 Return to the FRENCH Archive | Forward to the Current FRENCH Forum |
| Chris Parr | Sunday 12th of December 2004 01:10:19 PM |
| First Post from a newbie. - Hello and Bonjour,
I really want to learn French and have used 'French with Michel Thomas' to get me going. That along with some very fuzzy memories of what I learned in French class 17 years ago (and I got a F), that is all I have. I've tried many other web sites but while I have some spoken basics I have really no knowledge available for writing French (and my spoken basics are not to hot). I tried an email exchange but it took me about 3 hours to get a very short email out. As I actually have to live, work, eat and spend time with a family, I had to give that up. Anyone point me in the right direction for a fresh start? I have an internet connection that is fast enough to do a voice Classroom if need be (but I will need to get some software for that). Thanks in advance, Chris Parr | |
| Mery | Sunday 12th of December 2004 01:42:47 PM |
| - Hello Chris,
Look at the top of the page and click on Phrases :) Then, choose French as second language. Many French sentences are available with their Phrases in English. I'm still working on that section, so everything's not completed. It'll be soon (I hope). I'll also add audio files soon. In some other forums, you can see different lessons. It's not the case for the French forum (not yet). I'm the new French administrator and I have a lot of things to do before preparing those lessons :( sorry about that. If you have any questions about French, post them in the forum and I'll try to reply asap ;) I don't think you'll find loads of people here to help you with French, so don't hesitate to contact me if no one offers you his/her help. If you want to do a voice Classroom one day, I advise you to download MSN. If you already have it, you can add me to your contacts: themorethemery@hotmail.com (if you want;)) I wish you good luck with your learning :) Bon courage! A bientôt! | |
| La Pluie | Sunday 12th of December 2004 02:03:40 PM |
| - No, this place is not the place to learn a language. Here is just a place for meeting people and discussing a few things. You can't learn how to speak/write in French just through Classroomting with people online.
Chris, you should listen to the French radio: http://www.rfi.fr http://www.freedom.fr And read along... If you can't yet understand much of the news articles, then make flashcards of all the words you see more than once, all the words you think you might see in the next article you read (the words you don't know or keep forgetting, of course). Right there, you can practice three of the four language skills. And if you read the articles aloud, then you can practice the last. Trust me, reading simple news articles will quickly build your conversational French. I went from beginner French to a strong intermediate stage in less than two months just by reading and listening. If you don't have time to study, you can always just read an article a day or listen to the radio while doing your work. | |
| Chris Parr | Sunday 12th of December 2004 02:11:30 PM |
| Thanks - Hi,
Thanks for the reply. My problems is that with language tapes and CD's there is no-one to ask 'Ah, I see, but what if I want to say ....'. Also most of them teach you nothing about what to expect in reply, as I found out when I asked for a hotel room in Calais. I felt very proud of myself when the woman at the desk understood everything that I said, but I didn't understand anything more than the 'yes' in the numerous sentences she rapidly spoke after that :( Oh well, you live and learn :) Chris | |
| Chris Parr | Sunday 12th of December 2004 02:31:16 PM |
| Radio and stuff - Hi,
I do listen to a French radio station I found on longwave when I am in the car and usually I can work out the topic that is discussed, however most of what is said is lost on me, usually in the speed or (in the example of phone-in's) the accent of the speaker. I hope my understanding will improve as I get used to hearing people speak. Cheers Chris | |
| La Pluie | Sunday 12th of December 2004 03:54:08 PM |
| - No, what will really improve your comprehension of spoken French is reading along with news articles as you listen to them. Or what I do is read the daily articles at RFI and then listen if there's something I don't know how to pronounce or whatever reason. When I first started reading there français facile news, I only understood 50% of the writing and 3% of the speaking (without reading along). I thought I'd never get it. But the reading tripled my vocabulary easily, and the increased vocabulary is what improved my listening comprehension. Also, 60-70% of the people on RFI talk at a fairly slow speed.
Unless you're an audio learner, you'll have to learn the words visually first. | |
| limperatrice | Tuesday 14th of December 2004 09:58:27 PM |
| TV5 and films - If you've got cable, look into subscribing to TV 5 (French TV). Sometimes you can pick things up by pairing the words with actions you see. If you can't, many DVDs have either audio or subtitles in French, which might be better if you need to see the words (but beware of misPhrases). | |
