Learning French

I already speak three languages (English, Spanish, & Swahili) but Peace Corps decided it would be cool for me to learn another two. Its hard to believe that in two years I will be able to say I speak a five-fingered hand full of languages! I've studied languages since I started taking Spanish in six grade and my previous experiences have all been in a classroom, at least while trying to learn the basics about grammar, verb conjugation, sentence structure, and adjective/adverb agreements. Later I've advanced my language skills while living with host families and travelling but the important stuff definitely came from a teacher. I did try to learn Japanese on my own but as you may notice, its not under my list of languages I speak. Also I did begin my studies by spending two weeks at a Japanese immersion camp in Minnesota one summer. I'm extremely comfortable studying languages in a structured classroom setting but have no idea how to teach myself.

I feel completely overwhelmed having to learn French on my own. Of course I will have classes for many hours a day once I arrive in Burkina but I have been strongly encouraged to learn as much as humanely possible before I arrive. The more I learn before I go, the higher level I will test into when I arrive which will determine which class I'm placed in and how soon I can start learning Moore or another local language. I think the local language is more important to learn since it is probably what many women and children only speak and what is more commonly used in the homes. In my opinion, the more I can learn during training and before I get to my village, the better off I will be at trying to integrate into my new community.

Back to learning French in Wisconsin: I originally was told by Peace Corps that they would be providing me with 3 months access to Rosetta Stone online. This offer was later revoked due to some budget issues and because they are currently accessing the effectiveness of providing the program to future Vs. Anyways I have checked out numerous CDs at the library about learning French quickly and haven't found any that are worth the gas to drive to library (except I walk but you get my point). I don't know how the foreign language CD business can stay afloat except that people must be very gullible to believe they will actually learn something from these programs. I looked at taking a class locally and there were a few options in Fond du Lac and West Bend. I could spend several hundred dollars to take First Semester French at our local community college fondly referred to as Cow Pie but would only be able to attend the first 1/3 of classes and don't think I would learn enough in that amount of time to justify the expense.

I finally broke down about two weeks ago and decided I needed to invest in Rosetta Stone myself if I was going to accomplish anything. I've been trying to use it quite a bit now and am half way through Unit 1 (of 4). I've learned a few nouns and verbs and can say a few sentences but nothing that I feel is really going to help me once I'm thrown in with a family that doesn't know a word of English. I've heard such rave reviews of Rosetta Stone but it sure hasn't impressed me yet! I'm holding out hope that its going to quickly improve and I'll start feeling like a pro French speaker in the next few weeks.

I also registered for BBC's online French course and am getting some e-mailed exercises from that. I'm trying to look up verb conjugation on my own but haven't figured out any patterns yet. Are there any in French or do you have to just learn every form of every verb on its own? I also can't figure out when tu (informal you) is used instead of vous (formal you). I could tell you in Spanish that it depends on the country so that in Costa Rica you never use the informal you and in Mexico City its rare to use the formal you. I have about six more weeks to go and hopefully will be able to keep pushing myself to learn more and more.