Is it too late for me to learn French?

[Sgt_Strider]

I started learning French in grade five, but I never put my heart in it. I just gave a bare min. of effort to pass the course and I did that throughout highschool. I haven't taken French in three years and I have forgot almost everything except for a few words, lol. Anyway, I'm thinking of enrolling in a French course at UBC and this time definitely try my best to learn it. Is it too late now?


To elaborate on my story.. I know it sounds funny that I forgot everything, but I honestly never paid attention in class and I always had friends to bail me out. You would be amazed at how I squeak through despite giving my bare minimum ;).

[webdoctors]

u may not be fluent, but ya u can learn it sure.

Considering how similar it is to english U already almost there.

My biggest pet peeve was knowing if stuff was masculine or feminine. :twisted:

[J1M]

The real question you need to be asking yourself is why.

[biosh]

oui

[Absolute]

No, the good thing is that now you're most likely more willing to learn French, I know I didn't want to as a kid. That should help out with the learning curve!

And you'll probably find yourself remembering some portions of it, over time.

[Venusia]

I learned Italian when I was 26. I took two semesters of night classes at McGill, and then I took a 2 week intensive course in Florence. Amazing what total immersion does, I was quite fluent by the end of it. Perhaps you can take a year of evening classes, and then take your summer vacation in France or Quebec to solidify your control.

Asking yourself why, J1M, that is so stupid. Do you know anyone who says, I know too many languages? Without language, your thoughts are only feelings. Knowing a different language structures your thoughts in different ways.

[ill_mango]

its never too late to learn something new.

btw if you thought masculine/feminine was hard, wait until you get to verb tenses...there must have been like 50 different tenses!

[Bordello]

Enroll in a French second language course at university. I've done three at UOttawa when I was in undergrad. Start with a level you're comfortable with. It's a really good environment, everyone is there to learn (since it's an elective), not like in high school where's it's forced down your throat. All three of my profs were great. Overall it's a really good way to learn the language. You'd be surprised at how fast your progress is. In Canada nowadays, most employer will give priority to bilingual applicants.

[mattpiloto]

No, it gets harder as you get older, but unless you're 50 or over, it shouldn't be too bad (even at 50+, you can still learn). I recommend taking some classes and then taking a good long trip to Quebec or France (at least a month). Live there for a few months if you can.

[deep]

A common myth is that children learn languages faster or easier than adults. It may seem that way at times, but it's not true. You are better suited to learn the language now than you were when you first started. Of course there is no substitute for years of experience, but you could become competent, fluent, or bilingual, depending solely on your desire.

(For those who will argue that adults have problems with languages compared to children, check any of the 500,000 results from google (http://www.google.com/search?q=children+learn+languages+faster+myth&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official) )

[Martinga]

I say you take spanish.... WAY BETTER LANGUAGE....... lol :D

[Peter Pan]

Go for it! I stopped speaking French in Grade 10, and never spoke it for ten years.

Two years ago I tried learning again (on and off). My vocabulary is still pretty bad, but I've been told that I speak quite well, with hardly no accent. It's amazing how much you can pick up with an online dictionary and conjugator.

And of course, French Canadian chicks most definitely dig it.

[wanted]

Go ahead...if you plan on working in Canada forever.
Otherwise, if you're leaving to US/AUS/etc, don't really worry.

[mikey411]

Yup! :D

[Absolute]

I say you take spanish.... WAY BETTER LANGUAGE....... lol :D
Lol, not for Canada :)

[me!]

oui, pour moi, j'ai etudie la langue a l'universite, mais je parle rarement aujourd'hui

[biosh]

oui, pour moi, j'ai etudie la langue a l'universite, mais je parle rarement aujourd'hui
Hey - none of that devil tongue in here!

:twisted:

[furbaby]

oui, pour moi, j'ai etudie la langue a l'universite, mais je parle rarement aujourd'hui

haha! same here. I took it in first year (intermediate french) just for fun. I took french all through out high school. Unfortunately, I forgot everything. There's no one to practice with.

[me!]

Hey - none of that devil tongue in here!

:twisted:
pardon moi, mon mauvais

(merde!)

[Evil Techie]

there is a difference between taking french in highschool and beginning french in university
you pay hundreds to learn french in 1 course in university
but in highschool you learn it for free

i regret not learning it in high school at all

but i did take a beginning course at SFU in my 2nd year and learned some french

[HowEver]

Is it too late?

Non.

(See, you've already started...)

[kilarney]

Its never too late for learning :)

Thats why you see those immigrants in the ESL classes :)

[Sgt_Strider]

The good news is that I can take French at UBC, the bad news is that they removed me from French 101 due to my history of taking French courses. I'm registered for French 102 for the second semester of the year.