Daring greatly. That is how I feel about
speaking French.
The good news is;
I am learning French! The bad news is;
it is a slow, difficult process. Overall,
my French classes are going well. I have
learned a lot these first few weeks and my instructors are pleased with my
progress. The class is conducted almost
completely in French and I am able to understand most of what my instructors
say (granted, they are speaking slowly and using words they have taught me). I am learning how to communicate in French
and can express myself on a basic level in class.
Outside of class
is different story. Suddenly I am met
with expressions of confusion when I speak French. Perhaps my pronunciation is slightly off and
I cannot be understood or maybe I cannot be understood because my grammar is
slightly off. Constructing a sentence from scratch in a new language can be difficult! My instructors understand me. Why doesn’t everyone else? Then there are the
looks of frustration when I have to admit to someone that I do not understand
what they are saying. I understand my
instructors. Why can’t I understand
everyone else?
When I feel discouraged
and want to be silent instead of attempt a conversation in French, I remind
myself that learning something new takes courage. The words of Theodore Roosevelt below offer
great encouragement and remind me that, as I step into the uncertain arena each
day, there is no guarantee that I will become fluent in French by the time I
hope to, but at least I am daring greatly to reach my goal.
“It is not the critic who
counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the
doer of deeds could have done them better. The
credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by
dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short
again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but
who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the
great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in
the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither
know victory nor defeat.”
-
Theodore Roosevelt
