They Were Doing so Great!… What about in January?

The end of the year… For me, professionally, it always scares me a little… Why? Because most of my students take at least one week off and they usually do not get any exposure to French during the Holidays. Of course, they always plan to keep up with it… but… do they? Experience taught me otherwise…

Both James and Dave said they would move on with their daily routines: listening to Radio-Canada and watching French TV programs… but most of their favourites will not return before some time in January! Last week, Susan bought two novels for teenagers and she planned to go through both of them over the Holidays… she is also supposed to write a page on traditional Christmas in Newfoundland. When I saw her for her last French class, she said she was supposed to go see a French movie with Alice on December 29… will they go? And Seema! She has been in India for the past two weeks and she will come back at the beginning of January… I doubt she is using any French in New-Delhi!

On December 23, the Club français (well… what was left of it! most of my students were already on vacation) gathered and went to Cora’s in Kanata… We were caught in traffic because of three accidents on our way there and there was another one on our way back. Patience était le mot d’ordre étant donné les circonstances… But hey! we decided to take it lightly and I really enjoyed the rides. I have to say that I was very proud of Susan and James… except for a few isolated sentences, they spoke French from 11 am until 1:30 pm… James’ daughter, Melyssa, was with us: attending a French immersion school, she was happy to show her knowledge! Therefore, there were no excuses for not speaking French…

James et Melyssa chez Cora

Laissez-moi vous présenter Susan...

Susan et La Dame dragon chez Cora

Yes!… they were doing so great the last time I saw them!… Learning a language is never a consistent ascending curve but, lately, I have seen real improvement happening before my very eyes. Susan is more self-confident than ever and her progress is noticeable…  Hopefully, she will not lose what she gained!

My main concern right now is James… we will resume his French training on January 5 and, 10 days later, he will be re-tested for his oral skills. He cannot afford to regress while he will be away! Nobody should be booked for any testing in January…

I know what you are thinking right now and probably dying to tell me “Get a life!!!”… Sorry, but I cannot help it! I am on the front line and I see these people struggling, suffering, sweating and worrying about their upcoming tests… I just cannot adopt a je m’en foutisme attitude… there are enough people in this industry around here to show such an attitude!

I am expecting all of them to come back a little rusted on January 5… yet I do trust them to really try not to lose what took them so long to acquire. I know they do not want to disappoint me and let me down!… Would I be disappointed? Nope!… only because I know how difficult it is to maintain knowledge when surrounded by people who do not have the same knowledge.

And… at this time of the year, it is important for all of us to be with our family and friends… because we never know for how long our loved ones will be around. We will only work harder in January!… Heureusement, what my students learned is there somewhere in their brain… all we have to do is to retrieve it. It might take a couple of weeks… so what! After all… it is my job, not theirs!…

“Sachez vous éloigner car, lorsque vous reviendrez à votre travail, votre jugement sera plus sûr”

Léonardo da Vinci