[Madison_Rose]

My last meetup was an utter fail. I'm extra-shy in French.

I was sorely tempted not to go along, but I just got my bloody-minded head on and said to myself I was definitely going. I spoke (in french, naturellement) to a scotttish couple who speak it fluently, a charming Australian woman who speaks it better than me, and a lady my age who speaks the language about as well as I do. It was really nerve-racking, though it was easier because I wasn't speaking to actual native speakers - that scares me more, for some reason. I was quiet for a lot of the time, but I made an effort to speak quite a bit, and I explained that I was very shy in French. People were nice and understanding.

I walked home trembling violently, with my heart pounding, and I'm still shaking a bit, but it doesn't matter, I'm pleased with myself. Next time I want to speak to the native speakers, at least a little bit. I was a litttle disappointed that I didn't exactly make any friends, or get anyone's phone number, but never mind. If I keep meeting people, I'm bound to "click" with someone and make a friend or two. Also, maybe I can make friendly overtures online to some of the people I met tonight.

I communicated in French! I met people! Yay!

 

[Madison_Rose]

Ah, the french r. Don't get hung up on it - they understand you perfectly well if you pronounce words with your usual, english r-sound. If you really want to say it - can you pronounce the german word "ich," or the scottish word "loch?" (no, it's not pronounced "lock"). If you can't say ich, work on it, that phoneme's easier and it'll help you with the french r. If/when you can say the ch-sound in ich, try rolling an r in exactly the same place.