 French
Hi,
I taught French to adults for 3 years and am a native speaker. I found out through my experience that it is important to determine if you have visual memory or aural memory.
If you are a visual person, you should ALWAYS see the words that are spoken( for example, if you have a c.d or a tape playing, you should be able to read the script you are hearing.) and spend a lot of time writing down what you hear. For example, you should write down every piece of information that is new to you( vocabulary, verbs, etc...). One of the little trick of the trade would be to watch films with subtitles in the language you are learning. (if you are learning French you should watch a French film with FRENCH subtitles) or to read a book with the same book on a cd playing behind.( This is the method I used to improve my English: I locked myself in my room every night for 1 month and played the cd of one of my favorite books while reading at the same time.) Choose the material according to your level: Children stories are great because they use simple words and are very repetitive.
If you are more of an aural person, you should record new information and listen to it over and over. Listen to the radio in the language you are learning while doing written exercises.
When learning the language, you should set time AWAY from hearing your native language. For example: do not listen to English speaking radio or watch t.v while doing exercises. You should immerse yourself completely in the language.
Children books and kindergarten exercise books are wonderful to learn, they are fun and visually attractive.
For French (and I believe for a lot of languages) this is what could speed up your learning tremenduously:
Learn by HEART the following 3 verbs in the present:
TO BE, TO HAVE, TO GO.
This way, you are read to speak in the past and the future:
I have done, I have gone etc.... I will do, I will go.
This should be the FIRST thing you do before you even put your nose in any book or program: learn these 3 basic verbs THE FOLLOWING WAY:
In the affirmative form: I am
Interrogative form: am I?
And negative form: I am not
In French most affirmative sentence can become a question if you add: Est-ce que" at the beginning.
Ex: Je vais= I go
Est-ce que je vais: Am I going...?
It is very important to KNOW these verbs so well that you don t have to think about them at all, it should be mantra like.
Use a sample question such as I am happy, I am not happy, Am I happy? or anything that you would like to be able to say:I am going to the movies, I am not going to the movies, am I going to the movies?
Once you get to a specific program, any program, you will be able to recognize these words and it will make you feel more comfortable, no matter which method you use.
There you go, I hope it is helpful and not too "bossy".
Most importantly: have fun with it!
Bonne chance!  |