This is why i never use subtitles while watching any french series or movies. There is no sync between what the person is saying with what is being displayed in subtitles. So use subtitle if you really don't want to learn french 😂😂
I noticed this too! Its frustrating when youre watching as a learning tool and the same word is translated into like 5 different things. Like in the netflix show Call My Agent, they say magnifique and the translation will randomly be different each time. I know this word can be generalized and mean different things, but it would be nice to learn more synonyms for 'great', 'fantastic', 'magnificent', 'brilliant' or whatever the hell else they claim magnifique means
Very good advice. I am nearly 80 years old and I am returning to re-learning and re-using French after many years hiatus. On talking to yourself, make sure the neighbors can't hear you. They will ask other neighbors if that old geezer is losing his mind, because he talks to himself! When you start using a French only dictionary, as well as reading French texts, you will discover that the English translation may not be the best sense of the French word or French text, and sometimes means something entirely different. Some advice for Americans, as soon as you can, get an elementary French history book. You will find that almost all European history is filtered through England. It will change your understanding of European and French history and affairs. Napoleon wasn't such a bad guy after all. The English just didn't like him.
Ignore the nasty comment. One morning I woke up the entire morning speaking made up and broken French..I've had the desire to learn my whole life. Now at 60 I decided now is the time. Tired of just not doing it. This is such a great channel.
I hope your studies are going well. I would think that being older would be a perk when speaking to oneself as people would just assume senility has set in.
@Jean Meslier, my husband is a descendant of Napoleon, and looks quite like him (except he is tall, unlike Napoleon), and his personality is similar! We don't think he was a bad guy. :-)
My husband is from France. I'm learning French. This is one of the best videos to help people to think in French and not translate from English to French. He watched this video with me and basically this is what he did to learn English. One thing I'm doing is to change the language apps like Netflix to French. I plan to change the language of our Apple TV to French which will automatically change those apps such as RUclips to French.
MERCI! This exact problem is really killing my advancement. I've been learning slowly for over a year and I'm still translating when reading/writing and listening/speaking. Le sigh ...
I find it remarkable how your English is so perfect! You have no trace of a French accent at all. I am trying hard to learn French at the moment (am learning at the Institut-Francais in London) and my god it is so hard. I can't understand how someone can get to be so fluent in a second language as you are in English.
You can do it too! Remember, I wasn't always this fluent :) it all comes down to motivation and perseverance in my opinion. You can, and will, achieve anything you truly want to achieve.
Merci beaucoup for your comment - that is very motivating :) If I could speak French just 2 or 3% as good as your English I would be so happy! I will persist even though it is so difficult. Some days I feel I am making some small progress and then other days it feels as if I cannot say anything at all! But I will persevere - no one can consider their education complete unless they can speak at least elementary French, parce que la France est la origine du monde culturelle!
I try to keep French in my head all day long...It's brain exhausting! Went to the library and got all the Cat in the Hat books. Only days into serious learning. Must be doing things right, because I am doing all these things you have in your video. Thank you for all the tips, love your London accent. I have wanted to speak French since I was young, failed at school after the first semester, was so disappointed in myself. Now at 60, I am determined..I hope the enthusiasm remains.
Speaking to yourself in your target-language REALLY works! Great tip. I do it from time to time randomly, but after seeing your video I'm really going to make a concerted effort to do it more often.
+Andrew Martin I did that as well with English as a kid, but only because we as kids wanted to sound cool while we played Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. "It's morphin' time! Kimberly hold on, i'm coming! Hayah, Dragonzord!". Speaking to yourself in your target language really works!
You can get into some embarrassing situations if you translate French to English word for word. I think the phrase most French students make (even me) is saying "I am hot." in French word for word. The real way to say it is "I have hot." or "J'ai chaud." Don't make this mistake unless you want weird looks! Also, I love your #5. I memorize phrases I know I will use every day I meet French-speaking people. I got so good at greetings eventually someone mistaken me for a French person! Of course, after the greetings, I had to slow him down because that was when things got harder for me. Anyways, another amazing video Cindy!
Good advice. I find that watching French videos and films with closed captions, rather than subtitles is very helpful, and reading out loud when you are alone is good to improve pronunciation. If a film in English has French subtitles available, that can be helpful as well. I suppose the general rule is any exposure and practice can help.
I agree :) I'd also add to that, listening to an audio book while simultaneously following along with the paperback / ebook version would also help improve pronunciation. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on doing so shortly with a Spanish book.
Good advice Cindy. I've been learning French for 3 years and recently did an excellent 4 week immersion course in France at 'advanced B1' level, but my comprehension is still disappointing. I've heard some of these points before but your timely summary has made me consider a complete change of tack for 2018 - leave all the flashcards and translation exercises behind for a year and deal ONLY in French - and see how I go! My main reservation is that translation exercises often help memorising of words, phrases, and grammar. Keep up the good work.
Just before looking at this, my French teacher told me to just forget about English and don't try to translate. I think I came here for validation on why I think that's so true and you've provided that deeper dive explanation. Thank you.
Cindy, Me encantas, todas las mañana mi esposo y yo te escuchamos y aprendemos francés contigo. Muchísimas gracias, thank you very much , merci boucoup. Pronto aprenderemos a es rib ir frances todos los dias te escucho en mi I- phone mientras hago mis cosas. Te queremos por todo lo que eres Una persona encantadora
Bonjour, Cindy. These are all great tips which I will start applying. You are a wonderful teacher and I'm so glad to have come across your channel. A tout a l'heure. :)
These are really great . Learning French through Alliance Francaise de melbourne ,one trip to France so far. Your videos are a perfect addition. Merci! Reading, watching movies, talking, listening , going ok !
Salut Je t'ai découvert il y a 15 minutes ... !!! Merci d'être en ligne ... :) !!! Vos conseils sont excellents à une exception près ..., le dictionnaire monolingue français n'est pas similaire au dictionnaire monolingue anglais. Les définitions des termes français sont plus difficiles que le terme lui-même ... :) Je serai heureux de te suivre Je suis tombé amoureux de tes vidéos ... !!! Cordialement Michel
Good advices....i'm an english learner and i'm now begining with french .my english instructors gave me those same advices and i began to speak english with more fluency.. so...it will be the same with french....Thks
It's a lot to chew over, but I am glad to have seen this video. Essentially a person needs to immerse oneself in the target language. Please keep making these videos. I like the approach and method of teaching. It is to the point, and emphasizing a person needs to be consistent in learning a new language. It would be nice to know how other people organize a study routine, especially at the A1 Delf level. Thanks all.
Very good tips. I'm going to try speaking to myself. I'm a beginner. I've started reading short stories out loud to help improve comprehension and natural flow and accent.
A very helpful, interesting video. Thanks for the excellent tips. I have tried to learn french on and off for 40 years! Living in Australia is my excuse for never persevering. Your videos are very easy to view and listen to, under 10 minutes which is good as there is so much to take in, and have encouraged me to give it another go! I like your vlog videos where you talk about a particular question for 5 or so minutes.
Bonjour, je aprenais françé pendant six heures et je suis trés contente, la françe, c’est un langue jolie et magnificient, merci beacoup pour ton video, il est trés bon et je suis heureuse que je puisse le regarder :)
Bonjour,Cindy.Bravo pour ton truc,une vraie perle.Ta façon de présenter la chose me donne envie de me mettre au travail pour de vrai.Je suis diplomé de l'université en langues(français,anglais,espagnol) et j'ai également suivi un cours d'italien(niveau moyen) il y a 14 ans de celà.Le hic est que ma compétence linguistique de l'anglais est de niveau upper intermediate(certifié)depuis au moins 20 ans tout simplement parce je n'ai jamais consenti de réels efforts pour progresser, particulièrement dans l'expression orale.J'ai commencé une carrière de traducteur freelance en ligne et je regrette beaucoup ce précieux temps passé à stagner.J'envisage de m'abonner.Merci encore pour cette vidéo.
Very good video, I agree with every point! I'd add one more. Here in rural Brittany people do their level best to understand mangled french, so don't worry about making mistakes. I think that this worry inhibits people and the cruel truth is that if a person is afraid to speak they may think that they'll do that after years of study but they never will. So the tip is go for it, engage, use gestures and listen. Keep in mind that french people make mistakes, just as English people does. (Plz insert the)
Whereabouts in Brittany are you? I come from Brittany :) And I agree, people should start speaking right away, even if their knowledge of the language is very limited. Practice makes perfect.
Learn French With Frencheezee I live in Saint Martin sur oust, morbihan, which, as all locals agree, is the best place in the universe. Ici c'est un pays gallo, pas bretonnant. J'hasard que vous venez du sud-est aussi. Est-ce vrai? J'aime si tant le patois , par exemple, "qu'il est biau! ", prononcé comme un chat qui miaule. Mieux que le prononciation officiel!
Merci beaucoup Cindy. i was struggling to learn the hard way.I need to use your different methods to be able to starting moving up in being able to become fluent. nobody i know speaks french. so i am a beginner class of one.i dont want to stop. but there are very few books available in california in french.so i dont know where to start.and where do i go from here. like a story book walking me through the proper steps to the finish.
Hi Cindy, i found that extremely helpful. You are a very good teacher and after listening to you i really feel motivated to get on with more learning. I have been reading your blogs ? for about a year now, just excellent. Tony Hall, Melbourne Australia
Thank you for your kind words! Very motivating :) When you say you've been reading my blogs, are you referring to my website? Unfortunately I had to shut it down recently, but I plan on making a new (and improved!) one in the future. Bonne journée! :)
Oui!! Finalement. J’espère que j’ai trouvé cet vidéo quand j’ai commencé français. Ugh. Pas grave . Alors en fin je vais continuer à appendre français. Je vous remercie pour votre vidéo. À bientôt.
Great tips for any language you're learning. The only thing I would do differently is not use subtitles when watching TV. movies, etc, is not to use subtitles because not only do you spend time reading them taking your attention away from the spoken words, but you also get dependent on them, which slows down your learning process.
Sandy Tidwell I found it more helpful to watch with French subtitles as the words don't pronounce the endings. As I wanted to see how the words spelt aswell :)
I believe that we need to watch youtube videos with subtitles first, or movies that we can stop and return phrase by phrase to learn by heart the sounds, the listening and associate with the text. After a lot of practice we will be able to watch the TV or movies without stop every sentence.
One thing I find that helps (though it DOES involve translating from English, it is still a useful step to thinking in French) is this: - Find some French poems or song lyrics and print them out, along with a copy of their english translations. - Practice with them a little every day- put both translation pages side by side and read & learn bit by bit Youlll soon get to the point where you know the complete meaning of the text en Francais seulement, without having to look at the English translation, which will boost your confidence with learning Also, after you learn those particular French songs or poems or whatever, Youll have a whole arsenal of French words that you know without any translation whatsoever whenever they come up around you in life.
Is she not in England. She does sound English but you can tell it's not native or natural but her English pronunciation is better than my French at this point!
Great tips partickarly the mojolingual dictionary hadnt thought of that.regarding deduce/infer you could say "worked out" which would be more commonly used language.
I just came across your videos and I wanted to say thank you for your help!! I'm trying not to translate it in my head. I'm going to school but I feel like everyone speaks French pretty well compared to me. It's intimidating. I shy away from any conversations because of it. I'm trying..
Hi Cyndi, Merci pour votre tip, c'est trés bon. Dèsole pour moi française, je suis un débutant dans la langue français, j'essaie. Je pense votre tip est bon et ce marché, parce-que je vien le même conclusion, moi-même. J'ai trouvé qu'il est trés difficile pour moi entendre au contre ecrir ou lit. C'est parce-que plus les mots liaison avec ensemble et aussi plus des mots avoire les même de la prononciation. Je sens que je ne serais jamais comprise cette parte de français. Merci beaucoup pour lirez mon commentaire et aussie pour votre aide. J'ai apprécié. Prend soin de toi dans cette pandamie.😘
I love the kitty, sooooo cute.🐈🐈 Your comments are on pointe regarding translation word for word. I find watching the cartoons and reading children's stories and reading and listening to France24 in French, excellent for leaning set phrases and French expressions. It's much better than trying to translate word for word from English...which I can attest after hundreds of attempts has proven to be a colossal failure . 😊💖
Wonderful list of tips. Actually I talk to myself and I try to count, or when I use numbers, telephones etc I use always the French instead of English. Thank you so much. Chère Cindy: J'ai vous remercie...
The language learning process has been very hectic for me I'm going to tell you the methods I tried, Please tell me which ones should i modify or stop doing and some extra tips also 1. Reading I read short stories in my target language first I skim read and record myself while I'm at it, then I mark new vocab/sentences and study them 2. Speaking I don't have anyone to talk to in my target language So I pick up simple topics from the internet and try to talk about it. (but, I always translate in English & think too much of sentence structure and false grammar) 3.watching tv shows I watch Netflix shows in my target language with both subtitles (English + target language) The chrome extension "Language reactor" helps me with this This extension automatically pauses the video on one scene which in turn helps me to read & listen to my target language But this is a very slow process. It took me two weeks to finish 1episode 4. pictures I try not to use English instead I use pictures ex: for cat -> I would use a picture of a cat but for words like so, also, but.... -> how will i find pictures for that 5. grammar I just mug it up I have a grammar book which is both in my target language and in English I don't wanna learn a language by translating or thinking in English. I want it to be natural. thank you for your tips and suggestions xxx
Sounds like you're doing everything you should be doing! I think some translating when first learning a language is inevitable. With time and practice, it will become easier to think in your target language. I didn't know about the chrome extension. I'll have to check it out!
Thanks for the compliment :D I'm told my French accent comes through more when I've just come back from a holiday in France lol. But after a day or so, it's back to normal. I reckon it has something to do with muscle memory.
To me you sound French or Belgian, but definitely that French is a language you spoke as a younster. But I am surrounded but all sorts of Canadian French accents and Francophone accents in my daily life so it's the non English accent I'm most familiar with. 😂😊
Bonjour Cindy... Merci beaucoup pour cette excellente vidéo.. je suis une institutrice française en Inde. Je veux parler le français courrament. Je pense que les astuces que vous avons donné sont très utile. Merci encore. :)
Merci bien, je suis sur le précipice entre intermédiat et avancé. Oui, je parle à moi-même, oui je pense en français et je rêve en français d'occasion.
This was an excellent video. You gave me some of the best guidance I have ever heard and I will get started on it immediately. Thank you very, very much!
Well, the only language I learned to stop translating and become automatically thinking in that language was English. In French I haven't been able to achieve that so far.
I am not so good at writing, speaking, or listening to French, but I can read it fairly well, which doesn't seem to make any sense, but I find that when I sit down to read something, like Google News France or my TinTin books, the first couple of minutes I am translating directly in my head, but then my brain gets the idea and lets go the English and it's fairly smooth sailing from then on.
It does make sense, I'm the same with Spanish and I studied it to degree level! I think the reason reading might be easier is because we can do so at our own pace and don't have to work out different accents.
Thank you, this was a very helpful video! Some of these things I've already tried once or twice before but now I will make the effort to do them daily :)
Aww, we had a cat very similar to yours - we miss him a lot. He was a stray and we thought he was female calling him (her) Jessica, but since going to the vet we discovered she was a he, we called him Jesse :). He had a log and happy life.
I'm glad I have this video to look back on. Unfortunately, she passed away from a sudden illness shortly after I made this video. She was only 9. We miss her very much too, pets have a very special place in people's hearts.
I've noticed this when watching French movies or tv. The translations using subtitles are almost never word for word
r m where do you watch french movies??do you have a specific website?
It changes the meaning also and it upsets me
This is why i never use subtitles while watching any french series or movies. There is no sync between what the person is saying with what is being displayed in subtitles. So use subtitle if you really don't want to learn french 😂😂
I noticed this too! Its frustrating when youre watching as a learning tool and the same word is translated into like 5 different things. Like in the netflix show Call My Agent, they say magnifique and the translation will randomly be different each time. I know this word can be generalized and mean different things, but it would be nice to learn more synonyms for 'great', 'fantastic', 'magnificent', 'brilliant' or whatever the hell else they claim magnifique means
Very good advice. I am nearly 80 years old and I am returning to re-learning and re-using French after many years hiatus.
On talking to yourself, make sure the neighbors can't hear you. They will ask other neighbors if that old geezer is losing his mind, because he talks to himself!
When you start using a French only dictionary, as well as reading French texts, you will discover that the English translation may not be the best sense of the French word or French text, and sometimes means something entirely different.
Some advice for Americans, as soon as you can, get an elementary French history book. You will find that almost all European history is filtered through England. It will change your understanding of European and French history and affairs. Napoleon wasn't such a bad guy after all. The English just didn't like him.
@Jean Meslier ---- oh yeah, Hitler was a very nice man too, we just didn't like him either, or Stalin or ..........
Ignore the nasty comment. One morning I woke up the entire morning speaking made up and broken French..I've had the desire to learn my whole life. Now at 60 I decided now is the time. Tired of just not doing it. This is such a great channel.
Jean, I don't mind the neighbours hearing me! :-D
I hope your studies are going well. I would think that being older would be a perk when speaking to oneself as people would just assume senility has set in.
@Jean Meslier, my husband is a descendant of Napoleon, and looks quite like him (except he is tall, unlike Napoleon), and his personality is similar! We don't think he was a bad guy. :-)
My husband is from France. I'm learning French. This is one of the best videos to help people to think in French and not translate from English to French. He watched this video with me and basically this is what he did to learn English. One thing I'm doing is to change the language apps like Netflix to French. I plan to change the language of our Apple TV to French which will automatically change those apps such as RUclips to French.
MERCI! This exact problem is really killing my advancement. I've been learning slowly for over a year and I'm still translating when reading/writing and listening/speaking. Le sigh ...
I find it remarkable how your English is so perfect! You have no trace of a French accent at all. I am trying hard to learn French at the moment (am learning at the Institut-Francais in London) and my god it is so hard. I can't understand how someone can get to be so fluent in a second language as you are in English.
You can do it too! Remember, I wasn't always this fluent :) it all comes down to motivation and perseverance in my opinion. You can, and will, achieve anything you truly want to achieve.
Merci beaucoup for your comment - that is very motivating :) If I could speak French just 2 or 3% as good as your English I would be so happy! I will persist even though it is so difficult. Some days I feel I am making some small progress and then other days it feels as if I cannot say anything at all! But I will persevere - no one can consider their education complete unless they can speak at least elementary French, parce que la France est la origine du monde culturelle!
I try to keep French in my head all day long...It's brain exhausting! Went to the library and got all the Cat in the Hat books. Only days into serious learning. Must be doing things right, because I am doing all these things you have in your video. Thank you for all the tips, love your London accent.
I have wanted to speak French since I was young, failed at school after the first semester, was so disappointed in myself. Now at 60, I am determined..I hope the enthusiasm remains.
Speaking to yourself in your target-language REALLY works! Great tip. I do it from time to time randomly, but after seeing your video I'm really going to make a concerted effort to do it more often.
+Andrew Martin I did that as well with English as a kid, but only because we as kids wanted to sound cool while we played Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. "It's morphin' time! Kimberly hold on, i'm coming! Hayah, Dragonzord!". Speaking to yourself in your target language really works!
You can get into some embarrassing situations if you translate French to English word for word. I think the phrase most French students make (even me) is saying "I am hot." in French word for word. The real way to say it is "I have hot." or "J'ai chaud." Don't make this mistake unless you want weird looks!
Also, I love your #5. I memorize phrases I know I will use every day I meet French-speaking people. I got so good at greetings eventually someone mistaken me for a French person! Of course, after the greetings, I had to slow him down because that was when things got harder for me.
Anyways, another amazing video Cindy!
Oh yes, translating 'I am hot' word for word is definitely a mistake to avoid!! lool
Love how the cat is just chilling in the background. Like it might jump in with some French tips at any moment.
Good advice. I find that watching French videos and films with closed captions, rather than subtitles is very helpful, and reading out loud when you are alone is good to improve pronunciation. If a film in English has French subtitles available, that can be helpful as well. I suppose the general rule is any exposure and practice can help.
I agree :) I'd also add to that, listening to an audio book while simultaneously following along with the paperback / ebook version would also help improve pronunciation. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on doing so shortly with a Spanish book.
Good advice Cindy. I've been learning French for 3 years and recently did an excellent 4 week immersion course in France at 'advanced B1' level, but my comprehension is still disappointing. I've heard some of these points before but your timely summary has made me consider a complete change of tack for 2018 - leave all the flashcards and translation exercises behind for a year and deal ONLY in French - and see how I go! My main reservation is that translation exercises often help memorising of words, phrases, and grammar.
Keep up the good work.
I am currently Learning english and French. I got kind of fluent in English and now want to improve my French . This helped me a lot
Just before looking at this, my French teacher told me to just forget about English and don't try to translate. I think I came here for validation on why I think that's so true and you've provided that deeper dive explanation. Thank you.
The most difficult part about reading in French is the slang, however reading does help.
Cindy,
Me encantas, todas las mañana mi esposo y yo te escuchamos y aprendemos francés contigo. Muchísimas gracias, thank you very much , merci boucoup. Pronto aprenderemos a es rib ir frances todos los dias te escucho en mi I- phone mientras hago mis cosas. Te queremos por todo lo que eres
Una persona encantadora
Muchas gracias por sus amables palabras :)
Merci beaucoup
Bonjour, Cindy. These are all great tips which I will start applying. You are a wonderful teacher and I'm so glad to have come across your channel. A tout a l'heure. :)
Thank you very much for your kind words! :D
I understand what you are saying because i've been through this phase again while learning english (native Greek speaker)
These are really great . Learning French through Alliance Francaise de melbourne ,one trip to France so far. Your videos are a perfect addition. Merci! Reading, watching movies, talking, listening , going ok !
Salut
Je t'ai découvert il y a 15 minutes ... !!! Merci d'être en ligne ... :) !!!
Vos conseils sont excellents à une exception près ..., le dictionnaire monolingue français n'est pas similaire au dictionnaire monolingue anglais.
Les définitions des termes français sont plus difficiles que le terme lui-même ... :)
Je serai heureux de te suivre
Je suis tombé amoureux de tes vidéos ... !!!
Cordialement
Michel
Thanks so a lot Cindy it really helpful your teaching
Awsome. I'm in from now on I'm gonna learn French and English in the same time.
That's great! What's your first language?
I speak Spanish, a bit Portuguese and English but im very interesting in learning French , Arabic, and Hebrew
very good tips, clever explanations and I totally agree with your 5 points
Thank you :)
Good advices....i'm an english learner and i'm now begining with french .my english instructors gave me those same advices and i began to speak english with more fluency.. so...it will be the same with french....Thks
thanks so much for all your support, you're great darling!
You're most welcome. :)
I may or may not have changed my phones native language into Français your videos are very helpful.
Thank you! I'm really pleased you find them useful :)
That is one bold decision, damn.
It's a lot to chew over, but I am glad to have seen this video. Essentially a person needs to immerse oneself in the target language. Please keep making these videos. I like the approach and method of teaching. It is to the point, and emphasizing a person needs to be consistent in learning a new language. It would be nice to know how other people organize a study routine, especially at the A1 Delf level. Thanks all.
Cindy, your videos are quite smart. You are doing a wonderful JOB! Keep it up!
Very good tips. I'm going to try speaking to myself. I'm a beginner. I've started reading short stories out loud to help improve comprehension and natural flow and accent.
A very helpful, interesting video. Thanks for the excellent tips. I have tried to learn french on and off for 40 years! Living in Australia is my excuse for never persevering. Your videos are very easy to view and listen to, under 10 minutes which is good as there is so much to take in, and have encouraged me to give it another go! I like your vlog videos where you talk about a particular question for 5 or so minutes.
excellent tips for someone who really wants to pick up the language
Bonjour, je aprenais françé pendant six heures et je suis trés contente, la françe, c’est un langue jolie et magnificient, merci beacoup pour ton video, il est trés bon et je suis heureuse que je puisse le regarder :)
Bonjour,Cindy.Bravo pour ton truc,une vraie perle.Ta façon de présenter la chose me donne envie de me mettre au travail pour de vrai.Je suis diplomé de l'université en langues(français,anglais,espagnol) et j'ai également suivi un cours d'italien(niveau moyen) il y a 14 ans de celà.Le hic est que ma compétence linguistique de l'anglais est de niveau upper intermediate(certifié)depuis au moins 20 ans tout simplement parce je n'ai jamais consenti de réels efforts pour progresser, particulièrement dans l'expression orale.J'ai commencé une carrière de traducteur freelance en ligne et je regrette beaucoup ce précieux temps passé à stagner.J'envisage de m'abonner.Merci encore pour cette vidéo.
I'm impressed that you were able to stay so calm in the videos. What's your secret?
Idk
Very good video, I agree with every point! I'd add one more. Here in rural Brittany people do their level best to understand mangled french, so don't worry about making mistakes. I think that this worry inhibits people and the cruel truth is that if a person is afraid to speak they may think that they'll do that after years of study but they never will. So the tip is go for it, engage, use gestures and listen. Keep in mind that french people make mistakes, just as English people does. (Plz insert the)
Whereabouts in Brittany are you? I come from Brittany :) And I agree, people should start speaking right away, even if their knowledge of the language is very limited. Practice makes perfect.
Learn French With Frencheezee I live in Saint Martin sur oust, morbihan, which, as all locals agree, is the best place in the universe. Ici c'est un pays gallo, pas bretonnant. J'hasard que vous venez du sud-est aussi. Est-ce vrai? J'aime si tant le patois , par exemple, "qu'il est biau! ", prononcé comme un chat qui miaule. Mieux que le prononciation officiel!
Merci beaucoup Cindy. i was struggling to learn the hard way.I need to use your different methods to be able to starting moving up in being able to become fluent. nobody i know speaks french. so i am a beginner class of one.i dont want to stop. but there are very few books available in california in french.so i dont know where to start.and where do i go from here. like a story book walking me through the proper steps to the finish.
Maybe you could see if you can get French audio books on audible?
Merci, beaucoup mon professeur Cindy vous êtes le meilleur prof
Merci pour ce gentil commentaire, ça me fait très plaisir ! :)
I've always enjoyed reading books while listening to the audio version at the same time. Sounds like a pleasant hour or so to me.
Hi Cindy, i found that extremely helpful. You are a very good teacher and after listening to you i really feel motivated to get on with more learning. I have been reading your blogs ? for about a year now, just excellent. Tony Hall, Melbourne Australia
Thank you for your kind words! Very motivating :)
When you say you've been reading my blogs, are you referring to my website? Unfortunately I had to shut it down recently, but I plan on making a new (and improved!) one in the future. Bonne journée! :)
Cindy, always great to hear your point-of-view on fluency tips.
Pleased you liked it :)
Oui!! Finalement. J’espère que j’ai trouvé cet vidéo quand j’ai commencé français. Ugh. Pas grave . Alors en fin je vais continuer à appendre français. Je vous remercie pour votre vidéo. À bientôt.
Great tips for any language you're learning. The only thing I would do differently is not use subtitles when watching TV. movies, etc, is not to use subtitles because not only do you spend time reading them taking your attention away from the spoken words, but you also get dependent on them, which slows down your learning process.
Sandy Tidwell I found it more helpful to watch with French subtitles as the words don't pronounce the endings. As I wanted to see how the words spelt aswell :)
I believe that we need to watch youtube videos with subtitles first, or movies that we can stop and return phrase by phrase to learn by heart the sounds, the listening and associate with the text. After a lot of practice we will be able to watch the TV or movies without stop every sentence.
J'adore le chat !!!! Si amusant !!!!
One thing I find that helps (though it DOES involve translating from English, it is still a useful step to thinking in French) is this:
- Find some French poems or song lyrics and print them out, along with a copy of their english translations.
- Practice with them a little every day- put both translation pages side by side and read & learn bit by bit
Youlll soon get to the point where you know the complete meaning of the text en Francais seulement, without having to look at the English translation, which will boost your confidence with learning
Also, after you learn those particular French songs or poems or whatever, Youll have a whole arsenal of French words that you know without any translation whatsoever whenever they come up around you in life.
An excellent idea!
I completely agree with u...and also If we want to learn any kind of language, we need to think in that language even if in mind.
Cindy parle anglais en accent britannique.
Is she not in England. She does sound English but you can tell it's not native or natural but her English pronunciation is better than my French at this point!
Munya Gwishiri what was the point of this comment ?
@@town944folk She speaks fine
Merci! Je parle anglais et je parle un peu de français. Je ne comprend pas beaucoup de français. :( but i will practice!!
Great tips partickarly the mojolingual dictionary hadnt thought of that.regarding deduce/infer you could say "worked out" which would be more commonly used language.
Thanks for the tip :)
Tres interessant video; j'aime bien ta spontaneite et biensur tes conseils.
Im so very impressed im so very thank you miss Cindy..!!
I just came across your videos and I wanted to say thank you for your help!! I'm trying not to translate it in my head. I'm going to school but I feel like everyone speaks French pretty well compared to me. It's intimidating. I shy away from any conversations because of it. I'm trying..
Merci beaucoup ! Par example .. ça va literally means " it goes " as opposed to the usual way of saying how are you / things ?
Yes, that's right :)
Excellent work Cindy
Thank you very much! :)
Hi Cyndi, Merci pour votre tip, c'est trés bon. Dèsole pour moi française, je suis un débutant dans la langue français, j'essaie. Je pense votre tip est bon et ce marché, parce-que je vien le même conclusion, moi-même. J'ai trouvé qu'il est trés difficile pour moi entendre au contre ecrir ou lit. C'est parce-que plus les mots liaison avec ensemble et aussi plus des mots avoire les même de la prononciation. Je sens que je ne serais jamais comprise cette parte de français. Merci beaucoup pour lirez mon commentaire et aussie pour votre aide. J'ai apprécié. Prend soin de toi dans cette pandamie.😘
1:45 suddenly make me smile!
Cindy merci
Excellent advice. My favourite tip was to think in French when going about normal life.
Really liked this video! Your tips are spot on every time. Hopefully one day my French will be as good as your English :p. Cheers
Thank you very much for your kind words! All it takes to get fluent in a foreign language is plenty of practice. I'm sure you'll get there :)
Merci Beaucoup Cindy pour cette edition. J’ai ete coince’ dans mon appretissage du francais.
I love the kitty, sooooo cute.🐈🐈 Your comments are on pointe regarding translation word for word. I find watching the cartoons and reading children's stories and reading and listening to France24 in French, excellent for leaning set phrases and French expressions. It's much better than trying to translate word for word from English...which I can attest after hundreds of attempts has proven to be a colossal failure . 😊💖
I also watch French news. France 24 is a good one and can be seen on youtube worldwide.
Wonderful list of tips. Actually I talk to myself and I try to count, or when I use numbers, telephones etc I use always the French instead of English. Thank you so much. Chère Cindy: J'ai vous remercie...
Hello Cindy, I am in bourg en brese in Lyon. It's my first travel abroad for working. I have started listening France Language
Do you like it there? :)
@@Frencheezi I'm beginner and I need to become fluent in France as fast I can because of my costumers
Great Advice, Cindy, Thank YOU for sharing such wisdom
I love your advices please keep making more videos like these
The language learning process has been very hectic for me
I'm going to tell you the methods I tried, Please tell me which ones should i modify or stop doing and some extra tips also
1. Reading
I read short stories in my target language
first I skim read and record myself while I'm at it, then I mark new vocab/sentences and study them
2. Speaking
I don't have anyone to talk to in my target language
So I pick up simple topics from the internet and try to talk about it.
(but, I always translate in English & think too much of sentence structure and false grammar)
3.watching tv shows
I watch Netflix shows in my target language with both subtitles (English + target language)
The chrome extension "Language reactor" helps me with this
This extension automatically pauses the video on one scene which in turn helps me to read & listen to my target language
But this is a very slow process.
It took me two weeks to finish 1episode
4. pictures
I try not to use English
instead I use pictures
ex: for cat -> I would use a picture of a cat
but for words like so, also, but.... -> how will i find pictures for that
5. grammar
I just mug it up
I have a grammar book which is both in my target language and in English
I don't wanna learn a language by translating or thinking in English. I want it to be natural.
thank you for your tips and suggestions
xxx
Sounds like you're doing everything you should be doing! I think some translating when first learning a language is inevitable. With time and practice, it will become easier to think in your target language. I didn't know about the chrome extension. I'll have to check it out!
Thank you Cindy, fantastic advice. Excellent!
Thank you so much and many blessings !
Burlington , Ontario Canada
I am shocked that your French accent is basically gone when you speak English. Must’ve taken lots of hard work. I’m trying to go the other way around.
Caden Young I know!! Me too. I’m trying to learn it for school. It’s much easier than Spanish to me.
Thanks for the compliment :D I'm told my French accent comes through more when I've just come back from a holiday in France lol. But after a day or so, it's back to normal. I reckon it has something to do with muscle memory.
I wouldn't of thought she was a native french speak ... I can hear a slight accent but not french
I hear an English accent and didn't think she was French for awhile
To me you sound French or Belgian, but definitely that French is a language you spoke as a younster. But I am surrounded but all sorts of Canadian French accents and Francophone accents in my daily life so it's the non English accent I'm most familiar with. 😂😊
Yes, thanks for you
Merci beaucoup, cindy
Very good Cindy, thanks for your hint
excellent points. ty that’s how i learned English as a teen.
Cindy estas haciendo un exelente trabajo te lo agradesco mucho...muy buena informacion..
Muchas gracias por tus lindas palabras :)
Bonjour Cindy... Merci beaucoup pour cette excellente vidéo.. je suis une institutrice française en Inde. Je veux parler le français courrament. Je pense que les astuces que vous avons donné sont très utile. Merci encore. :)
Tout le plaisir est pour moi :)
Thank you Cindy for these tips. Im going to try to learn French. In one year I hope Im going to at least be able to speak and read basic French.
Bien astuce! J'irai utilise sa.
Thank you for your great tips. Merci beaucoup.
Très utile, Cindy! Voilà une sixième idée pour eviter traduire: ne regardez jamais les films français avec sous-titres anglais.
Dear Cindy, thank you very much for your tips. best regards, Fernando from Colombo, Ceylon.
You're most welcome :)
Kindly can you suggest some movies in French.. for beginners, please..🙏🏻
Merci pour cet video.
De rien :)
Great tips! Merci!
Merci bien, je suis sur le précipice entre intermédiat et avancé. Oui, je parle à moi-même, oui je pense en français et je rêve en français d'occasion.
Thank you! Good points to remember and put in practice.
This was an excellent video. You gave me some of the best guidance I have ever heard and I will get started on it immediately. Thank you very, very much!
Really glad you found my advice useful :D
Love this advice! Implementing these tips into my regime today! Thank you Cindy! :)
I'm new to learning French and have been watching the kids cartoons and also Disney movies in French. It is funny, I have started dreaming in French.
Cindy, you are fabulous!!
Thank you very much for your kind words! :)
Great 👍 lesson dear teacher 👩🏫 you’re awesome 👏
Very good advise all around ...!!
Well, the only language I learned to stop translating and become automatically thinking in that language was English. In French I haven't been able to achieve that so far.
Très bon conseil, merci.👍🏻
Great tips!
This advice is perfect. And I learned a ton of French from reading old copies of "Astérix le Gaulois."
Awesome! Reading is always a great way to increase your vocabulary and improve your grammar in a more casual / natural way 🙂
I am not so good at writing, speaking, or listening to French, but I can read it fairly well, which doesn't seem to make any sense, but I find that when I sit down to read something, like Google News France or my TinTin books, the first couple of minutes I am translating directly in my head, but then my brain gets the idea and lets go the English and it's fairly smooth sailing from then on.
It does make sense, I'm the same with Spanish and I studied it to degree level! I think the reason reading might be easier is because we can do so at our own pace and don't have to work out different accents.
I listen to lots of 1960s French ye-ye music. I guess that shows my age.
Merci madame.
Thank you, this was a very helpful video! Some of these things I've already tried once or twice before but now I will make the effort to do them daily :)
Aww, we had a cat very similar to yours - we miss him a lot. He was a stray and we thought he was female calling him (her) Jessica, but since going to the vet we discovered she was a he, we called him Jesse :). He had a log and happy life.
I'm glad I have this video to look back on. Unfortunately, she passed away from a sudden illness shortly after I made this video. She was only 9. We miss her very much too, pets have a very special place in people's hearts.