(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 12 today.)
Learning -- obviously something new -- is among the most positive activities one can indulge in. Nothing more ideal in these trying times.
I am not very good at learning new languages. But I have picked up a few besides my mother tongue Malayalam and English.
Since my career took me to Bhopal and Indore, I learnt Hindi as well. I was in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Hyderabad. There I learnt Gujarati and Telugu. Since I haven't been using them, I have lost touch. Now I am in Bengaluru and I have learned Kananda.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Among foreign languages, I had a fascination for French, right from childhood. Many reasons for that.
One, there are many words in English that are either borrowed from French or have some French connection. That sparked my interest. Two, during my college days in Thiruvananthapuram, I used to go to international film festivals, during which I could watch some good French movies. Three, the language is very pleasant to hear. Four, I remember, former prime minister Indira Gandhi speaking in French during a visit to France. That was very impressive, I thought.
When I came to Hyderabad in the late nineties, the Alliance Francaise, the French cultural embassy, wasn't too far from where I stayed. I thought that was the perfect chance to learn the language I was so fascinated with. During the three years, I was in Hyderabad, I managed to come up to the pre-diploma level. I couldn't complete the diploma level since I moved to Bengaluru.
PICKING UP FROM WHERE I LEFT
It's now 21 years since then. Though I can't now write an essay in French as I could then, if you throw me into a French-only speaking people, I will be able to manage, with some difficulty.
Now the lockdown has presented me with an opportunity to pick up from where I left 21 years ago.
I downloaded Duolingo, and now I am spending about 30 minutes every day on different lessons. Unlike 20 years ago, there is now plenty of reading material, very easily accessible, on the internet to practise. Plus, there is the France 24 TV channel. In addition to all these, I have my French grammar books and the French-French dictionary still with me.
Duolingo provides a very engaging method of learning. There are different levels. You gather points for completing different levels within a specified time. Plus, there is a section called 'stories', wherein a story is narrated sentence by sentence, with small exercises along the way. I am loving this absolutely. Let me see how far I can go.
Maybe one day, there will be blog post in French! (Don't worry, I will provide an English translation!)
I am not very good at learning new languages. But I have picked up a few besides my mother tongue Malayalam and English.
Since my career took me to Bhopal and Indore, I learnt Hindi as well. I was in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Hyderabad. There I learnt Gujarati and Telugu. Since I haven't been using them, I have lost touch. Now I am in Bengaluru and I have learned Kananda.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Among foreign languages, I had a fascination for French, right from childhood. Many reasons for that.
One, there are many words in English that are either borrowed from French or have some French connection. That sparked my interest. Two, during my college days in Thiruvananthapuram, I used to go to international film festivals, during which I could watch some good French movies. Three, the language is very pleasant to hear. Four, I remember, former prime minister Indira Gandhi speaking in French during a visit to France. That was very impressive, I thought.
When I came to Hyderabad in the late nineties, the Alliance Francaise, the French cultural embassy, wasn't too far from where I stayed. I thought that was the perfect chance to learn the language I was so fascinated with. During the three years, I was in Hyderabad, I managed to come up to the pre-diploma level. I couldn't complete the diploma level since I moved to Bengaluru.
PICKING UP FROM WHERE I LEFT
It's now 21 years since then. Though I can't now write an essay in French as I could then, if you throw me into a French-only speaking people, I will be able to manage, with some difficulty.
Now the lockdown has presented me with an opportunity to pick up from where I left 21 years ago.
I downloaded Duolingo, and now I am spending about 30 minutes every day on different lessons. Unlike 20 years ago, there is now plenty of reading material, very easily accessible, on the internet to practise. Plus, there is the France 24 TV channel. In addition to all these, I have my French grammar books and the French-French dictionary still with me.
Duolingo provides a very engaging method of learning. There are different levels. You gather points for completing different levels within a specified time. Plus, there is a section called 'stories', wherein a story is narrated sentence by sentence, with small exercises along the way. I am loving this absolutely. Let me see how far I can go.
Maybe one day, there will be blog post in French! (Don't worry, I will provide an English translation!)