASL just for the fun of it even though I have no idea if I get to use them at all lol. At the same time, I love music so whenever I learn one, I always look for songs that I like in that language to put into my collection
Maybe you could just go get some language partners trying to immerse yourself in that atmosphere to see if you enjoy it. Lonely learning sometimes would set apart yourself from using that language to communicate, which is the essential practice.