numéros and updates

Salut

Just wanted to check in with a few updates. I discovered a fun way to help learn French numbers. My in-laws just moved to our city and live just a couple of doors down from us. They had a large ping pong table they didn't have room for so they gave it to us. My husband and I have been playing a quick game every night before bed just for fun. I realized last night that it is a great way for me to practice my numbers. We have to call out the score each serve, so I've just been doing it in French. Voilà

***A good website for learning French numbers is http://www.frenchnumbers.org.uk/ 

I've also really been enjoying all of the easy access to French resources online and through social media. Learners in this generation are so spoiled in that sense. We have access to so much. Below are some resources I've been enjoying.

***You can also change your cell phone language to French. If you don't want everything in French you can at least change your keyboard so that it's easier to type French words and accents. Also Windows let's you do the same thing on your computer. I can now choose between a French or English keyboard on my laptop. I love it. Typing is so much easier now.

Twitter:

•  Ètudier le français (@Eric_FLE)
• William Alexander (@64dollarTomato)
• Vogue.fr (@VogueParis)
• The Paris Review (@parisreview)
• Talk in French (@TalkinFrench)
• French Words (@frenchwords_)
• Transparent French (@frenchlanguage)
• Paris Match (@ParisMatch)
• France 24 Français (@France24_fr)

***You can also follow people who speak French or are learning French and practice tweeting in French with them. It's a really good way to practice.

Blogs:

• I Learn French (http://www.thefrenchblog.com/)
• French Crazy (http://frenchcrazy.com/)
• Coffee Break French (https://radiolingua.com/coffeebreakfrench/)

YouTube:

• French Sounds (https://www.youtube.com/user/frenchsounds)

***FluentU is a great app for practicing French and the activities are engaging and more fun than a traditional class. You can go to their website (http://www.fluentu.com/) for more information or look up their app in iTunes (app store)

Au revoir pour le moment

Adorable animals give you advice on speaking French

I LOVE this article from Talk in French. It's really cute, but also has some really solid advice.

Check it out...

http://www.talkinfrench.com/speaking-anxiety-french/

How can you not listen to advice from this ridiculously cute face?

Start at the beginning: being a "beginner" beginner

You know the Sound of Music song Do Re Mi, where she says “let’s start at the beginning, a very good place to start”? Well, truer words were never sung. I don’t know if it’s because I work in education and have taught at both the elementary and college level, but “beginner” lessons that don’t actually start at the beginning drive me bonkers. You always have to teach to your lowest denominator, which means if you say something is lesson 1, it better start at lesson 1 (nothing should need to be taught before it). You have to lay a foundation before you can build a house. For example, you can’t teach division unless students already know subtraction and multiplication. Breaking it down further you can’t learn subtraction unless you know what numbers are. A lot of French lessons will start with greetings for conversation or verb conjugation for reading, but that’s not really the beginning. If you assume that your student has never been exposed to French before, you have to start with the alphabet. Learning the French alphabet and pronunciation is step one. Another first step would be learning the pronouns before starting to learn verb conjugations. How can you conjugated a verb for “you” if you don’t know what “you” is?

Funny story, I was recently given a placement test for a French class even though I was automatically signed up for Beginner I since I have never taken ANY French before. The test was completely in French, even the directions. The “easy” section started with conjugating irregular verbs in full sentences (completely in French). Um that is not a test a brand new beginner should take, just sayin'. Would you give that test to a Kindergartener their first day of class? There’s a problem if you can’t even read or understand the directions. If someone is brand new to a language they aren't going to be able to read in that language yet.

It can be very discouraging to any student when they feel overwhelmed and like they don't know anything. It can actually detract from someone's ability to learn if they are emotionally discouraged. This is why finding a balance is so important. Full immersion (no English) is an excellent way to learn a new language, but it's the "sink or swim" method of learning. Not all learners respond well to this type of learning. Sometimes being overexposed to something new can cause the brain to just shut off because it's overwhelmed and that is a point when learning isn't happening anymore. 

It's important to spend time figuring out what works for you, how you learn best. Once you know how you need to learn, go from there.

Some take away tips:

• Start with the alphabet first. Pay extra attention to the vowels, accents, and silent letters. I find writing out phonetical pronunciations in English really helps until you have the pronunciations memorized. There are a lot of good videos on YouTube for learning the alphabet (just do a search for French alphabet). Most of the videos are geared towards children, but that’s alright you are learning at that level in the beginning anyway. Teaching products aimed at kids tend to be better products for novice learners…for some reason we forgot teaching strategies when students are adults and just assume they know how to do things. 

• Break sentences down and learn them just like you did when you first learned how to read and write in your native language. Meaning, learn what is the noun, pronoun, subject, verb, article etc. of a sentence. Break it apart and learn it piece by piece. This is why I think it’s easier to learn all of the pronouns (subjects) first before moving on to verbs. Sentences start with a subject so you should learn those first. 

• Pronunciation is one of the hardest things to learn, especially if the sounds are very different than your native language. I don’t find reading written pronunciations helpful (unless I write them out myself in a way I understand). I have to listen to a pronunciation while reading the letters/word at the same time. My brain doesn’t “get it” if I only see the word or only hear it…I need both together. One of the fastest ways to check the pronunciation of something is to type it into a Google search. If you pull up the English to French Google translator (just click the arrows in the middle to switch to French to English) you can type in any word and then it has a little sound icon next to it (on the right hand side), which when clicked will give you pronunciation audio. *Obviously make sure your computer's speakers are on first. 
  

• If something is not sticking, try learning it in a different way. Don't get stuck on something that isn't working. Get creative. It doesn't matter how weird or silly something is, if it helps you learn something use it! There is no room for pride when trying to learn a new language.

Learning two new things at once: bad idea or good idea?

In addition to learning French at the moment, I am also learning how to play the banjo. I learned piano when I was a child and then had a short stint with guitar as a teen. String instruments DO NOT come naturally to me at all (I miss piano). Why I decided to try another string instrument is beyond me. I love traditional American folk music though and think the banjo is such an amazing instrument. I can't tell yet if learning two new things at once is a good or bad thing. In some ways I am sure it helps my brain to be in learning mode, but at the same time I am probably overloading it as well.

It is interesting to see the similarities between learning a new instrument and learning a new language. Both things are brand new to me, which means I am have the same love/hate relationship to both. I hate being new at something! I feel stressed and uncomfortable when I don't know something. I am used to being good at things and so it is very out of my comfort zone when I am not.

It's challenging when learning something new because it's hard to know where to start and what to practice. It's also hard to find the right resources (ones that actually work for you). And of course it's hard to find the time to practice as a busy working adult.

I don't have the time or money to take banjo lessons right now which means I am self teaching (thank you YouTube and DVDs). At least for French I will have class once a week that will give me the oral practice. I would say finding ways to practice orally (wow that sounds dirty) is the biggest challenge for most language learners, at least if you don't live somewhere where they speak the language you are trying to learn.  It's easy to find resources online or in a book for learning to read & write a

language, but learning to speak means you need someone to practice with. It's especially important to practice with someone who knows the language so they can correct any errors you are making. Finding someone to practice speaking a foreign language with is hard though. My husband knows two and a half languages (English, Cantonese, & some Spanish), but not French. Which means right now the only "people" in my house who let me practice speaking French are my two little dogs...and unfortunately they don't answer back.

The biggest challenge for me when learning something new is having patience! You cannot master something overnight and it can be very discouraging how slow the learning process actually is. You just have to be gentle with yourself and be okay with taking it slow. Ugh that does not come easy to me! Here's to me slowing down and giving myself permission to not know everything!

I proudly claim the title of novice not very good banjo player and French speaker!

Getting started with verbs

I found a great practice book at a local bookstore (for $7 woohoo), it's called Beginner's French Verbs and Practice. I have started learning about conjugating -er verbs, while also focusing on the verbs être et avoir.  

être et avoir are irregular verbs that do not follow the usual conjugation rules and they are very commonly used verbs. They mean "to be" and "to have". Basically they're the "be" verbs of French. I am a very type A and OCD person so it's no surprise to me that I find making grammar charts a helpful part of my "homework".

Here's are some examples of what I've been learning and practicing...

Celebrating Bastille Day (fête nationale ou 14 Juillet)

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)'s Bastille Day celebration. It was a very fun event and a great way for families to get some French culture for the day. The museum had performances by French bands/singers, special presentations on French instruments/music, a sketching class of French instruments with a guest artist, free face painting, French food and wine in the museum cafe, a french photo booth, and a revolution rosette craft table. I participated in everything and it was a blast. This was my first time attending the annual event and I look forward to attending again next year. Thank you MIM for a great event. Vive la France.

I let the face painter pick my face paint design and I didn't get to see what she painted until she was finished, surprise...she gave me an amazing Ursula. I loved it.

Photo booth fun

Rosettes

My French guitar sketch...hmm haven't drawn in years might need to practice

Enjoyed some French Pinot Noir and a pain au chocolat