I have some news. I’m headed back to school. As of the end of July, I’m a student at Oregon State University in their distance French program.

Back to School Again

Well, actually, I started back at the end of July. I placed into the final portion of second year French but decided to take the middle and last classes in that sequence to prepare for third year French. Since this will be my second Bachelor’s degree, I’m allowed to focus on the major portion of the curriculum, which will drastically reduce the time to graduation. In a few weeks, I’ll start the Fall semester and begin third year French. It’s hard to believe that I’m going back to school again, but this is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

OSU’s program is built around an on-demand type of delivery, which fits my schedule as a parent. It covers the four main areas of language acquisition: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Teacher and classmate feedback is provided on a number of different assignments. The conversation portion is the only that requires a bit of scheduling because a partner from the class is needed to complete those assignments. Overall, it’s been a good outlet for me to improve my ability. I can tell I’ve improved, but conversation is the area where I have improved the least. Reading comprehension is where I’ve improved the most.

But…Why?

The short answer is because I can. The long answer is because I’ve become hooked on studying the French language. When the pandemic hit and the quarantines began, my wife and I were trying to think of ways to replace our date nights. This was prior to being parents, of course. We regularly went out to eat and/or a bar for craft beers as part of working on our relationship. Well, that all stopped as we stayed home to protect our health. Watching TV every night just wasn’t the same. So, we talked about different things to do, and we had been talking about learning a language together for a while. Sue used Duolingo to study French, and I wanted to learn German. So, I began to look around, and it turned out that the Alliance Française – St. Louis was offering classes over Zoom.

So, we took classes, and we loved those classes. At the same time, our little boy came into our life. So, we had to stop taking classes. Daycare expenses ate up the money we had for French and almost every other bit of free money we had. But Sue kept up Duolingo. I had started Rosetta Stone, and we both listened to French music we discovered during our classes. I also began to watch French movies and series on Netflix. I listened to French language podcasts and vlogs. In short, I had discovered joy in learning the language.

Self Directed Learning

Without the classes from the Alliance, I was adrift. While those classes had shown me how to learn, I wasn’t progressing without a curriculum. Busuu and Rosetta Stone provided me somewhat of a curriculum. They both have excellent plans for studying the language on your own. I felt stalled, though. I wasn’t progressing and didn’t know why. So, I tried new resources, other websites, blogs, iTalki, other podcasts, and other apps. It was overwhelming, and despite all the available resources, I still felt stalled.

I needed feedback. That’s where OSU comes in. The on-demand classes have a professor who grades and comments on my work. Office hours can be scheduled. In addition, the university curriculum gave me direction. It took a lot of pressure off me because I didn’t have to worry about ensuring I was learning broadly enough. In the two classes that I’ve already taken, an essay that reflects on your learning is required. One is at halfway and the other at the end. So, I’ve written four learning essays, and those alone have been worth the price of admission. The questions asked during that assignment helped me determine why I was stalled. (The biggest reason was a reliance on Google translate.) I like these reflection essays so much I’m trying to adapt them to my day job as an engineer.

So, What Does this Mean for Reviewing

As of this moment, nothing. I plan to keep reviewing as I’m able. Publishers have been generous with their books, and I feel that I owe them an honest assessment of the books they give me. If that assessment is positive, then it will result in a review like always. The summer session saw me taking twenty weeks worth of courses in seven weeks; so, it was intense and crammed. But I was still able to read and review books at a slower pace. While I’m glad I had that experience of condensed classes, I will not be taking them ever again. So, as of now, the plan is to take one course per academic period until my degree requirements are fulfilled.

If I could read and review during the intense condensed sessions, I’ll have no problem keeping up reviews during a normal session. This blog and it’s small place in the genre scene is special to me, and my best wish is to help authors get their work in front of new readers. School will not interfere with that, and these review essays will continue to be a creative outlet for me. They are important to me and my mental health. Now, another intellectual journey is being added to my life.

Do you speak another language? What was the hardest part of learning a new language for you? What was the easiest? And do you have tips out there for others? If so, leave a comment below.