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To: Lane3 who wrote (14425)	6/7/2002 3:09:18 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21057

I took French for about 4 years in junior and senior high school, and a couple more years in college. It was oriented to reading, not conversation. For example, I passed my college reading knowledge exam easily (de Tocqueville, dictionary permitted), but used to answer a couple of friends who knew conversational French in English (I understood, but did not feel confident beyond a few phrases, to speak). When I went to France, my French was somewhat fractured, but I could make myself understood, and impressed my family with how much I recalled. Nevertheless, I was piqued that so many Parisians had pretty good English, so I decided to brush up. For awhile, it was hard to find time, but I have been doing a fair amount of reading in French for a few months. Again, though, I am strengthening my knowledge, but not yet fluent. I would do markedly better on another trip to Paris, but would still feel uncomfortable being much on the spot. Still, one of these days, I am hopeful that I will make the transition.......

To: Lane3 who wrote (14425)	6/7/2002 3:15:16 PM
From: Constant Reader	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

About 25 years ago, the parents of a friend of mine got in an elevator after eating in the top-floor restaurant of what was then the Bank of America building in San Francisco. A French couple stepped inside at the same time. The French husband asked if either of them spoke French. The American, who served in France during WWII, replied, "I don't, but my wife does. It was her major in college." Each time the French couple asked the American woman a question, she was apparently dumb-struck, but her husband stepped into the breach and answered in fluent French.