4 Tips to Learning French in Record Time

Do you feel overwhelmed learning French? Perhaps you even had a minor anxiety attack? We’ve all been there. Learning a language can be intimidating to say the least. Not to mention if you are on a time constraint before a new job or a big trip to a French-speaking country. Not to worry, we’ve had our fair share of trials and tribulations in this process too and are here to share our advice for learning french très très fast.

1. Lingvist. First and foremost, Lingvist is there to get you on your speedy-learning journey. Why is Lingvist different? It has a very special algorithm working in the background that teaches you the important words and phrases that matter first. Learning the word “train” is much more important than drilling the French for “omnivore” into your head over and over, right? No need to cram. Try doing 50 cards a day and you will see how quickly you can build up your French vocabulary.

2. Cultural Immersion. Simply knowing a lot of French words isn’t very useful unless you know how to use them. That’s exactly why immersing yourself in the language via music, movies, and books is the way to go. Not to mention, you’ll be improving your skills while you’re having fun.

Movie buff? French cinema is great. Pick a few movies and have the French audio and French subtitles running simultaneously. This will help you match what you’re hearing with what you’re seeing and improve your comprehension and pronunciation. Also, movies are great for understanding words in different contexts and picking up a colloquialism or two.

Audiophile? Carla Bruni, Édith Piaf, Vanessa Paradis…there’s a French musician to suit any taste. Put some headphones on and immerse yourself in some great French music. Spotify and other music services have great French playlists available that you can check out by doing a quick search.

Book worm? Then you’re definitely in luck. There’s plenty of choice so it’s easy to find something that you like. Start off with some picture books and set a reading goal each day to really get a leg up on your grammar. Don’t know what to read? Check out the Lingvist Pinterest for plenty of recommendations from our own staff.

3. A friend. Spend some time practicing your French skills with others. Sure, it may seem intimidating at first, but we assure you, once you get past the initial fear, it’s actually quite enjoyable.

Not ready to practice face-to-face? Try out some online language exchanges like LiveMocha or an app like Tandem. Once you’re feeling more and more confident, make sure to join various language meetups in your area. Not only will your French skills improve, but you are also sure to make a few friends in the process.

4. Perseverance. Let’s be honest - learning a language can be a bit intimidating at times, but you should never be afraid of messing up. Making mistakes is absolutely natural in the language learning process (even necessary) so don’t give yourself a hard time about it. Practice makes perfect and every mistake will get you closer to your goal of becoming a French speaker.

Language learning has it’s ups and downs, but ultimately, it’s a very rewarding process. We, at Lingvist, try to make learning French as easy and fast as possible so you can spend less time drilling useless words and more time packing for Paris.

So what are you waiting for? Happy learning!