How to Achieve One of your New Year’s Resolutions : Take Your French to The Next Level

This year you have decided to feel more confortable with the French language. Here are the suggestions from French à La Carte and a list of recommendations on how to incorporate them into busy schedules.

1. Join a Conversation Group

An excellent way to use and practise the French language that you are learning is to join a conversation group in Paris. Not only will your French improve significantly, but you’ll probably meet some interesting French speakers along the way. It can be complementary to your private French lessons.  Meetup offers various  French conversation groups in Paris in various neighbourhoods of the city.

2. Widen your Vocabulary Every Day

French is an extremely rich language when it comes to vocabulary.Beginner French learners may focus on the words that they use in daily conversations in their native language.

For more intermediate and advanced French learners, it is beneficial to widen your vocabulary with alternative expressions, synonyms and idioms.

You can also use the app CleverDeck that includes decks containing 3000 of the most common words.

You can also subscribe to Twitter accounts that offers one French word a day, or one expression each day.

3. Master the Rules of French Grammar

French is a difficult language when it comes to grammar. There are almost twenty tenses, three types of conjugations without counting the irregular verbs and feminine and masculine forms to take into consideration.

You may try to learn each conjugation or each tense every month, practicing it as much as possible. This practice will help you retain the information without feeling overwhelmed.

If you have a limited time to work on the conjugation, download an app dedicated to French conjugation. Appealing good French conjugaison apps will help you to better memorize different tenses.

To better understand the language rules, you may also watch some videos on the youtube channels dedicated to French grammar such as Learn French with Vincent, Learn French with Alexa, or Learn French: Frenchpod101.com

4. Listen to One Hour of French Audio Every Week

You don’t have to go to France to listen to French, but you need to listen to the language regularly to have a better grasp of it.

At first, it is normal to have difficulties to follow a dialogue between native speakers and don’t get frustated if you only half of the conversation. French learners sometimes become stuck on words or expressions that are unfamiliar, miss the rest of the conversation and become frustated.

Here is a list of podcasts that will help you to build up your comprehension skills.

5. Watch French Movies

Netflix offers French movies or series to train your ear to the French language as it is actually spoken by the natives. You can press on French subtitles in order to optimize your comprehension. The most popular French serie at the moment with our students is Dix pour Cent. Don’t be too demanding as Netflix subtitles are sometimes slightly different from the dialogues.

If you live in Paris, you should watch French movies and if you have not yet an advanced level, Lost in Frenchlation breaks the language barrier and bring the best of French cinema to the international community in Paris. They host each week screenings of French films with English subtitles at independent cinemas with a convivial coktail.

6. Learn French during Conversation Tours in Paris

Even when you learn French in a classroom or by yourself online, it’s not always easy to find opportunities to converse with native speakers (especially with Parisians, who tend to immediately answer in English!)

 Speaking French can be intimidating, especially if you’re a beginner or at elementary level. This is why French à La Carte has created immersive lessons in Paris for all those who prefer to learn outside a classroom.

If you’re learning French in Paris, discovering the city while conversing with a French teacher during a pastry and chocolate tour, a gourmet tour or other themed lessons, can be an enjoyable and efficient way to improve your skills: understanding, speaking, and accuracy. Even beginners can benefit from experiencing the life of a Parisian, just for a few hours.

7. Get Your Daily News in French

Your French expression skills will better serve you if you can support your opinion using source material.

You may follow a quality French newspaper and read it every day.

Many online videos provide easy access to French news events and allow you to rewind and review information as needed. Websites such as RFI (journal en Français facile ) News in slow French, and TV5monde broadcast the news, along with quizzes to assess your understanding. Try to always use videos with transcriptions. Write down notes while you watch the news reports, and pay attention to how people are using their vocabulary naturally.