The 4th step: The written word

After the pronunciation, the fun part,comes the dreaded part....essays,texts and long pieces of prose.

Lack the vocab? Forgot the conjugations?

Cease to worry, the solution is to read read and READ!

For one, you can try the newspapers:
Le figaro www.lefigaro.fr
Le Monde www.lemonde.fr

Another resource is books, or maybe comics for early learners like TinTin

Les aventures de TINTIN

Explore these resources , and more next time!

Linus

The Third Step(Part 1)

Getting your attitude right,asking the right questions and consistently preparing your "devoirs"( or homework) would put you one step ahead of the others in your class.

Apart from adopting the right learning stance ,it is important to be mindful of the common problems faced by the average non native french learner. The most common problem I hear of is mastering the pronounciation of french words. Depending on the level you are at, you may ask , " Why?"

The answer is simple.

Although the french utilise the same alphebets as in english , the phonetics involved are absolutely different. A is "arr" B is "bay" C is "say" etc etc etc. A common mistake is the assumption that french words are english and hence ,pronounced the English way.

Allow me to share with you my personal secrets on improving one's pronounciation. The Radio. I personally enjoy listening to Cherie FM (www.cheriefm.fr) which plays a mixture of french and English hits.

Radio France internationale would suffice, but the incessent streaming of rapid news highlights may diminish the fun of learning ( www.rfi.fr)

Another way is through the downloading of mp3 music. This is however a more pricey option. Contact me if you need any recommendations at lthams@hotmail.com

All the best!


Linus

The Second Step

So you have decided to take the major step of registering yourself in a french school.

You may think," I'll just follow the lessons and things will fall into place." This may have some truth, but the success of your quest largely depends on yourself. Some pointers to consider:

1. Always do your homework on time and do it diligently. Work left undone will inevitably pile up. In fact, your french homework is meant to consolidate the required concepts. Treasure the homework given, since the amount of work given in private schools is very very little. Constantly reflect on the meaning of the sentences in the exercices. Translating it into English may help to reassure yourself that you really know the meaning of the word/sentence.

2. Be motivated and ask questions. Questions help you to further cement your understanding. You will have to take the initiative, since the teacher will not make sure you understand fully and let the lesson be slowed. It is unlikely take the school will condect frequent assessment so the ball is on your court to make sure you understand.

3. Cultivate your PASSION
Your passion will determine how fast you progress. Listen to songs, read books etc to cultivate interest and to understanf the relevance of the french language. How to develop the passion will be covered soon.

4. Arm yourself with right tools. Textbooks, dictionaries, online resources etc are imperetive. This will also be covered.

With that, all the best and BON COURAGE pour les études.

See you soon.

Administrateur,
Linus

The first step

So you have decided to make the first step of learning french.

The most important thing to do is to enrol yourself in a school. For example, the Alliance française french association has networks in many countries.You could enrol yourself in the paris branch or the many others located around the world.

http://www.alliancefrancaise.org.sg/ AF in the republic of Singapore

http://www.alliancefr.org/ AF in Paris, the republic of France

If you decide not to study in AF, you have many other options

The Berlitz school of languages http://www.berlitz.com
Berlitz in Singapore http://www.berlitz.com.sg/default.htm

Berlitz offers training in English , French and German.

The other school is the Lingo language school in Singapore

Plaese follow the link for information about private education in Singapore

http://www.singaporeedu.gov.sg/htm/sis/sis0208a.htm


Happy learning.

Learning french

The first step to learning french can be hard. That is why I have created this page for french beginning students or aspiring students. This site will contain tips on studying french, resources and suitable contacts. So check back often for posts that will enrich your learning experience.