The best first steps you can take to ensure that learning French will be easy and painless are:

Step 1: Brush up the BASICS of your own language structure and grammar.

That’s right! I am not saying that you have to go back to your old grammar book and review it from beginning to the end. I am just suggesting you to review the main components of a sentence and how you use them and in what order to compose a sentence. The reason you have to do that is because when you learning french you will continuously looking for similarities with your language. This way it will come much easier when you will try to understand and remember new vocabularies and parts of the sentences. This is called Similarities Analogues and it happens when between the two languages there is an analogous use.

For example, in Italian, prepositions words like over, under, in, around correspond in many ways on how they work in English. With the only difference that in Italian prepositions can have many meanings. Besides if you forgot what is a preposition in your language, all those analogies will mean nothing for you, and it will be more difficult to comprehend prepositions in the French language. It is necessary to open your mind to new rules and concepts that you might find nonsense and just need to master them for the way they are. For example when everything you come across in French has not similarities in your language, it will put off the majority of the people that try to make sense of it using the rules of their language. At that point you just need to memorize it without questioning.

Step 2: Listen and repeat French in a quiet place if possible.

After you have brushed up the BASICS of your language you can go to the next step. Listening and repeating French if possible in a quiet place as to forget the outside world for the time being. The fastest way to start developing your listening is the two way approach:

First is the Slow approach, where you need to listen to French with a beginner audio course where the pace of the speaker is usually slow. There are many courses on-line that you can download or on a CD. Free courses tend to be limited.

Second is the Fast approach. While you listening to your beginner French course you should try watching few french movies, with or without subtitles, as to get acquainted with the speed and pronunciation. Also if available you could listen to french radio or TV channels even if with little or none understanding.

As you are listening you should repeat the words or phrases immediately. Try repeating the words and phrases immediately concentrating on the sound of the words. Stop and repeat anything you like. Usually finding how to pronounce the alphabet is the first thing one should do. Repeat it singing and notice the similarities and the differences to your alphabet memorizing the latter. If necessary you can make a new song out of it.

Step 3: Start Talking

You can now begin making easy conversation be it real or simulated. Yes even if you can only say ‘hello, what’s your name’ you need to begin doing that at the very start of your learning. If you wait to get to that country before starting you are risking to never begin. It may sound funny at first but you need to start taking the embarrassment you might have to your advantage. Simply say to your audience that you are learning with a smile and you will be rewarded with ‘patience’. Be Humorous like ‘Sorry my French is bad’ and you will disarm anyone.

Here is an insight on how to learn to speak french. Again my name is Joey Silvestri and I want to help you learn French easily. Visit my site http://www.languagelearningsecrets.info/french for a free 6 day email French course to get you started.

Author: Joey Silvestri
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While procuring a French phrase book, language learning software or attending language classes will certainly help you while learning to speak French, you must still consider how you’d actually be able to make use of your French communicative skills efficiently. This will be more helpful if you do not live in a French speaking country because you will not have the opportunity to practice your new skill set with the native speakers of French.

Apart from doing the regular exercises, you can also start learning to speak French more effectively by having a pen pal who will help you practice your French communicative skills. Similarly, you can also help your pen pal by correcting the language he or she is practicing. You can find the right pen pal from language exchange forums and chat rooms that render their services free of cost. Once you find the right pen pal do not share any details other than the actual language exchange because you never know who the other person really is.

With the advent of new technologies, learning to speak French and perfecting the languages with help of a pen pal is made more easy. Emails, chat, and Skype calls offer a more personalized and easy to use communication tools that will enhance your learning process

While having a pen pal will better help you while learning to speak French, do not just confide on him or her to perfect your communicative skills, you must never avoid your own lessons as well.

In case things are already starting to become somewhat dragging and you’re starting to lose interest in learning to speak French, modify your “lessons” by participating in new activities that are still related to France. For example, you can absorb yourself in French culture by watching French movies without subtitles or listen to French music and try to understand the lines all by yourself. Ask your pen pal for some good recommendations regarding movies and music performers or look them up on the internet. You can even try visiting some authentic French restaurants and learn the names of some delicacies. This will not only help you learn some new French words but also in learning the French way of life.

As long as you are interested in learning the language it certainly won’t be problematic for you to find some way to make learning to speak French interesting. Once you feel like you can carry a conversation all by yourself in French, then why not take a step and finally pay France a visit? This will be the ultimate test to try your French- speaking skills.

We reach out to individuals to assist them in learning a foreign language. If you’ve always wanted to learn a new language or need a new skill set to open up new opportunities, please check us out at Learn French Fast Online!

Author: Myron Bartko
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1. Immersion – When kids are immersed in a new subject they will learn it faster. This is as true for learning any skill or subject as learning to speak a new language. Immersing the kid does not necessarily mean that you have to move to a French speaking country, although it would be hugely beneficial if your kid had French speaking friends. Immersion also means that they have to engineer their life, at least for a short period of time to learning French. This can be done by following the other points below.

2. Subliminal Learning – This has been shown to be beneficial in helping kids learn French. The idea is that the kid will listen to the language while he or she sleeps. If done every night for a while, then learning will come very easily. This is because we are in a very relaxed state, and this relaxed state is most optimum for learning.

3. Car, Gym, MP3 Player – Whenever you get a spare minute, you have to be learning French. The best way to do this is by carrying your MP3 player around with you all the time with your learn French for kids audio tracks playing.

4. Watch French Films – You should watch French TV, listen to French radio and watch movies with French subtitles. Learning French for kids has never been so fun.

5. Take Classes – Every town and city in the country has classes for all groups wanting to learn a foreign language. These are extremely fun and sociable learning environments with an ideal support base. Also there are some really fun online courses available. As they are fun to use, kids will find the learning process easier. I found that Online French For Kids was very informative.

If you carry out the above tips your kids will learn to speak French and they will learn French much faster and have a fun time doing it.

Online French For Kids is now easier than ever due to new software that utilizes the four elements of education.

Author: Damian Jackson
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However, French is not easy and it will require a lot of time, passion and determination.

Let me give you some tips that will help you to learn new languages fast. I am a French native speaker and as you can see I write in English, and I speak fluently as well.

English was pretty easy to learn. I also speak Spanish and Arabic. Arabic is even more difficult than French, and I learned the basics of the language pretty quickly.

Spanish and English are both Latin languages, but Arabic is totally different. I can speak and write like a native of these different countries.

So how I do it?

1. Listen

You need to listen a lot. Get an iPod and plug some stories and French lessons inside.

2. Learn in your car

Whenever you have time are you are commuting, be sure to hear some French, and repeat what you hear to grab the accent. Don’t worry, nobody will actually hear you.

2. Immersion

Find someone who is native and tell him that you want to learn how to speak. A native will help you improve your language skills tremendously.

4. Travel to a French speaking country!

This will force you to speak and to learn the modern language. Just a week or two will be fine the first time. Be sure to know your basic sentences and have a lot of vocabulary before you decide to go there.

5. Read a lot

This is perhaps even more important than immersion. You need to read everything you can. Whenever you see a new word, research the definition in a good dictionary.

Author: Franck Silvestre
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If you are contemplating learning French, before you even start to open a book, or put a CD language rom on the computer, I recommend you make sure that you first have a solid, definite reason to learn French, or your fate may be the same as the average school pupils!

Read our review of Rocket French.

Where do you find a reason to learn French? First of all, there is the obvious commercial benefit. Did you know that more than 40 countries boast French as an official language, and that there are 176 million French speakers in the world? Admitedly, that may not be as many as English, with 460 million, but French still accounts for a huge slice of the world markets. Imagine how much your promotion prospects will soar, if you are are in a company which has dealings with French speaking countries, and you are a fluent french speaker.

Then there are the cultural reasons. France is one of the most civilized and cultures countries in the world. France is home to devine wines, sumptuous cuisine, impressionist art, and Paris rivals Milan as the European center of the fashion industry.

Learning French gives you access to the real France, or the real beating heart of any other french speaking country you want to get to know better. You cannot know a country in depth until you know its people and its culture, and the key to understanding both is the language.

Here is another reason to learn French: When you learn a foreign language, you learn more about your own language in the process. If you learn a language related to English, as French is, from the point of view of lexis at any rate, you will enrich your vocabulary and increase your proficiency in both languages.

So what?, you might say. If you want a purely materialistic reason for enriching your comman of English, then here it is: Did you know that people with wider vocabularies earn more on average than people without such knowledge? Why do you think there are so many vocabulary enhancement courses out there? This is just one more reason to learn French.

Author: Christopher Byrnes
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There are many reasons you may want to learn French, maybe you are about to travel to France or a French speaking country or your job requires you to be bilingual. Whatever the reason you can now learn how to speak French in an easy, calm and no pressure way.

Listen and speak using audio files

Many French courses now include interactive audio files. This enables you to listen, copy, listen, and understand. The advantage of audio files is that you can transfer them to your iPod or mp3 player or burn them to a CD to use in your car stereo.

Learn French grammar

As you progress, you may want to learn to read and write in French. Again, using interactive audio files and the written word you can hear and see the structure of French grammar.

What are the benefits of using French learning software?

You can download immediately to your computer

You can transfer it to your laptop if you intend to travel

A great resource for children and adults

Easy to follow with interactive audio files

Like having a French teacher on your computer 24/7

So if you want a fast and effective way to learn French. Software is the new and modern way that is suitable for all ages.

Author: Mike Shaw
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Then when you reached Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, someone asked you “Est-ce que je peux vous aider?” (May I help you?) and you had no idea what they said. When you tried to reply, “Je ne parle pas pas franais” (I don’t speak French — that’s an encouraging phrase to learn, huh?), they barely understood you either, but your accent was so bad, they figured you didn’t speak French anyway and so the problem was solved by deductive reasoning.

This is the typical situation that most people face when trying to learn French. No matter how they apply themselves or how much they study, they don’t seem to get the confidence and practice they need to bring their language skills to a useful level.

In fact, I have known people who majored in French at the university level or even lived in a French-speaking country and never reach the level of fluency they should have had. The problem is (usually) not with the individual, but frequently lies in the approach used in the methods used to teach foreign languages. Books clearly lack the ability to convey accurate sounds you should be aiming for; some audio programs seem to want to get you in and out of the conversation as soon as possible; and classes often get too bogged down in grammar, go off track because of the whims of other students or leave your questions unanswered so as to stick to a predetermined schedule.

In recent years, however, language programs have completely new technology at their disposal and many French language program creators are taking advantage of it to make the learning process easier. The two basic choices are: you can learn French on CD or you can learn French online.

The most important feature of these language programs is that they provide an interactive format for learning. Much of the learning is done on a computer. A good program will not only have you clicking buttons to associate an image with a word the instructor is saying in the target language, but will also provide you with quizzes, culture lessons, vocabulary builders and review of material you have learned in previous modules so as to integrate all the lessons in a practical, easy-to-follow manner.

When you learn French on CD or online, you can do all this at your own speed. You automatically eliminate the sense of embarrassment some students feel in front of other class members who seem practically fluent from day one. You also will not have to slow down for that one person who still has trouble pronouncing “merci” (thank you) after 10 lessons (this was my roommate in France after 4 months). These programs also allow you to precisely locate sections of a lesson to review as many times as you like.

CDs and downloadable mp3s are easy to take on the road. I suggest listening while you are performing a mundane task such as commuting to work, cooking a meal or working out. Even though it may seem that your attention is divided, your subconscious will actually be absorbing the information effortlessly. Just remember to repeat the lessons out loud as there is no replacement for getting your tongue to say new and interesting things.

In the classroom, students are rarely taught common or useful phrases. For example, many courses still teach, “Bonjour, comment allez-vous?” (Hello, how are you?) as the typical French greeting. Today, however, “Salut, a va?” (Hi, how’s it going?) is actually far more common. If you have been studying “Comment allez-vous?” and someone approaches you asking “Comment a va?” you will certainly lose confidence not even being able to get past a basic greeting.

Since textbooks generally focus primarily on grammar, they can make it hard to build a decent vocabulary. The same books also tend to spend several pages creating ridiculous scenarios such as in a German class I took where we spent 5 weeks pretending to be a pond talking to a fish. Hardly a useful tool when you arrive overseas. But then again, I can still order fish and get to the nearest pond whenever I go to Germany again.

On the other hand, portable French language products often feature modules that focus on developing a strong vocabulary. They present sample real life situations, typical of human interaction. This prepares you better for your trip abroad.

One last last benefit to the learn French on CD or online program is that they usually feature both men and women interacting. This is important for many reasons.

First of all, generally having higher pitched voices, women tend to be attuned to higher frequencies. Men on the other hand have deeper voices and can tune into the lower frequencies. So a woman learning French solely from a female voice will have a hard time adjusting to the lower frequency of male voices when she meets a playboy millionaire on the beach in Monaco. Alas, another missed opportunity! Having this flexibility to hear the nuances created by both high and low frequencies is important for learning a language.

Another important aspect of learning French is that, unlike English, adjectives and nouns are categorized as either masculine or feminine. This is precisely why so many English-speakers don’t understand whether or not to pronounce consonants at the end of French words. So, for example, a female French teacher would describe herself as “grande” (tall – pronounced: grond, with a hard “nd”) while a male would describe himself as “grand” (pronounced: gro(n), which sounds sort of like a nasal “graw”). Experiencing these differences early on makes the difference between simply getting around in French and speaking great French!

As you can see, learning French on CD or online has many advantages over the classroom setting and all the other take home courses. These newer programs teach you practical French in a way that fits your lifestyle and give you the confidence you need when reaching your French-speaking destination.

Author: Lynn Thomson
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It seems that in many English speaking countries knowing the French language or indeed any foreign language is regarded as unimportant and too much effort whereas on the continent many people speak at least one extra language. During the next few paragraphs I intend to persuade you that training yourself to speak French is desirable, important and with modern learning techniques it is not especially difficult to achieve

French is one of the great languages of the world. About 300 million globally speak French as a first or second language. French is spoken in a large number of countries. There are 35 countries in which French is spoken at least to some extent. These countries include many parts of Africa, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, parts of Canada, Haiti, and the Seychelles, in addition of course to France itself! As you can see from the above statistics, by knowing French, you will have acquired a language skill, which will make you, feel comfortable and confident whenever you visit many of the countries of the world.

When you holiday in a French speaking country you will have no problem chatting to locals, asking for directions, ordering food and dealing with any number of unexpected problems which may arise, once you know how to speak French. How would you explain to a French car mechanic, who can speak no English, about the problem you have with your car? This would be easy if you can speak French.

Business people, who can speak French will find it easier to deal with buyers, sellers and other contacts in French speaking countries, this could open up whole new areas of income for them.

When one decides to learn a foreign language, there is some degree of difficulty involved. Learning a new language is in some respects quite a difficult undertaking. Although French is in many respects one of the easier languages to learn, there is still quite a steep learning curve, a fair investment in time and effort is required when learning the language. Pronunciation of French words is different to the way in which the English speaker would be inclined to pronounce them, and then there are the different tenses, usage of verbs and other grammatical structures to learn.

All this in additional to the time and effort required to master the reasonably large vocabulary necessary for good communication. If you think that I am trying to put you off – then I am not – definitely not! The advantages of knowing a foreign language far outweigh the investment in time and effort required. The secret is in the method you choose to learn. Rather than use a traditional book, in this technological age an interactive method such as CD’s, DVD’s or a course via the internet is the best and quickest way of getting to grips with the French language.

In conclusion, knowing how to speak French has many advantages. You will be able to travel to French speaking countries and converse with the locals easily and confidently. However learning the French language is fairly difficult and the best way for most people to achieve this is with a modern multimedia course. Provided the course is of the highest standard, the task of learning the French Language become much easier, it also becomes interesting and enjoyable.

Author: Stephen Day
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The popularity of French is increasing, and interestingly French is an official language in many international organisations including United Nations and International Olympic Committee. Therefore it is highly beneficial to learn French.

When searching best solution on how to learn French online, I recommend you select a learning system which is comprehensive and easy to follow. Fastest way to learn a new language is to have fun! Some courses include funny exercises and activities, which will keep the studying process enjoyable. As we all know, it is vital to learn how to read, write and speak French, and your online study course should cover all these points.

Did you know that you can talk French by only knowing some 500 basic words and it will not take long to learn them? Only focus on the most important words and do not even try to learn everything. You will be amazed about how easy it is to learn French when you only focus on learning the most important words. Likewise, try to learn and memorize the most commonly used phrases. This will keep you on the right path of learning French online and you will avoid the temptation of trying to learn too much.

To give additional boost to your learning you can go to online communities and forums and find French speaking people or other English speaking people who want to learn French. This is very exciting and a great way to make new friends. You can also find some chat rooms and start to speak and exchange emails with French speaking people.

Once you have learned the basic French, you can start to visit some French language websites or maybe sign up to some French news. Also download a free program called skype and use it to find a people who are also learning French online.

As we all know learning a new language requires some time and effort, so keep your self motivated all the time. Some people use a learning diary to document everything about their learning process. That way you get a change to always evaluate which points you would like to improve in your learning. Now you know how to learn French online and the next step is just to put this knowledge into action.

Author: Alan Bustamante
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With the English language becoming more and more dominant as the preferred language or maybe I should say, the preferred second language in non-English speaking countries. The reasons to speak another language maybe becoming blurred.

Why would you want to learn to speak French when most French people speak English? Well I am not sure that most French people do speak English. Okay they might know a few words, just like English-speaking people know a few words of French but that’s no surprise really, because French and English is taught in every country in the world.

Give me a reason to learn French

I’ll give you three reasons you should learn to speak French. Firstly something that’s seems to be in short supply in the world today, respect. If someone comes to your country and doesn’t speak your language, is it your duty to speak their language, no, but English people expect it, I’ve done it myself (shame on me).

Secondly, if you intend living in a French speaking country then you really have no choice. Think about your every day life now, the people you need to speak to just to get through one day.

Thirdly, if you intend working in a French speaking country then you are definitely going to be dealing with French people and not knowing the language would be a definite hindrance to your work and probably your sanity.

Make the effort and help yourself

Obviously, I am using French as an example. I could just as easily be talking about Spanish and Chinese, which are more widely spoken than English or French. French however is a good staring point. If you have kids at school, they are probably learning French and if you make the effort to learn French with them, it can open up a new world for you and your family, especially if you want to visit France for a holiday. You can now go further inland and speak French to the natives.

Learn with a family member or friend

It’s always going to be easier to learn to speak any language with somebody that has the same goal as you. In fact, the more people you can get involved in this learning process the higher chance of success. Two or more people that learn a new talent tend to feed of each other and its more fun.

So if you want to learn to speak French then get stuck in and get it done. If I said, you can start learning French for free would you say YES or NO. Well now’s your chance. Try a six part FREE French learning course and if you can get through that, you can get through the rest.

It’s always easier to say you can’t do something than to say you can.

Author: Mike Shaw
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