As I’ve said, we have Rosetta Stone and it is really great. I don’t know if we are learning any French but taking the lessons gives you the feel of being close to the French language. There are 5 levels to Rosetta Stone, Sally and I got three of them. Each level has four Units and then there are 5 to 12 lessons in each unit. Each unit also has a Core lesson and a review lesson. Then at the end of each unit is a Milestone which puts you in a real situation and you have to be able to respond to the people you meet.
I have been working on this for two month and am now on Level 2, Unit 3 and Sally is close behind. I have really expanded my vocabulary and I am even learning some grammar. The most difficult lesson is writing. They say something, like the Gettysburg Address, and then you have to type it out. I don’t come close and yet it is phrases that we have seen before.
Learning French has been character building for me. The character trait that has been building for me has been humility. There has never been a time when I have been doing my French and someone has been around that they haven’t started laughing. Not just a smirk or a giggle but a laugh out loud belly laugh. Same thing happens with Sally too. There must be something funny about someone trying really hard to speak French badly. I remember how funny it was when Steve Martin, playing a Frenchman, was trying to “hamburger.” That must be the way Sally and I look. Americans must have had ECL/TD (Early Childhood Lip/Tongue Disorder.) We just can’t form words like the French.
Neither Sally nor I have gotten to the fluent stage. Our kids have asked us to say something in French. It takes us 10 minutes to come up with a simple statement or phrase. French just doesn’t come to mind that easily. Then when I listen to the questions the CD is asking of Sally I can’t understand them. And I have already covered this stuff.
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