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Try to learn plenty of vocab early on, then travel to the country and spend loads of time talking to and mingling with the locals....my experience is that the French in particular are very tetchy about strangers mis-using their fine language and so they endlessly correct your errors....and that is a very powerful way to improve
Obviously works when Covid travel restrictions are lifted for the visiting France bit
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Learning a new language on 09:26 - Apr 26 with 1336 views
I still use Duolingo from time to time. And try and learn new words every day from a dictionary to learn with hindsight things that I struggle with in everyday life.
Best way to learn is to go to what used to be called evening classes - you meet like-minded people and improve in leaps and bounds. I went from stumbling o level franglais of 30 years' vintage to reasonable proficiency quite quickly.
Try French radio and newspapers on line when you get mildly proficient - for sports and especially when global news stories like covid you more or less know what they're talking about. And frenchTV progs like 'call my agent' and the sexy female french detectives on 'walter presents' with sub titles.
Mind you - nothing prepares you for the French equivalent of Brummie, Scouse or Norfolk accents. Nor trying to think in French and have a conversation.
Apps like Duolingo are very good. They use the best approaches to learning a language according to the research.
I’d start off with those as you can make quick progress, and then start immersing yourself in the language (travel, culture, films, music, books, real conversations with French people) as time goes on.
Pronouns: He/Him
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Learning a new language on 09:36 - Apr 26 with 1306 views
I tried duolingo for many languages and thought it to be crap. Unless it’s significantly changed since I last used it, it’s a repetitive exercise of matching pictures to words and doesn’t help you to learn sentence structure or useful phrases. As far as I’m aware much more expensive software like Rosetta Stone is essentially the same.
What worked for me, and I would follow this approach if I was to learn another language, was getting a book and preferably one with an accompanying CD so you can listen and repeat.
I'd recommend the Michel Thomas French set. I got them for my partner and she picked up French from them quick enough to get by. You learn in a way that allows you to pick up a lot of the language quickly with minimal effort.
Over a decade ago I used them to pick up Spanish and I still retain a little of what I learnt, despite only using it for 3 months in Central America.
From learning Korean (very basic), I'd say consistency is the greatest tip. An hour a day or X amount a week. Whatever it is, keep consistent in your learning. Not being consistent will slow down your learning.
I used to do one lesson a week and one language exchange per week. Plus I was living there, so I'd pick up things naturally.
Set yourself homework... By that I mean don't learn it once and think you will retain it. Come back to it in a week or month and practice what you learnt again.
[Post edited 26 Apr 2021 9:41]
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For French I'd recommend subscribing to Francais Authentique. The presenter, Johan, makes a point of speaking french slowly and clearly, so you get to hear the language but you can still make out what they are saying. Which is great for beginners.
Learning a new language on 09:36 - Apr 26 by Sarge
I tried duolingo for many languages and thought it to be crap. Unless it’s significantly changed since I last used it, it’s a repetitive exercise of matching pictures to words and doesn’t help you to learn sentence structure or useful phrases. As far as I’m aware much more expensive software like Rosetta Stone is essentially the same.
What worked for me, and I would follow this approach if I was to learn another language, was getting a book and preferably one with an accompanying CD so you can listen and repeat.
Learning a new language on 09:41 - Apr 26 by GeoffSentence
Youtube is great for learning languages
For French I'd recommend subscribing to Francais Authentique. The presenter, Johan, makes a point of speaking french slowly and clearly, so you get to hear the language but you can still make out what they are saying. Which is great for beginners.
Good point, I used YouTube a lot as a resource too.
Submit your 1-24 league prediction here -https://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/514096/page:1 - for the opportunity to get a free Ipswich top.
I see people mentioning Duo and to be fair there's not much wrong with it as a starting point.
Note the app is somewhat different to the website - the app is rather limited for obvious reasons and useful only for a bit of practice if stuck in a waiting room somewhere or sitting on the loo.
I'd use a multi-pronged approach; I've used Duo the website, but for the more technical stuff Lawless is pretty good and has a free option or a paid up full version:
Duolingo is pretty good and you can do small bits daily. Would also recommend learning from a native speaker if possible - loads of language schools are online at the moment so should be easier to find than normal. Superprof usually a good way to find a one on one teacher
I used Michel Thomas quite some time ago to give me the basics of Italian and for the past year or so (10 minutes a day) I have been using Duolingo. Both are decent but you will ultimately learn a lot more by being in a situation where you can speak it. Also worth watching some French language TV - with the English subtitles on you will start to pick up certain words and phrases.
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