💌 A Love Story Between Languages and Me - Part 2: French 🇫🇷

🎙️ Listen to the following story with music previews on Spotify.

Hello Friends!

I’m Fionna, a product manager, YouTuber and late-night FM DJ.

Every Sunday I share a story on what inspires me to be creative and musings that week. I’m fascinated by design, technology, people, languages, and the idea that I can use them to reinvent myself.

You will find that I express myself through different languages, witty mEmeS and impeccable formatting. Intrigued? Want more content like this in your inbox?

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I'm bilingual in Mandarin and English. As a hobby, I took French and Korean in high school and I'm still trying to keep them up in 2021. Through friends and travel, I also dabbled in learning Cantonese and Polish.

Bonjour je m'appelle Fionna, je suis bilingue anglais et chinois et j'apprends le français et le coréen.

In this series, I will unwind the "love letters" between me and these languages - what serendipitous encounters that started it all, the ups and downs, and where we are now.

Thanks for reading Part 1. Today, let's talk about my favorite language of all.

Le français 🇫🇷 

English | French Français| Korean  한국어 | Cantonese  粤语 | Polish Polski | Mandarin 中文

Learning French in: Chinglish - English - Québecois - Traveling - Media - French - News

Bonjour à toutes et à tous! But first…

A Brief History

Grade 6 - First encounter & 🦋 at first sound
Grade 6 to 12 - Learned in class as a secondary language credit
Grade 10 Summer - 5 week immersion program at Cégep de Jonquière (life changer!)
2019 Summer - Travelled to Paris to get cultured and practice French (and watch the Roland Garros)
2020 - Lessons on Lingoda.com
COVID-19 pandemic - Daily listening and reading

Learning French in Chinglish

As you know, I moved to Canada and started learning English at age 10. Before that, I have never heard of anyone speaking French. Since Canada has 2 official languages, English and French, I guess you could say that I had a "culture shock". One of the most pleasant culture shocks of all.

Culture shock + a new language

I vividly remember that cold snow day in school. During recess, my French teacher asked me how do I like French. "I love it! It sounds so ROMANTIC!", I said in total amazement while puffing out a massive cloud of breath. I used one of the few Chinese loanwords I know (Romantic → 罗曼蒂克 for reference) and probably didn't pronounce it correctly. He got it and chuckled as if he didn't expect such a blunt and rather affectionate response from someone who just started learning.

Limited by my English vocabulary at that time, I think I was trying to say, it's a beautiful and sweet sounding language. It's poetically melodic. The whole "je ne sais quoi" vibe and the accent on its own just radiates fanciness and allurement.

If you don't believe what I said in Grade 6, hear it from Rocket Languages and Mental Floss.

Often considered to be the most romantic language in the world... and its pronunciation contributes to this euphony. French also builds upon centuries of music, poetry, art and culture that contribute to its romance and allure.

With a good first impression, I started taking French in elementary school but I wasn't graded on it since I was in ESL. Regardless, I took the homework and looked up the English translation in Chinese to understand the words in French.

French → English → Chinese → French “ah! oh la la”
La pomme → Apple → 苹果 → La pomme

Yup it was pretty convoluted and I used a physical dictionary to translate all that. #WhatsThat

Since I was still trying to assimilate to this new and predominately English-speaking society, French took a back seat. Thankfully this changed in high school.

Learning French in English

Only Grade 9 French was mandatory, but I took it all the way to Grade 12. And that was my last time taking French in a classroom 😭.

High School

I was fluent in English by then and started to participate in class discussions. Taking French over other second languages offered was a no brainer and I loved it! I sat in front and looked forward to every class. French and Math were my 2 favorite subjects, you could tell because their binders were my favorite colors 💖💜.

You see, learning French or languages in general is not hard. Unlike calculus, in order to a solve problem you have to know what theorems to use and how to use them. For some problems, it doesn’t matter how many theorems you memorize, if you don’t “see” which form it could be used, you still can’t solve it. But for French, it’s a matter of taking the time to practice reading, writing and most importantly speaking. It’s a linear function between input and output. #fran𝜍𝛼𝜄s

Unfortunately, time too became a luxury.

Grade 10 started and it was dawned on me that my grades and extra curricular activities mattered for college admissions. And if I wanted to study engineering or life sciences, I needed to get As in math and sciences.

To some extent, that shift in perspective changed how I viewed French classes. I don’t know if everyone felt the same, or if anyone was studying to become a linguist. But compared to calculus or physics, French classes seemed… more chill. It could definitely be the teacher, he was always so relaxed. To me, in addition to being a language class, French classes were the escape from all the problem sets and Fermat contests. It was the left brain right brain balance I needed.

The time I spent on French was getting less, and I didn't feel like I was improving much as a rightful reciprocation of how much I was putting in.

I remember I was torn from making a decision between Visual Arts and French. I wanted to keep both but my timetable wouldn’t allow it. I would still pop back to the art room from time to time and look at the unfinished paintings on the racks, what new mediums are people experimenting? And I would greet the art teacher with a hint of guilt. Why did I give up art, why can’t science students have it all? #firstworldproblems

Learning French in Québecois

Immersion program in Jonquière

I saw the program poster in the guidance counsellor’s room and applied right away.

The program was truly immersive. In a town where 99% of the people didn’t speak French. I even chose to stay with a host family instead of the student dorm, hoping to practice more. The program was like summer school but in French. We had all sorts of classes on the weekdays like phy ed, art, music, improv, with a focus on learning French of course. On weekends, we'd go on trips with other students and explore Québec. There was one rule though, as long as we’re in the program we cannot speak English.

It was a summer of many firsts. My host family was Christian, so before every meal we'd pray in French. Something I’ve never done before. In the evenings, we’d exchange stories and photos. I learned about their lives in Jonquière and why they became hosts.

Another change was personal growth. I actually applied with a friend and packed our bags to take a coach to Jonquière. Due to personal reasons, my friend had to cancel last minute. This news put me in a predicament, but giving up was not an option. I rode the coach myself in disbelief and distress. How am I supposed to do this… alone?

Time… quietly flew by. I learned a decent amount of French, learned to live with a host family that doesn't speak any English, and out of all, I had to look past all the plans we made, and make friends in this foreign place. For a 16 year old, it was a lot to take in. Luckily, another girl on the coach was also headed to Jonquière and we became great friends that summer. Sometimes all you need is a simple “Hi, I’m Fionna. Are you also going to Jonquière?”.

In the end, I was used to not only speak in French but also think in French. When I returned, it actually took me a while to readjust as I kept saying “desolé” (sorry) whenever I’m passing by people. #CandianPoliteness

Learning French through Traveling

I went on a month-long trip to Europe in 2019 and stopped in Paris for a week. Largely because I'm a huge tennis fan and I've always wanted to watch Federer and Nadal play on clay (which I did!). Ok, I planned the trip around Roland-Garros.

When I was in line to checkin, I struck up a conversation with the person in front of me. I told him I'm from Canada and can't wait to watch tennis tomorrow, and he said he's from another city and came to Paris to work. That was my first full on conversation with someone in France. I was honestly amazed at how helpful body language can be and the importance of adding a French accent to everything so it’s much more understandable. #FakeItTilIMakeIt

In Paris, most people could speak English and were really helpful. Besides the announcements at Roland-Garros and in the subways, I didn't have any trouble getting around. Though it was nice to pretend that I’m from here but just speak terrible French. For my amusement, I tried to ask people questions to see how much of my French they could understand.

Another interesting conversation I had in French was with these school girls I met while lining up to see Roger Federer. They were sent by the school’s tennis camp to watch the games, and naturally we bonded over our love for tennis and Federer. I wish I had asked for a photo with them. They were super cool.

Learning French through Media

This is perhaps the most entertaining and fulfilling way of learning. Imagine watching a movie, some French words came up and you jump out of your chair to nudge the person beside you, “Omg! I understood what he just said”. I’m not going to deny that never happened.

My top 10 songs of the year have always included something in French. “Comme des enfants” is my all-time favourite from Cœur de pirate.

One of the first films I watched after arriving in the US was “La Famille Bélier” (and “Brooklyn”, 2 of my most memorable films that period). The song “Je vole” or “I fly” by Louane hit me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I sat in the chair, watching the credits go but unable to move. It was my first night in Seattle, and homesickness consumed me. I, too, was leaving home for the first time. I, too, was going after a dream of mine, knowing very well that I may never come back.

When I was in an Uber in Paris, “Midi sur novembre” was playing on the radio and immediately I pulled out my phone and added it to my favorites. I kept listening to it after I returned to a point where I choreographed to it.

I stumbled on a TEDx talk by Luciole and was mesmerized by her voice. The way she spoke, tapped on the floor, and serenaded the audience, had me holding my breath.

One of my best discoveries in picking up French again was Cyprien. A French YouTuber who makes hilarious skits. “Le clash des applications” or “The clash of apps” is my favorite. Ridiculously relevant, I guarantee that you’ll enjoy it!

Drama-wise, I just finished “LUPIN”. A crime thriller based in Paris that was just released and worthy of a binge! You should definitely consider watching this in French with subtitles (if you need them) instead of dubbed to get the full Parisien experience. Plus, Omar Sy is an amazing actor with a deep, charismatic voice.

Learning French in French

After high school, learning French or having exposure to French was almost non existent. My waking hours were ruthlessly devoured by EngSci. Even sleep became a luxury.

Actually, only one

Lingoda

I came across a YouTuber talking about the Lingoda French challenge. Given that we're in lockdown due to COVID, all we have is time and more time. I signed up to take an hour-long class every morning for 2 weeks.

My level is B1 so all the lecturers spoke in French only, which was a little difficult because it has been years since I last took classes. In my first class discussion, my grammar was all over the place. To prepare and not make a fool of myself, I took an hour to do the pre-reading and learn the vocabulary the day before. Which really enabled me to be more at ease, and pay attention to the instructor and ask well thought-out questions.

Despite not being in a physical classroom, I thoroughly enjoyed these classes. They were jam-packed with fun and relevant content, and we always ran out of time due to discussions.

However, the downside was that these classes were taught by different instructors at various times and attended by different students. There was no sense of community or camaraderie. Also, since the instructor was only with us for an hour and we might never meet again, I didn’t get the sense of accountability that I got from my previous French teachers.

I think Lingoda is a terrific platform with great flexibility, but I’m hoping to find something that better suits my learning style.

Learning French through News

RFI: Journal en français facile

I discovered this late last year and I have been listening to it daily, and probably will be for the foreseeable future.

Radio France International has a 10-minute news program spoken in "simple" French called, “RFI: Journal en français facile”, which is perfect for French learners. It’s a great way for me to get a gist of what's happening in the world and not just in the US. As a bonus, it frequently features news in tennis since all the major tournaments happen in Europe ;)

What's next with French?

Lingoda ignited my itch to learn French again and made me reflect on why I wanted to keep learning even though there’s no credit to be gained. In 2021, I want to take a more serious stance towards French and step up my game.

Late last year, I discovered an amazing app where I can listen and read a variety of French articles, videos and textbooks. Even better, I can also test myself on vocab and pronunciation. Perhaps good or bad news to you, the app is in Chinese (a perfect advantage of being a polyglot, learn a language using another language you know).

Home page of 每日法语 app

Transcript for RFI: Journal en français facile with Chinese translation

Perhaps I'll write more about my methods and tips for learning French another time. See you in the next one, Korean! 빨리 다음 주에 다시 만나고 싶어요!

This is me waiting for you to click ⬇️

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