Learning French( Help needed!)

Recommended Videos
S

shwnbob

New member
May 16, 2009
1,117
0
0
So as of this month I'm really into learning French and I've been trying to learn it for a few days by reading a workbook about it. Unfortunately their is two things currently stopping me from learning French.
A. I'm learning Chinese in school so I can't practice it there
B. The workbook I'm using really doesn't tell you how to really pronounce each word (tones and all)
So I guess what I'm asking is two things. Is French a hard language to pick up and are their any websites or books out there that any of you could recommend for me. Also if anyone want's to give me some tips and what not that would be great! Thank you all!
 
delet

delet

New member
Nov 2, 2008
5,089
0
0
French is... meh. I'm taking it in school currently, but only because they wouldn't let me take Japanese (grumble grumble) and so I'm... getting by in it.

Basically, you'll have a few tenses to learn, a bunch of different endings to learn for each word, and you'll have to make sure you know if a specific word has any type of special rule for it as many words follow the rule of "And it always ends this way... unless it doesn't."
 
delet

delet

New member
Nov 2, 2008
5,089
0
0
shwnbob said:
Could someone teach themselves to do it though? Like learning the piano?
Click to expand...
I suppose it's possible. There's plenty of videos on youtube and the like to tell you how to pronounce things, and then you just have to learn the rules of the language and memorize the vocab.

And hey if all else fails, you could try that Rosetta Stone software. They say it works on a TV commercial, so it must work exactly as promised! (but seriously, don't be afraid to give it a try, I've no experience with it to say otherwise.)
 
NeutralDrow

NeutralDrow

New member
Mar 23, 2009
9,097
0
0
French isn't an especially hard language for English speakers to pick up...well, vocabulary and grammar-wise, that is. Pronunciation might be harder.

That said, I don't know of any online resources. I took it in high school, personally (and was never fluent), and moved on to Japanese afterwards.
 
Shock and Awe

Shock and Awe

Winter is Coming
Sep 6, 2008
4,645
0
0
Aby_Z said:
French is... meh. I'm taking it in school currently, but only because they wouldn't let me take Japanese (grumble grumble) and so I'm... getting by in it.
Click to expand...
Same here, except I would love to learn Arabic.
 
Gladion

Gladion

New member
Jan 19, 2009
1,469
0
0
#1 language teacher is the media, especially movies and games that include subtitles. Pick the language you want, activate the respective subtitles (in your case both French) and there you go. You can also try out news, as the words said are mostly accommodated by images that fit the spoken text. But don't ever even just switch the subtitles to English. You need to force yourself to deal with that language.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand jack shit at first. You will still have to learn your vocabulary and grammar the classic way, you will hardly be able to replace that at all - but it'll make everything a hell of a lot easier and faster.

The point of this is to have people around you talk that particular language a lot as you try to understand them. Your brain needs to get used to the language, it's the same principle student exchanges exploit.

Edit: When I was 13, I got most of my English skillz from Metal Gear Solid, and not from school. :p
 
Burningsok

Burningsok

New member
Jul 23, 2009
1,504
0
0
lo siento

I don't know french, but I have learned some spanish. lo siento = I'm sorry/sorry
 
AvsJoe

AvsJoe

Elite Member
May 28, 2009
9,051
0
41
I used to be pretty fluent in the language back in school but I haven't spoken it in years (other than during my visit to Montreal). I'll answer any of your questions but I can't help out that much.
 
Fayathon

Fayathon

Professional Lurker
Nov 18, 2009
905
0
0
If you can get your hands on a copy Rossetta Stones are awesome, I'm using the French one to finish off my lackluster classes from high school.
 
M

Mozared

New member
Mar 26, 2009
1,607
0
0
You could teach yourself, but you need to listen to actual French people (protip: French music! Youtube Tribu de Dana or Manu Chao) to get the pronounciation right. You are NEVER going to get close if you don't have a completely proper example.

Also, you have probably already done this if you want to learn the language, but, learn about the French culture. Mainly getting to know what life looks like in southern-French can help a lot getting you in the mood to actually speak the language.

Last but not least, see if you can conjure up French friends from somewhere and conversate with them about your hobbies. I.e. if you play WoW, create an alt on a French server.

Good luck!
 
guardian001

guardian001

New member
Oct 20, 2008
519
0
0
French as a language is not too hard to learn, there are less general exceptions than in English, which is nice, and Pronunciation is generally pretty similar to spelling, however there is one HUUUUGE stumbling block.

conjugations

Getting the correct tense and ending for a given verb is a *****. There's a whole bunch of rules for what verb will precede the active verb (have vs am vs do), what form of that verb to use, and what ending to give the active verb.

If you can find one, I'd advise getting yourself a french verb Bescherelle(sp?), which tells you how each one is properly conjugated. It won't teach you the fundamentals, but It'll help you learn to apply them.
 
the_dancy_vagrant

the_dancy_vagrant

New member
Apr 21, 2009
372
0
0
guardian001 said:
French as a language is not too hard to learn, there are less general exceptions than in English, which is nice, and Pronunciation is generally pretty similar to spelling, however there is one HUUUUGE stumbling block.

conjugations

Getting the correct tense and ending for a given verb is a *****. There's a whole bunch of rules for what verb will precede the active verb (have vs am vs do), what form of that verb to use, and what ending to give the active verb.

If you can find one, I'd advise getting yourself a french verb Bescherelle(sp?), which tells you how each one is properly conjugated. It won't teach you the fundamentals, but It'll help you learn to apply them.
Click to expand...
It isn't so much the correct conjugations that gave me a hard time when I was taking French - once you memorize the regular conjugations it's not so bad. The hard part is learning your irregular verbs with similar meanings or concepts. Connaitre/Savoir is a good example of that...two words that mean, according to a dictionary, 'to know', both irregular, and god help you if you pick the wrong one when you're talking to your professor. It seems pretty easy now, but man...that stuff gave so many of my classmates HUGE problems.
 
Lavi

Lavi

New member
Sep 20, 2008
692
0
0
1) French is useless.
2) Pronouncing it is total bullshit.
3) THE GRAMMAR IS WORSE THAN ENGLISH'S!

Give up now.
 
Samurai Goomba

Samurai Goomba

New member
Oct 7, 2008
3,679
0
0
the_dancy_vagrant said:
dr.susse said:
si tu peut le parler, allez tombez la chemise!
Click to expand...
Je vois quoi tu a fait la
Click to expand...
Moi aussi.

Anyway, it'll be pretty hard teaching yourself the pronunciation without a professor or somebody around. I mean, that's the stuff that comes the most naturally for me (currently on my 2nd year of immersion french), and it's still kind of tricky figuring out pronunciation for some of the words.

I hate the conjugations, too. Present, Past and Futur Simple aren't so bad, but some of the others (Passe Interieur, Conditional and Subjonctif) can be really annoying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom