One of the advantages of not cutting the hedge. A bit of overhead yellow is always very nice.
“Dad this is just going over my head.”
He wasn’t referring to the hedge as well…
“This is refusing to enter my brain. Sometimes dyslexia is a right pain in the butt….”
He was referring to French. In particular today’s lesson. All about grammatical gender. It’s not an easy concept for English speaking numpties like me as we don’t tend to get so focused on gender and nouns. Which is most odd as our language is heavily derived from Anglo-Saxon and French, which are. So you can hear my brain chug away when it sees
A simple word like HAPPY become in French either HEUREUX (masculine) or HEUREUSE (feminine).
Hard for me, a nightmare for a dyslexic. So a lesson of writing these out for an hour is just torture for him. Yes you can try and learn the rules. But when you struggle to pick up word and letter patterns – it’s not much help.
“Hey Dad I’m dyslexic in multiple languages. Surely I get a badge for that.”
We should really be switching dyslexic kids to different learning techniques. Maybe focusing just on visual and verbal learning. Using fun, online teaching resources. Finding out what works and what doesn’t work for each industry child. Unfortunately teachers are given so little flexibility by our Government. They have to stick to the national curriculum. Sadly the factory education approach doesn’t work for many. So we try to make the best of it. But it’s not easy seeing your child struggle.
It feels like you are holding onto the side of a giant bolder as it tumbles down a hill. Not in control and just grimly trying not to fall off. But eventually you reach the bottom. You can take a breather before you start tumbling again. I guess the secret is to make the most of the flat bits. Grab that ice cream and think of ways to make the tumbling down hill more fun. Must be possible. Remember being a kid and rolling down the slopes. As long as you avoided the nettles and animal droppings, it was the best laugh ever. So we will put our thinking hats on, how to make learning French fun.
Bonne journee (yes I know I’ve dropped a mark for the missing thingy off the e, but my keyboard doesn’t do French)….
Please note one of my great regrets is that I’m not multilingual. I love talking to people who can effortlessly switch languages. So I will keep going. You never know, one day…
One thing about it- your son has a good sense of humor in spite of it all. That’s a helpful quality in life when you’re struggling so you’re rocking the dad thing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s a good trait to have
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d love to be able to speak other languages. I wish I’d bothered to learn when I was younger but it never interested me then.
And if you make any sarcastic remarks about Brummie being another language …
LikeLiked by 2 people
Do you come from the Midlands? I was raised there too.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I do yes. Where are you from? I grew up in Sutton Coldfield
LikeLiked by 2 people
OMG, so did I! I went to Sutton Grammar.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s such a coincidence!!!! Where are you now?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Near Nice in France
LikeLiked by 2 people
How lovely 😊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. You have excellent taste.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve been here 15 years snd so pleased we made the move.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I bet!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Been trying to sort out homework. Now collapsed with a coffee.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not you numpty 😂
LikeLike
I’m from Yorkshire, I can’t talk.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Can’t think of a worse accent than Birmingham
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not heard mine yet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true .. can’t wait 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Advanced English is also not easy, you have double the words than German 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
German is the one language I’ve kinda got my head round.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would love to learn a another language too. French is too complicated for me. Maybe Persian! Or Arabic.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Persian would be so cool. Never met anyone claiming that one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the sound of it. With my mother tongue being Urdu, which has some common words with Persian, it might be easy! 🤓
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is it a complicated language
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is! All old languages are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was raised in a bi-lingual household … Spanish & English, and both come naturally to me, but French??? A whole ‘nother critter altogether! If he has a choice of languages, tell him to pick Spanish … a very simple, yet beautiful language where every letter, with very few exceptions, has only one possible sound and every letter is pronounced, none of these silent letters! Granddaughter Natasha is taking a self-study course in Japanese … even worse than French!!! Best of luck! xx
LikeLiked by 2 people
I might have a look at Spanish x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sooooo much easier!! It helps that Spanish is commonly heard in SoCal!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I once went out with a Spanish girl. It’s a beautiful language.
LikeLike
I love when men use the spanish pronunciation of my birth name!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny how certain accents just lend themselves to certain words and names.
LikeLike
Of all the languages in the world, I truly believe it is the simplest to learn. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can. English, by the way, is a pain in the royal you-know-what, for they have all these rules, but most things are exceptions to the rules, like that stupid “I before E except after C”. And silent letters, and letters that might be pronounced in 15 different ways, depending on the word!
LikeLike
I have a degree in French but I didn’t appreciate how difficult it is until I came to teach it!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I can so imagine that.
LikeLike
I used to teach a bunch of French kids, of mixed abilities, it was fun finding ways to engage their interest and help them learn. Whatever it takes! The kids went from being the the bottom in their class to top in English, and got good marks in their exams. They confidently speak English today and it has helped many of them in their careers. I’m sure you and your son can together find a way to make French fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so hope so. I like the whatever it takes approach.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It probably helped that we had some interests in common such as cycling, football and music.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a start
LikeLiked by 1 person
If I were trying to remember a word like that I would make up something that will stick in my head. It’s a good trick. HEUREUX could be broken down into HE UR (you are) EUX is the hard part … fem…HEUR -E- USE. That second one would work for me HEUR spelled badly and I need to watch my E-Use 😃 The masculine is definitely harder. But maybe something like that could help him.
(masculine) or HEUREUSE
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s how I learnt German.. for example But is aber. So I remember- I want to go anywhere BUT ABERdeen.
LikeLike
Lol… 😁 Nice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏
LikeLike
By the way… lovely flowerssssssssssss. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person
I actually learned that trick from a Science teacher I will never forget the element for gold AU. A YOU! GET BACK HERE WITH MY GOLD. lol. I don’t remember all the other elements, but I do remember that one.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wish I had thought about that for when I had to memorise the periodic table.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My daughter had confirmation that Isobelle won’t have to go back to school, she is done. College will start in September.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s a relief. Lets hope September is better.
LikeLike
I’m fluent in English, Irish and Turkish, plus learnt French and German in school and did a Japanese language course until I quit due to sleazy teacher. And yet most days I struggle to speak in any language at all. And I’ve discovered it’s no loss really.
LikeLiked by 2 people
6 is going some.
LikeLike
Your son always makes me smile. I never liked the feminine masculine bit in French. Too hard to remember. The swear words are fine though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
I WONDER HOW DYSLEXIA IS HANDLED IN THOSE OTHER CULTURES? WITH COMPASSION?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. Sadly I think it’s messed up in many places.
LikeLiked by 1 person
3 years of French and I barely remember any of it. Bu the 3rd year, all instruction was in French and I understood it🤷🏼♀️
Living near the Mexican border, Spanish would’ve been smarter. And because I perfected the French “r” sound, I can’t do a Spanish “r” to save my life.
Now, English… that I mangle on purpose😉🤣🤣💌
LikeLiked by 2 people
I can’t even do the English r sound. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spanish has femme/masculine words but they’re firm rules… an item is always feminine (usually ends with an “a”) or masculine (ends with an “o ).
How does femme/masc work in french?
I recall when a company I worked for decided to include language options for audio feedback on a medical device. When we learned French has crazy rules for counting (“four 20s and 8”, or something like that), the project was abandoned!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I struggle with the French Language rules. I get the German ones (just about).
LikeLike
I studied French for 5 years in high school, but that was about a hundred years ago. I found it quite easy then except for the spoken part, but I remember very little now. I actually won an award in Grade 12 and Grade 13 for French grammar. I could’t ever translate one paragraph of much of anything today. I would love to learn Hebrew and Greek to be able to read the Bible in the original languages, but at my age, when things I have known for years are starting to at least hide themselves if not actually disappear, I don’t imagine it would be a good time to start on such a big project. I’ll just have to stick with my Strong’s Concordance when I want to know what a word means. Glad your son can take his dyslexia in a positive and humorous way. I have wondered for years if you can develop dyslexia when you are older. I tend to mix up my words both in reading and in speaking and can come out with some of the funniest things. I never had that problem while in school.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think he’s finding his own way through dyslexia. Sad that he gets no help from school.
LikeLike
I had one year of Spanish and one year of French in HS. I remember the French name my teacher gave me and that’s it. I’ve learned a little more Spanish due to living in Texas and immigrants from being a Driver’s License Examiner. Their Padre-Madre last names are fascinating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Our local city gets a lot of Japanese tourists and students. Maybe that’s the language to go for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can only do it by mistake, but on most screen keyboards if you hit a double “e” you can come out with a “e accent grave. ” So far I have never succeeded in making an “accent aigu” or an “accent circonflex”, but I figure if there is a way to do one, there should be a way to do them all. Just in case you forgotten, grave is down from the left, aigu is up towards the right, and circonflex is the pointy hat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
On my tablet it’s really time consuming to get it right.
LikeLike
You know…there must be other parents out there with the same problems you are encountering, tutoring a child with learning disabilities…would it not be a great time to collect together all the techniques everyone has come up with and maybe create some sort of plan? I know, I’m probably dreaming about a perfect world. It just seems a shame to not use all that you have developed. I am a great admirer of people who are multi lingual.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great idea.
LikeLike
I couldn’t get on with Latin because, I discovered in my 40s, I had passed the 11+ to Grammar school without knowing any grammatical terms – that put another language in the way – so I really sympathise with Son
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s not an easy thing to get your head round.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about ASL and it’s particular usefulness in a time where we see so many public announcements. Some Universities allow substitutions for languages to ASL. Maybe your son would find he was good at it? Something to think about.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always wanted to be multilingual as well. I can’t hear Spanish to save my life, but I can read it pretty well. And with all this time – probably could have started learning something new!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Would you go for Spanish then.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think so. Although I wish I could speak French – it is such a pretty language.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It so is. I remember our first holiday in France. Stated in a small hotel in Tours. The owner only spoke to us in French. Even when we were struggling with our French. Funny thing is when we left, as we signed out he talked to us in the most perfect English.
LikeLiked by 1 person