How can an Indian learn to speak the French language?
French, a Romance language of the Indo-European family finds its roots in the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Having evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul, its closest relatives are languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the World Trade Organization, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It has also been influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, the French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa and Asia. Today, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. An official language in 29 countries across multiple continents (most of which are members of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 84 countries that share the official use or teaching of French), French is also one of six official languages used in the United Nations. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese.
First of all, it is important to understand where, as an Indian, you stand while starting your journey of mastering French. English is one of the highest spoken and most popularly taught language in India. Therefore, we will consider the FSI [Foreign Service Institute] analysis of languages. According to this, French falls in Category 1, which is the easiest to master for a native English speaker. With that set, let’s now see how an Indian can learn to speak French:
- To improve your speaking skills, use multiple online resources such as talk shows, French news, audiobooks to name a few!
- News in Slow French presents a weekly news discussion in slow French. It’s a subscription service, but you can listen to the introductions to each episode for free.
- To hear curated collections of French video media use FluentU. It’s a halfway point between a structured language course and full real-world French media immersion.
- Put YouTube to its best use and stream French radio stations!
- Watch French films with English subtitles and English films with French subtitles to accelerate your learning.
- Learn with songs, podcasts and anything that you can lay your hands on to get maximum of some spare time.
- Study consistently but don’t lead yourself to burnout!
- Identify your unique style of learning that helps you ace the language.
- Read aloud to clear your pronunciation
- Find a conversation partner on Lingoci, Verbling, iTalki to practice speaking with and seeking feedback.
- Identify French genuine and fake cognates.
- Don’t be scared to try and make mistakes. We all do it. Why let that deter or embarrass you?!
- Sign up for an intensive course. It would really help you master French!
- Restrict translating French words/phrases into English to when you are just new! As you progress move away from it consciously.
- Use Spaced Repetition System apps like Anki and Memrise for flashcards.
- Learn basic phrases, connector words, conversation builders that will help you communicate and express yourself through smaller sentences.
- Maintain a journal of new phrases that will help you build your first conversation and not just interesting or complex words.
- Choose commonly used words to start a conversation rather than tougher ones that don’t find a way into day-to-day usage!
- Try and link French words/ phrases to images and visual situations, not words in your native language or English!
- Study a language every day in short intervals or for about 2-4 hours, as much you can spare. Goes for French too. Studying regularly, for a short time, helps dramatically than trying to do it all in one sitting over weekends!
- Engage in constant review to measure your progress – repetition is the key!
Finally,
French is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (provinces of Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick as well as other Francophone regions); Belgium (Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region); western Switzerland (Romandy—all or part of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud, Valais); Monaco; parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont); north-western Italy (autonomous region of Aosta Valley); and various communities elsewhere. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German; in certain institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union). French is also the 18th most natively spoken language in the world, the 6th most spoken language by a total number of speakers and the second or third most studied language worldwide (with about 120 million current learners).
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