I want to learn French....where do I start?? Hello!A little bit about me first!I am David and I am from Australia. I'm new to Italki and I have joined for the purpose of learning the French language.I

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David S.

I want to learn French....where do I start?? Hello!

A little bit about me first!

I am David and I am from Australia. I'm new to Italki and I have joined for the purpose of learning the French language.

I have met an amazing woman from France and we have both discovered that we have a "close connection" between us, and we both hear wedding bells in the future!!

Only difficulty is....I can't speak French, and she barely knows English! :D so our conversations every day have been via Google translate.

She is going to enroll in a university in France to learn English so that she can speak to me in English. I, on the other hand,
want to learn French language, so that I can talk to her in French. So in effect, we both want to learn each other's language.

My problem is I don't know where to begin. I live in a rural area of Australia, and there are no local French tutors. I don't know what materials I need. Should I be learning some basics on my own before paying for a French tutor on Italki, or should I start with a French tutor on Italki right from the beginning?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Kind regards
David

22 sep. 2018 14:40

Opmerkingen · 10

For the start, you probably may try Pimsleur French courses. There are phrases in the target language with complete explanations in English. All are combined in a 25-30 minute lessons. All of it soaks into a head quite well.

22 september 2018

Hello David, You can waste a lot of time with unstructured learning. One effective approach is to take beginner classes (with a teacher and a textbook) until you reach a low-intermediate level (able to read a newspaper but barely able to speak). After that, some people jump into conversation. I find it too early because they can barely speak and their conversation partner quickly loses interest and disappears. More effective is to take intermediate classes and perhaps private lessons. A high-intermediate student can converse. At university level, reaching this level means about 1000 hours of class and study. A summer immersion program (6, 9, or 12 weeks of class and activities in Quebec Canada or in Paris France) can work wonders but they are best for intermediate students who already have the basics. Intermediate students improve quickly in an immersion environment. The Canadian government subsidizes university summer immersion programs open to non-students and non-Canadians. These programs are affordable and provide instruction, lodging, and meals for less than the price of a hotel. Good luck.

22 september 2018

I agree with the suggestions above, except that we need to note that Léon’s native language is very closely related to French. If your native language is English (not Romanian), you will not understand native-level material immediately — so listen just to get a “feel” for the language. Likewise, it will be to your advantage to learn grammar. By that I mean that you should acquire the ability to communicate by forming sentences and understanding sentences that you hear. Now, although English is not nearly as close to French as Romanian is, you still have a lot of vocabulary in common. My advice to get off to a solid start is:

1. Accurate pronunciation: The way you pronounce is the way you hear. Natives will still understand you, but you won’t understand them. Do this now, before we’ve memorized 10000 words with bad pronunciation. Unlearning and relearning would be a major hassle.

2. Grammar: Not the nonsense you learned in primary school, but simply the way native speakers put words together. For French, start with the present tense — it’s used a lot.

3. Vocabulary: We’re always learning vocabulary in our native languages, so this is not a foreign concept. Lots of vocabulary is actually the same in English and French, so start with a few hundred common words and expressions and learn them well.

4. Fluency: Use what you’ve studied as soon as you’ve studied it — have a basic conversation with your girlfriend, and it will be better each time.

Good luck!

Edited for a stray apostrophe.

5 oktober 2018

As suggested by some members, maybe you should develop some familiarity with the language on your own first.

Igor recommended Pimsleur, which is very good to introduce you to the language. It’s mainly spoken and you can practise while driving, for example.

To complement vocabulary, you can also try Duolingo.

If you want some Grammar and exercises, there are a couple of websites (now I have none in mind), but if you would like a book, I really like Assmil. They ease you into the language.

As soon as you develop some basic vocabulary, you can start practising writing here on Italki. The Notebook session allows you to get corrections in your texts.

And of course, practise with tutors or other users. As an English speaker, I am sure you will have no problems finding some interested in language exchange with you.

22 september 2018

I second the notion of listening to Coffee Break French. It's a podcast from the radio lingua network. I listen to YouTube videos and have also had a few lessons with French tutors on italki. I have studied Japanese, German, and Spanish in a school setting. I remember very little of it. You can also use apps such as LingQ and Duolingo. All of these things can be accessed via the internet. You don't need to go anywhere to start. [emoji] Good Luck!

22 september 2018

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David S.

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Engels, Frans

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Frans

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