We don’t live in France, just visit as often as possible, and speaking French is an ongoing struggle for us. We stay at B&Bs and hit our peak fluency when there are lots of other B&B guests at breakfast and they’re all French. We listen, we try to contribute, and when we’re alone later we compare notes and try to figure out what we heard. What was their son’s problem? How long was she in the emergency room? Did he say he was arrested?
So I agree that diving in and speaking it with kindly, polite French people is the best way to learn. We don’t have that possibility here. Even the nearest colleges don’t offer French. We watch French TV on youtube–Carnets de Julie, Silence ca pousse, home decor shows, travel shows. I listen to a podcast in French, One thing in a French day, and if you subscribe at 4 euro a month she’ll email you the full transcript. I use forvo.com to get pronunciation right. I read a small-town newspaper online that uses very simple French.j Sometimes I play my one French DVD (The rabbi’s cat) in the background just to be hearing spoken French.
Writing all that, it’s a wonder I’m not more fluent than I am! I’m hoping to pick up some new suggestions from this thread.
I had to call someone I know in France yesterday and had to work out, first in English, then in French via Google Translate, what I was going to say and what she might say back to me. Of course the conversation took another turn and I was lost, but she already knew my French isn’t that great.
I never had to learn French but from learning other languages it depends very much on how you enjoy learning. I like reading in the target language with a dictionary to hand and then talking to people, plus doing exercises, watching films etc. I suggested duolingo and audiolingua because I am told they are effective by people who have used them.
Have you tried Michel Thomas on you tube. He links up phrases well. For me I find I need at least 3 different methods. I have a weekly lesson, try to listen online and read simple french books(helps if they have dialogue as you can see the way a sentence is constructed)
Harry Potter is good for this.
One suggestion for getting your head round conversation is to record or write down snippets of real english conversations, both questions and answers or comments/responses and then repeat it in french, But you have to say it out loud! So you have for example a pile of scraps of paper with sentences in English on them. Every now and then pick one up and say it in French - no books, no dictionaries - the point is just to talk. My breakthrough was getting over the fear of saying things wrong, and just saying things the best I could.
The French have the same problem. Many, especially the young ones, can speak some English but are scared of looking/sounding foolish. Over the years I have slowly picked up French but still have a problem when they launch off into supersonic French and also mumble at the same time. For the written word, I use DEEPL rather than Google translate - it seems far better although they are both AI translators, but for understanding (rather than speaking), I find that eavesdropping at markets and supermarkets is useful - as long as you’re not too obvious ! You start to pick up words at the start and end of sentences and then, slowly, you can make out much of what’s in between. But it does take time and is more difficult the older you are. I was first taught French at the age of 6 by the very far-sighted headmaster of a private school and I’ve never forgotten what little I learned, although it was a lifetime ago.
I am using the Paul Noble audible books. For me they are the best by miles - although may be too basic for some. They give a great guide to the structure of the language.
As for the lack of confidence, it is a recognised problem. Indeed, both Johan and Pierre address it in various videos, so don’t feel you’re alone. Conversation classes may help, but maybe you could also agree with your wife that you will speak French only during certain meals, or at certain times of the day. That’s what we do.
What that won’t help with is the French person who wants to speak English. It used really to frustrate me, but I’ve learned to smile and give in gracefully. You’ll almost always be able to find someone else who doesn’t speak English.
I was a language teacher and you will have to accept that learning a foreign language can be a slow and difficult process. Little and often. I would say four or five (or more) sessions of ten minutes are better than one long session. I’m not sure how a basic speaker is supposed to learn by watching French TV or listening to the radio. It might work if there are subtitles, but even then I have my doubts. As others have said go to evening classes or use a private tutor if you can. Scour YouTube as well.
TV/Radio - no but things like YouTube are good(ish) because you can go over the same bit more than once trying to catch the small (or sometimes big) words that you missed.
Hello! I also struggle with understanding spoken French. I have done several classes in person which is best for me some at community colleges and some at Alliance Francaise. I also try and watch French movies or programs on Netflix. I first did it with English subtitles and have " graduated " to just using French subtitles. Also, when I watch English programs I have French subtitles on.
Well, I have improved to the point at which I can now follow television, but I’ve been doing it for 4 years.
But I have found watching videos on YT (remember, you can slow down the video, and repeat it as @anon88169868 says ) with subtitles works well for me. If you think about it, it’s sort of how we learn language in the first place. Find a subject that interests you (you might have guessed wine is one of mine) and see how you go, remembering not to be downhearted if you don’t understand much to begin with. It’s not a strategy for an absolute beginner, of course, but once you’ve found your feet it’s helpful.
The key thing is to keep at it, daily, and - if you can - keep a note of what you’ve learned so that you can see your progress. (That is especially important since you’re in for a long slog and sometimes you’ll feel like you’ve made hardly any progress over a period of weeks - that’s when you need to go back to your notebook or whatever and see how far you’ve come.)
On top of actual classes - it is good to get your ear attuned and to try to get the gist of something. My pupils all watch series and films in the original language and say it helps them tremendously. But maybe adult English speakers won’t have done any foreign languages at school so it isn’t comparable.
I think also that, as adults, we have an advantage which is worth as much (or almost) as the advantage a child has: we have language skills and a fair bit of understanding of how the world works.
(Paul, also they mumble! And use slang! I feel like I’ve turned into a grumpy old man )
I went on to the BBC website and did their GCSE BITESIZE French course - it’s very useful and a lot of fun
I did take GCSE at the same time but I found the online course very useful. There are a few different ones you can have a go at on the BBC and they’re free. You do need to register though.
Also you can’t really can’t away without learning the grammar because that helps with conversation. Past tense present tense and future tense .
Collins do a range of books to help you learn how to use verbs in conversation etc have a look at those .
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