Is a French Immersion Program Like Golf?

You might think this an usual question but after pondering whether I should quit with four days remaining earlier today, I find myself working away tonight trying to figure out the secret of relative pronouns.  This seems to parallel my reaction to a bad golf game. 

As last week ended, I thought things were going great.  I knew I had learned so much.  I even spoke French well enough to get the correct charge on the turnpike with a missing ticket this weekend.  I was even talking to someone remotely.  Then I went to class this morning.  We had some exercises to do as our homework and I got about half of them wrong.  (I may be exagerating slightly but not much.)  What was worse is after we were finished correcting them, I had no confidence that I had learned anything that would result in me getting fewer wrong the next time.  

Adding to my frustration we spent most of the remaining time discussing and I also only understood about half of that.  I understood lots of words but the exact details of what was being said were avoiding me.  This makes the four-hour class seem even longer. I got very frustrated, which I’m sure did not help my comprehension.  I seriously thought maybe I should quit.

As I sit here tonight pondering the situation, it seems like golf.  You have a great day or a great shot that makes you love the game only to be followed by a terrible day or shot.  Then you want to quit golf.  In no time at all you are discussing what you did wrong, planning your next golf outing, taking a class or buying new equipment to help you golf better.  In other words, you keep playing golf because there is just enough great to make you put up with the bad.  In fact enough good that will make you work your butt off to avoid the bad.

This sums up my French classes.  I have good, bad and okay days.  The good is so good that they leave me leaves me convinced that if I just work harder, try harder or do something different I will get over that hump and avoid the bad.   Of course, the bad always comes again, like today.  I think I need to be realistic.   Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that learning relative pronouns is tough in French since I don’t even know what a relative pronoun is in English, let alone rules for using them.  (I do think I have learned more about French grammar in five weeks, than in 12 years of English in school.)

My French was good enough that I knew La Peniche was Canal Boat!

The other part of the good is that everyone here is so encouraging.  I went back to the school after class today intending to discuss my frustrations with my professor. While waiting for her, I discussed my situation with a couple of other students.  They couldn’t have been more encouraging.  When I mentioned having trouble understanding what they had said in class today, they immediately said I needed to ask when I didn’t understand.   When I responded that I didn’t want to slow them down or hold them back because I am not as advanced as they are, they said it would help them improve to have to explain their thoughts with other words.  They shared their impressions about my progress and suggested my expectations could be the problem, not my progress.  This interaction made my day.

In no time at all I was going to get ice cream and then heading home to study.  Just like golf – just enough success that you want to try again!