Bonjour! C’est moi, Hannah! It’s been a hot second since I arrived in France. In fact, the program is nearly over. With only three weeks left until exams are upon us, I think now is a good time to reflect upon how my French has progressed these past few months: what’s worked and how I can make the most of my remaining time in Europe. I hope that from my own reflection you can glean something to use on your own language-learning journey, whether you’re currently or about to go abroad, or simply studying at home.

Talk a lot, about a lot of things, with a lot of people. These are the mantras I’ve been living by this semester, and they’ve been pretty effective thus far. My favorite thing about learning a new language has been how at a certain point, your mind just switches. You stop thinking actively about the next words or the grammar, and simply speak. The key to this has really been my host, Karine. I would highly recommend living with a native-French speaker while abroad. Karine has not only become a great friend but has also been my greatest language-learning resource. Nearly every night, she and I sit at the glorified slab of wood that is her dining table and just talk— from anywhere between 45 minutes to two and a half hours. And we talk about everything. Everything. Social justice issues, the origins of her plant’s bizarre names, the minute existentialisms of life, how to properly taste cheese, and today’s unseasonably wet weather. Our conversations have graced every topic, and from them, I’ve collected a lot of vocabulary I wouldn’t have otherwise. The low-stress, supportive environment of someone’s home is a very encouraging one in which to practice a language. Karine helps me out with conjugations, colloquial expressions, pronunciations, and evasive words that are just on the tip of my tongue.

Becoming conversationalist has been largely thanks to her, but the real test comes in applying the skills I learn over dinner to the real world. The best thing anyone learning a language can do is to never stop talking. Talk to everyone you meet: café waiters, classmates, boulangerie cashiers, bartenders, taxi drivers, people who think you’re French and ask for directions. Talk so much that you become borderline annoying. It will most definitely feel embarrassing to stumble over your words with a complete stranger, but in reality, most people are pleased you’re trying to learn and are happy to help. That’s the nice thing about being abroad where your target language is the official one, everyone is your teacher. Even outside of school, you’ll never stop learning, you just have to go for it.

In addition to forcing myself to become extra extroverted abroad, writing down the new vocabulary I learn during these random conversations has been really helpful in solidifying them in my mind and creating a reference for their contextual use and spelling. Keeping a small pocket notebook and pen with you wherever you go makes this a simple process with a long-term payoff. And side-note, the notebook can double as a journal for recording life during the semester and saving all those valuable, little memories.

There are certainly more techniques for practicing a language than those I listed above, but the “talk a lot, about a lot, with a lot of people” mantra is a good basis for anyone. Although, with only a month left for me, I might need to change it just a bit: talk more, about more things, with more people. Oh, and write it all down.