I need to learn French for going away next year. I did it at school for a couple of years but then took German instead so I don't really remember much (a little, but not enough to get by by any means). What's the best way to learn? Any books/audio guides that are highly recommended?
There's a series that my mum reccomends for learning languages by Michel Thomas. She uses it to learn Spanish as she already teaches French and German
You know, anything is great to learn a language as long as you follow it, and practice it... For me, I took French in high school, and I didn't learn much... But, I remember everything I did learn, and many French people comment on my grasp of what I know. (in a good way w00t). The way I remember, and figure French out is simple. Every time I say something in English, I think it in French too. If I don't know how, I go look it up (what types of verbs, how to conjugate, word order etc...) because real everyday sentences are what you will use. When I went to France, I watched many advanced students freeze up, because although hey could do the textbook speaking, they had trouble forming sentences on the fly. So keep that in mind when you learn a language. USE IT OFTEN! That along with any mediocre book or tape will get you a good grasp of a language.
Follow a course abroad.. Go to France, or Canada if you live closer, and spend 3 weeks there. You'll get lessons and you'll be speaking it during the day. Of course you'll need basic knowledge, but you'll learn a lot doing that.
2nds for Michel Thomas here. It won't teach you how to write it all that well but it's a brilliant way of learning how to speak and understand the language. <A88>
Just going to live there is a great way to learn. I used to know some pretty good German because I lived there for so long (forgotten it all now though).
Well I'm going to Canada in August for at least a year so, as the saying goes, I'll be immersing myself for at least that period of time, but I'd like at least a vague grasp on the language before I go. I don't particularly want to take lessons since it's not actually essential that I have to speak/write in French (it's an English speaking university) so I'd rather just teach myself. The Michel Thomas books look pretty good, cheers for the heads up
Aren't French textbooks available at used bookstores? There are always some cheap French, German, and Spanish texts and even audio tape in bookstores; at least in Texas there were. Pick up an intro textbook and study a bit. I don't think French is all that difficult. As long as you can figure out verbs and conjugation then the rest is just vocabulary building. Just go and say what little you know. You'll pick up the rest. This is coming from a guy who studied Japanese for 4 years and then realized I didn't know it all that well when I arrived in Japan 2 years ago. I wouldn't say I'm fluent, or even very good now, but what I know I absolutely know. It gets me by. It sounds like that's about what you're aiming for, so my advise is to just get some preliminary knowledge, listen to music or movies, and then just immerse yourself. I'm also guessing that you'll be in Quebec. In that case their French is a little different from textbook French from what I've heard. In any case, you will probably have to work at immersing yourself to learn French. English is just ubiquitous.
