How to learn French on your own
Haven’t decided yet to take a French course but you would like to take your first steps with the French language?
If is your case, welcome to our post.
Eager to learn French, the language of love? Learning French at a language school but feeling to keep improving outside of the classroom? Haven’t decided yet to take a French course but you would like to take your first steps with the French language? If any of the previous examples is your case, welcome to our post.
Learning a new language by yourself will be an easier or harder task depending on the proximity of your native language to the target language, your motivation, effort, consistency, the quality of the learning materials used and the effective use of your time and your learning method.
When learning a new language self-taught there is no teacher guiding your learning process and providing you with the carefully-selected materials to learn from and no classmates to interact with.
Therefore, if you are planning to learn French completely on your own, we advise you to be aware of your learning style, to take your time and don’t rush into progress and to choose carefully interesting materials you are personally keen on and which will make you learn step by step.
Take a look at these tips to help you learn French on your own:
1. Include French in your daily routines
To make learning French on your own something pleasurable and effective, include French in your daily routines! Do you drink a coffee every morning while reading the newspaper before heading to work? Listen to a podcast in French with the transcript instead. Driving for work and stuck in traffic on a daily basis? Play a French station on the radio, or listen to French songs you like trying to focus on the lyrics and not only on the rhythm.
If it’s Sunday and Netflix is your best plan, find a movie in French. Surely you have already watched French movies dubbed to your native tongue or there is a French movie you want to watch since a long time ago! Learning French through movies is a terrific way for you to learn new grammatical structures, improve your listening skills and expand your vocabulary in French!
The same goes for reading, find audiobooks adapted to your current level and start reading in French! There is nothing better to improve your writing and expanding your vocabulary than reading in French.
2. Be your own teacher
When learning a new language, we all make mistakes. They are normal and if we can learn from them, they are the way we will keep improving and succeed in our learning progress. But in order to learn from mistakes, we will firstly have to realize that we are making them. Since we have no teacher to correct us, it is a good idea if we can find a learning partner or engage in language conversation exchanges. Having someone to support us and telling us what we need to improve will make our learning experience much more pleasurable and effective!
3. Immerse yourself in French language and culture
There is no better way to learn French than immersing yourself in the French-speaking world. And that means combining activities with language learning as much as possible. Try joining online communities where you will practice your French, try eating French food, and reading publications in French. There are also quality French immersion programmes in France allowing students to study French with a certified private tutor with all the advantages of learning French in a more customized way. Since learning French is not only what we can learn at the school, by living in a francophone environment you will also be learning French on a daily basis, meeting new friends, talking to locals and traveling to other French cities.
4. Invest in good quality learning materials
Learning French by yourself will also mean that you will have to spend some money on it. Check well your learning resources and don’t doubt to pay if you find a quality learning material you will benefit from. There are many quality free resources on the Internet for French learners, but some others may not be properly adapted or have the best quality to maximize your learning. It works also the other way around, you may find learning materials you will have to pay for but they may not be the best. Talk to colleagues learning languages by themselves, find Youtube channels talking about learning resources in French like Alexa’s and keep learning!
