First Language Learning Experience

In my school district all students took exploratory foreign language classes in 7^th and 8^th grade. Latin and Spanish were taken in 7^thgrade for a few weeks and then in 8^th grade we took German and French. I believe we spent a little more time in the languages in 8^thgrade. I was very excited about the opportunity to learn about these different languages.

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As a child I had always fantasized about speaking another language. I had thought it very “romantic.” In my mind I would speak French because it was such an elegant and sophisticated language. When it came time to middle school I did very well in all four languages. Around the time of 7^th grade I began spending a good amount of time on the computer using a CD about French. It was interactive and had a lot of vocabulary targeted at travel.

When it came time to take French in 8^th grade I had some vocabulary under my sleeve and my pronunciation was decent. My French teacher complimented me on my success and encouraged me to continue studying French. That had fully been my intention until the day came to sign up for high school classes.

I have many fond memories when it comes to the French class. There was a film that we watched and one line from it really sticks out. The boy is supposed to be introducing himself in French by saying “Je m'appelle Pierre” but instead of saying it with French pronunciation he said, “JA MAPPLE PEE-AIR.” It was absolutely hilarious to our class. By making fun of speaking French with an American accent it made us aware of how to correctly go about pronouncing the words we were about to learn.

The only thing I didn’t like about the language classes in middle school was how short they were. I wanted to spend more time in the foreign language classroom. I was ready to devout myself to these classes. I think I was destined to continue language learning. I decided to go on and study Spanish because I enjoyed the language and there are so many people who speak the language globally. I have not regretted it for one moment.