Language Tutors

[Narj]

Hi all,

I used to visit France quite often and was once quite confident with getting by in conversation but have lost my mojo and have slipped into typical British pigeon nonsense level fluency.

I am serious about reviving my skills and have been hammering Duolingo but I think the only way I will ever get good again is with a proper tutor.

Google just seems like a list of dodgy sponsored adverts now so does anyone have any advice on finding good local language teachers?

Should I approach a local secondary school language dept (without a bag of sweets) or is there a better solution? Getting a French girlfriend isn’t an option because I’m in my 40s and boring.

Any suggestions welcomed

 

[Narj]

1st google result for "French language speaking groups London"

Conversation - French London Experience

Practice your French with other French speakers in our weekly conversation groups, in various locations around London and online.

frenchlondonexperience.com

I would suggest that just speaking French with friendly corrections will be more useful. If you want a more technical process - try doing a French A level at college?

That looks pretty good, your Google fu is stronger than mine.

I’m finding that while Duolingo is good for vocabulary, I’d quite like something more structured for sorting out grammar. I hadn’t considered the college option so I’ll go take a look although I think it’s too late for the current year.

Has anyone done Rosetta Stone or anything similar? Maybe something like that supplemented by a speaking group would be best.

Thanks peeps

 

[Narj]

Cheers all,

Going to pick through a few of these options. I think I'll sort out my vocabulary and grammar before joining a speaking group though.

I agree that Duolingo just seems a bit too scattergun and not that great (if anything it's too simple/easy so far). I've started reading lemonde.fr every day and am trying to translate as much as possible which is great for picking up new useful vocabulary. Listening to French talk radio stations was something that helped last time around when I was over there (oh god, the local dating adverts being read out were hilarious!) so maybe I can find something similar online.

Not the first time I've heard Pimsleur recommended - I seem to remember the Michel Thomas Method being highly regarded but I don't know anyone that's done it (opinions seem mixed these days).

 

[Narj]

How did you get on with this? What tuition method did you choose in the end?

If I'm honest, a bit crap. I'm also stupidly busy work-wise and haven't had an opportunity to go back to France to practice.

However I have found some amazing youtubers who are great at filling in the grammar holes and who are great for listening practice. Obviously speaking is a different thing and I still have to sort that out.

There's also a website I really like for revealing idioms and nice little nuggets of grammar: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/ - I also try to read French news websites and am listening to French Radio stations online (usually needs a VPN - Brexit related?).

I am still considering getting a proper tutor once I stop getting hammered with various bills.

I am going back to writing down verb conjugations etc in an exercise book because it's the only way things stick - Duolingo is learning by frustration IMO. Writing things down is like going back to school but there's a reason they make you do that boring stuff. Another thing I like to do is to think how I would say something I just said in French - the thing is that literal translation rarely works and I end up looking things up and learning something new quite often, especially with casual terms. I love the language but it's just as weird as English sometimes with exceptions for certain verbs etc.

Maybe one day I'll git gud. I'm thinking long-term now though and am toying with retiring in Spain or Portugal so might have to branch out. I can survive with Spanish but Portugese is Moon Language.

 

[Narj]

I seem to have patchy access to French radio too, especially the live audio streams. The live video streams seem more likely to work, perhaps because some of them go through third parties like You Tube? Or you can use apps that proxy things. As you say, probably Brexit related.

"Duolingo is learning by frustration". Heh, too true. After a month I'm done with it. Going to look at Busuu and try to see how I get on with some French radio, TV and newspapers.

Who are the best French language Youtubers that you've found? Can you link a few of them?

A couple of links I'm using at the moment:

Listening - https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture (c'est plus difficile pour comprendre les mots dans les chansons françaises. )
Other suggestions here: https://frenchtogether.com/french-radio/ - it's still a bit jarring having songs in English interspersing everything but I see it as a brain break.

Interesting that there's a rule for French stations having to have a significant percentage of French music for cultural preservation reasons. I do wish I could find the local talk station I listened to when at my friend's place but I guess they probably aren't online.

As for youtubers, I like this guy as he speaks really clearly: https://www.youtube.com/@professeurfrancais_guillaume

I really do learn better in a structured manner though so need to pull my thumb out. Totally agree about language in the UK general being taught poorly as I've had to re-educate myself on some of the theory of grammatical constructs and terms and still have to check quite often.

 

[Narj]

I'm going to put French radio on while I work, perhaps some will sink in via osmosis.

Honestly, there are big chunks of time when I don't understand anything on the radio, but it's such a great feeling when I can say, "I understood that whole sentence!!!"

 

[Narj]

Busuu also has more of a focus on a complete conversation in a certain context so the language is more natural.

Duolingo is not useless but should only be a small part of your language learning. It Is good to repeat some grammar and vocabulary, the odd listening or speaking exercise. But it is an incredibly inefficient way to learn grammar and you will never learn conversational skills with it.


WRT Guillaume, his vids are good but this always highlights to me the complexity in learning French. The way he speaks i understand him as if he was speaking English, barely a single word I can't perceive or understand. Yet real French is so different and knowing a bit of slang and how french speakers drop a lot of sounds doesn't at all help.

I really do appreciate what you’re saying, however a good foundation is essential. I have worked in multiple multinational companies and it’s been extremely interesting when we’ve had say, guys from Switzerland suddenly learn to say, “OK, I will have a butcher’s” when there is a fault.

I work with a Polish guy now is keen as mustard to learn idioms, slang and so forth. You really can’t learn it easily without real life exposure and people to nudge you along I think.

So far I have learned all the silly slang stuff I know from news comments, IRC and other places.