A Complete Guide To Becoming Conversational In French
I’m basing this off of this post I wrote a while back, as well as my own experiences. I’ll also copy one of my other posts onto here for the beginner section. Also, check out this post to see what level you are at and where you need to begin.
I would recommend studying this amazing pronunciation guide by @frenchy-french. Then, I would recommend that you start shadowing and speaking. Try shadowing (i.e. repeat what is being said after the speaker) a beginners podcast like FrenchPod101 (paid) or Coffee Break French (free).
You can try using an app to learn some basic vocabulary. Duolingo and Memrise are my personal favourites. You can also use Drops if you don’t want to translate vocabulary. Try using it daily (it’ll take at most 5 minutes a day).
Complete an online course or textbook. Here is an article with some recommendations for textbooks. Here is a link to a drive full of textbooks, where you will surely find something for French (credit to @salvadorbonaparte for providing this resource). As for online courses, here is a list of some places to find courses: Open Culture, Class central, Effective Language Learning and Loecson.
Make a native friend and start texting them. You can go on r/Language Exchange, or text them on HelloTalk or Tandem. You could also find a buddy on a language discord. Remember to be safe, and not reveal any private information. Look up words as you go, and try texting only in French the whole time. Start doing this as early as possible. Once you have become more confident texting and/or sending voice messages, try a phone call. You can also practice speaking using HiLokal.
Memorise some basic vocabulary and grammar. This post by @frenchy-french is the best for this. For vocabulary, you can use flashcards (like Anki, Quizlet and Memrise). Also, try Kwiziq for grammar.
Immerse. For now, try listening to lots of music, and watch a bunch of fun YouTube videos (like the ones by Cyprien, and Montreaux Comedy). Also, use the language filter on AO3 to look up fanfiction in French. Switch your phone’s language to French, and follow a bunch of French people on social media.
Beginner to intermediate (A1 to B1)
At this level, I would suggest using a textbook or online course. The ones I mentioned earlier might be helpful. Personally, I used GCSE textbooks. I used this Studio 9-1 textbook (good for practicing skills), and this CGP textbook (good for grammar and vocabulary, lots of practice questions). It’s also worth checking out Z-library to see if you can find something for free.
Try working through a grammar book. My personal favourite is the Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar textbook (you can probably find it on Z-library). If you don’t want to use a grammar book though, the second season of Coffee Break French is good too (or you could use it to consolidate your knowledge). Do practice questions if you want, or maybe make a cheat sheet. Don’t forget to use what you learn in your writing and speaking!
Expand your basic vocabulary. You can use a course on Memrise (here is the one I used) or find some vocabulary lists online to learn (the GCSE specification is great to choose topics). You can use flashcards (like Quizlet and Anki), columns or association: whatever works for you. After you have learnt the ones you need for general communication (the GCSE specification might be a good guide for this), I would suggest learning some vocabulary lists about topics that interest you in particular. As well as this, generally try to learn vocabulary you encounter when reading and writing. Remember to use example sentences when learning vocabulary!
Do you remember those speaking buddies you were meant to meet earlier? Well, keep speaking with them. If you’re nervous, try to memorise some set phrases and questions to keep the conversation going. Don’t be afraid to ask someone to slow down, or speak more clearly. Do it as often as you can. You can also continue texting your buddies too. Again, try and stay safe.
Continue to immerse using the methods that I mentioned earlier. You can try watching films and TV shows with English or French subtitles, but I doubt that they will be helpful at this stage. Personally, I read fanfiction, (usually translations of my favourite fics) articles and watched YouTube videos. The articles and YouTube videos were often meant to offer advice about things, since self-help stuff is often quite simple. Just a quick tip.
Watch children’s shows in your target language. Shows like Peppa Pig and the little princess would be good. Just get used to the sounds of the language.
Find a guided reader, or learners exercises (like Lingua), and read them. Also, you could try reading these short stories (recommendations by @frenchy-french).
Shadow Easy French (i.e. repeat what is being said, and imitate the intonation and accent).
Try keeping a journal in French. Every day, just write two or three sentences in the language. For some ideas about what to write, here is a wonderful set of questions by @myhoneststudyblr.
Engage with intermediate French content. I like InnerFrench, RFI: Savoirs, Piece of French and FrenchPod101. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t understand much at first.
Intermediate to conversational (B1 to B2)
Listen to intermediate French podcasts and youtube videos like the ones that I mentioned earlier. Here is an article which lists some good intermediate podcasts. You can also just look up “intermediate french listening practice” and find some good stuff. Try listening without a transcript at first, and then read and listen at the same time.
Continue shadowing native material. Once again, I recommend Easy French for this.
Try watching TV shows and films. Here are some recommendations for TV shows. You can also watch things you’ve seen already dubbed in French, like Disney films. Also, you can use a platform like LingoPie (if you have the funds - I highly recommend it if you do). Make sure that what you choose is not too difficult, and that there is no needless jargon or complex language.
Try to keep a journal in French. Just write about your day, and also your various thoughts and opinions on certain topics. You can also try writing reviews for books and movies, and record vocabulary from there. For some entries, type them up and post them on Journaly for corrections.
Speak with your speaking buddies! Try and learn how to speak around words (i.e. learn how to describe the meaning of the word you are looking for if you can’t remember it).
Work through a grammar book. Keep doing the practice questions, and actively use what you learn in your speaking and writing.
Read articles, fanfiction and books. For articles, I can recommend Le Monde and Liberation. It’s good to keep up with what is going on in France, so give it a shot. For books, I would suggest reading translations of books that you have already read in your native language (this also applies to fanfiction if there is a translation available). Here are some recommendations for native French books. Pick something you like and go for it! As for fanfiction, here is how to filter languages on AO3 and WattPad.
Watch YouTube videos in French. Here are some youtubers you might want to check out.
Watch the news in French. I personally use FranceInter and TV5monde.
Write short stories and essays in French. Perhaps try lifting phrases and vocabulary from books and fanfiction you read? If you write an essay, make it about a topical issue like abortion or the role of family in society (here are some topics for intermediate essay topics). Also, here are some essay phrases.
Needless to say, you will have to continue learning French vocabulary using whichever methods you prefer. Perhaps you can explore @frenchy-french’s vocabulary tag?
And that’s it so far! If you want to go from intermediate to advanced, try to follow this advice in this post by @frenchy-french. Thanks for reading this post! I hope it was useful to you!
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