Follow-Up on French

Holy fork, did my plan work.

About two weeks into my speed run, I was watching an English-language TV show in the background that had a French character. He told a joke in French, and I not only understood what he was saying while not even looking at the screen, but I also got the joke as he told it instead of needing time to process the different language.

I’m about six weeks into the speed run now, and I feel like my French is stronger than it has ever been.

It’s not that my French level is the highest it’s ever been, but rather that the places that I was weakest in are now much stronger. My foundation has been reinforced, which is making learning/relearning more complex parts easier. Vocabulary is coming easier, and I’m forming sentences in the correct grammatical way without even needing to pause to think. There is a level of naturalness that I’ve never had before.

There’s an element of “of course” to my French.

Of course, the sentence is ordered that way - how else would you do it?

Of course, that’s the word in French - no need to think about it.

It’s a surety and a naturalness that makes me want to cry.

This. THIS is what I wanted for years.

For French not to be a struggle. For it to come fluidly and naturally.

Above and beyond being fluent (because what does that even mean anyway), beyond being a particular level or having a particular certification or such - this, this level of fluency was the dream.

It’s like healing a childhood wound or something.

High school-aged me dreamed of this moment.

With each passing year and each time I relearned French without this, it felt more and more like a pipe dream. Something that I would never achieve. I might be able to speak the language and understand it, but it would always be a struggle.

No more.

While there is still much to learn, speaking French now is a joy.

Because it’s something I can just do.