French help

[MercyBookoo]

I am learning French with the help of various resources; Coffee Break French podcast, Duolingo, YouTube videos etc.

I dream of being fluent-ish (i accept I’m probably too old at 50 to reach real proficiency) but I’d love it if anyone who speaks really good French could help me with the odd grammar query? Sometimes you just can’t beat having a real person to ask stuff - even if it’s just “What’s it like being fluent in another language? It must be SO COOL!!” 😊😁

Hi! I'll help if I can - I have a first in French, BUT that was 20 years ago, so bit rusty now...

I'm a French teacher - very happy to help with any grammar queries (grammar is my favourite thing to teach!).

Oh and 50 isn't too old to become proficient! At least I hope not - I'm 47 and am teaching myself Spanish (I already speak and teach French and German). I find podcasts brilliant. The key is little and very very often with language learning.

I am French , I will be more than happy to help you. And you can help me finally understand the pronunciation differences between B*tch and Beach. Lol

I can help where I can. Been here 16 years and to all intents and purposes I'm bilingual. I still make mistakes in grammar though.

I don't know if it is cool, it is just my life. Sometimes I can't remember if I've read something in French or English. I do real time translation sometimes at work and occasionally talk to the wrong person in the wrong language.

My best tip for learning would be to watch French TV with French subtitles (so you can look up words in the dictionary).

Oooh thank you all! Great to hear it’s not out of reach to become a little bit fluent one day!

The bit I struggle most with is the 2,000 (it feels like) verb endings. I’m concentrating on the “main” 4 tenses at the moment because when I think of all the others I get downhearted thinking I’ll never be able to learn them all 😏

I used to be of the opinion that things like verb endings could only be mastered by hours of sitting and learning them by heart. However, I've had a bit of an epiphany (brought on by listening to podcasts by a fantastic Spanish teacher) and am amazing myself by finding that grammar is sinking in through copious listening (backed up by a few online gramar exercises). Because knowing the endings by rote doesn't really equate to being able to use them fluently in conversation. By the time you've referred to your inner verb table, the conversation has moved on! It turns out there's nothing like becoming a language learner again yourself to make you reevaluate your teaching methods!

And you can help me finally understand the pronunciation differences between Btch and Beach. Lol*

I don't think that's something you can explain! If you can't hear the difference between the two sounds, you won't be able to replicate it, but they are really different to an English ear! I guess it's a bit like English speakers not hearing the difference between the French endings en/an/on.

Jeveuxunchaton

Bitch is more like B-itch

Beach is more like bee-ch

I’ve been through two Paul Noble courses and they rely very much on what you’re describing - learning like a child would, by hearing and using the language rather than studying verb tables etc 👍😁

My question for today is - is it normal to have days that feel as if you’ve forgotten everything?? 😕

I’ve been galloping along for about 4 weeks but today I’m really struggling. I’m making really silly mistakes - for example for some reason I seem to suddenly be convinced that “travailler” is to travel 😡🙄

What’s brought that on?! 🤨

I'm not sure that will help, Phoenix - there is no such thing as our English 'i' sound (as in itch) in French, because in French 'i' is an ee sound, like in beech! If *Jeveux' could make the sounds in itch and beech, she'd have no trouble with bitch and beach!

My question for today is - is it normal to have days that feel as if you’ve forgotten everything??

Yes! That usually happens to me when I've had a few days of not reading or listening to any Spanish. It really is a 'use it or lose it' thing - and the shorter the time you've been learning the language, the more quickly your grasp of it vanishes if you don't do some almost every day.

I'm trying to study to do a Spanish A Level from scratch and sometimes I can write/speak about some quite complex topics. Other days I feel like I'm back to total basics.

Any tips for pronouncing words that have multiple “r” sounds??

I can manage the sound of one - eg in words that begin with an “r” or have one in the middle but words like “regarder” get me sounding like I’m coughing up a hairball 😳

THank you LL! Although I am doing some every day so far; it’s not like I’ve had a break. But I guess sometimes you just forget stuff.

R is tricky for lots of people. Many either bottle it and go for an English r, or overdo it, resulting in semi-gargling. My advice is to go easy on the ones in the middle of words - almost like jyst a brief 'closing' of the back of the throat iyswim!

Just go easy on the rrrrrrrs, they're actually a lot more subtle than the throat hacking sounds some think you have to make.
Grammar is my favourite thing in languages but even French kids at school are really crap at it, and often spelled things wrong because of similar sounding endings to words.
You're doing well.

The guy on Coffee Break French makes lovely growly Rs jealous

I always think it would be great to have ongoing chat threads in French, Spanish etc on MN. There are occasional attempts, but they don't seem to stay for very long.

Ooh I’d be up for that!!

Ooh I have a question....

“Alors” - on the Paul Noble podcast he says it means “so” (as in “therefore” rather than tellement/very) eg “J’ai peur de l’avion alors j’ai l’intention de prendre l’euro star”

But in the CBF podcast he uses it to mean “well”, as in “well, I thought I’d take the bus” etc.

Or can it mean both?

It definitely means both!

I just started an AIBU thread wondering why there aren't foreign language chat threads on MN. Maybe I'll start one in French - I'll let you know, Mercy - though it could be just the two of us on there.

Ooh please start one!!

I was on a fb group and a French guy approached me with a view to messaging each other to improve my French and his English but it wasn’t really working - neither of us were proficient enough in each other’s languages to know what we were asking each other 😁

I started re-learning French about 13 years ago, and am pretty fluent now. 50 is certainly not too old.

Alors is one of those (many) words that can mean different things. This is one of the most difficult things I find.

The biggest step forward I made was when I could read novels in French, but I still get phases when I feel like it's two steps forward one step back.

Ooh please start one!!

Oh go on then - you've twisted my arm . Where shall I put it? Just on Chat? I fear Cunning Linguists gets little traffic!

Oui! Mets-le dans “Chat”! Je suis très excité! J’adore parle français mais je ne parle pas bien! 😊