I've developed interest in learning French for a long time. Recently, my interest became stronger that I went to YouTube, download a lot of videos to watch and learn basic French words. But my approach to learning this language seems not to be working well because most time, I forget what I have learnt.
I have a goal of being fluent in French within 5 years. Need advice on how to learn better and faster.

c'mon tuta pal?

MaverickA3:
I've developed interest in learning French for a long time. Recently, my interest became stronger that I went to YouTube, download a lot of videos to watch and learn basic French words. But my approach to learning this language seems not to be working well because most time, I forget what I have learnt.
I have a goal of being fluent in French within 5 years. Need advice on how to learn better and faster.

@OP 5years is a misnomer...you can learn any language in months however mastery is perfected through constant practice of conversing in the language learnt.
Get a private tutor be it one on one or virtual.


@Seniorwriter

Seniorwriter:


@OP 5years is a misnomer...you can learn any language in months however mastery is perfected through constant practice of conversing in the language learnt.
Get a private tutor be it one on one or virtual.


@Seniorwriter

Oh! Thanks! Because of my schedule, I can't learn by physical tutorial. I'm try the virtual

Fluency could be subjective but 5 years is more than enough time to attain conversational level in any language. There are two ways to learn a language:

* Actively - this involves formal training typically in a classroom but could also include self-training.
* Passively - this involves moving to an environment where the language is spoken.

The two approaches have thier advantages and disadvantages. Ideally, one should combine the two to get the best result. You'd normally start by taking classes and subsequently, you move to a francophone region for immersion. This is what FLE students do. However, it's not a secret that most people don't have the resources to do that. You may not have the funds for the expensive French classes or to move to a new country. In that case, you'd have to make do with what you have, and by that, I mean self-training. The one thing you can't do without is time.

Regarding self training, you need a dictionary, a good textbook, a conjugation handout, lots of videos and a French-speaking friend. A pocket dictionary you can easily access would be just perfect. A good textbook should help you understand the grammar.There are a lot of conjugation handouts out there, just get one that covers the verb groups, modes and tenses with lots of examples.

These are just the tools. You still need some guidance (which is the only thing most self-taught people don't usually have). Unfortunately, most YouTubers just teach any topic requested by thier followers. You need to have a list of tropics to cover within a period (the more topics you cover, the more fluent you get). Normally, this is one of the things you get from a classroom training, but you can also get that from a friend who learned the language actively. This way, the chapter you read in your textbook and the videos you watch each day would be informed by the topic you're trying to cover for that day (directed/structured studying). Unlike other topics, conjugations, vocabulary and pronunciation are progressive. So I'd suggest you take a bit of those along side any topic you have for the day.

Finally, you MUST practice even if you feel you're saying/typing rubbish. Like we usually say, the only way to learn a new language is by speaking it. This is where you friend comes handy. Also, a language exchange pal can serve here. There are many of them on different language exchange apps/sites.

Good luck!

Listen to french songs, buy and read children books and watch children shows.

MaverickA3:
I've developed interest in learning French for a long time. Recently, my interest became stronger that I went to YouTube, download a lot of videos to watch and learn basic French words. But my approach to learning this language seems not to be working well because most time, I forget what I have learnt.
I have a goal of being fluent in French within 5 years. Need advice on how to learn better and faster.

Sterope:
Listen to french songs, buy and read children books and watch children shows.

Do you have any recommendation please?

jetwonder:
c'mon tuta pal?

Je m'appelle Maverick. Lol

WoundedLamb:
Fluency could be subjective but 5 years is more than enough time to attain conversational level in any language. There are two ways to learn a language:

* Actively - this involves formal training typically in a classroom but could also include self-training.
* Passively - this involves moving to an environment where the language is spoken.

The two approaches have thier advantages and disadvantages. Ideally, one should combine the two to get the best result. You'd normally start by taking classes and subsequently, you move to a francophone region for immersion. This is what FLE students do. However, it's not a secret that most people don't have the resources to do that. You may not have the funds for the expensive French classes or to move to a new country. In that case, you'd have to make do with what you have, and by that, I mean self-training. The one thing you can't do without is time.

Regarding self training, you need a dictionary, a good textbook, a conjugation handout, lots of videos and a French-speaking friend. A pocket dictionary you can easily access would be just perfect. A good textbook should help you understand the grammar.There are a lot of conjugation handouts out there, just get one that covers the verb groups, modes and tenses with lots of examples.

These are just the tools. You still need some guidance (which is the only thing most self-taught people don't usually have). Unfortunately, most YouTubers just teach any topic requested by thier followers. You need to have a list of tropics to cover within a period (the more topics you cover, the more fluent you get). Normally, this is one of the things you get from a classroom training, but you can also get that from a friend who learned the language actively. This way, the chapter you read in your textbook and the videos you watch each day would be informed by the topic you're trying to cover for that day (directed/structured studying). Unlike other topics, conjugations, vocabulary and pronunciation are progressive. So I'd suggest you take a bit of those along side any topic you have for the day.

Finally, you MUST practice even if you feel you're saying/typing rubbish. Like we usually say, the only way to learn a new language is by speaking it. This is where you friend comes handy. Also, a language exchange pal can serve here. There are many of them on different language exchange apps/sites.

Good luck!

Wow, I really appreciate your tips. One thing I have done so far is watching YouTube videos and r ad pdf of few topics. But I don't have a well structured topics to learn each day/week because I don't attend any class because of my job. But I'll surely get some textbooks soon.

I will ask around for you. You should think in French too.

If you have about 200k-300k, try online language classes at Universities. That price covers a level and you may need about 3 to quite coversational. The last time I checked Universiteit Ghent was offering online language classes. They are very good.

There are Nigerians who majored in French, you should be abel to get a tutor.

MaverickA3:

Do you have any recommendation please?

MaverickA3:



Wow, I really appreciate your tips. One thing I have done so far is watching YouTube videos and r ad pdf of few topics. But I don't have a well structured topics to learn each day/week because I don't attend any class because of my job. But I'll surely get some textbooks soon.

I'm Québécois and that means I grew up speaking French. I am, therefore, not really in a position to give you any study guide. However, I know someone who can help. His name is etrange and he's the Nairaland resident French professor and TEF master.

@etrange Is there anything you can do for this gentleman, please? I figured you've been very busy lately as you hardly make comments these days, but I just thought I should ask seeing how you guided others in your TEF thread.

jetwonder:
c'mon tuta pal?

Olodo oshi!

MaverickA3:

Do you have any recommendation please?

You can contact Madam Ugo french Tutor on Instagram

https://instagram.com/nousparlonsfrancais_naija?utm_medium=copy_link

WoundedLamb:


I'm Québécois and that means I grew up speaking French. I am, therefore, not really in a position to give you any study guide. However, I know someone who can help. His name is etrange and he's the Nairaland resident French professor and TEF master.

@etrange Is there anything you can do for this gentleman, please? I figured you've been very busy lately as you hardly make comments these days, but I just thought I should ask seeing how you guided others in your TEF thread.

Salut, je voudrais parler français avec vous de temps en temps.
J'ai besoin d'améliorer mon français.
C'est possible ?

Kaysalas:

Salut, je voudrais parler français avec vous de temps en temps.
J'ai besoin d'améliorer mon français.
C'est possible ?

Hi there!

So sorry, bro. This might not be possible. Anonymity is really very important to me on this platform. I do hope you understand.

Your French is great by the way. Just try not to get banned. Etrange tried to write in French here and got banned.

WoundedLamb:


Hi there!

So sorry, bro. This might not be possible. Anonymity is really very important to me on this platform. I do hope you understand.

Your French is great by the way. Just try not to get banned. Etrange tried to write in French here and got banned.

Quel dommage ! D'ailleurs merci!