Studying French in France

When I first lived in Paris in 1999, I was studying French full time. I studied for 7 or 8 months and did a lot of travelling as well. It was difficult at first because I didn't know anyone in France and I didn't speak any French at all, I didn't even know the basics. It was about 6 months before I could have a real conversation. Those first 6 months were pretty hard going but things changed pretty quickly after that time. Once you know the basics you can start to improve quickly.

Just as I was starting to speak fairly well my visa was up and I headed back to Australia. I then didn't speak any French for about 5 years and on my return to France I was surprised how much I had forgotten. It really is true that if you don't use it you lose it. That's why I decided to study for a while when I got to Montpellier. I studied for 1 month and even though I felt like I didn't learn anything new, it got my confidence up (the most important thing when speaking a foreign language) and back into the swing of things.

I think the best thing about that one month course was becoming friendly with the Director of the school. Madam L loves to talk in detail (ie gossip) with us about everyone from her family members to the students at the school. Even on the first day we met she told us about which students thought they spoke well but really didn't have a clue, who were the constant complainers, and who never stopped bothering her with constant questions and demands. That first day she spoke to us for about 2 hours telling us things I'm sure should have been kept private. I just hate to think about what she had to say about us to others!