Learning French can be an enriching experience, as it is a language with a rich history and cultural significance. It opens up many doors for travel, education, and job opportunities. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced learner, there are countless resources available to help you improve your French skills.
Mastering a new language requires dedication and hard work to form a lasting memory of verb rules, sentence order and pronunciation. In order to start learning French faster and easier, focus on the basics like how to pronounce words correctly.
When the topic of learning is broached, people generally picture a student bound to a desk and studying. However, when you want to learn a new language, you cannot just study passively by only practicing reading and writing. How about practicing your French speaking skills?
Speaking is one of the essential aspects of language learning that allows learners to communicate effectively and confidently with native speakers. Do you want to take your language skills to the next level and learn how to speak French fluently? Learning a new language can be a daunting prospect, but with the right resources and dedication, it is not impossible to become a fluent French speaker.
Learning French by Taking Lessons
Taking French lessons is a great way to start learning the language. However, many people worry if they can actually afford the cost of taking classes. These days, there are many options of lessons such as online or physical classes, group or individual classes that offer prospective learners a wide variety of affordable choices.
Do make sure that you to know your learning goals before joining classes. Do you want to learn French because you are relocating to France? Or are you pursuing French A Levels, or DELF perhaps? This is vital to find the ideal learning platform.
Whether it is a physical class or an online course, the focus of the lessons are usually on reading and comprehension rather than speaking. As a second language learner, of course you need to know the technicalities of the language such as the use of proper grammar and getting to know the vocabulary.
While in class, when it comes to practicing speaking, it is usually based on students answering teachers’ questions. This does not give students the real world view of a normal conversation using French.
However, learning the technicalities without actually practicing your French speaking skills will lead you to struggle to communicate with other French language speakers which defeats the purpose of learning the language in the first place.
In order to speak French fluently, you need to practice speaking it while taking lessons. This will help you to understand the language better. The common struggle that many language learners go through is that they do not have anyone that they can practice speaking with. This seems to deter their progress.
We at Superprof have compiled a few ways that you can practice speaking French while taking lessons. Check it out!
Conversation Partners
Finding French-speaking conversation partners can make a big difference in improving your conversational French. While you may not have friends or family around you that can speak French, with the assistance of modern technology, there are quite a number of apps and websites where you can find conversation partners online.
It is normal to feel self-conscious, awkward, embarrassed or even scared at the beginning. However, if you do not take the opportunity to practice, you cannot make progress. You can prepare yourself beforehand to make the session less intimidating. Making a list of topics to discuss, do some research if you are unsure and set a time limit for each topic so that you do not feel overwhelmed.
Here are some great options to check out if you are looking for conversation partners:
Tandem
Tandem is an amazing app that allows you to find conversation partners around the world. The free version of this app includes all the important features to find partners and start practicing speaking French.
MyLanguageExchange
This is a simple and straightforward website that feature a short introduction of people who are looking for conversation partners. Once you have connected with a partner, people usually switch to using other apps like Skype or WhatsApp to continue communicating.
Speaking to Yourself in French
It is great idea to speak out aloud to yourself to reduce your inhibition. It will serve as a good practice session to have a conversation in French on your own. You can imagine everyday situations that you might go through and have a conversation that you think might take place. For example, if you sometimes frequent a French restaurant where they have French native speakers, you can practice greeting the waiter and ordering food in French.
When you actually visit the restaurant in reality, you will find that you are able to speak with more ease because you have practiced it. Of course, the flow of conversation will not be exactly the same as when you practiced alone, but it will help you feel more confident.
You can also practice speaking what you learn from your French lessons. Do make sure that you find a French language teacher who is right for you. If you are unsure on how to go about this, check out Tips to Find the Right French Tutor for You.
Read French Out Aloud & Use Audiobooks
Reading French books is a great way to learn how to form complete sentences. You can start out with your French textbooks and once you have started gaining more understanding in the language you can move on to French novels in the genres that interest you.
Do not read the books silently. Reading out aloud allows you get a feel for how French speakers actually compose sentences, especially dialogues. In the long run, you will be able to not only better understand but also be able to speak French with more spontaneity because you are familiar with common sentence structures.
At the same time, you can also listen to audiobooks of the French novels you’re reading and read aloud alongside the audiobook. This can help you improve your pronunciation and intonation which will eventually turn you into a fluent speaker.
Here are some great websites to check out if you are looking for French audiobooks:
Watch French Movies and TV Shows
As a beginner, watching French movies and TV shows with subtitles is a great way to practice your listening and comprehension skills. This will provide exposure to the everyday conversation and slang of French speaking people which you will not get from a formal learning environment.
This will also help you learn more about French culture and help you understand the language better. You are actually training your ear to listen to the words while paying attention to the intonation, pronunciation and facial expression of the performers on the screen.
As you gain a better understanding of the language, you can try watching French films and shows without the subtitles. It will help train you to keep up with the speakers' rapid diction. This will come in handy in a real live conversation where you will be able to follow what is being spoken by a French native speaker and be able to respond faster.
You can also practice your French speaking by repeating what you hear. Start with simple content and gradually progress to more challenging levels.
Practice & Don't be Afraid of Making Mistakes
Don't let the fear of making mistakes stop you from speaking French. Many who learn French, are afraid to speak it due to fear of making mistakes. However, the ultimate end goal of achieving fluency is to speak French with clarity and be understood by others.
Making mistakes is normal and an essential part of the learning process. Therefore, take the risk of making mistakes in order to be able to improve your speaking skills. You may have started with memorising common words and phrases as a beginner. As you move forward, you will need to master the ability to communicate spontaneously with others to have a natural flow of conversation.
Be humble and always strive to improve when you receive feedback. The more you practice speaking French, the better you become. Check out All You Need to Know about Learning French!
Taking French lessons is only the first step to becoming fluent. You will need to take advantage of the additional language tools and resources available, such as the language apps, conversation partners and many more to practice speaking French to achieve fluency.
Learning French as a second language, requires practice, commitment, and dedication. Hire a Superprof tutor today to help you master the French language in a fun and innovative manner. It doesn’t matter if you are beginner who is just starting out or and advanced learner who is looking to brush up your French. Our tutors are just waiting to help you achieve your goals!
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