07-01-2014, 04:24 AM
I'm Canadian, so I took about 6 years of french class in school and hated every second of it. I can speak some simple phrases and ask some questions, but I couldn't have a conversation in French. Most of my friends also hated french class, but it wasn't forced onto us through popular culture, like English is in other parts of the world.
Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention and actually tried to learn a little french. I do think most of the fault lies in the way they tried to teach us however; it was way too formal, focusing on little details like verb conjugation, male/female words etc. If they had focused more on conversational french (just knowing words and stuff), it would have been much more useful. I don't care if I would have sounded like an idiot when I spoke french, as long as I could understand what other people were trying to say, and others could get the jist of what I was trying to say.
In grade 10 I took a conversational Spanish course for one semester, and I learnt pretty much as much Spanish in that one semester as I learned in 6 years of French class.
Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention and actually tried to learn a little french. I do think most of the fault lies in the way they tried to teach us however; it was way too formal, focusing on little details like verb conjugation, male/female words etc. If they had focused more on conversational french (just knowing words and stuff), it would have been much more useful. I don't care if I would have sounded like an idiot when I spoke french, as long as I could understand what other people were trying to say, and others could get the jist of what I was trying to say.
In grade 10 I took a conversational Spanish course for one semester, and I learnt pretty much as much Spanish in that one semester as I learned in 6 years of French class.