Rhythm and Melody

As many of you may know I really do not have any musical talent, which improves ones ability to hear intonations, so distinguishing them is very hard for me. I had my first class in rhythm and melody today and as I listened to the teacher say words in a rising and then in a falling tone I could hear that they were different but could not say the difference or know which was which when listening. This is going to take a lot of time, patience and practice. But who knows maybe after all of this I will have a better ear for both language and music.