Why hello there! I am back today with a bit more thoughts on language learning, and especially about the way it is done here, in France. I do have a lot to say on the matter, and I thought it might be interesting to share it with you all.

I quickly went over it on my first post in English, but I do adore languages. I have quite a fun and light relationship with them, finding pleasure whenever I manage to get an inch closer to understanding them. I learn them for fun, without caring about their usefulness or if I will be able to remember anything about them. That is how I spent an entire afternoon teaching myself Scottish Gaelic with mitigated success, or how I ended up trying four different times to learn the Korean alphabet. This easygoing approach to languages is something I developed on my own though, certainly not something school instilled.

I am not exactly sure about how it is done in other countries, but down here in the realm of baguettes and red wine, school can quite frankly become terrifying when it comes to teaching languages. Hell, school in itself is quite terrifying! You are in a classroom from 8 AM to 5 PM, with endless homework to do once you get home and everything screaming loud and clear "Fail school and you will fail your life". Talk about an optimum learning atmosphere.

One's experience varies quite a lot depending on the teacher, but the mentality is often the same: there is nothing as important as grammar, not knowing how to conjugate means you're bad at the language, no one cares about you actually being understandable and understood. That fact is embodied by the sentence most beloved by English teachers: "Don't ever forget the -s with the third person singular", something I have heard so many times it is engraved in my bones, the Holy Grail of remarks, proudly wielded, shouted loud and clear at each and every occasion. Grammar here is in fact so important that there is little to no room at all for actual practice, even with the overcrowding issue put aside (how can you expect to make your kids speak when they are 35 and you only have 50 minutes with them?). We read texts to highlight grammar points, and we spend hours doing exercises on them. That's about it.

Vocabulary is another hellhole of a situation. Pupils are often expected to learn lists upon lists of words they won't ever use instead of relevant stuff (do you know of anyone who uses words like downtrodden on a regular basis?), and one of the most beloved techniques taught here is the famous "highlight every. single. word. you don't understand to look it up and learn it". It does create a lot of insecurity, and I know for sure a lot of my classmates back then would have done way better had they been given some slack for a sec.

To sum it up, we don't care about what you say as long as you say it the complicated way. And you'll say it in at least two different languages, because where would the fun be otherwise? (We do have to learn two languages besides French, typically English and either German or Spanish, but you can add in a third one depending on optional courses and availability in your school. Of course, the grammar and vocabulary points are on repeat for all the language courses you have.)

Isn't it quite a shame, to drive away students upon students to fulfill a kind of sick objective of language proficiency? I don't know about you, but I am fairly certain people do not talk like they're in a damn Jane Austen novel. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for grammar and seldom used vocabulary, as I am a linguistics nerd on my occasionnal times. But I think the main goal of language learning in school should be to give students enough tools for them to be able to get by and be understood, not to fill their minds to the brim until they puke.

It feels good to spill it out, as I have kept those thoughts to me for a long time. I think I should definitely tackle the humongus topic that is learning French in school as a French person (oh boy was it horrific), and probably go in detail about my experience in uni because that was a shitshow. Do please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences on the matter, as I am very curious to know how it is done elsewhere!