Student of the Semester: Autumn 2023

It’s time to continue our Student of the Semester series! This time our pick for the Autumn semester is…Lynsey!

Lynsey has been learning with us since 2019 when she started in our Post-Chick French classes! Now she’s moved up to Fledgling!

We asked Lynsey a few questions about her experience and motivations for learning French and here’s what she had to say…

What made you start the classes at Lingo Flamingo?

For me, the motivation came from a Christmas family get-together nearly 5 years ago, when my brother told us the happy news that he and his French girlfriend were expecting a baby, a little girl. 

I jumped at the chance to return to learning French - after first starting 30+ years ago! - with a clear goal: to be able to chat with my future sister-in-law in her native language, and also with my niece when she would be old enough!

My now 4-year old niece has just recently gained a new baby sister, so together with their mum, they are three excellent reasons for me wanting to speak the language more fluently. I started my first Lingo Flamingo Post-Chick French course in 2019, and was pleased to progress to the Fledgling level in 2020.

Where did your language journey take you?

You’d think my French studies would have taken me back to holidays in France, but not yet, I’m afraid!

My brother and his family actually live in Barcelona, so perhaps I should have joined a Spanish class - maybe in the future? One language at a time is enough for me just now! I have limited trips abroad, so to spend enough time visiting family, my holiday time is split between London and Spain. 

However, as well as now being able to have decent conversations in French with my sister-in-law, I was able to converse with a French customer at work, and I even managed to help a couple of lost French tourists in Barcelona, just a couple of months after starting my first Lingo course!

How do you find the Lingo Flamingo classes?

Classes are so relaxed, informal and, most importantly, fun!  If you’ve been unlucky enough to have had a negative learning experience at school in the past, Lingo Flamingo is nothing like that. 

Instead, the varied topics, exercises, games and multimedia, all help make learning more interesting than just studying plain vocabulary and grammar (although that’s essential too), and you learn lots of useful words, phrases and facts - plus bizarre terms or slang you can impress, or bore, people with! 

No-one makes you feel daft, as we’re all learning at the same time, and from each other as well.  

Listening to music, translating songs or poems, finding about the culture, having gentle debates or discussions on current events, playing fun quizzes and memory games, and being able to chat to your classmates in your desired language - all these combine to make each course really enjoyable and informative. 

The tutors also create a welcoming and friendly atmosphere, and bring lots of experience, knowledge and interests to keep things fresh.

Do you have any tips for continued learning?

There are so many language apps available out there, to help you fit bite-sized chunks of learning into a busy work schedule or family life, and to keep your vocab and tenses ticking over. 

But I have found that the best ways to get more comfortable with it are speaking and listening to the language with others. Obviously, it’s hard unless you have people to do this with so, as well as talking to your fellow students in class, watching movies or TV shows is a good place to start - with subtitles switched on initially, at least! Of course, the GFT is great for foreign language films, and there’s always Netflix and MUBI for streaming. Even looking up well-known songs or clips of operas on YouTube can be educational when following alongside the lyrics.

Finally, when you're not at Lingo Flamingo, what do you get up to?

I love group exercise and dancing, so that keeps me busy every week, boosts the serotonin and helps with stress.

The occasional French dance track might pop up at gym classes, so being able to pick up some of the lyrics and sing along is great fun! 

I also have a fluent Francophone friend there, who helps me practise by chewing the fat in French and sending me WhatsApp text and voice messages so I can try to translate, which is a great help!

Thanks for speaking to us Lynsey and good luck as you continue your language journey!