9 of the Best Resources for Starting to Learn French Online
Learning French is easy with these fantastic resources for beginners! From online course packages, to TV shows and online tools, we've got you covered.
Bonjour! French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and is still considered more important than English in some European countries. It is one of my most advanced languages, so I'm bringing you over 30 years of French learning experience today!
Whether you dream of wandering the streets of Paris and Montréal, or you want to boost your career in fashion, the following resources will be everything you need to start parler français!
This article contains some affiliate links which are marked with *.
9 Top Resources For Learning French Online
1. Finally Get It in French Grammar
This super friendly course is created for French beginners or "false beginners" - those who studied a while ago and don't feel like they got anywhere.
You will learn how to speak simple, correct, beautiful French together with me (and my kitty). Featuring easy explanations of the all the grammar you’ll need for your first year of French, this course will help you eliminate embarrassing errors with a friendly and informal tutor – yep that's me.
The course comes with offers 2 hours of videos, live discussions and worksheets to ensure you have understood everything correctly.
2. TV5 Monde
TV5 Monde is an international TV channel in French, which offers its own language courses and practice under the ‘Langue Française’ tab. From digital libraries to dictionaries and video classes, this website is perfect for beginners who aren’t quite sure where to begin.
3. Intrepid French: Master French Phrases for Travel FAST
Michele from Intrepid Guide is your go-to guide for language and travel! Her resource is the BEST if you want to pick up the language for travelling to France, Québec or beyond.
I love Michele's course because it comes with so many highly valuable extras like a menu guide and great pronunciation guides. Click here to learn about Mastering French for Travel - FAST*
4. Bite Size French*
Bite Size is the perfect companion for anyone who has learnt a little French and wants to become better at listening and speaking.
The course is packed with beginner-friendly dialogues that you can listen to in just a few minutes a day to become better at French without having to work harder and harder.
4. Bon Patron
If you’ve gotten a tiny bit comfortable with the French language, Bon Patron is the perfect place to practice those writing skills. Bon Patron is a French autocorrect tool; you can practice your writing skills by typing in sentences and have it correct the grammar and spelling errors it can find. The perfect tool to practice those sentences you’ve learned!
5. French Language TV Shows
French TV shows are an excellent way to implement some new vocabulary and to get used to the sound and pronunciation of French. Get the DVD, and you'll also have bilingual subtitles to play with. Try these shows for a start:
Les Revenants* is a supernatural drama which follows the residents of a small French alpine town as they come to terms with a series of mysterious and unbelievable occurrences: a small group of deceased men, women and children suddenly return from the dead and attempt to re-join the family and friends they left behind years before. As if this wasn’t creepy enough, the town also begins experiencing a series of chilling local murders.
Spiral* is the perfect show for you crime lovers out there. When the badly beaten body of a young Romanian woman is discovered on a Parisian rubbish dump, we are suddenly plunged deep into a murky underworld of prostitution, drugs, business, politics and justice. If you like CSI, The Wire and 24, chances are you’re gonna like Spiral.
7. Crack the Grammar Code Course
Ready for communicating in French at a higher level? Let this training be your secret!
This resource is not specific to French, but it will definitely help your English speaker brain untangle the complicated grammar of French! Crack the Grammar Code is a step-by-step guide to efficient language learning, giving you the foundation for fluid French learning without having to memorize grammar all the time.
8. Bescherelle Complete Guide to Conjugating 12,000 French Verbs*
One of the hardest parts of learning a new language can be getting used to all the rules for conjugating verbs – sometimes they don’t make sense to the beginner eye!
This is where the Becherelle Complete Guide comes in; it includes just about every verb you can think of. If it’s not in there, chances are you won’t need to know it! This language course book has been around since the mid 80s, I used it in the mid 90s, and is just as useful today as it was back then.
9. BBC Languages French
BBC has a fab introductory hub for learning French. Some of the content is aimed at children, making it perfect for beginners! They have a test where you can test your skills and determine your level, links to French TV and radio websites. Some of it is a little outdated, but still worth a look for the amount of free resources you can find here.
By measuring your progress, you’ll soon feel so confident about speaking French that you won’t be able to wait to talk to someone.
Recommended French Courses
Finally Get It In French Grammar (for beginners and refreshers)
Bite Size French (focus on sentences, not explanations)
French conversations (for intermediate to advanced learners)
Struggling to get ahead in solo language learning?
Join my free training, the Little-Known Secret to Success in Language Learning.
9 Of The Best Podcasts For Learning French
Want to fit French listening practice into your life? Try one or two of these podcasts for French language learners, which range from podcasts for French beginners all the way to French immersion podcasts and courses.
Podcasts are great for language learning, because you can listen anywhere, discover new voices, and find great teachers at a low cost.
Do you ever find it difficult to fit French listening practice into your life?
Do you want to understand native French speakers?
Podcasts are a great way to add a little French listening practice into your day-to-day life. They are free, and can accompany any part of your day: driving a car, washing your dishes, doing laundry, working out, reading, and more.
Need to kickstart or refresh your French grammar so you can understand these podcasts even better? Don’t miss my course Finally Get It in French Grammar!
Quick Primer: How Do Podcasts Work?
If you’re curious about podcasts, but not quite sure how they work, here’s what you need to know:
You can subscribe for free to podcasts on your phone, tablet, or computer
If you use an iPhone or iPad, go to the Podcasts app. If you’re on a Mac, use the itunes directory
On a PC or Android device, try the Stitcher app for a quick and easy start
Subscribing means you’ll always have the latest episode ready and waiting for you as soon as it’s published
French is a great language for learning by podcast. There is a big selection, so I’ve gone and selected 9 of the best shows for you to discover.
Need to kickstart or refresh your French grammar so you can understand these podcasts even better? Don’t miss my course Finally Get It in French Grammar!
Beginner Level
FrenchPod101.com (InnovativeLanguage)
FrenchPod101 from InnovativeLanguage covers any level you can think of from basic to advanced French. With enticing titles and interesting themes for each episode, you’ll never get bored.
The dialogues are presented by engaging presenters and the hosts Céline (a native speaker) and Sam (a fluent speaker) cover both cultural and grammatical aspects clearly and concisely. On the website you can sign up for the premium content to access spaced repetition flashcards, PDF lesson notes, and a community forum for a subscription fee.
The lovely people at Easy Languages bring us a global phenomenon of language learning videos on YouTube. In their podcast of the same name, you’ll hear friendly, relaxed conversations. You can join their Patreon membership to get full transcripts and additional worksheets.
If you want to find out more, here is my interview with the founders.
Learn French By Podcast is a bilingual podcast in English and French. It's presented by two hosts, one French speaker speaks in French and one English speaker who explains what the French speaker said. The audio is very clear and easy to follow and the format is great for beginners and intermediate learners. It eventually progresses from basic conversations to intermediate and advanced-level dialogues about a variety of everyday topics. PDF guides are available on the website.
Intermediate/Advanced Levels
News in Slow French is an intermediate level podcast. This podcast covers world news, grammar, and expressions and slows down all the dialogue to make it easier to process what you hear. Every episode breaks down a point on grammar and vocabulary.
On the News in Slow French website there are transcripts for each episode, plus added resources and quizzes on French grammar, expressions, pronunciation.
One Thing In A French Day describes the daily life of author Laetitia in France. Each podcast episode covers different events in her life such as going to the bakery, shopping, going to the gym, seeing friends, among others. Her French is spoken very clearly and crisply at a regular speed and her words is easy to understand. Laetitia publishes articles every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I certainly recommend this one for intermediate and advanced learners of French!
This podcast by Radio France International (RFI) is a show that is designed for intermediate and advanced learners of French. It's a genuine news broadcast from the French radio station, but read a little slower so you can become comfortable listening to French.
The episodes each have the most important news of the day in just 10 minutes (great for those who don’t have a lot of time in the day!) and come with a free online transcript.
The Français Authentique podcast is great for upper intermediate and advanced learners of French. It’s total immersion combined with lots of interesting topics and explains idiomatic and colloquial expressions. It is the companion podcast to the popular French learning website Français Authentique by Johan Tekfak.
Jonan is not just a super likeable host, but he also invites you to join his life and adventures by talking about them in French.
French Video Resources
Yabla is a video-based learning platform with bilingual subtitles and integrated dictionaries. The subtitles are interactive, which is a really cool concept! Check out how Yabla works in detail by reading my full review.
Yabla is great for all levels from basic to advanced. There is a free French podcast available with plenty of videos to watch.
Great French Audio Courses
Coffee Break French, a podcast from Radio Lingua Network, combines French language lessons with a lot of useful information about French food, culture, French speaking countries, and so on.
My favourite part of the podcast is the chemistry between relaxed and charismatic host Mark from Scotland (who is fluent in French) and French learner Anna from Scotland. The segments are also great: Cultural Correspondent has great cultural advice, and Grammar Guru discusses grammar in a clear, easy-to-understand way.
Advanced Learner Tip: Native French Podcasts
The easiest way to access native French language podcasts is to go to iTunes and switch your country setting to “France”, “Belgium”, “Switzerland”, “Canada”, or any other French-speaking country.
There’s no restriction on your switch, and you’ll be able to access all podcasts in the same way that listeners from France can. One of my favourites is Whisperos, a native French podcast getting into every little detail about Game of Thrones.
How to Learn More French
For more tips that will help you learn the French language, check out my special blog page for French learners.
This article was updated on 9 August 2022.
Grammar ♥︎ Practice en Français: 3 Sweet Grammar Tricks for Learning French
Quick Fix French! Learn the essentials of the French language, explained in simple terms that will have you creating your own sentences in minutes. For this post, I have selected 2 grammar topics for beginners and 1 bonus for improvers, meaning that you’ll get a great tip no matter your level.
Get out the macaroons for some sweet sweet grammaire française. Yes, I've got a treat for those of you wanting to take grammar ♥︎ to the next level with a dip into the grammar of a language I've learnt for 20 years: French!
In this post, you're going to learn the essentials of the French language, explained in simple terms that will have you creating your own sentences in minutes. It is a collaboration with Shannon from Eurolinguiste, who is covering how to use the past, present and future tenses in French on Monday.
I have selected 2 topics for beginners and 1 bonus for improvers, meaning that you can study French and crack on with this post at any level.
Beginner Step 1: Using French Nouns
Sentences are made up of different components, but only two of them are absolutely essential:
- the verbs, telling you about an action
- the nouns, telling you who is acting and what they're acting with
French nouns come in two gender variations, feminine and masculine. The gender isn't really visible in a word itself, but it has an impact on the kinds of words you have to use around it.
Firstly, make sure you use the right article with your noun. There are definite articles (like the English the) and indefinite articles (like a or an). You have to choose the right one according to the gender, so here it matters if your noun is feminine or masculine.
Quick Guide to French Articles
New French learners find themselves frustrated when they realize that the gender of a noun is impossible to predict. I agree - it's tricky! There are a few good rules, however, that you can use to spot helpful patterns. For example, words ending in -ment are always masculine, words ending in -tion are always feminine, and according to my French teacher in secretary school "all the bad things are masculine" (divorce being her example!).
What If You Get The Gender Wrong?
There is no big penalty for getting the gender of a French noun wrong as you are learning the language. In fact, it happens all the time! Native speakers will not think that you are bad at speaking French because even after decades it's still difficult to assign every gender correctly.
###Easiest "language hack"?
Just ask: ...c'est féminin où masculin, s'il vous plaît?" (is that feminine or masculine, please?).
Beginner Step 2: Using French Adjectives
Adjectives are descriptive words (for example grand meaning big), and you can just pick those out of the dictionary...and then you've got to change them according to the gender of the noun. So in other words, the adjective will always be looking to its big noun brother.
A bit like that kid who hangs out with the stronger kid in the playground and shouts "yeah right!" every time the big kid does some thing. The agreement also covers if the words are in singular and plural
Here is a Quick Reference List of the Rules
- When the adjective usually ends in a consonant, the feminine version will take an extra -e at the end. For example, grand and grande.
- When the adjective ends in -eux, the feminine version will be -euse. For example, heureux and heureuse.
- When it ends in -ien, the feminine version is -ienne, like in ancien and ancienne.
- When the adjective already ends in an -e, it doesn't change. Bonus! For example, jeune stays the same.
Here are a few helpful words that you can use to describe yourself. The French for "I am" is Je suis. Try it!
Quelle est ta nationalité? - Je suis..
- anglais, -e - English
- allemand, -e - German
- américain, -e - American
- canadien, -ne - Canadian
- autrichien, -ne - Austrian
French Grammar for Improvers: Contracted Articles
Shortly after learning the essentials such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, it's time to get into details. French has so many little details that make it sound prettier!
In fact, I have a French textbook from 1948 at home which was owned by my grandfather during the French occupation of Germany. And this book starts with some ground rules of French. Rule number one: Wohlklang, the principle that everything in French has to sound nice. Hah!
Here's what that has to do with French articles. You already know how to say articles from the table above. But here's something you might not realize. Every time the article connects with the words de (of/from) or à (at/to), the two little words try to connect and form a contracted article.
French Contracted Articles in 7 Minutes
Learn the details of how this works in the following video, featuring Kerstin in the summer!
So as you can see, the French grammar really strongly revolves around this idea of sounding nice...well no, actually it's all about your noun being feminine and masculine and this concept determines how the words around it are arranged. Check out Shannon's partner post to learn about the other essential in a French sentence: the verb!
How to Know if You Should Use à or de with a verb
While grammar has many rules that help us avoid memorizing, the case of "how the verb connects to the next word" has to be learnt with a good verb list or table. Those little connecting words are called prepositions, and they cannot be translated directly. When you look up one of the little ones in the dictionary, you're likely to find about 5 meanings.
So for example, "be interested in" is s'intéresser à but "look forward to" is s'attendre à, giving the French word à two different meanings. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
I was lucky to have a teacher who put a lot of stress on learning the verbs with their connectors right from the start, so that I never developed a big gap. The verbs that connect directly to the next verb are called "pure infinitive", and the other groups are "infinitive with de" and "infinitive with à". If you're a self-teaching French learner at an early stage, do yourself a favour and study them too.
My go-to reference for everything about French verbs is the Bescherelle L'Art de Conjuguer. In my version (the German one), the relevant lists are in section 164 of the grammar part. Very handy!
Like This Post? Check Out The Full Course
If you loved this blog post, you will undoubtedly enjoy learning French with me in Easy French Grammar for Beginners.
This course contains all the explanations that I wish I had had when I first started out. It's plain and simple, putting things in straightforward terms that just make sense.
Several learners have already written to me with gratitude because the course finally helped them understand complicated concepts.
I'd love for you to try it out, and you can do so right here.
How I Study Languages: A Quarterly Check-in for Welsh, Italian & Chinese
This blog post is an my own language learning goals and progress.
Read on to hear about
- what happened in my life and business so far this year
- which languages I’m learning and how I’m doing in them
- which courses I’m taking and creating
- what I’m planning to do next!
I’ll be referring to January-March as “Q1” from here on, since it was the first quarter of 2021.
Lockdown Language Life in Q1 2021
I live in the UK, and our winter was not exciting. Shortly after the new year started, our country went into a pretty strict coronavirus lockdown which is only now beginning to ease.
Cue…another 3 months spent in and around the home. I’m unbelievably lucky to have space and quiet available in my home, and the rules allowed for just enough outdoor activity to help me avoid loneliness and depression.
I am so happy to know that our vaccine programme is progressing well, and the relief it’s going to bring vulnerable people, their carers, and all who work in healthcare.
We held another Women in Language online conference!
Let’s start with the biggest event first: Women in Language 2021! The conference was another smash hit and we learnt SO much over the course of 4 days - it’s impossible to sum up everything, but here are some of my personal highlights.
- Kaché Knowles from The Bahamas helped us kick off the event in the best possible, sunniest, most celebratory mood. I loved her energy!
- I moderated the “Language Learning in Australia” panel and learnt just SO much about languages down under from Michele Frolla, Bec Howie & Karla Zuluaga. Australia is a 360 degree language space with so many indigenous, regional, and immigrant languages. Wow wow! Loved it!
- We added our first ever bilingual presentations with contributions in Spanish, French and Mandarin
We had an entrepreneurial streak running through many presentations, including
- Inspired Teachers Create Inspired Learners! by English language icon Lindsay McMahon
- A 5-Step Manifesto on Becoming a Language Teacher Rebel by Swedish teacher and Author Anneli Haake
- A wonderful conversation on Mindset and Self-Worth as you grow your language business by Gwyneth Jones & Marija Dobrovolska I found myself engaged and excited for the many baby language businesses in the chatroom, loving the opportunity to share my knowledge through mentoring.
Stats round-up: 599 participants, 34 speakers, 56 countries, 1145 Facebook group comments over 4 days. PHEW! It is really cool to see more and more men attending this event each year.
Mobile Mentoring by Kerstin Cable
Through February, I have been quietly trying out a new mentoring offer for online teachers and I’m so excited to share that this is now LIVE! I have offered coaching/mentoring for online teachers for a few years now. It’s the perfect mix of
- Talking shop
- Helping language business owners find the answers that they need for all those decisions about prices, offers, marketing and more
- Lighting that fire of excitement in them about the many fantastic ways they can create a business that makes a difference in the world (and makes some money, that's important too)
Long story short, you should consider booking one!
It’s a 1:1 deal with a twist: you get a whole day with me and we’ll be chatting via voice message! Want to learn a little more and try it out? Here’s my booking page link!
Learning Languages in Lockdown 3
When you don’t plan ahead and set myself manageable goals, you don’t achieve as much either.
But when languages are a habit and always form part of your life, you never stand still even in a super busy month.
Closing the 书 on Chinese for now
At the end of last year, I had just completed level HSK 1 in Mandarin Chinese and I wasn’t sure whether to take it any further. Well, after sitting on a very vague intention to do something or other with Chinese, in the end I decided it was time to pack it in.
I am really happy that I took 2020 to learn my first East Asian language, and I’ll happily return to Chinese at some point in the future. I didn’t find it scary or uninteresting, but equally I never quite found my Chinese passion either.
Guess for now we’ll choose to stay friends. 谢谢for the good times, 中文！
La signora nuova on the scene…it’s Italian!!
One of the reasons I wanted to let go of Chinese was to create space for just one of the many languages on my list: Italian! I studied Italian for 2 years as a teenager and I’ve got plenty of cross-language skills from learning other Romance languages over the years. But speaking Italian? Quasi ninety!
In 2021, I’m finally spending a little time with Italian again. I had a really lovely time with it in the late 90s, so I'm looking forward to playing around with Italian again!
I’m not ready to speak to anyone quite yet, but will get there in the next 3 months. Until then, I’m working with my own Vocab Checklist to build a bank of essential phrases and listening to a few learner-friendly podcasts to get into the groove.
Want to find out what I love for learning Italian? Click here to view my page for Italian learners!
My 6th Year of Learning Welsh (Y 6ed blwyddyn yn dysgu Cymraeg)
I love learning Welsh! Yes, even 6 years in I still do. My language level is B2, and I reached it without ever pushing super hard. I have so much fun with Welsh.
My attendance at the Advanced 1 course continues, a friendly weekly evening with other learners. I’m the only one who is joining the group from England, so I’m getting a great treat here from the 2020 online lessons.
My Welsh conversation skills and my grammar have improved. I now feel more confident and competent expressing myself in the language, and I CANNOT WAIT for everyone’s vaccinations and all those festivals and trips I’m going to enjoy after covid. C’mon, world!
Also on the Scene: Le Français
In French, I’m in the lucky position that I’ve got a strong basis to fall back onto even if I don’t study for ages. In Q1, I practiced my French mostly with Call My Agent/Dix Pour Cent on Netflix, and in March by listening to Cathy Intro’s awesome My Polyglot Life podcast.
Every now and then, I practice speaking or writing French but it’s not at the top of my priority list.
Want to find out what I love for learning French? Click here to view my page for French learners!
In Conclusion: Steady Effort Wins for Me
That’s it for reviewing my Q1! After many months thinking I’m ready to move on from Chinese for now, I’ve finally done it. It feels good to have taken the pressure off myself, though I want to continue to look beyond Europe for my language education in the future.
A 4th language I’m eager to learn is BSL (British Sign Language), but I’ve decided I’d like to start that in an offline class so it’s on hold for obvious reasons.
2021 is off to a great start, with a successful Women in Language event under our belt, and I’m excited to dive into more support for online teachers and language entrepreneurs through my mobile mentoring days.
Courses & Classes I Use for Languages
- A few italki lessons in Chinese and Welsh
- In Chinese, lessons used this (not so riveting) textbook and sometimes I also used Assimil Chinese False Beginners which is a good resource
- Welsh for Adults Uwch 1, where we’re also reading Cyffeision Saesnes Yng Nghymru
- The Intrepid Guide Italian course
- Bought Italian Tutor (not started yet)
- Using my own Language Habit Toolkit to stay organised
- For added input, I watch Yabla, listen to breakfast radio on Radio Cymru and watch the odd show on S4C
Believe it or not, I don’t watch YouTube. some of these links above are affiliate links
Courses & Programmes I Created / Promoted
- Women in Language 2021 (our 4th one)
- Mobile Mentoring for language teachers and businesses
- A new live round of the Language Habit Toolkit (including BINGO with prizes…I love games!)
- How to Get Fluent When Life’s Chaotic (free class, link coming soon)
Blogs & Podcasts
- Language Coaches: What They Are and How to Work With Them
- The Languages of Western and Central Asia with Erin Morgan
- Our big line-up of Words of the Year 2020
- The amazing story of how your brain processes code-switching
- 5 Ways to Set Your Language Goals for 2021
- Top Tools: Winter of 2021
- Stylistics: The Science of Hemingway and The Wire
This post is part of the #clearthelist round-up hosted by Shannon Kennedy and Lindsay Williams. I used to do these check-ins on a monthly basis, but since I’ve found relaxing the pace recently, I decided that a quarterly check-in is just as good.
The world is feeling like that cloud over our heads is starting to move a little. What about you? Do you feel the same? Leave me a comment below if you have any thoughts or questions for me!
#clearthelist July 2018: French, Welsh, And Why I Am Not Learning Chinese Yet
Clear The List is a monthly language goal report. This month, I’ve got news about three languages as a learner and one more as a teacher. I’m getting into a silly stumble with the Welsh language, and speaking lots of Welsh on podcast and travel.
Plus: Why am I not learning Chinese yet? Read on to find out.
Welcome to my latest language learning update through #clearthelist. Clear the List is a support and accountability blog group sharing monthly language learning goals.
The Fluent Show
Fantastic month for the Fluent Show as we reached 270,000 downloads in under a year. YAY!! Thank you so much.
I loved the conversation Lindsay and I had in the episode “What is Fluency, What Is Mastery…And How Do You Get There?”, my top pick for the month. Every ambitious learner should hear discussion, so do check it out.
What Happened in June
June was always going to be a busy one, because it was the first launch of my brand new course German Uncovered. This is a story-based German course going from zero all the way to B1. There was much to do, and it meant a few early mornings and evening shifts. If you’re on the course, give me a shout. I’m so excited to finally share it with you.
Working on German Uncovered. Look at those lights!
In June, I also attended my first Canterbury Pride celebration and took a lovely week off travelling to Marseille. I also attended the People's Vote March in London.
Learning Welsh
Welsh is still my main language, though it came up a little short this month.
Cymraeg Gogledd neu Cymraeg De?
One thing that slowed me down was my belief that I should switch from the Northern Welsh accent (which I’d studied for 2+ years) to the Southern Welsh accent. Why? Because I moved from North to South in England.
This turns out to be a silly idea. When people tell me “everyone will understand you no matter what accent”, they are right. When they say “only a few words are different”, they aren’t right. Even though it’s possible to understand both types of Welsh, learning to speak them both is harder than I thought. Just look at these two sentences:
1. North Welsh: Dw i eisiau gorffen cyn yfory.
2. South Welsh: Dw i’n moyn cwpla cyn yfory.
As far as I know, these are supposed to mean the same thing, but all native Welsh speakers will understand both.
My tutor at the Welsh class I attended told me “no mixing your accents”, which has made the idea of switching what I’ve studied next to impossible. My italki tutor is a lot more chilled, saying it doesn’t really matter as long as I’m not taking formal tests.
Conclusion: Welsh accents are confusing. I think I’ll declare Project Southern Welsh something I don’t want to continue. I stopped making progress because I felt trapped in this whole accent confusion, when it’s not that relevant. For now, I’ll speak how I speak and let life go on.
Let’s look at the goals from last month.
Listening
I had hoped to continue watching the series Ffit Cymru. But the show’s focus on weight loss as a measure of all good in the world started getting on my nerves. So I watched perhaps one more episode, and my listening in Welsh came up a little short.
Reading
I had hoped to finish the book Sgwp (there should be a ^ on the w but my keyboard can’t cope), and I’m getting behind on this one. But I did take my edition of the magazine Lingo Newydd with me and read it on the beach in France. Result!
One cool new resource I’m using in Welsh now is parallel.cymru, a website featuring parallel articles in Welsh and English. I’m loving the fact that I can read more on screen now, and I even submitted an article myself.
Click here to read my article on parallel.cymru in English or Welsh
Speaking
My goal was to fit in two 30 minute sessions with my tutor Gwyneth, and I did succeed. Scheduling these in advance was a huge help. I was a worse speaker than usual due to the accent kerfuffle, and due to speaking French for 10 days this month. But overall, mission accomplished.
Writing
I wanted to stick with poetry and write a haiku in Welsh, but I didn’t get it done. I didn’t even write much else. WARGH.
Daily Contact Goal
In May, I logged 14 days of contact with the Welsh language. Pretty good considering I was very busy with the German course, and also spent 10 days in France. My most used resources were Lingo Newydd, Ap Geiriaduron, and italki.
Speaking French In France
My second language of June was French, as I recorded my first bilingual podcast in French and English and then took some time off in Marseille. I had a great time, and noticed the difference a week in the country makes.
I was able to speak French pretty well anyway, as it’s a language I’ve studied on and off for 22 years. The week in France worked wonders for my comprehension and my speaking confidence. I refreshed all those everyday phrases like “you’re welcome”, “that was awesome”, or “for takeaway, please”.
I also learnt I enjoy being not-perfect at French. Here in England, I speak a foreign language almost every minute of every day. It doesn’t feel all that foreign anymore. But in French, I am still a learner. There’s a challenge, and that felt great because challenge means progress.
We didn’t stay in the main tourist quarter, and so a lot of people were amused and curious about this German and English couple where only one half speaks French. My husband relied on my French skills and I could tell that speaking the language was an advantage almost everywhere.
Good to Remember: People Switch To English For THEIR Reasons
In a busy restaurant, the host told me how to get to my table in French. It was noisy, and I didn’t understand what he was saying. I said Pardon? and he switched to English. I told him that I do speak French and he can speak to me in French.
His answer? “It is very busy here and I can speak English. In other words: He was too busy to slow down. He didn’t care if I speak French well, and he wasn’t judging my language skills. This was about getting something done.
If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, remember that people switch languages because it’s best for them. When someone switches to English, it’s often because they have other things on their mind than your language progress. Click to read more about this and get tips for dealing with the situation.
Goals For July 2018
Now that I’m in the intermediate haze with Welsh, I find it more important than ever to keep going forward. Happy to put French to one side and focus on Welsh again this month, especially because at the start of August I want to go to the National Eisteddfod again!
Listening
So disappointed I can’t watch the World Cup with Welsh commentary! I need to get ready for the Eisteddfod so it’s time to hear a lot of Welsh. I will Listen to Welsh For 90 Minutes Every Week Doesn’t matter if it’s the Pigion podcast or a show on S4C, the most important thing is that I hear a lot of Welsh right now.
Reading
Try and Finish The Book Sgwp Same as last month!
Speaking
Have 1 Long Lesson and 3 Conversations Loved having shorter classes in June (I scheduled 30 minutes at lunch times) and I’ll keep going with that, but as we know I struggle with yes/no in Welsh so I’ll also book a long lesson to drill these specifically.
And it’s time to catch up with my exchange partner!
Writing
Every month, I read about poetry and I read some poetry. But I’ve not written any. Goal: Write 1 Poem, Any Kind
Maybe asking myself to even to a Haiku was too much, a hurdle in front of getting started. So I will dial down the ambition one more. Easy.
Finally there is one more language I am playing around with, but here’s why I’m not learning Chinese right now.
Chinese
I’m still not learning Chinese. I’m going at the pace of two words a week. There’s so much in this language: words, tones, characters, all of it unknown to me. I can best describe this as a Prep phase, way before “learning the language”. I don’t want to put pressure on myself at this stage at all, and all I’m doing is driven by curiosity.
I had a similar phase in Russian and Welsh, where I’m currently at A1 and B1. Prep phases feel so valuable to me, especially when the other language is different from the ones I already know.
The Prep Phase And My Languages
Here’s an overview of the languages I know:
- I speak German and English at native levels. (C2)
- I’m fluent in French (C1?).
- I’m conversational in Welsh, if the conversation partner helps me. (B1)
- I’m somewhat conversational in Spanish, if the conversation partner helps me loads. (A1-A2)
- I can read Spanish, Italian, some Latin. (A1)
- I can read Cyrillic and exchange basic pleasantries in Russian. (A1)
I’ve never done much with Asian languages.
If I started to learn Romanian or Swedish I probably wouldn’t need a Prep phase. But with a new unfamiliar system, I find this extremely useful. If I decide to take this further, dabbling with tones and apps could turn into learning Chinese for real. But for now, I’m just learning about the language.
How Was YOUR Month?
Do you have a Prep phase too? Are you struggling with accents in your target language?
I would love to read about what you’re up to in the comments below!
If you want to join the linkup and share your own goals for the month, hop on to Clear The List with Lindsay Williams and Shannon Kennedy.
Struggling with listening? Discover realistic tips, challenge prompts, and the best tools for improving your listening skills as a self-guided language learner