My current place is being sold, so my cheap ass rent for an entire house? Gone!
Oh well, I have a friend in QC looking to move, and he asked if I’d join him. Prices in MTL are of negligible difference to my city in Ontario, but the area we’d be looking is in the more-french portion of MTL.
So I’ve got maybe 4 months to learn as much french as I can. I have an ok understanding of syntax and can parse the phonemes on the bad end of ok.
I don’t wanna use the Owl app, I don’t think it’s actually that effective a language teacher.
Any advice on how I can shove in as much french as I can to become minimally conversational?
Apps, anki decks, textbooks; anything would be appreciated. ♥
For Canadian French content check out Mauril, it’s a platform by Radio-Canada that has compiled clips of their own content suitable for whatever level you’re at, and asks questions to gauge your comprehension.
Speaking of Radio-Canada you could tune into their radio channel ICI Première, which is available in all areas in Canada. In Toronto it’s 860 AM/90.3 FM.
Another resource I like to recommend for language learning in general is Mango Languages, it’s leagues ahead of Duolingo and has a Canadian French course, though it’s not as extensive as the Metropolitan French one. Plus they are partnered with most (at least North American) public libraries so if you have a library card you can register with that for free forever, normally it’s like $20/month or something.
J’aimerais juste ajouter: c’est apprécié que tu penses à ces choses avant de déménager dans une région francophone. C’est très facile lorsqu’on parle anglais de simplement présumer que tous pourront nous comprendre, et apprendre le français ce n’est pas facile.
Bonne chance avec l’apprentissage et le déménagement!
J’apprécie les mots gentils. Je vais faire de mon mieux pour apprendre le français! Merci beaucoup pour vos meilleurs vœux.
Je utiliser plusiers outils y compromis mes amis, ChatGPT, et cours en ligne. J’espère que cela aide mon apprentissage!
Should say:
I appreciate the kind words. I will do my best to learn French! Thank you for the best wishes.I’m using many tools including my friends, ChatGPT, and online courses. I hope it helps my learning!
Best way to do it is to dive right in, alors ça commence maintenant! Si tu veux apprendre à te débrouiller en français parlé, il faut que tu trouves une façon de le parler régulièrement. C’est peut-être le plus difficile, de trouver quelqu’un pour ça, mais ça reste la meilleure façon d’apprendre. Sinon, consomme autant de contenu en français que possible. Écoute les nouvelles à Radio-Canada, regarde des émissions sur tout.tv, etc. Pour commencer, tu peux mettre des sous-titres en anglais, puis quand tu te sens prêt ou prête, mets-les en français. Plus tu vivras la langue, plus tu gagneras en confiance.
This is the best answer.
Also, set your phone and computer OS to French.
Okay it with your friend, and ring him every day, but you can only speak to each other in French. Agree that you can ask each other what a word is in French if you’re stuck, but otherwise, you speak French. Obviously emergencies are exempt.
I really like “News in Slow French” for listening practice. It’s not free, but very good. For general vocab, I have an app called “Clozemaster” that I enjoy a lot. I also try to cook regularly from French cookery magazines, so that I’m actively using the language. Other than that, maybe see whether there are any local social groups for people who want to improve their French. Something with a specific activity that encourages communication is good, e.g. playing board games.
Oh, and even if you can’t get much communications practice with other people, keep an audio diary. Set a goal to record yourself speaking in French about your day for fifteen minutes every day. On the weekend, sit down and listen to your diary, and correct any mistakes, look up any vocab words you were missing, etc. You need to spend time every day using French so that you develop muscle memory. Correcting your own errors helps you learn, and also lets you see how you’re progressing. If you listen back to your first diary entry in a few months, you’ll be surprised how much you’ve improved.
Try Refold. You don’t have to do the paid courses, just join their Discord and look for their recommended lists of things there and on the website to read/shows to easily watch on different streaming services for French. They have different “stages” to go through, and you can pay for coaching, but a good chunk can also be done on your own for free.
And sorry for Reddit links, but more good info and resources: https://www.reddit.com/r/Refold/comments/md9yk9/a_quickstart_guide_for_french_or_how_to_get_to/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Refold/comments/k6cudo/how_to_get_started_with_french_with_refold_a/
