How I Learned French (with Resources & Advice)

Are you learning French or another foreign language? I’ve spent years studying French just because I love the language and I love France, and now that I live here, I have the opportunity to speak every day. It’s amazing, challenging, fun, sometimes embarrassing (like when I tried to order meat at the butcher shop once and basically got thrown out for saying something I didn’t know was inappropriate ha!). But I have so much support from my family here. They speak to me, joke with me, make fun of me and help me with every aspect of the language. They will even stop a TV show to explain “les refs“ (the cultural references or jokes) to make sure I feel included. In this, I know I’m really lucky because I’ve heard from some of my American friends here that if you don’t start speaking French together in your relationship from the earliest days, it can be really difficult to try to make that shift later. I didn’t even know until our third date that my husband speaks perfect English, because he indulged me completely in my quest to only speak French. In this video, I’m sharing my language journey with French in the hopes that it will encourage you. I’ve had (and continue to have) plenty of ups and downs. On the ups, I have my DALF C1 (advanced) diploma and I’m very proud of that accomplishment because it was really difficult to achieve. On the downs, the other night we went to see a one-woman show in Paris and I was completely dejected because about 50% of the really fast jokes went right over my head, while the rest of the (completely French) audience was just laughing away hysterically. It really is a journey, and I hope you’re staying true to your desire to really master a language. My number one piece of advice: start speaking NOW. Even if you don’t know much about grammar. Just try to learn phrases you can say to help you connect with other people. This is so motivating and really helps you build confidence and enthusiasm for everything else that is more challenging. If you have a fun story about your own foreign language journey, I hope you’ll drop a note below in the comments. Below I’ll put some of my favorite online resources for learning French. They’re not necessarily the ones you’d think, so check them out (and if you want more, let me know!) 1. Lawless French () I love the free newsletters and the paid subscription to their Kwiziq program, which maps your language brain, finds your weaknesses, and serves up personalized quizzes of 10 questions at a time to drill you on varying concepts. Each answer has links to articles explaining the concepts to help you understand where you’ve gone wrong or reinforce your skills. They also have dictées (dictations) and reading exercises, along with articles about idiomatic expressions like “être à l’ouest,“ which means “to be out of it“. 2. @innerFrench This is a YouTube channel that is all in French and is best for intermediate students. He’s a professional French teacher, but doesn’t teach grammar on this channel. Instead he talks about varying subjects en français, but at a very clear and easy pace. 3. @francaisauthentique Another YouTube channel that is just awesome. His lessons vary, and he’s more structured, but as an advanced speaker, I love the lists of 20 Expressions for example, because they help me to increase and vary my vocabulary. 4. La French Tribe ( This cool woman offers short lessons that are more on the beginner/intermediate level, but I love that she acts out scenarios of real life such as going to the hairdresser, buying clothes and asking for your size in a shop, how to pay for things, etc. 5. @thepurplepalace85 This is a mostly English-language channel created by a lovely young artist named Shayna Klee. She originally moved to Paris as an ’au pair’, but transitioned to going to art school and actually getting her masters there, then making a very cool life for herself despite lots of challenges. She speaks French and will pepper her videos with bits and bobs along with vlogs of Paris and France and lots of motivating affirmations. It’s great if you dream of moving to France to live your dream life! My Language Schools: In NYC L’Alliance Française () In Lyon, Lyon Bleu () In Paris, CCFS-Sorbonne () Also in Paris, a smaller school France Langue () #LearnFrench #French #HowToLearnFrench Instagram: Facebook: Website: