French has always been my most difficult class. I do fine with all of the grammar, but listening and speaking in French has always been a struggle. I knew that the Lyon Program would be a challenge, and that it would force me to really work on my language skills.
What I have found from living in France is that I can understand French way more than I thought. When people are speaking to me, I generally know what they are talking about. The problem that arises is that I have difficulty replying in French. I know what I want to say, and I know that I've had enough French classes to adequately speak in French, but when I start talking, I end up just jumbling my words together.
I have also noticed that I am very good at blocking out conversations around me. Recently, I've been unaware of people talking to me because I just assumed they weren't speaking directly to me. I have definitely learned that I need to be more aware of my surroundings, especially in a foreign country where it is easy to just get wrapped up in your own world and ignore those around you.
From this program I've learned that my strengths are in writing French. You can give me a French grammar test any day. My weaknesses stem from not trying to speak French at every opportunity and not being confident in my French speaking.
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Yes, your situation is pretty typical. It is so much easier to teach reading/writing in foreign language classes than oral skills. For that, it really helps to have the language spoken 24/7. There just is no way to simulate the immersion experience in a UT classroom. I tell all my students that the only way to develop oral proficiency--real fluency--is to live in the native culture. No other way!
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