Hello everyone!
So I'm more or less completely new to learning new languages, I mean I did study French for a couple of years at school a while back now but it never really seemed to help. I've been poking around lately and I've signed up to a place called Duolingo; I'm working my way through it slowly and making some decent headway, but I feel like the things I'm learning aren't really that useful in actual conversation. I mean "<em>Je mange une pomme et tu manges une orange</em>" isn't really something I can see myself saying in any conversation haha!
So I'm wondering, what other ways can I learn French (my target language) aside from that, bearing in mind I live like a typical student (at least from England) and don't really have the money to pay for a personal tutor consistently? What can I do to incorporate my learning into my everyday life?
Thanks everyone, I hope someone has some advice to give me haha! :)
Duo is, like most tools, what you make of it. I started from almost nothing a year ago and with duo i was able to bootstrap my french learning to the point where I could read website and follow much more advanced material. After 3 months of intensive duo work I took 3rd semester french at my university and passed with a B+, which is not shabby for someone with little previous experience. I have moved on to oral comprehension using french media ( movies, YouTube, news, ... ) as well as forcing myself to write. I have also been reading a few pages a day in Jules Verne 20,000 lieues sous les mers ( original french version ).
The audio program I added to my later study was Michel Thomas advanced, I found itgreat for building up advanced verb usage which paired nicely with duo's vocal building.
In my own self-evaluation I would put myself in the B1 or 1.2 range, I still have a lot of difficulty with talking, but I'm hoping to use italki to straighten that out over the next few months.
either way, pick a few tools and use them to their fullest. Much of language learning is getting over the hump of putting in the hours for each level of competency.
bonne chance à vous !
Duolingo is great place to start, especially to learn the grammar. After that I would try to read a french newspaper daily and watch some french movies. Movies with Louis de Funes are easy to follow (my favorite is Rabbi Jacob)
Thanks for the advice Eric! You're right honestly, I need to ensure I put enough time into it. Thanks again!
You can watch movies,news,read,listen everytinhg in french,that's how I'm learning english. It's really helpful 'cause you hear things that's on the streets you know. I guess that's the best way =D
bonjour , je veux sincerement pratiquer l'anglais et le français avec toi, moi c'est Mounir d'Algérie, je pense que je peux t'aider en français.
