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French
Hey guys!
So this year I get to learn a langauge && I picked French. does anybody know any tips? or know any awesome sites that can help me?
Merci.
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ah a french newbie. Tres bien mon cherie.
ok. I'll break this into 5 things for you, because I am a list maker by nature. I went through a very intensive 6 year french program, so I got it down. :)
1. The basics that you learn in the first few weeks of class will haunt you forever if you don't learn them properly. Make flashcards, have someone quiz you daily, and review old material when studying for new tests.
2. There is no oral practice like talking in french. Try to speak as much french as possible even if your class is not orally intensive. Repeat the words that you know to yourself, and try and form sensical phrases out of them. Try and answer your teacher completely in french when you can, she'll admire you for it and you'll get the practice plus someone who will correct your errors.
3. Listen to french. Some satillite dishes can tap into a french TV station, or there is radio on the internet. Read french articles and try and make sense of them, or even french childrens books.
4. If all else fails, www.freetranslation.com is the best translation site on the web. However, DON'T USE THIS DIRECTLY. You'll end up with a paper containing conjugations you couldn't possibly know, plus you won't learn the material. Use this just as a guide, and to answer conjugation questions.
5. Buy a French/ English dictionary and a copy of 501 french verbs. They will save your life,and never attend a french class without them in hand.
French is not an easy language, and a lot of programs are intensive. Do the work though, and you will be rewarded with mastery of a beautiful language. BON CHANCE!
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i'm in french 2... yeah... it seems easy at first... but then u get into all the feminine/masculine stuff and verbs and all that other junk... but other than that stuff... it's not that hard... if you use this site [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) ... or any other translating site... make sure to check if the feminine/masculine stuff is right... other than that, all i can say is PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS!... otherwise you'll be compleatly lost when you're doing your homework
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well i have taken french for four years and i even lived nex to france(belguim) and i have learned that websites arent always the best. wat is good is like books especially english-french dictionary. they work great!! the languge isnt too hard as i have learned and you should be fine. just pay attition in class and take notes and study them!! but in case you are ever confussed with the languge then try this one site that i LOVE!
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
its good for if you ever need a translation or something!!
j'espère que j'ai dépanné vous et la bonne chance en français ! ! (**translation** i hope i helped you out and good luck in french!!)
kckstartmyheart
ahhhhahaha im am sorry i fixed the link. sorry about the mix up! lol
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A great grammar reference is Tex's French Grammar, [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) , it's simply fantastic, especially if you're a grammatically-inclined person. (The same site also has more conversationally-inclined lessons, but I haven't tried those.) The BBC also has a pretty good set of resources: [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) .
As for tips, well here's some observations specific to French, in no particular order:
- beware of false friends, which are words in French that seem look similar to certain English words but actually aren't, e.g. avertissement, 'warning', as opposed to advertisement.
- French really can sound beautiful when spoken. Unfortunately, gaining a proper accent might be difficult at first, unless you've already had some exposure to the Romance languages, have a talent for mimicry, or you're just very careful in enunciation.
- practice the alphabet. Most of it's the same as English, but there's a few tricksy ones such as G and J, which are reversed, and R is uvular, i.e. a sound made in the back of the throat.
- French grammar might seem difficult at first, with many exceptions, e.g. don't pronounce the -ent conjugation in verb forms like chantent. However, it does seem French is more _regular_ about its exceptions, whereas English is just... well, much more irregular and random. =)
- take people's claims of Spanish/Italian/other Romance language being easier than French with a grain of salt. Of course, ease depends very much on the individual, but there's nothing inherently more difficult in French.
- practice the tu/vous distinction. During mediaeval times, English thou was the rough equivalent of tu. I think nowadays conversational French courses are taught with tu emphasised, but knowing the distinction's still important.
Those might help.
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Although I don't study French, I do take Spanish, and I assume you learn them basically the same way.
Something that helps me remember Spanish is by making a song out of it. Just pick and catchy tune and put some French words to it. Also, if you know any French songs (the only one I can think of is Lady Marmalade, haha), think of those lyrics when taking tests and stuff. I always remember how to say "life" in Spanish because of "La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin :)
Another thing you could do is make flashcards. For example, if you were learning the names of animals, you could write the French word for the animal and draw a picture of it on one side, and write the English translation on the other side. If you studyed them enough with a friend or a parent, you would grow to associate the picture of the animal with the French word.
Here are a couple of websites that might help you:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
I hope I helped :)
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I learned spanish last year as a junior and i had alot of trouble keeping it in my head. But itll probly be alot easier for you to learn just because the fact i have short term memory.
The main thing that will get you through french will be to study as much as you possible can. Because if you dont study it will be hard to understand the language. When you get vocabulary make flashcards. Put the french word on one side and what it means on the other side. Also if you ever dont understand anything ask the teacher. thats what he/she is there for.
Like the perosn below said. Never use translators the french you learn in school is not the french they use on those translators.
any more questions just ask
hope this helps
kim:)
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not really any tips...i guess just practice speaking it often. i'm in ap french and its really not a hard language ive always made a's dont worry about it and do not use translation sites they are not accurate at all!!!!!!
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ive never taken french before so i dont have any tips but i do have a good site thatss helps for most languages.
www.freetranslations.com
hope i helped
Mecha Becca
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Your going into french class because you want to learn it. Dont sweat it, they are going to teach you. :]
Just do your homework, pay attnetion,
and have fun.
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