A simple beginner’s guide for Learning French Online.
Language learning has been a lifelong pursuit for many people. For some, it’s easy to master languages as they grow up by living in different countries and being surrounded by those who speak those native tongues on a daily basis. But for others, language acquisition can be difficult because of the lack of exposure or resources necessary to learn the basics. In this article, I will share my knowledge about learning French online, with little time investment required on your part.
Why is learning French important:
It’s no secret that French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world – It is the native language of 130 million people worldwide. And with France being one of the most popular tourist destinations, it’s pivotal to understand some basic phrases and never miss an opportunity to ask for directions. Knowing some French can help you out in a variety of situations – all it takes is knowing how to ask, “Where’s the bathroom?” in French.
The beginning of learning any language is always the same:
Sounding it out, memorizing french vocabulary, blending syllables together to say complete sentences. This can be tedious for some people who struggle with retaining information or want to learn faster than they’re capable of doing so at that moment in time. Fortunately, there are many ways to learn languages online, whether you prefer interactive video French lessons, fun games that help you retain information, or reading books.
“I don’t have time to learn French.”
It’s a phrase that people say all the time – but there are several different methods for learning how to speak any language without putting in a lot of time. In the next sections, we’ll discuss some of the best ways to learn French online from a beginner’s perspective – whether you have little free time or an abundance of it.
What is the best method for learning French online (for complete beginners)?
While there are several different ways to learn French, it’s always best to start with the basics. Before you dive into complicated grammar rules or how to speak like a Parisian (not that they’re difficult, but some people want to learn faster than others), make sure you’ve learned pronunciations and basic words throughout the language.
Depending on how you learn, getting a hold of these beginner skills can take various amounts of time and dedication. For example, some people prefer listening to podcasts or watching YouTube videos that teach beginners how to speak French in a natural way. Others want to learn from books and practice pronunciations with French people through video lessons online.
Learning the basics in French can be achieved with different resources. With that being said, there are several different ways to learn the language through French language courses online – whether you want to do it in your free time or have a weekly lesson to go over any homework for each week.
Video tutorials are one of the most popular methods for learning French because of their no-frills method of presenting information that’s easy to understand. In addition, there are many resources that have been used by teachers in classrooms for years – so if it’s good enough for school, it can help you learn French online quite easily.
Learn French with video tutorials on Youtube:
There are several youtube channels that teach french language lessons to beginners – in short videos and in a way that’s easy to follow and understand. In fact, learning french with the help of these youtube channels is the best way to start your French journey. The following are some of the best youtube channels for beginners to learn French from native speakers/teachers.
Learning French online with Alexa:
One of the most popular youtube channels is Learn French with Alexa with over 1.33 million subscribers. The host of this channel is Alexa. She is a native French teacher with a huge experience in teaching French to children and adults. She created this channel in 2011 with an aim to teach french to everyone. This channel helps students learn French at different levels by using video tutorials with native speakers explaining basic words and phrases. While it’s not an exhaustive list of words and phrases, you can learn the most common vocabulary without issue.
Learn French with Vincent:
Another popular youtube channel is Learn French with Vincent, which has over 858 K subscribers. The videos on this channel are helpful for people just starting out – they teach basic French phrases and words that you can’t learn from an English speaker’s perspective. The videos progress by difficulty level so you don’t have to worry about information overload.
In addition, the videos are short and informative – so if you’re short on time, you can look up a couple of words and phrases that will help you get by at the grocery store or order food in French. There’s also a section of the website dedicated to learning French through slang and casual speech which some people find useful.
Learn French by Suchita:
Suchita is a french language teacher and she has a youtube channel with the name Learn French with Suchit with over 187K subscribers. In her free video tutorials, she teaches French to beginners by speaking naturally and slowly so they can understand the basics of the language. In addition, her videos have English subtitles for viewers who need them – which makes it great for people who are just starting out and aren’t yet comfortable enough in speaking French. This channel is a great resource if you want to learn the basics of the language quickly and efficiently – it uses short videos so you can pick up new words and phrases each day.
Learn by watching French movies:
Language learning doesn’t have to be dull and boring. By watching French movies, you will not only get access to a wide variety of vocabulary, sentence structures, and other useful knowledge, but you’ll also be able to practice your listening comprehension skills while having fun. It’s a win-win situation!
1) Begin by trying to pick out a movie you would be interested in watching.
2) Once you’ve chosen a movie, try to watch it all the way through without subtitles at first.
3) After that, choose a scene from the film and follow it with English subtitles if needed. In turn, play that same scene again but this time with French subtitles for the full immersion experience.
4) Repeat this process for other movies you like watching. Make sure you watch the movie in its entirety at least once before trying to follow along with French subtitles – or else you won’t be able to get past the first scene without losing interest!
Learn French through French songs:
If you are looking for an effective yet enjoyable way to learn French, then let me tell you about how learning French by songs is one of the best methods.
Listening to songs in a foreign language is not only helpful in understanding the lyrics but also helps memorize phrases easily. If you are planning on learning French then listening to french songs is the ideal solution which you will not receive in any French course.
Learning french by songs is very easy and simple:
First of all, choose a song that you like and try to find its lyrics in French and English so that it becomes easy for you to understand the meaning of the lyrics. On finding the translation, listen to the song many times till you are able to memorize it.
The next step is to try and sing the song yourself in order to learn pronunciation, accent, etc. If you are not confident enough then do it in front of a mirror or with your family members. This will help you improve your singing talent as well as fluency in the French language.
Do not make the mistake of assuming that you will remember all the lyrics correctly, so it is better to write down or type out a short summary of what you have learned just as a reference.
Though the “Learn French by songs” method is amazing but still, being a beginner it is advised that you should try to learn basic phrases and grammar before trying to learn songs.
Popular French Songs in English:
Some of the popular French songs in English are as follow
- Indila – Dernière Danse, with over 831 Million views on youtube
- Aya Nakamura – Djadja, with 829 Million views on youTube
- Magic In The Air Feat. Chawki with over 356 Million views on youtube
- Kendji Girac – Color Gitano , 142 Million views on youtube
- Natasha St-Pier – Tu trouveras , 51 Million views.
Hire a professional native french teacher online:
There are a few reasons why it is important to hire a professional native french teacher to learn the French language. First and foremost, a professional teacher can help you learn the language faster and more effectively than if you were to try to learn it on your own. They can also help you avoid making common mistakes that beginners often make, and will be able to correct your mistakes as you make them. Lastly, a professional teacher can give you feedback on your progress and provide advice on how to improve.
There are a few ways that you can go about hiring a professional french teacher. The internet has made this world a global village. Now you can do anything with just one click. The same is true with hiring a professional french teacher. One of the best ways to hire a teacher is by looking online for teachers who offer online lessons. Similarly, you can also ask friends or family members if they know of any good teachers, or you can check with your local French Cultural Center.
Helpful apps and websites for learning french online:
On the internet, there are a wide variety of apps and websites that can help you learn french. Here are some of the best ones:
- French Podcast (mobile app): This is probably one of the most helpful apps for beginner-level learners. It was created by Radio France Internationale in 2012 in order to offer listeners all over the world a way to learn French at their own convenience. In this app, there are 4 different categories of podcasts: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and vocabulary. Each category contains over 100 lessons that range from 10-minute casts designed for beginners all the way up to 1 hour long casts for more advanced learners.
- Duolingo (mobile app and website): This is a great app for beginners to learn french. Duolingo offers a wide variety of lessons in order to help you learn French at your own pace. You can start by learning vocabulary, verbs, phrases, and grammar in beginner lessons that are short and easy to understand. Overall, this is an excellent tool for anyone who would like to learn french on their mobile phone.
- French Pod 101 (mobile app and website): This is a great app and website for beginners who want to learn french. The French Pod Team was created by three native French speakers who wanted to design an app that would make learning French as easy as possible for anyone with a computer or mobile phone. There are over 1800 lessons within 7 different categories: verb, vocabulary, grammar, flashcards, podcasts, video, and a discussion board.
- Rosetta Stone (website + App): This program was created in 1992 by Allen Stoltzfus, John Fairfield, and Eugene Stoltzfus. It is one of the top-rated language learning programs around. Since its inception, millions of people have used Rosetta Stone to learn 31 different languages including french. There are 3 levels for each language: beginner, intermediate and advanced. The lessons mostly consist of pictures and words, which help the student to retain what they have learned. The program incorporates speech recognition technology as well as text-to-speech software.
Tips on learning French fast and effectively:
The following are some helpful tips to learn the French language fast and effectively:
– Don’t give up. Learning a new language is never easy. However, it is definitely worth the effort in the end. If you can stay motivated throughout the whole process, then chances are that French will come quite naturally to you.
– Make sure to practice what you learn. Learning something new can be exciting, but applying it is much more rewarding. The more you practice what you know, the faster your progress will be.
– Learn slang expressions and popular phrases as well as common words and verbs first. These are extremely helpful when learning French since they were developed by regular people.
– Keep a French dictionary by your side at all times. There will be many tough words and phrases that you don’t know the meaning of. You can look these up in a French dictionary to learn their definition and how to pronounce them, which will help you immensely when learning the french language.
– Always listen more than you speak. This is an excellent tip for anyone who has trouble learning another language. If you listen to the way people speak, then chances are that you will pick up their accent and be able to mimic it yourself.
– Don’t rely on subtitles. Although subtitles can be extremely helpful when helping beginner french learners understand a movie or show, they can also slow down the learning process. If you constantly rely on subtitles, then you are less likely to pick up on the actual language that is being spoken by native speakers.
– Practice makes perfect. The more often that you practice what you have learned, the faster it will all come naturally to you. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because this is the only way to learn.
– Surround yourself with those who speak French as often as possible. This is important if you want to maintain good pronunciation and become fluent in French much faster. Practicing with native speakers will make it much easier for you to pick up on common phrases, slang expressions, and even the accent of the language.
– Memorize common words and phrases rather than just individual words. Although it is helpful to know how to say one word, learning how to use it in a sentence will give you much more freedom.
– Use free online resources such as those listed above so that you can practice your French for free anytime and anywhere!
Remember: Learning any new language takes hard work and patience. Keep at it!
Conclusion:
So now you have all of the information that you need to begin learning French online. You can even mix and match between many of the different ways to study, depending on your personal preference. The most important thing is to stay motivated!
If you follow these tips, then it won’t be long before you will become fluent in French!
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