The Key to Learning French

Learning French (or any other foreign language for that matter) can be a daunting task, although it doesn’t necessarily have to be. You’ve got a much better chance of success if you understand the basic principles of second language acquisition. These three factors will help you on your journey of learning French.

Total immersion, coupled with commitment and motivation, is undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to learn any new language. There’s nothing that concentrates the mind quite as fast as needing to communicate basic needs, especially when you’re in a hurry.

But you don’t have to ship off to France just yet.

Whilst I was lucky enough to spend over half a decade living there, I also studied Spanish (without ever living in a Spanish-speaking country), am currently learning Swahili, and also teach French classes and hold workshops.

Past experience has taught me that the best approach to learning any new language is a multi-pronged one and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers seem to agree.

Although there are many differing opinions, experts point to three basic principles: input, output and interaction.

Input

Over and above taking classes or using self-study methods, you need to see your brain as a sponge and take in as much information as you can from different sources.

Plug in by reading as much French as possible. Read what interests you, in print or online. You can also listen to French music and rent movies. Keep stimulating your mind and you’ll soon see a vast improvement in your grammar, vocabulary and writing, even if you’re a beginner and it all seems like Greek to you.

Output

This is where you need to take a more active approach. You need to write and speak as much as you can, even if you’ve got nobody to talk to. Do exercises, write sentences and practice your pronunciation. Get CDs or listen to online clips that leave time for you to repeat whatever was said. This will loosen you up for when it comes to the real deal.

Interaction

This is where you put into practice everything you’re busy learning and it’s a vital part of the process. SLA experts seem to feel that ‘feedback’ helps speed up your learning. When there’s a communication break-down, you also have to think quickly and find solutions, and this pushes you to further develop your skills. Even if you don’t live in a Francophone country, you can still interact by finding someone online and communicate via email, or take part in forums or sign up for various French language and culture groups in your area.

These are just some ideas you can use to follow the three principles of input, output and interaction.

I’ll follow up soon with more links and ideas to help you on your path to (almost) French fluency. Get in touch if you have any questions, ideas or tips and tricks that helped you to learn a foreign language.