My first French blog post. Eeek!!

Attention! Pour le premier fois, je vais écrire en français sur le web sans aucune aide!

Et j'ai peur.

"Pourquoi?" Vous demandez.

Comme j'ai mentionné dans mon dernier article, je suis perfectionniste. J'ai beaucoup d'anxiété, particulièrement avec parler ou écrire en français. Si je suis seule, c'est bien, mais si je me sens jugé, je panique.

Alors, pourquoi j'écris en français maintenant? Un de mes étudiants a mentionné qu'il aimerais lire quelque chose de moi en français. Donc, voici! Je lui ai dit, "I suppose I should practice what I preach!".

C'est tellement facile de se cacher ou fuir de nos problèmes, mais c'est important de faire face à vos peurs.

La seule façon de se débarrasser de votre peur est de le faire et, avec chaque étape, vous vous améliorerez.

Cependant, c'est aussi important de savoir vos limites. Par exemple, actuellement, je me sens que mon cerveau va exploser, donc je dois arrêter cet article bientôt! Mais, pour mon premier article en français, je pense qu'il est pas mal.

Il est loin de parfait, mais il est suffisant!

What does "Future Perfect English" mean?

Someone asked me the other day where the name of my business, FuturePerfectEnglish.com, comes from - specifically, what does "Future Perfect English" mean?

That's a good question. I chose the name for a few reasons. The first reason is because of the double meaning: Future Perfect is a well-known English verb tense (By the time you finish this article, you will have learned the meaning of "Future Perfect English") and it also cleverly markets the desirable idea that if you study English with me, in the Future, your English will be Perfect.

"Wow! My English will be perfect!" You say to yourself.

Well, actually, no. Sorry, to lead you on, but there is actually no such thing as perfect English. And that is the main reason why I chose the name.

I chose it because of the irony of it. We live in a world of instant gratification and extremely high expectations. A lot of people have become perfectionists because of this. I am one of those people.

I am also a second language learner myself. I live in Montreal, Quebec, and I have been trying to learn French for a few years now. Yet, I often feel very frustrated about my progress because of my high expectations and my perfectionism. I don't like to make mistakes. I often feel anxious speaking French because I want to be perfect and I don't want to embarrass myself. But, I am also an English language teacher and I have to remind myself that it's okay to make mistakes because that is how you learn.

The relationship between perfectionism or anxiety and learning a foreign language is something that I am very passionate about. I believe that a lot of students feel frustrated that they are not making "enough" progress. They feel like they will never be 'good enough' at English. They will never be 'fluent'. They will never be 'perfect'.

A-ha! But there is a huge difference between 'perfect', 'fluent', and 'good enough'. And that really is the key.

I am a native English speaker and an English language teacher. My English is definitely 'good enough' for my needs because I have been 'fluent' at English for many many years. However, I am not 'perfect' at English. There are thousands of English words in the dictionary that I don't understand. And that's okay. I don't need to know everything. I just need to be 'good enough' to be able to reach my goals.

So, I suppose I chose the name "FuturePerfectEnglish.com" to attract the attention of people who presently have difficulty speaking English due to perfectionism or anxiety and to help them work towards a future of perfectly 'good enough' and finding their own definition of 'fluent'.

I suppose it also sounds a lot nicer than "FutureGoodEnoughEnglish"!

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I have recently decided to focus this blog more on the psychological side of second language learning because it is my passion and I feel that there is not a big enough presence on the web about these issues.  It is my hope that by discussing my own issues of perfectionism and anxiety that I will be able to help others start to enjoy the journey of language learning and working towards fluency.

Are you having fun?

Learning a language can be difficult because there is no end.

"What?!" you ask, "I have to study English FOREVER??!!".

Well, yes. I am a native English speaker and I am still learning new words or expressions all the time. Plus, language is always changing. New words are added to dictionaries every year. Just like dieting or exercising, if you stop focussing on your goal, not only will you stop making progress, but any progress you have made could be lost.

Sounds scary! Never fear, there is a way to circumvent this:

Have fun with your English study.

I am studying French myself and I know how hard it can be to stay motivated. Grammar, vocabulary, idioms... it can be very overwhelming sometimes to just keep going. Trying to have fun with your study can help a lot.

Here is a list of ideas to keep the English bug alive:

1. Watch TV shows or Movies. 
Watching TV or movies in English can be really useful and really fun too. You can choose how challenging you want to make the activity by watching movies with or without subtitles, or perhaps from different countries. Play around with different accents, genres, or even try watching something in your native language that has English subtitles avaiable.

2. Listen to English radio/music.
I listen to the radio in French every morning when I am getting ready for my day. Sometimes I can understand a lot and sometimes I can only make out a few words, especially in songs. But the daily practice of listening helps my ear get used to the sounds of the language. This also helps me to learn more about the French culture of Quebec which is really fascinating to me.

3. Read comic strips.
There are some really good comic strips in English. The website gocomics.com has a huge list of comic strips that you can read online. My favourite comic strip is Calvin and Hobbes. It is about a little boy and his toy tiger and the adventures that they go on together.

4. Play games in English.
I have recently started playing computer games in French. It is a fun way to get more study into my day and a really great way to learn new vocabulary. Some games are better than others, for example, I prefer to play games where you can both listen to the characters' conversations and read the dialogue at the same time. I am currently playing Guild Wars 2 in French and it has been really useful.

5. Find some English friends!
If you want to improve your conversation skills, there is no replacement for the real thing. Practicing! This is always the best way to keep your motivation up, especially when you are having a difficult day. Just like having a training buddy at the gym, having an English study buddy can make a big difference. I also think it's probably the most fun activity in this list!

In conclusion:
Above all, the most important thing is to just do SOMETHING. Just start. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do something. Just try to add a little bit more English into your day, whether it's reading a magazine in English or even the back of the cereal box! Just do it.