In this article I will speak about why to learn French, why it may be difficult and I will give advices to keep being motivated.
1. Why learn French ?
French is a beautiful language and you may want or need to explore it for various reasons :
- The pleasure to read or speak in that language beacause you like the music of it or the way it tells things (like me with books in English)
- The love of the cultural references it brings you in mind (wether it’s books, monuments, gastronomy or anything else that you like)
- It reminds you beautiful memories like a loved relative or a friend using it, fun or interesting classes you were glad to attend or an experience you have had in France or a French-speaking country
- You might also need to speak this language for a visit you are preparing, studies that you want to succeed or a job opportunity
2. Why is French known as a difficult language ?
French has a reputation to be sometimes difficult to learn for various reasons :
- It has a large rank of vocabulary and there are sometimes a subtility from a word to an other that have a close meaning
- You have to get use to a very different spelling (not a very diffrent writing though imagine for chinese people)
- You have to know grammatical structures and of course …
- Exceptions since France is one of the best for it : « In general you … BUT … »
3. So what do I do ?
If you are under a certain stress, don’t worry ! It is normal at the beginning to be a little overwhelmed by all the work it seems to be. According to me, there are two things that will help you relax :
1. Knowing that there are steps and that you will take them one by one. No one has succeeded in being at ease with an unknow subject in a wink. But if you cut the task into parts, it becomes suddenly reachable. For instance : learn sounds and words, learn vocabulary, learn pieces of structure (and the grammar of it if you want), be able to use conjugation in your sentences, be able to have a little exchange about presenting yourself or about the weather etc.
2. Have and keep the pleasure of it. Find the perfect teacher, website or subject to help you. If you like to cook, try marmiton, if you like personnal development, try a Youtube channel in French about it or read a book, go to the website of a museum if you are into Culture etc. . And if you like being in a group or contributing, join a class ! (maybe someday I’ll be able to offer an online class 😉 )
And my last advice : just begin ! for instance here is my article about ingredients you can buy in French language !
Happy French learning !