Best tips and tricks to learn French language
The French language, Français, is probably the world’s most important Romance language. French was the official language of more than 25 countries at the start of the twenty-first century. It is the first language of approximately 60 million people in France and Corsica, more than 7.3 million in Canada, more than 3.9 million in Belgium, more than 1.8 million in Switzerland (cantons of Neuchâtel, Vaud, Genève, Valais, Fribourg), 80,000 in Monaco, 100,000 in Italy, and 1.3 million in the United States (particularly Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont).
Start by improving your listening skills with multiple online resources such as talk shows, French news, audiobooks to name a few! News in Slow French presents a weekly news discussion in slow French. It’s a subscription service, but you can listen to the introductions to each episode for free. Put YouTube to its best use and stream French radio stations! Watch French films with English subtitles and English films with French subtitles to accelerate your learning. Learn with songs, podcasts and anything that you can lay your hands on to get maximum of some spare time.
Here is how you can do things differently to accelerate your learning.
Study consistently but don’t lead yourself to burnout! Set realistic measurable short and long term goals! Start with spoken French if the idea is to learn for business or travel! Don’t be scared to try and make mistakes. We all do it. Why let that deter or embarrass you?! Remember self-studying is NOT meant for everybody! Identify your unique style of learning that helps you ace the language. Identify French genuine and fake cognates. Learn basic phrases, connector words, conversation builders that will help you communicate and express yourself through smaller sentences. Maintain a journal of new phrases that will help you build your first conversation and not just interesting or complex words. Keep a French dictionary handy.
Read aloud to clear your pronunciation. Avoid writing in your head. Find a conversation partner on HelloTalk, Tandem, iTalki to practice speaking with and seeking feedback. Watch out for fake online French learning tools! Sign up for an intensive course. It would really help you master French! Restrict translating French words/phrases into English to when you are just new! As you progress, move away from it consciously. Use Spaced Repetition System apps like Anki and Memrise for flashcards. Start by reading children’s storybooks. Children’s stories can be a great place to start trying to read in French. Stories designed for children and young adults are likely to use simpler language and more straightforward ideas than texts designed for adults. Choose commonly used words to start a conversation rather than tougher ones that don’t find a way into day-to-day usage! Try and link French words/ phrases to images and visual situations, not words in your native language or English!
Do study grammar with grammar-based software or textbook after a while. I suggest Rocket French or Duolingo, to achieve the same. Study a language every day in short intervals or for about 2-4 hours, as much as you can spare. The same goes for French too. Studying regularly, for a short time, helps dramatically than trying to do it all in one sitting over weekends! Practice without a blink. There’s no escape from practice and no shortcuts. Engage in constant review to measure your progress – repetition is the key!
Finally,
The first document that appears to have been written in French was most likely written in 842. It is a Romance version of oaths sworn by two of Charlemagne’s grandsons, known as the Strasbourg Oaths. Some argue that the text of that document is thinly disguised Latin constructed after the event to appear authentic for political propaganda purposes, while others believe that its Latinizing tendencies reveal the scribe’s struggle with spelling French as it was spoken at the time. If the language of the Strasbourg Oaths is northern French, it is unclear which dialect it represents; some say Picard, the Picardy dialect, others Franco-Provençal, and so on.
There’s an amazing new way to learn French! Want to see what everyone’s talking about!
