French Conversational Class

French Conversation in Pasadena is a relaxed group for adults who want to become comfortable actually communicating in French — even when they don’t know every word. Our philosophy is very simple: Don’t stop because you don’t know the perfect word. Find another way to say it. Keep talking. Communicate. This is almost the opposite of the traditional language-class mentality where people become afraid to speak until they know exactly how to construct the sentence. Here, we want you to jump in. Use the French you already have. Make mistakes. Describe the word you don’t know. Use another expression. Ask a question. Gesture if you need to. Find your way around the problem and get your point across. That ability is one of the most important skills in actually speaking another language. If you forget the French word for “umbrella,” for example, the conversation doesn’t have to stop. You can say: “The thing you use when it rains…” And suddenly, you’re still communicating in French. That’s what we practice. THIS IS ABOUT COMMUNICATION, NOT PERFECTION You are absolutely allowed to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes are expected. The objective is not to create a perfect sentence in your head before opening your mouth. The objective is to develop the confidence and spontaneity to use whatever French you know at that moment. We work on learning how to think around a missing word instead of freezing because of it.