How to learn French?

[theholygideons]

I have had a great enthusiasm in learning French recently. What are some books and other resources for learning French from English? What's harder, English, French or Latin? How long would it take for someone to fluently speak French if they studied 30 mins a day consistently. I believe knowledge of Latin stems and English May help memorizing certain vocab, although I'm worried about French grammar. :s

[thalbergmad]

This should help.

Thal

[ahinton]

This should help.

!!! Nostalgia and all that! How different Monsieur Michel Palin looks today to the way that he did in this!

Best,

Alistair

[Bob]

Just get a French 101 book.  Make sure you have audio so you know how it's pronounced.

Learn I, you informal, you formal, he/she/it, we, you as a group, they. 

Learn the verbs  to be  and to have.


Then go through the French 101 book chapters.  You can be fluent in sentences like, "The dog is black," right away. Actually being to say what you want?  A year, a few years.

Work through the book writing and speaking.  Try to find something to listen to translate (like audio materials that come with the French 101 book).


30 min/day isn't that much.  Go for more... 1 hour.  4 hours.   

After you go through it, then you realize it's simpler than it appeared.  All the French 101, 102 type of material is like music theory 101, 102...  It can be formalized (great for learning) but even after 4+ classes like that, the material is still pretty basic.

I heard English is hardest because it doesn't follow rules so much and has a lot of borrowed words.  French is a pain to pronounce.

[pytheamateur]

Subscribe to jejouedupiano.com for online piano lessons by French concert pianists.  Kill two birds with one stone!www.jejouedupiano.com

[g_s_223]

Er, obviously spend some time in a Francophone environment? France, Quebec, Polynesia(?), Vietnam(?), South Kensington

[ted]

I have been using duolingo to learn French for the last couple of months. It is good fun, but I am an awfully long way from holding a fluent conversation with a Frenchman. Also, although the interactive way is more enjoyable, I still found it hard to infer general rules from many examples, and needed to find a French grammar site to fill that gap. I do not have a good brain for languages, and despite going through the whole package of lessons three times I still find certain things have not sunk in. In particular, I find past tense forms, prepositions and word order difficult. I think I would need to do much more than the hour or so a day I have done so far.

[dima_ogorodnikov]

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[ted]

- First read and understand what's written there with the help of the annotations, explanations, etc.
- Then read and listen.
- Then listen without the text.
- Then listen and repeat after the speakers (if you can, also write a dictation; this is a super way to check whether you really know what they're saying)

All these different aspects are part of duolingo, with each being exercised in each section. It is a very well designed system. I am the problem, not the method. If I were as serious about it as I am about my music things would probably start to sink in.

[dima_ogorodnikov]

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[Bob]

Free.

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/

Learn with Tex, the armadillo.

(And Edouard, the snail.  Who smokes but doesn't get dried out apparently.)

[faulty_damper]

This topic interests me because I have a strong interest in the field of language learning, specifically how we actually learn one, which is very different from the way it is taught.

1. Learning tonal vocabulary - this means being able to listen and hear the sounds that are in the French language. Rhythm, tempo, and articulation are very important.
2. Reproducing tonal vocabulary - you are able to say the sounds of the French language in the correct rhythm, tempo, and articulation.
3. You identify repeated tone patterns - some sounds are much more prevalent than others.  After listening to a lot of French, find the sound patterns that are most common and practice saying those.  This is the most important part of language learning.

----
As you work on the above three, you can also work on:
4. Object identification - you see an object and you say its name.
5. Emotional and linguistic expressions - being able to reproduce sounds in the correct emotional state.

That's all that I can suggest at this time.  Notice that nothing about grammar or vocabulary is mentioned directly.

[ted]

P.S.: Do you understand the words in this oldie?

Yes, that one isn't too hard, but I have problems with Edith Piaf, and rapid conversation in French films is beyond me at present. Reading, of course, is very much easier than either writing or speaking. It might be a good idea if I read some literature in French, something I like, perhaps de Maupassant.

[dima_ogorodnikov]

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[senanserat]

Repeat after me:

Omelet du Fomage

[dima_ogorodnikov]

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[Bob]

For the immersions side...

News websites in French. 
Movies in French (a lot have French audio tracks). 
Youtube in French.
Kids' books in French.
Are there any music treatises in French?

[dima_ogorodnikov]

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[senanserat]

No, I won't! It's "Omelette du Fromage" (with a French "r").

[oxy60]

Go live in France and get a French friend (relationship?). French is a formal language so in the course of the days you will hear the same things said over and over. And your new friend will guide you as well. Good luck!