Welcome back,

clearly the last post didn’t make you cringe yourself to death so here we go again.

In this post I’m going to talk about four different online resources that I have used over the years to help me learn and improve my French.

The first and most obvious one is Duolingo. We have all used it at some point or another. Whether that’s to actually aid in language learning at school or to entertain the notions that we all get sometimes e.g. “I’m going to go off and become fluent in Russian”. Duolingo can be used online, or with the app on your smartphone.

I like Duolingo because it’s fun, easy to use, and you get daily reminders to practice your language skills. The different lessons are broken down by vocabulary or grammar. You are rewarded for finishing each lesson by unlocking a new lesson, leveling up and earning ‘gems’, which can be used for in-app purchases.

The only downside of Duolingo is it can sometimes feel a little too easy, and then it can be hard not to get bored and put it down for a few days or weeks, which of course is not ideal when trying to perfect your language skills.

The second online resource that I have used in an attempt to achieve some level of fluency in French is the website Fluent in 3 Months

(https://www.fluentin3months.com/).

This website is owned and run by Benny Lewis, a self-taught Irish polyglot. He offers various tips on over-coming nerves when trying to speak a new language that we are not exactly proficient in. He promotes having the confidence to make mistakes because by this logic: how are we to improve our skills and fix our mistakes if we don’t put our embarrassment on the back-burner and make those mistakes in the first-place.

Benny Lewis has written books that focus on language learning for specific languages, but his blog and emails (which you can subscribe to on the website) focus on tips and tricks for language learning in general. I think they are great and fascinating to read about because they are tips from his own personal experience in learning different languages. It’s easier to believe that they will work as they are coming from someone who had not studied languages in college, but had actually taught himself as much as he could and is sharing his own nuggets of wisdom. He also links other language learning blogs on his website so his readers can gain insight into a variety of methods and tried & tested tips from language learners around the globe.

Another blog that I follow is Eurolinguiste by Shannon Kennedy, another Irish language learner. (http://eurolinguiste.com/). She has her blog divided into sections based on the 9 languages she has learned over the years, French included.

I find this blog to be really helpful because she writes about her own learning experiences with French and she also links in videos, websites, books etc. that aid in learning the French language for L2 learners. What I also love about this blog is her posts about her travels and various cultures, which I find extremely interesting to read as it ties my studies in with my travel obsession. Definitely well worth checking out if you’re looking for some new resources.

Last but not least, my favourite online resource for learning French is the Easy French section of the YouTube channel Easy Languages. 

(https://www.youtube.com/user/magauchsein/playlists?sort=dd&view=50&shelf_id=20 )

This by far my favourite resource because it focuses on conversational, every day French. The channel is full of videos filmed in various locations across France, asking random French people their opinions on various topics. It is all subtitled and so it is easy to pick up on the differences between “proper” French and the French that is actually spoken by those who speak the beautiful language on a daily basis. (I could go into detail about the French language and it’s different registers & slang but I’m trying to keep t0 the point). It’s also good for pronunciation as you can hear and read the words at the same time. The videos are all short and sweet so as to avoid getting bored or overwhelmed. I highly recommend this channel to French language students, even just to have on in the background while cleaning, eating or getting ready for college in the morning.

Those are the four online resources I use on a regular basis to help me with my goal to achieve fluency in French. Once again, I hope I haven’t bored you, or tainted your opinion of me with my severe lack of writing skills.

Until next time,

Kayla xo