When you’re learning a foreign language, especially one as complex as French, it’s not always easy to measure your own progress, and it can be discouraging.
Here are 10 signs that you’re clearly on the right track.
- You’re more independent
No more constant “Comment on dit en français?” to your teacher and friends, or compulsive reflex to look for Google Translation. For some time now, you’ve felt you no longer need these crutches to communicate. Congratulations! You’ve reached an important milestone in your progress!
- You’ve got automatisms
Before, when people asked you: “What about you? What do you think?”, you used to stammer awkwerdly or remain silent while trying to understand the question and translate your thoughts. But now you answer with a spontaneous, relaxed “It depends”. This is what we call automatism: those little reflex expressions, often idiomatic, that you manage to use properly :
« Ça t’a plu ? » → « Oui, c’était très sympa ! »
« Thomas part au Japon. » → « Ah bon ? Vraiment ? »
« Tu reprendras un peu de Champagne ? » → « Avec plaisir ! »
« Tu viens au cinéma, demain ? » → « Non, je ne suis pas libre. »
Si tu as acquis quelques-uns de ces réflexes, pas de doute, tu as progressé !
- You can maintain your level of French in all circumstances
You haven’t slept well for three days, you’ve got a cold or you haven’t spoken a word of French during your vacation in Spain, and yet your level in the language of Molière hasn’t wavered. When you don’t have to go back to square one at the slightest fatigue or after each break in your training, it’s a sure sign of progress. It means that the basics have been consolidated, and that all that’s left to do is keep going.
- Shopkeepers don’t talk back to you in English!
How often do we hear learners complain that every attempt they make to speak in French goes unrewarded: whether it’s the cashier at the supermarket or the sales assistant at Galeries Lafayette, no one responds to them in French. They often see this as a failure, when in fact it only highlights the efforts made by the shopkeepers to speak English!
But it’s true that once you reach a certain stage in your progress, you get more and more reactions in French. If, after asking the baker for a baguette, he asks you “et avec ceci?”. Good job! You’ve passed the test.
- You’re no longer afraid of the PHD…
Answer the Phone! Go to the Hairdresser! Go to the Doctor!
If you no longer avoid these everyday situations, which are among the most anxiety-provoking for foreign language learners, it definitly means you’re making great progress.
- You no longer use “ne” when speaking
There was a time when you didn’t know at all how to construct a negative sentence in French. Then, there was a time when you thought putting a “ne” before the verb was enough: “Je ne sais”.
You ended up adding the “pas”: “Je ne sais pas”. And now you say: “Je sais pas”… or even “Chai pas”.
Your French may be less correct, but it’s so much more authentic!
- You punctuate your speech with onomatopoeia and interjections
You’re starting to get familiar with the music of the French language: intonation, « liaisons », and also onomatopoeia and interjections:
Ohlala ! Ouf ! Chut ! Hein ? Aïe ! Hop là ! Bof…
You used to find these sounds strange when you heard them, and felt ridiculous when your teacher suggested you incorporate them into your role-playing games. Now you do not only understand them, you use them without even thinking about it.
Ahlala ! C’est pas joli le français ?
- Your friends think you speak every language with a French accent
You’re back in your homeland, Australia, for the vacations, and all your friends and family tell you the same thing: “You speak English with a French accent”. Incredible but true! If that’s not progress…
- The French laugh at your jokes!
One of the most frustrating things about learning a foreign language is not being able to let your personality shine through because your means of communication are so few. Naturally witty, subtle, quick and humorous, you come to seem limited, hollow and boring. But then, one day, you try a play on words, an ironic remark, a touch of self-mockery, and that’s it – you’ve finally managed to get a smile out of your next-door neighbor: some kind of consecration in your progress.
- You dream in French
Rare, but significant: when your progress is such that the language you’ve learned becomes part of your subconscious. Is this the ultimate stage of assimilation? You be the judge.
***
If you haven’t yet spotted all these signs and need advice on how to progress, don’t hesitate to consult our French courses Programs