Je parle français (en peu)

That means "I speak French (a little)".  Although technically, I should have said "Je parle tres peu français"  meaning I speak very little French.  But hey, it's a start!

I started beginner French lessons this month in a tiny classroom with just me and another girl that randomly wanted to learn French too.  This small class has been really great and really embarrassing. Great because there is no hiding and letting other students answer the questions that I don't know. Embarrassing because there is no hiding and letting other students answer the questions that I don't know! Inevitably I get most answers wrong.  And even if I do know the answer, I sound ridiculous trying to get all the sounds right.

Why French you ask?  What a great question!

I have been to France twice.  Once to Paris for a long weekend while I was studying abroad, and then once on a Choir tour to Southern France.  We stayed with host families during that time and when my host mom heard me attempt to speak a little French, she laughed and said it would never happen because my accent was so horrible.  And actually, I have had several people tell me that.  Singing in French was always so difficult and I have played a few roles where a French accent was required and that was to hard too!!

So I was pleasantly surprised during the very first class when my teacher said,"Whitney, you have a very good accent!  You hear the sounds very well."   There's my MFA paying off!

We met 4 hrs a week for 4 weeks, and I feel like I learned so much in that short amount of time!  My teacher is from France, and goes back and forth several times a year.  So her approach was much more conversational and less text book.  She moved at a fast pace, which is good, because I work better under pressure.  The hard part now will be keeping it up until I take another class this fall!

I took my class at the Spanish Studio in Lincoln Park.  Everyone is wonderful there and it is very reasonably priced.  They teach French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. So if you are looking to take any language classes in Chicago I highly recommend them!