French is spoken fluently by around 120 million citizens worldwide,
of whom 50 million live in France itself.
Furthermore spoken in many other parts of the earth including Canada (particularly Quebec), Belgium, Switzerland, numerous countries right through North, Central, and West Africa, as well as a number of Asian countries.
As an expat (UK) when you speak French, it sounds romantic and sexy and interesting.
In England we speak French every day
Using such phrasessuch asC'est la vie (that is life)
De ja vu ,
RSVP (respondez s'il vous plait) or
Excusez-moi (as Delboy would say!)
Or how about terms like Entrepreneur or hors d'oeuvre, they get incorporated in our conversations as matter of course.
There are reports (wikipedia) that around 30% of all English terms have a french origin many imported through out the centuries following the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Our lives and language have been entwined for centuries and really simply the pronunciation of many words are altered
..Therefore the useful news for all of you who aspire to speak french, is that you are already approximately a 3rd of the way there!!
In the UK we are taught fundamental French in School and many of us disliked it ..But I know that as I grew up I admired a person who might converse in a foreign language, and I really wanted to learn and speak French.
I am fortunate to be in the situation that I am in , living here in France, being able to practice on a daily basis. It is challenging in as much as complete immersion is splendid but if you don't understand the basics you can struggle to understand what is going on, especially in real life situations , they speak so quickly!!!!!
It is also essential to get your confidence. Generally people are patient and really want to help you to learn and improve. In the 5 years that we have owned our farmhouse here, in France, we have not come across any person who has been rude or impatient with us, in-fact the French people go out of their way to help us and often apologise for not speaking English (hey, why ought to they, we live in their land!)
Anyway ..My point is ..There isn't one solution
Some would suggest an online course, or listening to MP3's or reading books, or a residential course or a tutor or weekly lessons ..What I think is you need a combination:
- There is little point in learning something and then not practicing it,
- You must learn something in a fun, straightforward way, not laboriously otherwise you will give up! So discover a way to practice and converse in french frequently
- Occasionally you need to re-learn or go over things that you have learned, so a point of reference is always useful (book, recording etc)
- Gather from someone native from that country, all my French teachers at school were English and then I wonder why my accent is so bad!
- Using an online French program that does not confine you to solely reading or just listening and repeating is good. Make sure you pick an interactive program so it engages all your senses and therefore intensify the learning experience
- Practice is important, if you have a tutor once a week do you really think you will improved? ..If you arrange a tutor and practice using an online/download program as well you will recieve both
- Have a holiday and practice, have fun with your new skill , grow your confidence
- Take pleasure in the learning journey
So what ever your motivation for learning French is ..Have fun ..And remember you understand more than you think already!
Http://bit.Ly/I_love_france
