As I reach three weeks at the Abbey, I’ve noticed how my French has improved and changed over my time here. Although I’d taken over 6 years of French classes, including two semesters at Barnard, I really struggled to understand what people around me were saying at the start of my time - normally, I would catch the main idea, but I relied on bilingual French and English speakers around me to help me with the details. However, just a few weeks of complete immersion has really helped improve my comprehension and communication skills.

One interesting part of my French immersion has been how little I’ve used what I learned in my college-level French classes. In those courses, I studied late medieval and early renaissance texts, and I learned the vocabulary I needed for literary analysis and discussion. That’s been of little use here, working on a farm. I’ve never used the words dualisme or mythologisme, for example, at the Abbey, but words like traite (for milking the cows), fromagerie (where we make the cheese), and verger (orchard) have become essential to my vocabulary. I find myself exclusively using the French words for certain items and places around the Abbey even when having conversations in English (salle à manger instead of dining room, hôtellerie instead of hotel, aspirateur instead of vacuum). I’ve also learned all sorts of colloquialisms used in everyday life here. 

It’s interesting to think about the disconnect between college language courses and real-world use of different languages. While my French courses at Barnard would have prepared me well for academia, complete immersion has been necessary for me to be able to skillfully communicate in day-to-day life and to take on any sort of leadership in an international setting.