Learning French

[frenchtoast]

Do you know French? Did you have to learn when moved here? Or, did you know it before?

Do you think it is hard to learn French?

[Languedoc Alex]

I moved to France over 4 years ago now. I had not even taken 'O' level French and so before leaving took an intensive course to help kick start the process and bought the Micheal Thomas CD (very good).

But nothing beats being in-country to picking up the language. However it is nonsense to suggest that just by living here you will pick it up - not true. You really do need to make an effort. Children that attend school will very soon become fluent - they are like sponges and soak it up! Plus most schools are very supportive in their first terms.

For us older ones - going back to school is the only answer really. Reading the newspaper, listen to the French news are all good to do and of course being brave to chat, knowing that you are making silly mistakes!

Personally the best way to learn French, is to take French lover!

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

I don't think I'll be allowing my husband to learn any French.

[magpapaya]

what you need is a formal course to start. You'll get the rather complex french grammar, then you can move on and speak freely.
it might not be easy and it really depends on your motivation. Good luck !

[Mark]

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[arnette]

I would love to take a class while in the States, but I travel quite a bit for work and just wouldn't have large blocks of time to devote.

Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations for either audio, online or software programs to learn French? Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Rocket... these are a few of the programs I have heard of. I'm constantly going to iTunes to download the free French podcasts which litter the internet but I'd like something more structured.

I'm up for a transfer to Paris via my work and would really like to get a head-start on the language (obviously). Thanks for your comments in advance!

[Deeana]

I'm lucky because I learnt French at school and can speak it well enough to communicate with the French. That's one reason I have a house in France. I don't speak Italian, Greek, Chinese or Serbian though, and I would never, ever dream of relocating to Italy, Greece, China or Serbia, or any other country where they don't speak English. How can anyone possibly expect to live in a country if they can't understand and communicate at a basic level at least? That said, I have the impression that most Bretons (I'm in Brittany) are very patient with the Brits who don't speak English. However, amongst my friends over here who don't speak French there are several issues:
1. They often have serious misunderstandings of what is being said/meant by the French....
2. They often feel really alienated and isolated as they can't communicate...
3. They are often frustrated when shopping, trying to get jobs, fill in forms and comply with regulations etc. as they can't understand or be understood...
4. Many (most?) jobs aren't open to them for obvious reasons...
5. Unscrupulous people can take advantage of them and they don't even know when it is happening - and misunderstandings can lead to what seems to be deliberate taking advantage....

and so on.

Whether or not it is easy to learn, it is necessary to learn at least enough not to appear rude. If you are fairly young, have lots of time and motivation and a good teacher or course, you can learn quite quickly to communicate well - say 2 - 3 years. If you are middle aged and have less time it might take a decade or simply never happen on anything except a basic "ca va? ca va bien, merci" level.

Originally Posted by frenchtoast

Do you know French? Did you have to learn when moved here? Or, did you know it before?

Do you think it is hard to learn French?

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by arnette

I would love to take a class while in the States, but I travel quite a bit for work and just wouldn't have large blocks of time to devote.

Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations for either audio, online or software programs to learn French? Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Rocket... these are a few of the programs I have heard of. I'm constantly going to iTunes to download the free French podcasts which litter the internet but I'd like something more structured.

I'm up for a transfer to Paris via my work and would really like to get a head-start on the language (obviously). Thanks for your comments in advance!

I have heard excellent things about the Rosetta Stone series - and I see they are available in the big malls in the US. Personally, I've always liked Assimil for language learning. Assimil is a French company, but you can find their language courses to order on the Internet.

Everyone learns languages in their own way. I prefer "hear and repeat" programs, since that's how I learned my first foreign language as a kid. Some people do better with grammar based programs. Take a look at what's available in your local bookstore or on Amazon and see what strikes your fancy.
Cheers,
Bev

[Alex S.]

I did badly in GCSE French at school and didn't think anything more about the language until I ended up living here a bit over a year ago.

I have tried the Rosetta Stone French course but I lost interest in it quite quickly. The Tell Me More French program is much more interesting and even comes close to being entertaining at times. Some of the speach recognition seems a bit sketchy though. I think it's a bit too harsh on marking accent and pronounciation, even in the beginner courses, so I lost interest in that eventually too as it was difficult to make any progress.

I found the Michelle Thomas Advanced course on CD quite useful though.

By far and away I find that the best way to learn though is just to talk to people.

I spent my first months here working for an English company and I learn't nothing. Then I worked as an assistant English teacher for a while and learnt at least as much French from the kids as they learnt English from me but I was still speaking English with teh other Prof's. Now I finally have a proper job in an almost entirely French speaking company. I was really thrown in at the deep end, with a team who did not speak much English at all. Everything I read and hear is in French, all day everyday, and my level of French is improving very quickly indeed. The company has offered to pay for a French course but at the rate I'm learning at the moment, I don't think I'll need it.

[arnette]

I bought the audio Pimsleur method. Most of my unused time is in a car or on a plane so an audio method seemed appropriate. I'm not expecting fluency... and writing/reading will definitely be missing... but it's a start.