Video 1 Transcript
I didn't have to learn French because I'm a French speaker, but the advice that I will give is don't be afraid to do mistakes. Ask how do you pronounce, what does it mean, try and try and try again.
Language tips - France Video Transcripts
Video 2 Transcript
Well, I would suggest you not to be afraid to make mistakes and to listen to people. Also, when you are outside and you have a conversation or you're in a group and you can't actually talk because it's like your French is not that good enough, that's okay. Just be there and listen to the way they speak, the way they pronounce the words. Ask people. Everybody there will be more than happy to help you with a friend. And also, it's not true that French people don't speak English, they do and they're actually willing to help you, especially in the south of France, and to, yes, provide you a translation from English to French. But I really do suggest you to learn the language because they love and appreciate the people that speak their own language.
Video 3 Transcript
My number one language tip is just to speak as much as possible and the more you speak it the more mistakes you make It'll be fine you'll realize it's not so bad people don't expect you to speak perfectly especially at first but You start to hear things how they sound if you listen closely when real French natives talk You'll start to pick up on little phrases and things you might not know exactly grammatically why they work But you'll hear them so much that you'll just kind of start imitating them That way you'll learn to speak like a true Frenchman or French woman
Video 4 Transcript
French is a very beautiful but sometimes difficult language and the French people are very particular on how you pronounce things and say things but it is all from love. I once heard an anecdote that the French people are like coconuts, hard on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside and that is 100% true. They have a beautiful and rich culture and language and they really want to share that in the most authentic way possible. So if you are corrected which often is the case, don't take it personally. The French language is so rich and full of beauty that, you know, it's just completely out of love.
Video 5 Transcript
The French language. I love it, but I hate it sometimes. There are a lot of grammar rules and even more exceptions to those rules. But I think the number one thing I would say is don't get hung up on all the rules and the exceptions because you will just, your brain will explode and you won't learn anything. Just don't be afraid to speak, make mistakes because that's how you learn and ask the French people why they say certain things. And they love their language, so they love explaining it. So it'll help you make some friends as well.
Video 6 Transcript
French can be a kind of tricky language. It's beautiful, it sounds so great, people are going to love you when you come home and you can speak French. But it can be hard sometimes, there's a lot of just finicky rules and a lot of silent letters that will get you really frustrated. I'd say the best thing you can do in order to learn a French language is to speak with French speakers a lot, just to talk a lot. One of the things about that as well is that you're going to be noticeably American, most people stay noticeably American, but like I think that when they see an American or someone from a different country that's trying to learn their language, French people, because of how proud they are of their culture and their language, they want to try and help you. Like they will be blunt sometimes about it and if you ask them for advice, like they're never cold about that. They love speaking about their language, they love correcting you on how to speak the language better and so just find every opportunity you can to just have conversations and tell them even I'm trying to practice, you know, can I just speak with you and they'd love that.
Video 7 Transcript
You may have heard that the French people are pretty snobby about their French and look down on people who don't speak the language, but that's not true. They really appreciate people that try to speak their language. Whether your accent is good or not, they really appreciate that even though you're a foreigner who's living there, that you're trying to learn about their culture and use their language and make the most of your experience there. So don't be afraid to speak French even if you're not very good at it. Don't be afraid of that snobby persona that they may show sometimes. They really do deep down think it's cool that you're there, that you're learning French, that you're learning about them.
Video 8 Transcript
It took me about six months to feel really comfortable speaking in French on my own. I definitely wish that I had prepared more for the language, just by doing things like listening to French music all the time in the car, just to kind of get your ear attuned to what French sounds like. Also watching French movies with subtitles.
Video 9 Transcript
One of the things that French people do when they say hello to someone is, and this took me a long time to realize, is they'll say bonjour madame, bonjour monsieur, and that's actually very important to them. If you just say bonjour, if you just say salut, that's much more, much less formal than they're used to, and kind of tells them you're a foreigner, you don't understand them. So make a habit of that. Just include a title, bonjour madame, bonjour monsieur, or merci monsieur. When you enter a store, it's also nice to say that. It just kind of shows them you care about their language and their culture, and that's how they would communicate with each other.
Video 10 Transcript
An extremely important part of learning any language is non-verbal communication and also verbal pauses and filler words. Certain gestures like in French, you know, they make, they pucker their lips and make a noise to say I don't know. Sometimes they do this aspirated what from the word way which is like the equivalent of yeah in English. You know, certain other things, verbal pauses, things that make your speech sound so much more natural. And also the body language as well. Those are just things that will help you have a mindset to help learn the language and not just the words.
Video 11 Transcript
When I went to France, I was grateful that I learned the language and spoke it fairly well. One mistake I made that you should avoid is using slang terms thinking they were cool and hip without a full comprehension of their meaning. If you get into that pattern, you could be using words that you really don't understand the impact of. So, it's not a bad thing to use slang terminology known as Argo, but make certain you know the complete meaning of each of the terms that you're using.
Video 12 Transcript
Constantly having the French language running through your head, that really helped me a lot. During my first few months there, I was just thinking in French all the time, looking at all these billboards and things like that, trying to make sense of the sentences, the structures, and the words that I don't understand. And I feel like the best way to really learn it is through conversations every day. You are immersed in French, make full use of that advantage, speak as much as you can, try to listen as much as you can, and don't be afraid, be confident with speaking, even though you know your French is not the best, just speak it and you'll learn it really quick.
Video 13 Transcript
So my language tip is about French R's. It's a little bit hard to do them like we all know that so don't stress too much like if you want to say prayer don't be like just be normal it's okay if you can say it i still can't do that
Video 14 Transcript
I had a teacher that told us that your first 200 conversations would be super awkward. You wouldn't be able to speak very well. I'd recommend getting those 200 conversations done as quickly as possible.
Video 15 Transcript
Speak as much as you can, and try to listen as well. Because sometimes we just get stuck, oh I need to learn this, I don't know how to say this, I don't know how to say that, but we don't stop to listen. And we can learn a lot if we just listen to what other people are saying, how they talk, the way they pronounce things, how they express themselves. So yeah, I think that's something that really helped me to get a normal, average French.