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Terrified about French

username4321

Is anyone else terrified? I am! I'm going to be doing French and Italian TSM and Im not too concerned about Italian as it's ab initio but French, oh dear.:o

Ive read the French thread in the charter but its a bit outdated. I only got a C1 in the Leaving. Was expecting an A or at least a B1, so now heading in to do French only having the minimum requirement (C1) Im really scared I will be way out of my depth. Ive heard horror stories about its difficulty and that the staff are aloof?

I love French itself, I actually got the course in the second round and was planning on doing a module in French so was glad to get the degree. But just so nervous that everyone will be fluent and I'll be like >

Can some French students posts their recent experiences to put me at ease regarding difficulty keeping up? Are all lectures in French ?

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djcervi

Ok! Don't panic! I have heard stories about the French department, but from what I understand a lot of it is just students giving out in general. As long as you do the work you shouldn't have a problem. At the Trinity open day I found a few of the staff to be a bit 'frosty' so to speak, but it didn't really bother me.

IMO I don't think they can expect you to speak fluent French upon arrival. My Guidance Counsellor told me that in Trinity the French degree is not completely done through French, however in UCD as much as possible is done through French. I'm gonna guess logically that more will be done through French as you progress in the degree, and of course after your year in France.

You said you got the basic language grade to study French, but you were expecting higher. The way I see it is that the fact you are planning to study 2 foreign languages, must mean you have a good aptitude for languages. That's my main reason for studying 2 languages (I'm starting 1st year European Studies with French and Spanish). I know people who are great at languages but messed up in the Leaving Cert because they didn't bother studying and felt that they were going to get an A1 for sure, whereas they got a completely different grade and did better in the subjects they studied for.

Anyway you won't be the only person mindboggled with the francais. I got an A1 but my French is not as strong as my Spanish. I'll be sharing a few French lectures with the TSM crowd, so there will be more people afraid. lol

ohthebaby

I must admit I'm a bit scared too. I got an A1 in the Leaving but still I can't help but feel nervous.

I can read and write the language pretty well but it's the oral aspect that gets me. I'm not confident speaking it and let's just say my accent leaves a lot to be desired...

I just hope it doesn't hold me back or make me seem stupid.

I absolutely love French, and am determined to do well yet I still can't rid myself of this feeling that I won't be good enough.

Damn lack of confidence.

stesh

djcervi wrote: »

I'll be sharing a few French lectures with the TSM crowd, so there will be more people afraid. lol

What course are you doing?

djcervi

European Studies

stesh

djcervi wrote: »

European Studies

Oh right, never mind. It's just that I've still to discover one of my few classmates.

damienricefan

I starting German and Russian in TSM this month and I got a B2 in German knowing well there'd be plenty of fellow German TSmers with shiny A1's, but were all in TCD, were all going to get a great degree if we do the work and I love German so I think you should worry about yourself and the work your doing and not everyone else!

lfqnic

I'm not doing French, but I'm fairly proficient in the language and I was talking to someone who did her degree in TCD a few years back. She was actually disappointed that the classes weren't done in French (which seems odd to me because we did A Level mostly through French and I've done intermediate OU courses which were much the same). She also said that the essays she had to submit were through English!
Maybe this was for first years only, but if so it should give you the time to get your confidence up before getting into the big stuff.

Its definitely natural to be nervous, especially when your confidence has been knocked and particularly, I think, with languages which require a bit more confidence. But I'm sure they will start gently to make sure everyone follows, and as long as you put in the work there is no reason you won't do as well as everyone else.

Anyway, if you do get stuck and you need a wee hand, I'd be happy to help

Good luck!

aine-maire

Yeah,I'm really nervous about French too...
I got an A1, but I relied on learned-off phrases a lot as opposed to actually proficiency ini the language!
I'm doing Law and French, so I'm worried about doing law through french :eek:
I like these 'terrified' and 'nervous' threads...makes me feel better to know that other people feel like this too!:p

username4321

thanks for all the replies! Yes im okay on the oral side of things (:D lol)
and my grammar is grand except the subjonctif tense which i did not get at all.

Oh dear, well no point worrying now until I start i suppose!