1. Expose yourself to French media, such as movies, news and songs, so that you can listen to native speakers. Satellite radio in the US now offers stations from Quebec. Some cable TV companies offer TV5 or other French stations.
2. Find or make a friend who speaks French well, and make an effort to practice your French with this friend. You can also find a penpal or an online community that will let you ask questions and talk to others who are learning French.
3. Try to find out if a French conversation group is already meeting in your area. Online meetup sites are available which may help with this.
4. Consider signing up for a language course at a local college or community college. Some high schools offer adult education classes in languages.
5. Subscribe to a kid's magazine written in French. Bayard Presse Jeunesse and Express Milan have websites which will show you quite a few offerings. Kids magazines are helpful because they have pictures, from which you can sometimes glean the meaning of words you don't yet know. They offer short and very short articles, which is helpful when you are very new to a language.
6. Consider a trip to Québec. Museums there have bilingual exhibits and creative technologies which will offer you some good practice. While you are there, you can buy some books or other materials, and you will find yourself surrounded by French speakers, particularly outside of Montreal. But you need to know that the farther you go from the city, you will find more people using French which is not as easily recognizable as international French. For example, in the Gaspesie region, many heritages have influenced the development of language over the centuries, as many of the original settlers came from the Guernsey and the Jersey Islands, and not from France.
* Learn the written form of common French words for daily use.
* You can try watching a DVD, but change the language to French. If you are just starting out, you may want to add English subtitles. As you get better, change to French subtitles, and eventually no subtitles. Remember that the point of this exercise is to practice listening, so try not to just read the subtitles.
* Practice using these words in a day-to-day situation.
* Buy or borrow a computer game which can be listened to in French as well as English. Caillou has such a game, but this is offered only as an example. Others are probably occasionally available. Read the boxes and see what you can find.
7. Words to use:
* Bonjour (bon-shoor) (Good day)
* Oui (wee) (Yes)
* Non (Non) Say 'No' as if it were English, but for the last 'n', pronounce it but don't touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth again. It should sound like an abrupt 'No' in a French Accent.
* Parlez-vous anglais? (parlay voose on-glay?) (Do you speak English?)
* Comment allez-vous? (Com-mon tallay voo?) (How are you?)
* Au Revoir (oh ruh vwar) (Goodbye)
* Chaud (show) (Hot)
* Froid (fwah) (Cold)
* Comment t'appelles-tu? (commont ahpelle too?) / Comment vous appelez-vous? (What's your name?)
* Bonne Chance! (bonne chonce) (good luck!)
8. Remember: Tu is informal, vous is formal. Plus, Tu is always singular. If you talk to more than one person, use vous.
9. Formality should be addressed with everyone but your friends and family.
10. Even though "Je Suis" means " I am", do not use it in front of "chaud" or "froid" if you are hot or cold. It is quite rude in French. Use "J'ai" instead - I have, eg. J'ai froid -> I'm cold; and J'ai chaud -> I'm hot.
11. Use also the verb "avoir" to indicate your age: I am twenty years old -> J'ai vingt ans.
For learning
French | Category
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Second language
English | Created
Jun 27, 2008 14:46 | Views
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