Happy New Year!
About four months ago, I started taking lessons online with Lucas, my French teacher. Up until now, I’ve already taken 14 lessons with him, with each one lasting an hour. Even though it’s supposed to be a “lesson,” we don’t follow any specific structure to strengthen my pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary—we just talk randomly in French about whatever topics that come to mind, such as what has happened recently in my private life, what books I have read, and the latest international news.
One might think that having random chats is unsustainable for a conversation practice, as the student can quickly run out of topics to talk about, thereby putting a substantial strain on the teacher to keep the conversation going and avoid awkward silences. But luckily for Lucas and me, this hasn’t become an issue yet, as we always have a plethora of things to talk about.
It also helps that Lucas is fluent in English: although throughout the lesson he doesn’t speak a word of English, he does allow me to switch back to English whenever I have difficulty expressing a complicated idea in French. In such instances, I would verbalize an idea first in English and try to rephrase it in French using words I already know, whereupon Lucas would point out and correct my errors.
What’s more, I don’t have to make any preparations before the lesson or be burdened with homework afterward, making each session a relaxing and enjoyable event rather than a strenuous and draining grind. The point of having these conversation lessons is so that I can get used to speaking French with a native speaker—something I never get to do otherwise in Singapore.
The other aspects of French proficiency—including vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar—can be largely learned through self-study, so I shouldn’t waste my precious talk time with Lucas trying specifically to improve those areas. Through these lessons, I’ve recognized that my grammar is still relatively weak, so I plan to reinforce this area by completing a few grammar drills in the near future.
Besides having conversations with Lucas, I’ve recently implemented a major change in my study of French. As I commute to and from the office every weekday by foot, spending 25 minutes each way, I began saying out loud some of the French sentences I’ve memorized during the past few weeks, without relying on my flashcards and based solely on my memory.
I memorize about 75 sentences containing new words during the week using flashcards, adding up to around 300 over a month. During my walk to and from the office I recite in random order whatever sentences I can recall. Although I don’t have a photographic memory, I can still come up with enough successive sentences to last me throughout my 25-minute journey.
I’ve been practicing this active recall method since December 15 of last year, and can feel that it greatly helps me consolidate my memory of the words I’ve newly learned. As forgetfulness is one of the biggest factors that hampers the progress of a language learner, I believe that this method can boost my efficiency in a meaningful way.
It’s been more than two full years since I began learning French vocabulary in earnest with a dictionary. Even though I still have a long way to go before I can read French novels without needing a dictionary, there’s no doubt that my overall French proficiency has grown immensely. As persistence is key to success in language acquisition, I will keep barreling ahead in my French studies in 2026.
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