Contrary to popular belief, learning how to speak a new language does not have to take a long time. Nothing is more natural; it can actually be quite a bit of fun to master a new language! Focus on the opportunities that speaking another language can bring. You’ll have an easier time when you travel. For one thing, it can make traveling much simpler. Not only that, but you may find you can talk to more people right where you live. You are also required to know another language for many jobs today. The language that is used the most in the United States, next to English, is French.
In certain areas, more people speak French than English. Knowing how to speak and translate French into other languages is a valuable skill to have.
When you speak a new language, you want to be understood, which is why you first want to have a French accent or ‘tongue.’ You really want to be able to speak French well and have people understand you; this is more fundamental than the grammar or even knowing many words. If you want to quickly get into the habit of speaking French, get anything you can find written in French and read it out loud. Read out loud from French magazines and practice repeating phrases you hear in French from fluent speakers. This process can show you how to use proper inflections and using words in the right order and even the way idioms are used in French. Start practicing this whenever you can; you may be surprised to find that it’s fun. Think of how it felt to learn songs when you were a child; this can be similar. An important skill to acquire is to practice thinking in the new language. This takes some work, but as you are going about your day try to translate your thoughts into French. You will have to practice this, so don’t be in a hurry. Periodically throughout your day ask yourself how you would say the words you are thinking in French. The more often you do this, the better you will be at it. You will be surprised at how fast you will be able to do this translation process once you practice it for a while. At some point, you will become so accustomed to this that you won’t even have to make an effort; you’ll just find yourself thinking in French. If you know how to think in French you can work on saying those thoughts out loud–the key to truly interacting in French.
It helps if you follow a plan. No matter what course or system you use, it has to be done in a certain logical order. You can’t learn everything at once; you have to start somewhere and move forward bit by bit. It’s best to start with more basic things, like the days of the week, hours on the clock and simple phrases. If you want to speed up your progress, don’t try to learn the language’s grammar right away; start, rather, with vocabulary. It’s best to stick to the rules of the system you are using and not jump from one chapter or section to another at random. The people who put together these programs know the best way to lay it all out. Changing the order can cause you to miss something important. Why would you make things harder for yourself?
There are many good reasons to learn a second language, but discovering the best way can be difficult.
You might be tempted to just head to the bookstore and pick up the latest book on french language programs. A class is a great idea, and so is meeting people who are fluent. There really are many options to learn French or other languages. Have fun with it!