Best Way to Learn French

By Samantha Asher

What is the best way to learn French? The best way to learn French is the same way to learn any language. First you need to get your tools. Get a grammar textbook preferably with vocabulary, a two-way dictionary, a phrasebook, a newspaper or book in French, and a notebook, pen, etc. These are just the basics, but you can supplement them with other materials such as software, audio programs, pronunciation guides, or other books with practice exercises.

Now you need to plan out your learning. You can create individual courses based on your material, or just create an ongoing plan. I like to start with a beginner textbook and use it as a planning guide for the rest of the first course. Decide how much time you will spend studying. Try to spend time every day. For example, spending 20 minutes a day everyday is better than 3 hours on Saturday.

You will have several activities in your course including textbook/grammar study, vocabulary study, reading/translating, speaking, writing, and listening. All of these things together will come together to help you learn French as efficiently and effectively as possible. You can do one of these each day such as grammar on Monday, vocabulary on Tuesday, etc. Or, you could spend an amount of time on each one everyday. This would work better for someone studying an hour or more everyday, otherwise you should break it up.

When it's time for grammar/textbook, just go through your book. Start with the first lesson, read it and study it. Make sure you clearly understand it. Then, do the exercises given in the book. If your textbook doesn't have exercises, practice writing sentences on your own. For vocabulary, study the words given in each chapter. Make sure you master every vocabulary word. Also, refer back to old words often to make sure you haven't forgotten them.

Then you can move on to reading/translating. Take your reading material and translate it one sentence at a time. Add the words you don't know to your vocabulary list. Also, make sure you clearly understand the sentence including the grammar. You need to be able to clearly comprehend it. Next, write. Keep a journal just for French. You can make your own writing prompts, or you can just practice your exercise. Either way, just make sure you at least write several sentences at a time.

Now for the audio. If you have a audio program, listen to it often. Don't move on to the next lesson until you have the first mastered. If you don't have an audio program, use your software. If you don't have software, watch a French movie. You don't have a French movie? Actually, if you have DVDs, you probably do. Many DVDs offer tracks in Spanish and French. Tackle one movie at a time and watch it several times to see how much more you can comprehend. In addition to listening, speak in French. When you are cleaning or getting ready, talk to yourself in your language. Find someone that speaks French if you can and have a conversation with them.

Keep practicing and following your plan and you will be speaking French in no time!

If you want to learn to speak French and need resource recommendations and more help, go to LearningaSecondLanguage.info for more information on language learning.