Getting back on Le Cheval (Learning French Part Three)

To get caught up, make sure to read part one and part two.

Un Cheval

That horse's look shows disappointment. The reason he's disappointed is because last March I stopped studying French. For the first time using this program, I found that I had failed. Rather than try harder, come back to the lesson, and do it again; I let my resolve fall away. I kept telling myself that I was going to pick it back up. I was just taking a break. The break lasted until the end of the summer. It was then that I picked things back up again and tried relearning what I had learned previously. That lasted about a week before I gave up again. It was starting to look like I was never going to follow through on this. French would be just another language in which I could formally introduce myself and then could count to ten. (Others include English, Spanish, and Japanese.)

Ernie wants your help counting his rubber ducky sex toys.

What made me finally get my shit together? Honestly, I was just tired of not succeeding. There was no reason for me give up. I bought the program. I had the training CDs. I more than had the time. I had all the tools to follow through. All I needed was a kick in the butt (or, if you prefer, a kick in the ass). That's what I gave myself.

The Mobius Strip of Ass Kicking

The past couple weeks, I have renewed my dedication to learning French. I've set aside time to study everyday. I've been re-completing old lessons. This week, I will begin the advancement I should have made ten months ago. And I have every intention of finishing. Up until that point, I have every intention of keeping you informed, not only of my progress, but my failures as well. If I don't, I may end up writing a similar post this time next year. And really, who wants that?

Check back for more updates on Tyler's French language exploits. Don't forget to become a fan on Facebook or follow Rename Earth on Twitter.

Qu'est-ce que c'est? (Learning French: Part Two)

For part one, click here

The title of this blog simply means, "what is this?" Though I first heard the phrase coming from the Talking Heads in this song. (Skip to 1:20 for the start of the song.)

When we last spoke (meaning, when I last wrote and you last read), I had just finished my first lesson using Rosetta Stone. I have just finished the first unit and thought I would give you a bit of an update on how things are progressing. Plus, this helps to keep me accountable on my learning.

Becoming A Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkey (Learning French: Part One)

If you don't get the title, please click here.

For a while I have been wanting to learn a new language. In high school I took a year of Spanish and then found out that it was not required to graduate. Needless to say, I took no more Spanish. When I first enrolled at the college, I signed up for Japanese. (They did have a language requirement for graduation.) I dropped that class halfway through the semester. After taking several classes about Canada  I became interested in Quebec and in order to travel there, I decided I would have to learn French.

Now that the question of which language to study had been settled, I needed to figure out how I was going to accomplish this feat. Classes are behind me now that I have graduated. Tutors sound expensive and will require a rigorous commitment. So, how am I going to learn anything? Turns out there is another way.