If in doubt, play it safe. Try to make sure that most of your sources contain at least some dialogue and a lot of continuous speech. This is the kind of real-world French dialogue for which you need to prepare yourself. Get set up with your video source in a comfortable space.
Pour yourself a beverage, get relaxed and take breaks as frequently as needed. You might have to replay a few times to get the entire sentence. You might need to turn to an internet message board to ask a question about the usage of a particular phrase and then observe the resulting debate between native speakers. If you have access to English subtitles for your video sources and really need to use them, go ahead. You can also use French subtitles to check yourself, but be aware that, for some sources, subtitles may differ from the audio.
If a sentence is threatening to end your world, just write down as much as you can and move on. While context is important, the transcribing process should feel like a fun puzzle. It could be too challenging or not lively enough to hold your interest. You should strive to review every set of sentences for 10 days before moving on from them. I want you to keep these sentences alive in your brain, and reinforce them until you never forget them.
Some days, you might read along with the audio. Other days, you might re-watch the video without subtitles. When you read, whether out loud or silently, think about what the sentences express. If your sentences are from a movie, imagine yourself as the characters. Try acting out both sides of a dialogue, complete with gestures and facial expressions. You might not want to do this in the break room at work, but you get the idea.
This last part of the method is not only important for tracking your progress, but also for continuing it. Whether you need to increase your learning speed due to a life event or frustration with your current progress, rest assured that you can. Half the battle of making yourself understood in a foreign language is mastering the accent!
While traditional study materials will certainly be useful for your language studies, you need early and frequent exposure to authentic French speech if you really want to learn quickly. I already mentioned FluentU , which is a handy option that not only offers real French videos, but also supercharges them with language learning tools.
Besides FluentU, there are many places where you can find authentic French content. Do you like viral-type videos? Watch Cyprien or Natoo. Want more academic videos on history and science? Try e-penser. What about self-help or self-improvement?
Check out Mind Parachutes. Best of all, most videos come with French subtitles for you to read along with. Many French news organizations offer a variety of podcasts either on their websites or via Spotify. You could also browse French podcasts on hosting services like PodBean. This differs from passive listening, which could include, for example, listening to French while washing the dishes, doing the laundry or driving.
Passive listening is a good way to keep French swirling through your brain, but real progress happens during active listening activities. There are a number of ways to practice active listening. One of the most common—and most academic—is doing French listening comprehension exercises. These are generally activities where you listen to something in French and then complete some activities that test your understanding of the audio.
These types of exercises can be found in many places online, from YouTube videos like this one from Learn To French , to French learning hubs like Lawless French. This also means that you can tangibly watch your listening level improve as you tackle more difficult selections. For example, you may choose to listen to a short podcast episode, then summarize the main ideas. You can also do this for TV shows, movies and even news clips on TV or on the radio. As your level of French increases, a good goal would be to be able to understand most of the main ideas of a native French audio news report, podcast or song.
A more intense version of this would be to transcribe—in French—everything that you hear, using the method I described above.
You could even try the reverse, translating spoken English into French. This means that, to help you move away from using English or your native language as a crutch, you should use as much French in your learning as possible. After all, we do it all the time in our native languages. Rather, the idea is to practice using context clues and try to figure out unfamiliar words without resorting to translations or thinking in your native language.
Subscribe to the FluentU YouTube channel for more fun language learning videos! While it may seem counterintuitive, taking French lessons that are entirely in French—even at the beginner stage—is an extremely useful and efficient way to learn the French language.
This is because French lessons that are taught in French create an immersive environment. Do you simply want to be able to have a French conversation with a native speaker? A good reference book will give you concise explanations for key language concepts that you can continue to build on way after the 30 days are up. In my opinion, textbooks are perfect for getting an overview of the basics. They include essential grammar and vocabulary pertinent to the most common conversational experiences.
Want to maximize your day program? I recommend buying and using both a traditional French course textbook and a grammar guide.
Grammar guides are books that focus solely on grammar: no frills, just explanations and drills. I still use the latter with students to this day! So, be sure to look for vocabulary references that apply directly to the language goals you established in step one. Maybe swap out those animals and plants for vocabulary about food for your visit to an haute cuisine high-end restaurant! You can find excellent vocabulary references on Lawless French.
There are tons of themed word lists organized by level. Perfecting how to actually say things in French is an important skill that must be developed during your journey. Languages are meant to be spoken, after all! French can be a tricky language to pronounce as well as understand. With nasal consonants and liaisons between words , it can be hard to parse sentences into individual words.
Learning the rules is easy with the internet. Forvo allows you to look up literally every word in French and listen to the word pronounced by native speakers.
Throughout your day French learning journey, look up new words frequently on Forvo so that you can understand them when spoken and pronounce them correctly yourself. In our modern era, French language apps are great for learning vocabulary and applying grammatical constructions in contained situations.
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