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Bizarre Problem With French

I have a small problem. In class (A-level), we are expected to answer in French, and whereas my classmates all seem able, if not to jabber in French, to at least communicate, I find it impossilbe to do so at any great speed, and mostly not at all.

I have the following dillemma:

Should I:
A) Work on quickly putting my thoughts into English, and then translating that English into French?
B) Work on putting my thoughts directly into French? (I don't mean thinking in French, because about 75% of my thought is non-verbal)

The problem that I face with A is that it takes forever and a day. B is what I do when writing essays, but unlike that where there are only a small amount of set phrases, which get recycled often, with speech there is a greater variety of possible situations, and my thought patterns are subtly different. I find that although I know the French, it simply does not come to mind, as it is not linked to my thoughts.

An example:
I learnt in my first year of French (currently in 7th year) that "aller" means "to go", and linked it with that. When I think of the concept that means "to go" in English, "aller" does not come to mind, as it is not linked to that. Is there any way to change these associations, and work directly in French, or am I doomed to always use English as an intermediary? :frown:

Reply 1

helenounette

i don't know, i have this problem for the english ...because i'm french ... i must thing in french et after i must translate in english ...

Reply 2

Lidka

Perhaps you just need more practice... it certainly took me a while to use GCSE French, which I'm doing at the moment, to any great speed, but it got easier as the course went on. I wouldn't suggest thinking of the sentence in English first 'cause direct translation takes a while. Instead, how about making a stock of phrases that you know you'll use a lot, learn them off by heart, and see how you go from there?

Nobody expects you to speak it like a native, any language takes practice. I'm sure as you go on you'll find it easier. Have you been on a French exchange, or are you planning to go on one? I find they help a lot in terms of vocabulary and 'thinking' in the language.

Reply 3

IB The Great

You should get more practice and follow your option B: "Work on putting my thoughts directly into French". That helps create a "French" sense for you; and when you write in French, those thoughts will instantaneously come down. I think it's best to speak in French as much as possible in your class so that you can develop your oral fluency.

I'll be taking IBHL A2 French next year and I have absolutely no problem with French. I think the most common problem with students who learn another language that is not their native one is that they tend to think in their first language and then translate. This makes you speak really slowly because you have too much translating going on in your head.

Anyway, good luck with your A-level French.

Reply 4

Richy Rich$$

Most ppl find it difficult to express themselves coherently in another languages. Im sure the other ppl in ure class arent amazingly fluent and ure probably just as good, but not as confident. the trick is to think is french when ure not at school, just for like 15 mins a ay or something. So u take a lot time planning out what ure going to say and gradually u acquire a passive set of phrases u can just say with out thinking. Then that gives u extra time to think. So learn phrases that u use regularly, like je suis d'accord, je pense que, and il est possible de faire...and u ll sound more fluent

Reply 5

MadNatSci

Yeah... try to get as much contact with the language as you can outside of school. If you fiddle with your radio you might be able to pick up some French radio stations - I did this and at first I didn't have a clue what they were saying, but it gradually grows on you and helps to get you into the mindset. Watch French films as well. Listening and speaking are very closely linked :smile: