April 2021 PDV Report

A few weeks ago, we shared that we were not going to be posting regularly on Thursdays so that we could focus more on school. However, at the end of each month we would be give a month-long overview of how school went for us. This is our first one!

This week marks the end, so this report back is very timely! We are now just about done with finals (Allen has one more exam this afternoon) and we are both looking forward to a long weekend.

My class focused primarily on reflexive verbs, sports, and parts of the body. This actually worked out perfectly with other things that happened in our family this month because to say, “Clara broke her foot,” we have to use reflexive verbs in the passé composé: « Clara s’est cassé le pied. » This literally translates to “Clara herself broke the foot.”

Our school also requires us to memorize four Bible verses during each half-term (eight per term). Ruth helped me practice a memory verse for an exam this month:

Allen spent a big chunk of the month learning to ask different kinds of questions (by inversion and using words like quand (when) and pourquoi (why), learning food vocabulary, and practicing giving decorations to various locations. For example, Allen could ask at the market in Kara, « Avez-vous du poisson? », which means, “Do you have any fish?”

In addition to our daily classes, we’ve been watching lots of French shows on Netflix and listening to French worship music. I meet with a French tutor once a week for an hour to practice and ask questions. And God has given us more opportunities to practice with native French speakers at various stores and churches.

We can see progress in our speaking abilities and listening comprehension, which is encouraging. And we are excited for the next term to start in May!