Today’s guest post comes to us from Brendon Gleaves where he’ll be teaching us how to self-learn French in a better way!
We live in a world and age where most people know two, three or even four languages. The reasons behind the decision to know several languages are many: a better paid workplace, a job in another country, a relationship, etc. Out of all the 6000 languages spoken today, the fastest and easiest language to learn by a native English speaker is French. Not only that English has “stolen” many words and phrases from French (including culinary ones such as “French fries”), but French is an amazingly easy language to learn.
The good news, in case you want to learn French, is that you don’t necessarily have to pay a tutor to teach you. You can also self-teach yourself this language. Rather than paying out of your pocket for a private tutor or spending precious time going to classes, you can learn French from the comfort of your home. The only challenge you might face if you choose the second option is to convince yourself to study every single day. When it comes to learning a new language, regularity and repetition are vital for attaining success. In order to improve the learning process and self-learn French faster, here are 5 things you can do.
1. Mix It Up
First of all, you need to realize the need to do exercises from different areas each day. For instance, mix two exercises of grammar with learning a new verb. Moreover, try learning two more nouns and start getting involved in a conversation with a French speaker. If you see a cat or dog on the street, do not hesitate to greet it in “en Français”. Use phrases and words in French as often as you can and you will definitely see the results in a short span of time.
2. Use Music and Sounds
An amazingly interactive way to learn French is by listening to music. There are tons of artists available for you to listen to, from Celine Dion to Lorie and Lana Fabian. Here is a list with the best French pop music artists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_pop_music.
3. Do Not be Afraid of Making Mistakes
You will definitely mess up a lot of verbal agreements and nouns during the first couple of months. Do not be disappointed, but keep going. You should not be worried about making mistakes, but about not making progress. When learning a new skill, mistakes are always part of the learning process. Therefore be kind to yourself and believe in your potential.
4. A Movie Per Day
Most teenagers in Europe are well versed in communicating in English because they have literally seen all Hollywood movies. The same is true for French. If you want to immerse in their culture and learn idioms and words commonly used in France, watching a movie a day should not be too much. There are plenty of French movies available on YouTube, so you don’t need to invest in DVDs or specialty TV channels.
5. Get New Connections
Lastly, in order to get your French skills to a whole new level, you should find yourself some French friends. You can easily look on forums or social networks and start talking with a guy or girl who seem interesting and friendly. There are also many French learning organizations that can help you find amazing natives eager to help you improve your French skills.
With these in mind, start getting your French skills to the next level and plan your upcoming trip to Paris – it will definitely be worth it!
Brendon Gleaves is a language enthusiast currently interested in mastering Spanish.
