For certain people who decide to take part in a language stay in France, their main goal is to spend time discovering new cultures and cuisines, and meeting new people. However, for most, the primary objective is to improve your fluency in the language, whether this be for a job, school, or simply for pleasure. Each person will have different learning styles which suit them best: visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, or reading/writing. I have decided to collate a list of the techniques I have found most useful in my own learning, which may also prove to be helpful for yourself.
Firstly, an element of French language learning that many people tend to find difficult is oral comprehension. For myself, I found it incredibly hard to identify where one word ended and the next started when a native French speaker spoke to me. This can make the dream of being able to watch movies and TV shows in another language seem much less achievable. However there are many methods you can use to improve your ability to understand spoken French. One of my favourites is to listen to French podcasts, and I will often do this when travelling to work or university, in the car or on the train or bus. For students who may have only just begin to study French, I would recommend News In Slow French, which can be found on Spotify and most podcast apps. With a new episode posted every week, this is an excellent way to regularly practice your oral comprehension, and learn something new and interesting! For more intermediate students, I would recommend The InnerFrench Podcast, also available on Spotify. Each episode lasts between 30 minutes to an hour, and the subjects which are talked about range from historic French icons to recent news and hot topics of discussion. The hosts will often stop to discuss particular phrases or idioms that are used in the episodes, so that you can expand your knowledge of conversational and informal French. For more advanced students, I would recommend SBS French which can also be found on Spotify or online, in order to hear about recent news in France. I have found this helpful to broaden my vocabulary relating to politics, health, sport and much more. Getting into the habit of listening to French regularly will absolutely help you to become more comfortable in conversation.
Recently in my study of French, I have found speaking to be the most difficult aspect of the French language. In particular, I have found myself repeating the same words over and over again when I can’t find a synonym, and this leaves me feeling as though my sentences are not particularly complex or sophisticated. Since arriving in Montpellier and starting my French courses, I have decided to work on expanding my vocabulary further. During classes, I will take note of all the new words I hear throughout the session, and later on during the day I will find the English translations for each of these new words. It is important to keep your notes tidy and organised, so that you can more easily reflect back on them in the future. It is also very important when you are revising new vocabulary to practice using these words in a sentence, so that you can use them spontaneously later on. It is one thing to be able to understand these words when a teacher is speaking to you, but it’s another to be able to use them yourself!
Finally, for those who dream of being able to read books in French, I would recommend visiting some of the second-hand book shops in Montpellier during your French language stay. There you can find books of all kind as cheap as €1! Having spoken with several other students, there seems to be a pattern with reading books in French whereby many find it difficult to focus on and enjoy the plot if they have to translate every other word. For this, I would recommend two strategies. Firstly, try not to be too ambitious with the level of book that you select. It will not be an enjoyable experience or one that you will want to do again if you struggle to understand each sentence. This might mean starting with books that target a younger audience, and then working your way up! Secondly, once you have found a level of difficulty that suits you, remember that you don’t need to look up every word that you don’t understand. I have found that it is better to continue reading and use the context of the story to understand new vocabulary. This way you are not interrupting your reading and train of thought every other minute.
Of course, the experience of studying French will be different for everyone, however I hope that these techniques may be of assistance for your own French language learning journey.
Sofiah, ILA student