My favourite hike of the whole year
Having come to the end of an unforgettable year abroad in Grenoble, I strongly believe that all areas of my French language have significantly improved. This is thanks to various decisions I made and people I met during my time in France, all of which I am extremely grateful for.
My favourite evenings were at Kfée de Jeux with my friend Simon
In terms of speaking, I can confidently say that living in a colocation (the French term for ‘flat share’) with three French natives significantly improved both my speaking confidence levels and the breadth of my vocabulary. Given that I was forced to speak French at all times of the day, no matter whether I was tired after a long day of teaching or I was wanting to engage in a niche debate around the dinner table, I found myself constantly searching for and learning new French words and expressions. For example, the phrase ‘arriver à faire quelque chose’ (‘to manage to do something’ in English) was never used in my French classes in the UK; however, this expression is now heavily embedded in my everyday language. I am very glad that the John Speak Trust required me to find accommodation with native speakers, and I can strongly attest to the benefits that living with French people brings.
St Patrick’s Day with my French friends was a key memory
As for my writing, my job as an English Language Assistant meant that there weren’t many times when I was required to write in French. Whilst I often had to translate the instructions on worksheets given to younger students, I still wanted to keep on top of my writing skills in a consistent and structured manner. This is why the monthly reports that I wrote for the John Speak Trust were a great way for me to accomplish this goal across the year. I really enjoyed reflecting on my experiences each month and creating a written account of my various Grenoble adventures. I also find it very helpful that I could look back on previous reports to identify which areas of my French vocabulary and grammar could be improved moving forward.
Saying goodbye to my flatmate, Tati
Furthermore, I really enjoyed delving into French literature during my time in Grenoble, as I admittedly hadn’t given much of my spare time to this prior to my year abroad. I was very lucky in that one of my flatmates, Tati, was a huge bookworm, meaning that she had an infinite list of book recommendations for me to work through. My favourite book that I read was called ‘La Sage-femme d’Auschwitz’, which follows the story of a Jewish woman who was tasked with delivering prisoners’ babies in the concentration camp, whilst secretly devising a way to help these babies later find their mothers after separation. I was very proud of myself after finishing this book, as it featured a significant amount of new vocabulary and was largely written in the past historic (an unusual tense that most of us French learners strongly dislike…!).
Finally, I believe that my listening skills were positively challenged this year. As I’m mostly used to hearing French that is adapted for English learners in my university classes, the speed and informal register that I heard from native speakers was something that really struck me upon arriving in France. However, day by day, I found myself more at ease when listening to conversations, both in the staffroom at school and on public transport around Grenoble. Something that particularly demonstrated an improvement in my listening skills was when Tati said that she no longer felt the need to talk slower with me, which I was really pleased about!
My beautiful walk to school
Overall, I’m extremely grateful to the John Speak Trust for their support and guidance during my year abroad. The requirements of this scholarship really pushed me to fully immerse myself in the French language and culture, and this led to several incredible opportunities and friendships across the year. This scholarship added another dimension to my time in Grenoble, and I’d really recommended it to other linguists who are soon to embark on their year abroad.