Je vais - I'm Going!

French Lesson #1

Je vais - I'm going ...

the wonderfully, clever Michel Thomas who sadly, has since passed away, is my hero and my french teacher.  


Well not my personal tutor but kind of.  This remarkable man developed his own unique way of teaching languages. With his method he not only gives you a good vocabulary but also, without you realising it, teaches the grammar along the way. There is no writing anything down but visualising, listening and speaking.  With him you can learn very quickly and at your own pace.  This is for someone (like me) who doesn't want to have to do the work but at the end of the day, can speak a new language!

He has clever ways of triggering you to remember. One of the first phrases he teaches on his language CD's is Je vais - I'm going.  


He calls it out melodically with a high pitch, as if you are saying je vais!  see you later! good bye!- I'm going! and this is the trigger and instantly, you remember it.   


His voice continues to bounce around in my head.  "I want you to speak clearly, I want to hear the ending, (of the word) french ears are trained to hear the ending".


I wish I had had the pleasure of meeting him.

Skeptics say you can't learn a language like that - and I am certainly no expert and my first few days will be panic stricken - but I feel comfortable that I will hopefully make myself understood. Thanks to the legendary skills of Mr Michel Thomas.


So without further ado : Je vais à Paris - see you on the other side!