FREE GUIDE
HOW TO LEARN FRENCH ON YOUR OWN? J'AIME LE FRANÇAIS
Speed up your oral skills, overcome your fears and SPEAK IN FRENCH WITH CONFIDENCE!
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
You want to learn French on your own, but you don’t know how to go about it? Try these 5 TIPS to learn French at home, in an efficiently and autonomous way! By using these tips, you will immerse yourself in a French-speaking environment while staying at home. By using these tips in an active and regular way, you will make progress very quickly. To help you to apply these five tips, we have listed useful resources for each of them.
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Reading allows you to:
learn vocabulary in context. Often, you just have to know a few words to understand a sentence and to deduce the meaning of the words you don't know. The more vocabulary you learn, the easier the text comprehension will be
memorize the spelling of the words
improve your knowledge of grammar and conjugation
familiarize yourself with the structure of the sentences (syntax)
activate your visual memory.
You can read articles and books in French by using French newspapers, magazines, novels, comic books or websites.
Be active when reading:
Anticipate the content thanks to the title and the introduction
Read the whole text once, even if you don't understand it fully, by focusing on the general meaning
Read the text a second time by identifying how the vocabulary is used, by focusing on grammar and conjugation, etc.
ADVICE: ♥ Choose subjects that interest you: news, cooking, culture, gardening, DIY, fashion, people, politics, sport, automobile, travel... You will be more motivated and it will be easier to understand what you read. ♥ Subscribe to some newsletters to receive French articles directly in your email box. Follow these websites on the social medias.
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
20 MINUTES is a free, daily and generalist newspaper aimed at commuters in France. Read the newspaper online: 20 minutes
CNEWS is a free, daily and generalist newspaper distributed in the main French cities. Read the newspaper online: CNEWS
LE PARISIEN is a daily and generalist newspaper. It is about news with a specific focus on short news items and the news of the Paris region. Read the newspaper online: Le Parisien
MORE NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES on Wikipedia.
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LE PETIT QUOTIDIEN is a newspaper for children from 6 to10. Visit the site: Le Petit Quotidien
MORE NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES FOR CHILDREN on Wikipedia.
A list of the main authors of French or Francophone literature is available on Wikipedia.
PROJECT GUTENBERG is a free provider of digital books. You can download royalty-free works of literature in French. Consult the catalog of works in French language: Project Gutenberg
LITTERATURE AUDIO.COM offers free audio-books to listen to and to download in both audio and text format. Visit the site: Litterature audio.com
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
J’AIME LE FRANÇAIS provides extracts of French books and comics with the explanation of most difficult vocabulary.
Read some extracts of French books: https://apprendre-le-francais.thinkific.com/courses/comprehension-orale-ecrite-francaiscinema-chanson-litterature
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The Internet is full of various sites. The easiest way is to look for sites in French on topics that interest you: news, cooking, culture, gardening, DIY, fashion, people, politics, sports, travel ...
For example, you can visit J’aime la France, the French tourist office magazine.
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
Regular listening allows you to:
get used to French sounds, to the different accents
familiarize yourself with the language and its pronunciation
recognize learned vocabulary and to learn new words
work on your listening comprehension
activate your auditory memory.
Be active when listening:
Anticipate the content thanks to the title and the subject
Listen to the whole program once, even if you do not understand it fully, by focusing on the general meaning
Listen to the program several times paying attention to pronunciation and intonation and focusing on the way people use their voices and pronounce the words, paying attention to grammar and conjugation, analyzing how the vocabulary is used ...
Listen to the program one last time by reading the transcript if available.
ADVICE: ♥ Download podcasts to listen to them wherever you are, as soon as you have time: in the waiting room, in transport, during your sports sessions... ♥ Take also advantage of these moments to listen to radio or French songs.
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Radio France, the French radio public service, offers a multitude of stations that you can listen directly from their website.
FRANCE INTER is a French generalist station of news and debates belonging to the Radio France group. The musical programming is composed of an eclectic mix of music. Listen to the radio: https://www.franceinter.fr
FRANCE INFO is a French station belonging to the Radio France group. It mainly broadcasts live and streaming news. Listen to the radio: https://www.francetvinfo.fr
FRANCE BLEU is a network of local stations belonging to the Radio France group. It mainly broadcasts local news and programs. Listen to the radio: https://www.francebleu.fr
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE is a French station with international broadcast. Listen to the radio: http://www.rfi.fr
MORE RADIOS STATIONS on Wikipedia.
RADIO France provides podcasts from the different public radio stations: France Inter France Culture France Info France Musique France Bleu Mouv Listen to podcasts: http://www.radiofrance.fr/espace-pro/podcast-radio-france
PODCLUB provides podcasts in French, for people studying French from A2/B1 level. Listen to podcasts: http://www.podclub.ch/fr/emissions/balades-f http://www.podclub.ch/fr/emissions/l-avis-de-marie-f
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J’AIME LE FRANÇAIS provides podcasts in French, for people studying French from beginner to intermediate level. Each podcast is provided with:
the French transcription, the English translation the explanation of the most difficult vocabulary and some pronunciation exercises.
Listen to the French podcasts: https://learn-french.thinkific.com/courses/take/learn-french-by-podcast-beginnerintermediate-level
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
Listen to French songs. First without the lyrics. Then listen to them again by reading the lyrics. You can try translating them. Subscribe to the YouTube channels of artists to be notified of the release of their new songs and create your playlists.
The TV channel TV5 Monde offers on its website a list of music videos with the transcription of the lyrics: http://enseigner.tv5monde.com/collection/paroles-de-clip
J’AIME LE FRANÇAIS provides French songs with the transcription of the lyrics:
Listen to French songs: https://apprendre-le-francais.thinkific.com/courses/apprendre-le-francais-ressourcesgratuites www.jaimelefrancais.net
Videos in original version, if possible with subtitles or transcriptions, allow you to:
get used to French sounds, to the different accents
familiarize yourself with the language and its pronunciation
recognize learned vocabulary and to learn new words
work on your listening comprehension
activate your auditory and visual memory.
Be active when watching a video:
Anticipate the content thanks to the title, the subject and the summary
Watch the whole video once, even if you do not understand it fully, by focusing on the general meaning
Watch the video several times paying attention to pronunciation and intonation and focusing on the way people use their voices and pronounce the words, paying attention to grammar and conjugation, analyzing how the vocabulary is used...
Watch the video one last time by reading the subtitles or transcript if available.
ADVICE: ♥ When you will be more accustomed to listening to the language, if you want to progress faster, choose videos with transcripts: you will be able to study them before watching the videos.
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
France 2 is a French national and generalist TV channel belonging to the France Télévisions group. Watch live France 2
France 3 is a French regional and generalist TV channel belonging to the France Télévisions group Watch live France 3
France 4 is a French generalist TV channel belonging to the France Télévisions group. It is dedicated to entertainment and youth. Watch live France 4
France 5 is a French generalist TV channel belonging to the France Télévisions group. It is dedicated to education and knowledge sharing. Watch live France 5 www.jaimelefrancais.net
EURONEWS is a European TV channel that broadcasts international news continuously. This is a multilingual channel: there is a broadcast in French and the website offers videos with transcripts in French. Visit the site: http://fr.euronews.com
MORE TV CHANNELS on Wikipedia.
TFOU is a set of programs for children on the TF1 television channel. Its programs are available on their website (it is necessary to register to access programs). Watch TFOU
TF1 website offers the programs and series which it diffuses in original version on the TV channels of its group (TF1, TMC, NT1, XTRA, LCI) Watch the programs on MYTF1: https://www.tf1.fr/programmes-tv www.jaimelefrancais.net
Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
RFI Savoirs offers resources and tools to learn French and to understand the world in French. Visit the site: https://savoirs.rfi.fr/fr
J’AIME LE FRANÇAIS offers trailers of French films and series, with the transcription of the video and some worksheets. movies
Watch French movie trailers: https://apprendre-le-francais.thinkific.com/courses/comprehension-orale-ecrite-francaiscinema-chanson-litterature www.jaimelefrancais.net
Exchanging in French, orally or in writing, allows you to: used the newly learned vocabulary
apply your knowledge of grammar and conjugation
structure sentences
strengthen your memory
think in French
activate your auditory and visual memory.
Exchange in French as soon as you can, with native speakers or with other people learning French. Practice alone, by expressing yourself in the mirror, when taking a shower or when driving, or by writing short texts. Invent role-playing in everyday situations: greeting people and saying goodbye, shopping, asking for directions, talking about the weather, answering the phone, telling your day ... The key is to practice French as often as possible. ADVICE : ♥ Do not be afraid of making mistakes. There is nothing like practice for the mechanism to become natural.
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
To find partners to exchange in French, orally or in writing, use online applications that connect learners of different languages.
SPEAKY is a free platform that connects native speakers and learners of different languages. Specify the language you want to learn and the language you can teach. Speaky provides you a list of partners matching your search. Thanks to the profiles of users, you can select people native of France or from a French-speaking country. Find a partner: Speaky
Easy Language Exchange is a free platform that connects native speakers and learners of different languages. Specify the language you want to learn and the language you can teach. Easy Language Exchange provides you a list of partners matching your search. Thanks to the profiles of users, you can select people native of France or from a French-speaking country. Find a partner: Easy Language Exchange
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Without knowing a minimum of words, it will be difficult to apply the first 4 tips. It is therefore essential to acquire a vocabulary base in order to be able to practice French in the different possible forms:
READ
LISTEN TO
With vocabulary, I can
WRITE
SPEAK
The French language has more than 100,000 words and it is of course not necessary to learn them all!
To understand how many words you need to know to cope in a foreign language, you should know that:
the essential core of a language is about 250 words: this is the vocabulary without which you can not build a sentence
each person who speaks the language uses about 750 to 1,000 different words daily
to express everything you might want to say, you need about 2,500 to 3,000 words, even if it forces you to use periphrases.
In conclusion, with a vocabulary of 1,000 to 2,000 most useful French words, you will be able to have adequate conversations and to understand and accomplish most things. www.jaimelefrancais.net
Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
ADVICE: ♥ Always learn vocabulary in context with example sentences to be able to reuse it. ♥ Use the technique of spaced repetition to better memorize the vocabulary: studying the same word or same sentence several times by spacing your learning sessions, instead of revising the word only once when you have already forgotten it…
Flashcards are very useful and effective for revising vocabulary. Take a card, write a word or phrase in French on a side, and then translate it on the other side. Flashcards are very practical: you can take them with you everywhere in order to revise as soon as you have time! There are also virtual flashcards generators to revise online. Here are two of them.
QUIZLET is a free platform which allows you to create, share and consult lists of vocabulary shared by a worldwide community. Visit the site: Quizlet Discover the flashcards proposed by J’aime le français on Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/jaimelefrancais_net/classes
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MEMRISE is a memorization tool based on spaced repetition. Visit the site: Memrise
Frequency lists are lists of words classified according to their frequency of use, based on corpus of spoken and / or written words. With the frequency lists:
you learn first the most common words of the French language
you focus on what is essential by studying first the words you will come across most often in France
you do not waste time learning vocabulary that you will not use
By learning vocabulary from a frequency list composed of the 1,000 most commonly used words in France, you will be able to understand up to 80% of French:
85% of conversations,
80% of novels,
75% of news articles.
With the 2,000 most commonly used words, you will be able to understand up to 90% of French.
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
J’AIME LE FRANÇAIS provides a course by email to learn French most common vocabulary. This program focuses on the most frequently used words in French conversations. It allows you to target your French learning on the most important vocabulary so as to understand and to communicate in French. This program helps you to understand up to 80% of the French.
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With this program you will:
master 80 % of the vocabulary used in everyday French conversationss
understand these words when you hear them
be able to pronounce these words
know how to reuse these words in a conversation in the right context
recognize more words in your conversations or readings
find your words more easily when speaking
feel more confident when dealing with a communication situation in French
feel more comfortable during your discussions in French
During the course, you study in a serene, relaxed and optimized way:
you are guided by daily emails, which serve as automatic reminders
you study where and when you want: you just need to have access to your mailbox
you memorize only what is necessary: each word learned is useful because it is part of the vocabulary most used by the French
you optimize your time: your effort to memorize words is "profitable" by the number of times you’ll meet them or use them
you learn better and in context: you learn the meaning of words, their pronunciation and especially how to reuse them thanks to examples of use
you learn and review on a regular basis through daily lessons
you review in a fun way thanks to flashcards, games, dictations and exercises configured on Quizlet
I'm not leaving you alone! We check your knowledge together every week with exercises that you send me and on which I give you feedback. And I answer all your questions by email related to the content of the training.
Let yourself be guided by our email course to easily study and review really useful French.
To discover the online program and all the bonuses included, click on the following link:
Master 80% of the words that French people use in their conversations and build your confidence!
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Free guide – How to learn French on your own?
You have just read the free guide: "How to learn French on your own?". Congrats! It means that you love the French language and are motivated to learn it and to communicate with Francophone!
I have just given you a few tips and ressources to learn French by yourself. If you want to put the odds in your favour to improve your oral skills and speak French with confidence, you can continue the journey on the blog of J’aime le français.
You will find there:
♥ Podcasts for beginners and intermediates ♥ Authentic cultural content: trailers of French films with worksheets, French songs with lyrics, excerpts from French literature with the vocabulary explained ♥ Online courses to learn the basics of French, with many audio files, exercises and memory cards (flashcards) to review ♥ Advice and program to accelerate your oral skills: oral comprehension and oral expression (listening and speaking) ♥ Advice and program to strengthen your self-confidence to feel comfortable when you speak French
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I would be happy to read and respond to your comments to the blog posts or on social networks, so feel free to write there ď Š. Have a good learning experience and I hope to see you soon! Laure - J'aime le français
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