Introduction:

French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul.  

French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents, most of which are members of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 84 countries that share the official use or teaching of French. French is also one of six official languages used in the United Nations. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; the Democratic Republic of Congo; Algeria; Morocco; Canada (provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick as well as other Francophone regions); Cameroon; Belgium (Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region); Ivory Coast; Tunisia; western Switzerland (Romandy—all or part of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud, Valais); Monaco; parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); northwestern Italy (autonomous region of Aosta Valley); and various communities elsewhere. 

Learning French, like any other new language, implies a lot of memorization, and often, as adults, our memory is not what it used to be. So what is the best way to learn French? These 6 tips will help you memorize new information longer, and learn French more efficiently.

• Translate French Into English As Little As Possible

When you are a total beginner, some translation is going to occur. As you advance in your French studies, try as much as possible to avoid translating.

Translating adds a huge step in the process of speaking:

Idea –> English –> French

versus just

idea –>French

It makes your brain waste 30% more time and energy and will fool you into making a mistake when the literal translation doesn’t work – which is unfortunately often the case in French!

• Link French To Images And Visual Situations, Not English Words

Try as much as possible to link the new French vocabulary to images, situations, feelings and NOT to English words.

When you learn the French expression “j’ai froid”, picture being cold, bring up the feeling, and link the French words to this sensation, not to the English translation.

• Be Careful With French Cognates

This is exactly why you should be particularly careful with cognates – words that are the same between the two languages.

Many students approach them thinking “ah, that’s easy, I know that one”. But then when they need to use that word, they don’t remember it’s the same word in French as in English…

Furthermore, cognates always have a different pronunciation, and your English brain is going to fight saying that word the French way.

I hear many students having a hard time with the word “Chocolat”. In French, the ch is soft, as in “shave”, and the final t is silent. [Shocola]. Most French students wrongfully pronounce it [tshocolat].

Finally, there are many false cognates: words that exist in both languages but don’t have exactly the same meanings (like entrée in US English (= main course) and entrée in French (= appetizers, first (light) course).

So, cognates need more of your attention, not less!

• Avoid Writing In Your Head

Many students “write” French in their heads before they speak.

However in French, many letter are silent, like the “ent” of the “ils” form, or the é sound at the end of a verb: parler, parlez, parlé, parlée, parlés, parlées.

Writing in your head a huge waste of time and may lead to being scared to speak French.

• Learn French In Sentences

When you learn French “in context”, you’ll remember the situation and words longer, and you’ll already have a series of words that go well together handy for your next French conversation!

• Prioritize

Often, to make learning more fun, many teachers try to present a text, a story. At least I do, as much as possible. If your memory is great, go ahead and memorize everything! But if it’s not the case, PRIORITIZE: what words in this story are YOU likely to use? Focus on learning these first, then revisit the story once you’ve mastered your first list. The same logic applies to tenses: in conversation, most of the time we use the present indicative. So focus on the present when studying your French verb conjugations, and then move on to

• Study French Regularly, For A Short Time, Not All In One Sitting

If you study French all afternoon,  chances are that you’ll exhaust yourself, and are much more likely to get frustrated, lose your motivation or attention.

Spending 15-30 minutes a day learning French – not multitasking but with 100% of your attention – will get you better results than two hours during the weekend with the kids playing in the background.

• Review – Repetition Is The Key!

This is probably the number one mistake students make. They concentrate on learning new material and forget to review the older one. Rule of thumb: for each hour spent learning new French vocabulary or conjugation, you need to spend a minimum of one hour reviewing older French material. Repetition is the key!

• Conclusion

Lastly, have fun. Learning, in general, is optimal when one is enjoying the learning process; contra wise, the capacity to learn declines when learning becomes a chore. Here are just a few suggestions: play Trivia Crack, using the French language option, learn a simple joke in French, or watch a goofy comedy in French, such as Le Diner de Cons. Seeing yourself becoming progressively more versed in your chosen L2 is an immensely gratifying experience! Yes, you will reach plateaus along the way – those frustrating, but temporary hiatuses in the learning curve, but don’t let that discourage you, as, with persistence, you will eventually rise above those momentary plateaus to potentially achieve the glorious heights of native fluency!