Hello everyone,
I don’t know about you, but the very thought of learning French makes me recoil in horror. But that’s probably because I still have nightmares about my first teacher in Paris, who mocked me when I couldn’t give him an example of the subjunctive tense. That’s true, he literally mocked me. I’ve never tried again.
With all this in mind, I invited Camille from French Today onto the podcast to give me the answer to the age-old question: How should I learn French?
More specifically, I asked her about the order to do it in, how to be efficient in learning the language, and what the other teachers are doing incorrectly.
I share some tales of woe in my own French learning, and pose a few day-to-day questions that I’ve been storing up, and Camille also teaches me what I’ve been doing wrong when I try to say “bow-tie” in French, or “noeud papillon”.
Also, Camille has written in great detail about the best method for learning French, so if you want some great extra reading content then simply follow this link. It explains some basic tips to get you started, like sticking in the present tense, mastering the negative, and how to ask basic questions.
The podcast:
So, click that link above to read about it, or click play below to hear our chat on the podcast (and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts).
If you want to learn French with Camille’s method, find the audiobooks here.
PS: The photo above has nothing to do with learning French, but it was a particularly beautiful restaurant I passed in Montmartre the other day and thought I’d share. Find it on Rue l’Abreuvoir in the 18th arrondissement.
To hear all the episodes with Camille on The Earful Tower, scroll around below.
Interesting ideas ~ hopefully next week when I have my social security I will sign up for level one 😊 the program sounds logical and successful. Looking forward to learning.
Loved Camille’s process! I have been in private lessons with a wonderful sweet French women who teaches French to high schoolers…she is very accepting of my poor pronunciation and my lack of grammatical errors… I have been to France for two weeks in Sancere for immersion French. Then a week in Paris with a Private tutor who I dragged to every market and museum in Monmartre to avoid “desk work! Just for fun the “Book Flirting with French’ by William Alexander is a entertaining dive into learning French! He notes, “How a language charmed me, seduced me and nearly broke my heart.” I still practice but know the best way is with a conversation in French and best in France!!!!!
Correction… I surely do not lack any grammatical error…I have used them all. And, no, I can not speak French….But I can find les toilettes and un verre du vin in Paris! I am certainly going to look into Camille’s audiobooks… Thank you!
French is one of the easiest foreign languages to grasp. Oliver Gee, it is really nice of you to share these tips and suggestions to assist French learners. It will inspire them and also accelerate their entire learning process. Keep penning such interesting posts! Looking forward to more informative and useful posts for French learners.