La Maison de la Mine

It happens to me all the time. In fact there are French words now that have become part of our English that we speak between ourselves (I have to be very careful when teaching though!!). It is sometimes quite frustrating when you have to start describing something mid sentence something that goes a little like this: " yes it is true, you do need to empty the...oh what do you call it in English...you know the fosse...lost the English word....oh that's it the septic tank..." So I would say it is perfectly normal!!

I am a native English speaker and fluent in French. I can pick out a few words in Spanish and Italian but no where near proficient to string a sentence together. I have two sons aged four and seven, both born in France who have chosen French as their native language and English as their second...We are as a family quite fluent "Franglais" speakers LOL! I am waiting for the boys to choose a third language and I will learn it with them! I'll keep you posted on which one it turns out to be!

I will be "liking" Linguaholic as soon as I get back onto Facebook. Maybe you could return a "like" for Anglais en Immersion - my total immersion courses in France, or why not La Maison de la Mine - our B&B here in France.

Good news. I will be sure to become a follower! maybe you could follow me too. #anglaisenimmersion and Anglais en Immersion on Facebook. Keep up the good work.

The best advice I was given was from a French colleague during my time the chamber of commerce. I was teaching English to French speakers and so worked with a group of French speakers too. Already able to communicate in French I was struggling to understand and follow conversations, constantly translating into English. My dear colleague advised me to start thinking in French. Live your life in French, talk to yourself and understanding will improve.....she was right...I found myself talking to myself in French and since then I have had no problems following a conversation!

It's a great idea to put on a practice session for English on the net. Skype is good too! Enjoy!

My biggest piece of advice is to make learning a pleasant experience. Most of my older students hated English because of their school based learning experiences. Choose conversation/ study topics that are interesting and relevant to your students. Learn about your students likes and dislikes and use their hobbies and activities as a base for your lessons. Create a relaxed atmosphere where they are not afraid to ask questions and encourage them to ask questions (in Engish of course!!). Good luck and hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

I agree with the comments regarding the misconception that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. There are many similarities between languages if you just look for them and think logically and sometimes laterally at the language. All languages are difficult to begin with when they are not our native language but it can be fun learning too! The second misconception is that you have to be perfectly grammatically correct when speaking as a non native English speaker. I disagree. Yes of course grammar is very important in any language BUT when you are learning to speak a language the MOST important is to speak, be understood and understand. In the initial conversations we have during English lessons I only correct speakers if I can't understand what they are saying or if it totally changes the context. Otherwise, let them speak, they are nervous and embarrassed enough as it is and the last thing you want to do is block them from wishing to speak. Later during the sessions grammar comes more into play and anyhow are any of us natives totally 100% grammatically correct 100% of the time?

I have been teaching English as a foreign language in France for the last eight years nearly. I started off working for the Chamber of Commerce teaching a wide variety of classes and then set up on my own running total immersion classes. It is a very rewarding job and a very sociable one too as I have met loads of super people many of whom have become good friends! Teaching a language for me has to be fun and relevant- the last thing you want is a bored student on your hands!!