June 1983 – C.S.E. and O-level French (aged 16!), passes in both. Why two exams in the same subject? I was a borderline student and not guaranteed an ‘O-level’ pass, so the C.S.E. (easier, they said) was offered as a back up. Message received and understood – I dropped foreign languages like a hot potato.
January 2018 – in an idle moment I started this website as a logical extension of what I do over at OnlineItalianClub.com. I now live in Italy. French is similar to Italian, so why not give it another try, I thought? Then nothing…
Autumn 2018 – with time on my hands, I worked rapidly through Duolingo, which I’ve already used for other languages. The idea was to review what I had studied at school thirty five years before. Lots of unpleasant memories! Finishing DL took a couple of weeks.
Winter 2018 – present – Having given up English-language media due to Brexit, I bought myself a subscription to Le Monde. It’s easier than reading in Swedish or Turkish, the other languages I am learning. Their app, La Matinale, is tres bien! I look at it most days. Reading in French reminds me of the meanings of words I once knew and teachers me others – the Internet didn’t exist back when I did my ‘O-level’…
Spring 2019 – I resolve to do something with this long-neglected website. I really ought to STUDY, or at least take a few one-to-one lessons to work on the speaking listening side of things…
