5 Ways to Learn French if You Want to Live in Paris
Knowing French will make living in Paris a more enjoyable experience in many ways. Speaking the language improves your day to day interactions and also expands the possibilities of who you can meet and form connections and relationships with. Learning French should be part of your preparation process if you want living in Paris to be a realistic goal.
French is a complicated language. I strongly recommend taking at least one class to learn phonics, rules, and sentence construction if you plan to live in Paris. Once you’ve had a class, supplement what you learned with multimedia language tools to practice and continue picking up the language. Here are 5 ways to learn French.
1. Become a member of your local Alliance Française and enroll in a class.
Headquartered in Paris, the Alliance Française is an international network serving to promote French language and culture. There are over 1000 Alliance Française associations around the world, including 129 chapters in the U.S., in most major metropolitan areas. Some associations even have libraries where you can check out French books, French music CDs, language CDs and DVDs, magazines, movies, for FREE.
The Alliance Française offers different types of French classes and at various levels, taught by native speakers. Choose from group, private, immersion, or conversational classes, workshops on French Literature or Art, or Professional courses such as Business French or Legal French. If you’ve taken French before, you can take a proficiency test to be placed at the right level.
Classes are an excellent way to meet interesting people that you have something in common with — you all want to learn French, after all. Some of your future classmates may have lived in Paris themselves and can be helpful resources for you. The Alliance Française also offers many cultural activities such as art exhibits, film screenings, French festivals and holiday celebrations, group trips, and more. Membership gives you discounted tickets to these events. Don’t miss the chance to build your network by getting involved with the Alliance Française.
Find a chapter of the Alliance Française near you.
2. Adult Education Classes
Don’t have an Alliance Française in your area? See if your state, city, county, school district, local community college or recreation department offers French Adult Ed. classes.
Search on “[your city] Adult Ed”(be sure to search your state, city and county to see what’s available).
You can also try searching on the phrases “lifelong learning” and “continuing education.”
Here’s a sampling of what I found in different parts of the U.S.
Los Angeles Adult Ed
Colorado Free University
3. Got a computer? Learn by Skype (or Vonage or the VOIP of your choice).
Instead of trudging to class 2-3 times a week, you could sign up for a “French by Skype” service to take private classes from the comfort of your own home, at a time that suits your schedule. More and more of these services are starting to crop up online. French by VOIP (Internet phone) is cheaper than a private lesson with a language school, and affords you the benefit of private classes tailored to your needs and your level, but you lose the classroom methods that a teacher would normally use: visual aids, gestures, writing notes on the board, etc.
Obviously, this method of learning requires some setup on your part. You must have a computer with internet service, and you must sign up for a VOIP service and purchase a headset (and a webcam if the teacher uses one).
Also, most VOIP teachers are operating as individuals, not part of an organization, so it’s difficult to guarantee their quality or legitimacy. It’s important to do some investigation beforehand. The best advice is to try to contact former students who can vouch for the teacher. You could also check the bulletin board at your local Alliance Française to see if anyone is advertising their services, and ask around while you’re there to see what the teacher’s reputation is. .
Here are a couple of French by VOIP services.
Live-French.net
French in Aude
Learn French at Home
Search the Skype directory to find others advertising their services.
4. French by Podcast
The best thing about learning French by podcast is that it’s FREE! Many podcasts come with PDF worksheets or downloads so you can read the words used in the lesson and practice. Just put the podcasts on your mp3 player, and voila — you can have French class anywhere, anytime.
Here are a few podcasts I recommend if you want to learn French.
Radio France Internationale (RFI) – Journal en français facile
(Note: The news podcast is on hiatus because the staff is on strike over proposed layoffs, but hopefully things will be resolved soon.)
A 10-minute daily world news podcast where the reporters speak French slowly, designed for foreigners who are learning French. You have to know enough French to be able to decipher the words, so this isn’t for complete beginners, but it is a good way to tune your ear to the sounds and the rhythm of the language. There are also quizzes and weekly grammar lessons, and a daily transcript online if you want to read along while you listen.
Podcast Français Facile
Beginner (débutante), Intermediate (intermédiare) and Advanced (avancé) French lessons with audio, video, and a transcript of each lesson, taught by Vincent Durrenberger, a French teacher based in Japan.
French Pod Class
Sébastien Babolat includes French music, movie and book reviews and excerpts, and reading to expose you to French culture while learning the language with daily audio lessons and worksheets.
Want more French podcasts? Check out iTunes or other podcast directories for more.
French Language Tools I Recommend:
5. Reading Materials
French children’s books are especially helpful for beginners, as they use simple words and sentence structure. Plus, the pictures help provide context. You will also need an English-French dictionary to look up words you don’t know as you read.
A small investment in learning French before you go will pay off big time once you’re living in Paris.
Want to know more? Check out another post, The Best Way to Learn French: Pros, Cons and Tips.
