Still, I never mastered how to speak French until I finally took a course overseas. I did a study abroad program, staying in a French academy in Paris. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Learning to speak a foreign language is easy if you can really immerse yourself in the culture. When you have to know how to speak French just to get by, order food, or get directions, you can pick it up pretty quickly. The thing is, you don’t even really need to work on it that much. The desire to learn is so strong when you’re trying to immerse yourself in a culture that it comes almost naturally.
My sister had a lot more trouble learning how to speak French, and I know her experience isn’t uncommon. If you have a natural affinity for foreign languages, learning one can be extremely easy. Still, even for these people, studying French abroad is probably the best way to go. It is true that the more you work on something, the faster you pick it up. If you work on a new language for several hours every day, it will take you no time at all to get the basics down. You might never master it and speak truly fluently, but you can at least make yourself understood. After taking a course in France, even my sister could speak fluent conversational French – well, fairly fluent anyway. People can tell that she is not a native speaker, but she never has trouble getting her point across.
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