French Language Acquisition Plan Input Needed

[profev]

Greetings all!

I am a new doctoral student in a PhD program in Romance Languages (emphasis on languages). In addition to my program's core courses, I need 24 credit hours in two different languages. The only viable options I have at the moment for the two languages are Spanish and French. I have a master's in Spanish, so taking other courses in Spanish is no problem. However, I am trying to figure out a plan to have enough background in French to take some graduate courses at the very end of my coursework. I need at least 3 classes. I took French in high school, years ago, but I haven't taken it since. In addition to Spanish, I speak Portuguese and have previously successfully taken graduate coursework in both languages.

I work at a university, and have been auditing an Elementary French course, and slowly it's coming back. Speaking two other romance languages has helped immensly. This fall, I am taking a graduate-level reading class in French, because I do have to pass a reading exam in French, however, this class does not count towards the 9 credits that I need in French.

I've thought of applying for Middlebury for a summer and/or going to Quebec for a couple of weeks as well in the summer. I work full-time, so studying abroad for a year, is not an option. However, I have all of my summers free.

Any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

[Gamarino]

The pronounciation in French is much different from Spanish, but if you speak Portuguese, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge for you. Immersion is necessary for learning a foreign language, but Québécois varies from the standard French you'll be learning in your program. The slang, in addition to some vocabulary and the accent, is much different. However, learning some French and then traveling to Québec could be enlightening. I visited after studying French for three semesters, and I had some difficulty understanding the accent.

On another note, Italian would probably be very easy for you to learn. It's very similar to Spanish (as you probably know).

[Rebecca1]

Hi,

I have friends who speak both English and Spanish and she has found learning french easier than me, I only speak English. She said that Spanish words are more closely related to French, in that you can learn alot quickly. Maybe try looking at some online material and then decide which to take.

Hope that helps

[ἠφανισμένος]

Sounds like you know what your options are. A summer or two at Middlebury or some other French immersion program would really help; there are a ton of them out there. If you keep auditing undergrad French courses (or even take them for credit only, no grade), and do a summer or two, you should be in decent shape. Is your advisor fine with you waiting till the very end of the program, when you're dissertating, to fulfill the French coursework?

[Shelley Burian]

I agree with the previous poster that Québec is not really the best option. I am the reverse in that I learned my French there and have trouble understanding Europeans. Middlebury has scholarships and financial aid, which French immersion programs in Canada don`t offer to non-citizens.

[ProfLorax]

The Monterey Institute of International School offers an intensive summer language program; it's quite expensive, but they do give out scholarships. I've never been through the program, but some of my friends have; they all seemed to enjoy it! http://www.miis.edu/academics/language/summer

[Rebecca1]

If you looking to learn for free, there are lots of sites but the best would be to start learning with a native speaker.

I have been using http://www.easylanguageexchange.com/ a friend recommened it to me and its not too bad.

[profev]

Thanks for all of the feedback!

I implemented the first phase of my plan for the fall semester and it went very well. Taking the French for graduate students course was a lifesaver. Even though it was taught in English, the text that we used had a lot of exercises and I was able to understand the grammatical structure of French. Since I speak other romance languages, it was that much easier. I used my Spanish to help me a lot! I bought a cheap audio program that I listened to in the car to get oral practice with French and for reinforcement I sat in on an undergraduate first year course in French. I'd have to say, sharing a class with freshman had to be the most difficult task out of everything! Sometimes I wouldn't go to class and would just meet with the professor during office hours.

Due to your feedback, I am planning to go to France instead of Canada either this summer or next summer. I am also auditing the intermediate French level class for the spring semester. So, I think I will be in great shape by the time I get to towards the end of my courework, again, I only need 3 classes. I've also found a meetup group in my area where French speakers get together and speak French, so that is another outlet.

Merci!