Posts Tagged ‘french life’
Parlez-Vous Francais? – Learning French in France
If you want to pick up French as a second or third language, the best way to do so is to go to France. Learning French in France is easier than trying to learn it from a book. While a great many people in France can also speak English, there are many areas of France where the people only speak French. If you want to learn this language in a hurry, the best way to do so is to learn French in France.
Sure, the French speak English…
When you visit France, you can pick up French by visiting an area that is a bit off the beaten path. Many of the people in Paris speak English as well as French. If you visit a city that is a bit away from it all, or a small town, then you will find that many of the people do not speak English. In order for you to communicate with them, you will have to learn French. When you are forced into communication in this manner, you will pick up the language – it is human nature. You should bring along a French-to-English dictionary so that you can get by with a few words. Of course, you are better off if you have a basic concept of the language before you begin.
But then Again…
There are many areas of France where English is not spoken. These are also the most charming and least commercial areas of the country. Not only will you get a chance to learn how to speak French in France by visiting these areas, but you will get a chance to see how the real French people actually live, instead of the version that is shown to tourists. This will give you a chance to experience real French life as well as learn French in France.
Bring out the French Dictionary, Books & Tapes
Before you visit France to learn French, you should try to get a grasp on the language by listening to foreign language tapes or reading a book. You may even want to take a class in French so that you can pick up the language easier. If you once spoke French in school but have not used this language for a while, then you will have to learn it again. Language is not like riding a bike – you do not just pick it right back up after being away from it for a long period of time. You have to use the language in order to retain the information.
Once you get to France, you should make it a habit to only converse in French. This can be easier if you visit an area of the country where not many people speak English. You will be pressured into speaking French in order to communicate with others. The more you have to communicate in a language, the more you will pick it up. This is pretty much like a trial by ordeal, but it does work. If you want to learn a language quickly, the best way to do so is to have to speak it in order to communicate. You will be surprised at how fast you learn.
Do you want to learn how to speak French? Go to LanguageSchoolReviewer.com and see user-provided reviews of language schools in France.
Author: Joe Deacon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace
French Language Resources – Making Learning French Easier
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but learning to speak French isn’t easy – although there are certainly things you can do that can make it easier. If you’re an English speaker (rather than Italian or Spanish for example) you’re starting from a particularly difficult position. Everything about French grammar and phrase construction is different. So let’s look at some French language resources that can make your life a good bit easier.
For a start you’ve got the internet and any number of websites where you can start to learn French for free. A quick browse through a search engine will turn up lots of places offering bits and pieces of free French lessons. OK, it’s probably not going to make you fluent, but you’ll certainly find a few sound clips and French MP3s so you can listen to things like the French alphabet and extracts from the language. Just listening and repeating is a convenient way to start to get the hang of how it feels to speak French yourself.
Some of the better online French language resources also offer short animated films of situations that you might come across on a trip to France. They’re a great introduction to learning about what happens and how to use the language in real French life and they’re entertaining too which always makes learning French easier.
Unfortunately to get any level of fluency you’re almost certainly going to have to pay eventually. Once you put your hand in your pocket a whole new world of resources opens up.
There are French language lessons (although attending regular classes can be a bit awkward if you have time pressures) or one-to-one tutoring (which might be a bit expensive). Either one is still an excellent approach though if you have a native French speaker as a tutor.
Then there are plenty of books of course, and I’m a great fan of a good read, but these days with various DVD and software packages that’s a less popular option.
It’s the software packages I’ve just mentioned which are probably the best French language resource available at the moment and their capabilities are in some cases close to a complete wish list.
You can get modern French learning systems that have interactive lessons with French MP3 sound clips (which you can copy so you’ve got lessons away from your PC), interactive flash cards for learning French verbs, short entertaining video sequences, thousands of pages of transcripts you can read and all with real French people speaking. On top of that you can get some with short try-before-you-buy courses so you can satisfy yourself before parting with your cash and even money-back guarantees.
And all this can be found for about the same as you would pay for one series of classroom lessons. For me, that’s the sort of French language resource I would be looking to take advantage of. It may not be easy to learn a foreign languages but programs like these make it as easy as is possible and fun too. I wish they had been available when I started to learn French!
Author: Dennis Cordy
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cellphone news