Learning French

At some point in your life, you’ve probably had to learn a foreign language. No matter the language, it was probably a difficult but rewarding experience. An easy and popular language to learn is French. The French language is a beautiful language to learn and is spoken by over 300 million people across the globe.

Even if you don’t plan on living or visiting a French-speaking country, learning a foreign language can be fun. Learning French is great, however, if you do plan on visiting Paris anytime soon. Of course, you need to know the language to be able to communicate. You won’t be able to get anywhere without knowing how to ask where things are, how much food costs, or when the next train to Lorraine leaves. It also helps to know small talk like ’s’il vous plait’ (please), ‘merci’ thank you, and ‘de rien’ (you’re welcome). Knowing the language of the culture you’re visiting shows your respect for the country and its people.  Or perhaps you’ve moved to Quebec, Canada, and you need to fill out a Canadian pardons form, there’s a good chance you’ll need to read French to fill them out.

It’s very important to learn to communicate in French if you’re visiting a French country or speaking with an immigrant of a French-speaking country because of the various translations of words. For example, in French, there are two ways to say ‘you’. Informally, as if speaking to close friends, one would say ‘tu’. Formally, as if speaking to a boss or a group of elder relatives, one would say ‘vous’.

Beginning to learn French is quite easy. First, start off by setting up lessons into categories like grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary. There are many books and websites out there that are great to enhance your French-speaking experience. There are a few complicated lessons of the French language like past tense verbs, future tense verbs, and relative pronouns, but practice makes perfect. The best way to learn French is to just use it in daily conversation.

If you’re not looking to learn the entire language, just be sure to know numbers, directions, important key phrases, pronunciation, and intonation. If you are looking to teach yourself the entire language, don’t expect to learn overnight. Learning another language is a long process, but in the end you’ll be able to say bonjour to being bilingual!