Le français sonne comme gobbledegook

Failing the Eleven Plus in 1959 was a big setback for me, though occurring just two years after mum's death in a motor accident, it wasn't exactly a surprise. Although I was in the top stream throughout my Secondary Modern education, a chasm quickly opened up between what we were taught and what the Grammar School taught their lowest streams.

Their chemistry, physics and biology were dumbed down to our General Science, Rural Studies and Health Education. Only in practical subjects like woodwork, metalwork, needlework, cooking and home economics did we excel... and the reason for that was all too plain to see —

• They were being trained to be society's leaders and thinkers; we were being trained to be the workers.

Thankfully, I eventually broke out of the system, took a college entrance test and was enrolled on a GCE O-level course.

One subject that was considered unnecessary for us Secondary Mod kids was French. Perhaps I would have hated it, but it would have been nice to have had the chance to find out.  Since then, thanks to a set of Reader's Digest cassette tapes, I've picked up enough French to make simple requests ('un verre de vin blanc, s'il vous plait'), ask for directions ('ou sont les toilettes?') and buy a railway ticket ('un aller-retour pour Epernay s'il vous plait') but most French still sounds to me like gobbledegook.

Now I'm doing something about it, and it's all thanks to my brother, who introduced me to the smartphone app Duolingo.

I started leaning French in August. The teaching style is totally unlike anything I've experienced in the past and it's great fun.  After a short break when my AirBnB cottage didn't have Wifi, I've clocked up 102 days without a break.

Here are a few screenshots of Duolingo in action:

I got this one wrong! Before the lesson is complete, I'll be asked again.

I realise that for many of my French-speaking friends this is pretty basic stuff, but it's transforming my understanding of the language, keeping my brain active and raising the distinct possibility that, next time I go to France, I'll actually be able to converse with people I meet.