Spoke with a colleague of mine, whom by accident studied in Jönköping for a few years and during this time only learned “Tack så mycket” (Thank you) in Swedish. The reason? As he put it, everyone speaks English.

Me “learning” French is in a way in the same place but the reaction to the phrase “Everyone speaks English” is a bit different. While in Sweden this is 100% normal, you don’t find anyone object telling you to leave the English and learn Swedish (this is of course only if you manage English) but here in France the reaction is “You must learn French”.

Why is it so OK in Sweden to manage your daily life in English but in France a sin? OK, I agree that outside Paris you might struggle if your French is bad or non existing but in Paris most people speaks English. Then of course… If they want too or not is another question.

I also miss anything similar to the “Lättläst på svenska” (“Easy read in Swedish”) here in France. Classic French books adapted to people learning French. I always get the “You need to read more” suggestion and of course I need to read more but seriously… You don’t start to read Moliere and think you will master it in a week. But a Moliere adapted to “kids” (more or less) might be the idea. Trying to read French books now is a nightmare if you don’t enjoy to look up every word in a “dictionnaire”, and doing so it takes to long, and at least I, looses interest.

That was todays thoughts on learning French

Björn (Whom forgot his mobile at home this morning)