S. sat complacently listening as Gabby went on. I had another problem that was just as important as my mispronouncing vowels. I mispronounced consonants. B, P and T, for example, are explosive sounds in English. In French they are softer, aspirated.
L is entirely different, requiring a kind of nimbleness of the tongue that is missing in English.
And, as if bad vowels and consonants weren't enough, I also didn't understand the rhythms of spoken French. Then he pronounced it in English, sounding a bit like the late actor Peter Lawford. We broke for lunch after three hours of class. We read aloud short articles from a local newspaper about tour packages to Mediterranean islands. I could understand them well enough, but reading them aloud was another trial.