Hi,
I have just got back from Paris a really wished I had tried harder in my French at school.
Even though you can get by ok. I asked for something in french at Mac Donalds and the girl and the guy next to her could not stop laughing. Probably my rubbish accent!! LOL
Anyway I would like to start to learn french so I can at least speak some for my next visit.
Any ideas of any books or CD%26#39;s that might be of real help. Ideally I would like to get to a class but that is not really possible at the momment.
French seems a really hard language to learn and at school I just was not interested in it.
Am I being naive or once you get the basics will it get easier to pick up?
Thanks for any help.
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I think that once you get the basics, it will get easier to pick up. Like you, I never really learned it in school, it wasn%26#39;t until i lived in France that I learned it. If that is not an option, I don%26#39;t have any CD recommendations, but I%26#39;d suggest just studying the structure. Things really begin to make sense, MUCH more than english, which I guess isn%26#39;t saying much.
So don%26#39;t focus on vocab, learn the grammar and fill in the vocab as you go. Je veux acheter ____ . Nous allons ____ . J%26#39;ai vu ___
And then there%26#39;s l%26#39;argot...but that%26#39;s much later.
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Dear Traveller113,
I listened to Language 20-or Language 30- by Living Language tapes in my car more times than I would like to admit. I like those tapes because they say the phrase in English, then in French with a pause for you to repeat the phrase. They then repeat the phrase in French. They also have cultural notes at the end of the tape, which I found very helpful.
I%26#39;ve been told by French people that my accent is good. So I give the tapes full credit. Please don%26#39;t give up if you can%26#39;t get the phrases right away, it does take time.
Bon Chance!
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Thank you for your ideas.
The thing with me is I have to stick at it and not give up when I struggle.
The accent is also a thing I might struggle with.
I will let you know how I get on.
Thanks
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Well....your accent can%26#39;t be worse than mine!! I%26#39;m taking a conversational French class for travelers to prepare for my April trip and I am running into problems because I know Spanish!! I tend to say the words with a Spanich accent or pronounce them as they ARE Spanish words. Oy vey!!
Practicing our dialogues I have even answered in Spanish.
I%26#39;m just going to carry my little flash cards with the phonetics on them. I REALLY want to learn the French language....but I%26#39;m having a hard time. :-(
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I bought one of the %26quot;Listen %26amp; Learn%26quot; tapes once to learn some Greek %26amp; I remember quite a bit, so I%26#39;d suggest that brand. I have EZ French %26amp; I%26#39;m not a big fan - you need to use a book with it - which is good for if you need to read things later, but not as good with conversational things. I find that I get too hung up on the sentence as a whole. Although I took a semester in French in college (where the vocabulary for marital status was one of the first sections we learned - bizarre!), and I%26#39;m now using the EZ CDs %26amp; book, I have a hard time making my own sentence. There%26#39;s so many words connected by apostrophes! I really need to sit down %26amp; dissect sentences so that I can make my own rather than repeating the canned ones that the book gives me! Good luck - I sympathise!
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Hi
I have been using the Standard Divants video tape. French Basics 1 and find it very good . The site is Standard Divants.com Learning the verbs adverbs are murder but the taype helps you with some basic conversations.
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Traveller113: The BBC has a series of French pronunciation guides which you may want to check out. You can get to it at the following URL: www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/index.shtml
Browse around the site and pick the exercises which would be best for you. If you%26#39;re really interested in learning more and want to have the text to accompany the online exercises, you can then either order through the BBC or from a larger bookstore in your area. It is, obviously, geared towards a British audience, but I have used it successfully here in the U.S. with my own students.
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KelBel: Don%26#39;t worry about the Spanish pronunciation too much. I teach French to many students who, like yourself, have studied Spanish, or who are native speakers of Spanish. The biggest issues are usually the vowel sounds (e.g., unaccented %26quot;e%26quot; being pronounced as %26quot;ay%26quot;, the letter %26quot;u%26quot; coming out as %26quot;oo%26quot;, like %26quot;caboose%26quot;), getting over the habit of pronouncing final %26#39;s%26#39;, and of course, the French %26#39;R%26#39;.
It%26#39;s a conscious effort at first for the vowel sounds and not saying the final %26#39;s%26#39; on most words, but with practice, it will come more naturally. Just keep the vowels short and crisp, rather than elongating them, as in American English, and you%26#39;ll do great. The French %26#39;R%26#39; can range from a very soft %26quot;wr%26quot; (american style, as in %26quot;write%26quot;) to an almost gutteral sound similar to hocking back a gob of spit (how%26#39;s THAT for an image??!!). However, if you%26#39;re used to %26quot;trilling%26quot; your %26quot;R%26quot; (as in Spanish), you%26#39;ll get along just fine.
If you happen to travel around France, rather than just staying in Paris, you%26#39;ll find that there are as many %26quot;accents%26quot; of French as you%26#39;ll find in the U.S. For example, Parisians tend to have what is called an %26quot;accent pointu%26quot; (somewhat sharp, crisp, quick), Bretons still hold onto their Celtic heritage and it is heard in their everyday speech, Alsatians in the east, on the border with Germany, have quite the German lilt in their French, while in the south of France, you%26#39;ll start noticing a definite %26quot;twang%26quot; as you hit Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, St. Etienne (in the Massif Central), which will get progressively thicker and more %26quot;Spanish-sounding%26quot; as you close in on Montpellier, Arles, Nimes, Marseille, and then may be totally uncomprehensible until you%26#39;ve adjusted the hearing, when you hit Narbonne and Perpignan (going towards Spain). Southern French tends to add vowel sounds (sometimes where none even exist), the %26quot;R%26quot; is %26quot;trilled%26quot;, and the %26quot;twang%26quot; of the nasalized vowels rivals any southern twang in the heart of Georgia or the Carolinas.
But, just a plain, old %26quot;American%26quot; accent (i.e. not trying to sound %26quot;French%26quot;, flat rhythm) can be very charming in its own right.
Above all else, TRY to use whatever French you learn and have fun while in France. As one person here wrote, you%26#39;ll be surprised at what may even come out given the situation.
Bon courage.
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I really like the Michel Thomas CD%26#39;s I have, I just ordered the 8 CD set. I find it pretty easy to learn from his CD%26#39;s so far (you learn phrases, not words).
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Oh my ... I%26#39;m in the process of learning Italian because it is my heritage (if I%26#39;d only learned as a child...) First part of my trip is in Venice. There is no way I can learn French also - trip is end of May. I know a few words to address and respond respectfully. I love the idea from %26quot;Randy Silver Photo%26quot; on another posting who said he carried along a small card that said %26quot;please excuse me, I%26#39;m about to murder your language%26quot; and he always got a laugh. I may try something like that - different verbage :).... Anyway. As always love the advice on this forum, I%26#39;ll continue to check it regularly until my trip. Thanks!!
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Thank you so much Franco...your advice makes me feel a lot beeter. I really appreciate it!!!
Merci beaucoups!!!
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