French is one of those languages that have once appeared in everyone’s life but which we have avoided by always leaving it for another time. Speaking French is useful; it’s nice and not too difficult. If you are determined to learn French, we give you some guidelines to do it properly.
Learn phrases instead of individual words
Why memorize a sheet full of single words if you’ll never use them individually? No one speaks in words, but in phrases.
That’s why every time you find a new and unknown word, don’t write it down individually, and record it in one sentence. This way, you will not only learn its meaning but also its structure and context, and you will be able to apply it in a conversation. When the time comes, when you find yourself in the position of having to give an explanation, not only that word will come to your mind, but so will a lot of convenient information.
Don’t study grammar
When we talk, we don’t have time to think about grammatical structures, delete and correct errors. Although grammar is very important for writing correctly it’s not the fundamental basis for speaking.
You didn’t learn grammar before speaking your mother tongue, but you internalized it after much listening. When you had a solid foundation, that’s when you were taught the grammar, structures and verb tenses.
Learning by listening and not by seeing
Listening is the most important rule if you want to learn languages, not only French; this applies to any language you want to learn. Thanks to active and frequent listening of audiovisual material you will learn a lot of vocabulary, grammar, formulas and expressions.
Certainly, you have to start by listening to an easy French that you can understand 95% of the time (as you do with children), not using complicated texts about sociology, cultural customs and those things that publishers strive to introduce during first lessons, you can start by reading translations of stories you already know in your native language and thus you can associate the words you already know with French.
Every morning or every free moment, we must listen to French. Children’s programs (this you can use it with the children), TV series or simple movies. At first, it will be necessary to use subtitles, but not in your mother tongue, but in French, to allow us to establish the relationship between text and pronunciation.
Learning by repetition
This rule is very powerful and key to learning French quickly and effectively. In general, French language schools encourage students to repeat sentences, but this is not enough to deeply internalize them. You have to take a step further and try to respond.
If the exercise consists of a text, a series of easy questions should be developed that invite us to seek and develop simple answers. Even if you don’t know the answer, you will be forced to think, make assumptions, or excuse yourself in French. As in real life.
I am a French history enthusiast and blogger. I love to travel around France, exploring its many historical sites and sharing my passion with my readers. I am also an avid photographer, and my blog features many of my stunning photos of France’s beautiful landscape and architecture.