The Bollywood blockbuster ‘Queen’, showcased the guts of the quintessential Indian rural bride who goes to Paris, after being abandoned by her ‘Fiancé’ (which happens to be a French word!). But when I looked at it from a language teacher’s point of view, I felt bad for the girl not because her Fiancé left her, but because she could have learned some basics of French before venturing into unknown territory. Jokes apart, few guidelines can be learned to make your path smoother into learning French.
Thanks to Google and its great technology, now we can easily read International news in the palm of our hands. It would be a great exercise to pick-up one news Article in French and then read the translation in English at the same time. We can achieve two targets through this exercise.
Firstly, we get updated about the recent happenings in the area of our liking, be it fashion, entertainment, business, etc.
Secondly, we get introduced to different words and phrases. With regular practice of reading the brain organically teaches us to read without the translation over a period of time.
Time is a precious commodity, whether we are learning French for business or pleasure. Hence learning five words per day related to your purpose would be a great process for self-learning. Over a period of time, those words will not only help us in speaking but writing as well. It’s an exercise that hits two birds with one arrow.
Firstly, new words can be learned practically anytime, even when you are commuting to the office.
Secondly, these words can predominantly help you to write your CV in French, especially if you are planning to look for a job over there.
As an avid traveler, I have realized that grasping numbers makes commuting very easy in unknown territory. And then of course then we have to learn the alphabets, which are quite different from English alphabets. The pronunciation of French alphabets sounds different and once we can grasp the ‘sound’, understanding words become fluid.
It’s such a blessing to have a friend in an unknown country. Hence, it would be ideal to learn basic greeting techniques, so that you can make the localities receptive. The entire style quotient added to French cuisine is actually words and phrases related to greeting.
- Bon jour! (bohn-jhoor) – Hello!
- Bon soir! (bohN-swahr!) — Good evening!
- Au revoir! (ohr-vwahr!) — Goodbye!
- S’il vous plaît.(seel vooh pleh.) – Please.
- Je vous en prie. (zhuh vooh-zahN pree.) – You’re welcome!
- Merci. (mehr-see) — Thank you.
- Pardon/Excusez-moi. (pahr-dohN/eks-kew-zey-mwah.) — Excuse me.
There is no substitute for reading, writing, and comprehending- thereby, speaking comes organically! If self-learning is the one that suits you the best, then grab a book of French language learning and start asap. If you are running on a tight schedule then grab your earphones and start downloading e-books or listening to podcasts readily available at your fingertips.
Language learning becomes quicker if you can get a native speaker to speak with on a daily basis. However, if you don’t have that luxury, don’t feel overwhelmed! Dedication and consistency can anytime overtake talent. So keep on reading and listening – and make sure to revise every week to check your growth and if the growth is not as per your expectation please do not drown yourself in self-pity.
French movies have a market of their own. So, the moment you start grabbing the French words, immediately venture into the journey of watching French movies with subtitles. Learning becomes easy through the medium of entertainment.
The word ‘free’ is music to our ears. Whatever is not sold throughout the year, marketing giants sell us under the gimmick- ‘End of season sale’, ‘one for one free’ so on and so forth.
However, when we are learning a foreign language especially for work-purpose, do not fall for such traps. There are an endless number of fake sites which offer free tools to learn French, which can do more harm to us than good. Before embarking on the journey of learning French, make sure to research extensively and thus the ‘old school’ method of reading from a physical book comes in handy and reliable.
It is ideal to speak with a native speaker of the foreign language we wish to learn. And if that is not possible, invest in hiring a good trainer. When the question of learning French for work-purpose comes into the picture, we must understand that the way we address our bosses and colleagues puts our impression at stake. Hence, I call it ‘an investment’. A good trainer can weave a safety net for you and once you start the journey you may learn rapidly ‘the tricks of the trade’.
I have not met a soul to date, who doesn’t enjoy music. Thanks to being an Indian- we are already exposed to multi-lingual music on a daily basis, predominantly because of the dubbed movies which have always stormed the commercial market through and through. An urban Indian is well aware of International music. French music excels in showcasing the country’s love for Romance and art. So stop all kinds of music (of other languages) for a week and take a daily dose of French music for a week and see the rapid changes as to how your brain starts humming those tunes and words again and again.
Once you start picking-up words, the first place to start writing is your CV because that is where you are described in the best possible manner. So, check out the descriptive words in French related to your hobbies, education, likings, disliking etc. Such words will predominantly help you for an interview in a French company.
In the case of learning a foreign language like French where the nuances are quite unique, it is imperative to ask yourself what is the purpose of your learning- is it leisure or business? Accordingly, we can set our priority because Business French is different from colloquial French. Once the priority is set, we may start looking for a relevant trainer or content or an online site- that may pave our journey.
Whether it’s your wanderlust or work- self-motivation is the key to moving forward. As far as French is concerned, review the French music, movies, books, or whichever tool you have chosen for yourself, as it’s not just a language but a lifestyle that you are going to embrace. To repeat the content you have learned requires a lot of self-motivation.
Over the years, French as a language has added the high quotient of style, thanks to Paris being the hub of Fashion and Art. Give yourself a realistic target to achieve and with utmost dedication you will find yourself picking up the nuances of French in no time.
