Blog - Why Learn a Language?
The simple answer is that being able to speak another language is unquestionably one of the most life enriching things you can do. It opens up a whole new universe of potential experiences, opportunities and people to connect with. It also affords a unique perspective on how differently, or indeed how similarly, people of other cultures view the world we live in.
When I started studying French at university students were told "You can't study language in a vacuum. To truly understand the language you need to learn about the culture". This is absolutely true, but it also works the other way round. If you love another culture - the people, the cuisine, the way of life - you can enjoy and appreciate it all so much more if you can speak and understand the language which is intrinsic to all these things.
France is Britain's closest neighbour and in recent years a growing number of us have discovered just what a fabulous country it is. Great food and wine, fantastic scenery and climate, a rich and vibrant arts scene, a super-chic fashion industry... And so much more. The net result of all this is that France offers an amazing lifestyle, which is what has attracted so many of us Brits to make it our home.
I know of many ex-pats who've been living in various parts of France for up to 20 years or more. What may seem surprising is that a substantial number of them have been living there with little more than the most basic knowledge of the language - enough to order a coffee and a croissant perhaps, but certainly not enough to allow them to have a real conversation with their French neighbours or read the local paper, say.
I feel this is such a shame, and I'm sure like me you're thinking, such a missed opportunity too. But we Brits can be extremely shy when it comes to languages. We're often embarrassed and afraid of making mistakes. However, I believe that great language teaching is as much about inspiring you to get out there and put into practice the skills learned in the classroom, as it is about helping you to realise that learning a language is way easier than you might have thought. And as your confidence grows you will quickly discover the great sense of achievement, not to mention the thrill, that comes with being able to communicate in another language. Especially one as beautiful as French.
So if you'd like to join me on a linguistic adventure "en français", then I'd love to hear from you!
Mes salutations les plus cordiales,
Annette