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Posts Tagged ‘French’

It seems nothing could be further from the truth, the desire to learn a foreign language is as strong as ever. I think there is an instant attraction to being able to speak another language from both a romantic and pragmatic perspective.

Firstly, it opens up a new world and gives the speaker a richer life experience. I think this is more apparent when an English speaker is learning French because English has derived so much from the French language. Apart from understanding more about French culture, you will also understand the meanings of words in English and how they have evolved. For example, mutton (Sheep meat) has derived from the French word mouton, which means sheep. It is said to have been adopted into the English language during the times when the Normans invaded England. The Normans set themselves up as the rulers of the country after defeating the English in the battle of Hastings. The Normans became the upper class in English society. They made French the administrative language of the country and had a higher standard of living. So while the Norman ruling class might eat agneau (lamb), the higher priced meat, the English would eat the cheaper mouton. As time has passed this word has become mutton in the English language.

Learning French to a fluent level can give a person a great sense of achievement. It is not easy to learn a new language to a fluent level and if you achieve this level you will derive confidence in your abilities to learn new skills. This confidence can be taken into other challenges that you take on and can help you to be more successful in these ventures.

Speaking French can be good if you decide to go on vacation to a French speaking country. You can book into hotels, shop and negotiate with the locals. It can give you a chance to showcase your language skills and get more practice.

Finally, given the increasing globalisation of commerce and trade, attaining a second language skill can open up further opportunities in a persons career too. So learning a language like French can open up job or business opportunities in France, Canada, Belgium and many countries in Africa and Asia.

So If you decide you want to learn French what should you do about it ?

There are a few options, depending on how motivated and committed you are. The first option would be the most expensive and probably the most effective. That is French immersion. Ideally, you would go to France or a French speaking country. You would do a course for up to 3 months and soak up the language and culture as you lived there. The second method would be to do a course. This could be as intensive as you liked but doing a class once a week probably won’t bring rapid improvement. The other option would be to use a self study course. This is a cheaper option and means the student has to take responsibility for getting into a studying routine. A self study course is more flexible but the student has to be self motivating.

Thank goodness for software to learn French! Until recently we had options of either dusty books or dull tapes. Now we have a revolution in education that makes getting to grips with the French language many times more quick and much more fun!

But with so many different ones, how do we know which software to learn French is most useful?

1. Can you review it first?

With much software you can get a demonstration to try. At least several of the French language programs give the same. If you can get some free French lessons it will help you decide whether the package is for you. Even if you don’t particularly rate it, you got a few French lessons for trying it!

2. Is it interactive?

Now that may seem like a dumb question. Surely all French language software is interactive. Sadly no. Some are just re-formatted examples of the old tedious tapes that have been with us for ages. Beware low end French language software, it’s probably of limited value.

3. How does it deal with French sound?

Again you might suppose any French software to take advantage of the functionality of your home PC and provide you with audio files. Surprisingly some don’t. When you’re searching for software to learn French it is a definite advantage if the audio is in MP3 format so you can download it to a player or CD. That way you get the bonus benefit of samples on the move, away from your home PC.

4. How does it handle actually speaking French?

Assuming your software has proper sound components, are they spoken by an English person speaking French or a native French speaker? I’d say it was of more obvious benefit to listen to and learn from a French person if that’s the language I was learning.

5. How are French grammar, verbs and vocabulary provided?

One of the major advantages of learning French from programs on your PC has to be the level of interactivity. Good French programs will involve you and challenge you. Does the program you’re testing offer video or illustrated lessons? Does it use games to make learning French more exciting?

6. How far can it take you?

When testing software to learn French consider how far you can go with the program. Is it just a beginner’s course? Will you have to pay more for intermediate lessons? Or is it a package that will take you right from starting at zero through intermediate success to confident French?

7. What guarantees do they offer?

OK, your French software program may claim to teach you perfect French in a week (unrealistic) or capable French by a couple of months (achievable) but do they actually offer any guarantees? There are some that provide your money back if not pleased with the result. A guarantee like that would definitely make me happier in their ability to deliver. I learn or it costs me nothing - can’t miss that.

Language teaching has improved no end since I was small and software to learn French can be challenging and engaging which is sure to help you learn faster and more in-depth. Like all software there are a huge range of products and prices and it’s not easy to select. I hope the above will help guide you.

There is no wizardry in learning any new language, other than practice and immersion. The very greatest of teachers and lessons will be for nothing if it isn’t followed up with listening to dialogs or conversing in the language. So the greatest way to follow through when learning how to speak French, whether it’s French classes or online French courses, is to actually go out and speak French.

Before such a step is undertaken though, there are easy tips and tricks to make the learning process more fun, easy and effective, and will surely help to learn French fast. Especially crucial are those tips if a student has no physical teacher and decides to learn French online; less supervision means a greater need for self-reliance, thus the importance of adding a little je ne sais quoi to the process.

First, take a look at what you don’t need to learn. English and French share a large number of cognates, or words that have the same origin and spelling in either language, like Orange, Abandon or Ratio. Once you’ve listed and established how much is already in your vocabulary, you’ll only need to master the right pronunciation, which brings us back to listening and speaking.

Second, use these cognates to go even further, by reading short newspaper and magazine articles in French. Many words will be easy to guess while others will feel like ciphers. Make a list of the words you can’t figure out, look them up after reading, and then read again with your new perspective. A faster and easier way to do this would be to read a bilingual book, where each page is usually translated right on the next.

Third helpful trick, when the first two have helped bring comfort and confidence, is to watch a familiar movie in French translation. Depending on the region, DVDs will oftentimes allow for French audio tracks or subtitles. Even better is to watch with the French track and English subtitles to avoid constant pause-pressing while reaching for the dictionary. Once the speech pattern sets in, try the same thing on another film, without the subtitles.

The best way to learn French fast is to do it at one’s own pace, which of course applies to the preceding tips as well. And if the choice is to learn French online, things might then be easier when practicing becomes crucial, as it can be also be done online by conversing with others through chat rooms, forums, emails and instant messaging. Just make sure to let them know you’re there to learn how to speak French.