The moment of truth has arrived. I have my course books and the website will be available later this week. At that point I will be able to see my assignments for the next year. Two speaking assignments, two written assignments and an exam. I am terrified of the spoken ones, as I am worried about my pronunciation, about sounding awkward as if I am reading, or having long pauses while I gather the words in my head. The writing shouldn’t be so hard, but I am finding it hard to write coherently in another language. The sentences are clumsy and awkward like a five year old’s first story.
I’m not even thinking about the exam. I still have terrible memories of oral French exam at school. Complete emptiness inside my head, I probably couldn’t have answered questions in English, let alone French.
I’m starting to wonder why I am doing this to myself. I have always thought that I am good at languages. I pick up words easily and grammar fits into to my head without too much pain. But somehow there is a gap between playing with a language and using it for real, which I find incredibly daunting.
The opposite of success is not failure; the opposite of success is not trying. So here's to all of us starting to learn a new language this autumn and to success in all its different forms.