‘Learning’ sounds to me like:
1. Pain
2. Pleasure (the joy of learning)
3. A weird mix of both 🙂
Because learning a language is a huge investment of your time and energy,
Because it’s something you’re in the long run for,
Because it can be demotivating at times,
Learning should not all be pain, otherwise your brain chemicals will just decide that you should stop – and give up on your dream to be a fluent French speaker. (LINK TO NOS FORMATIONS)
The joy of learning French
I am a strong advocate of the joy of learning.
I am not even sure I would have learned English if hadn’t found it fun and quirky, no matter how weird and crazy it seemed.
I felt like learning a foreign language was like making a friend:
A friend is someone whose faults you know – but you accept them, and even like them for it.
You forgive the weird ways in which he/she sometimes behaves, because you know it isn’t intentional.
You know it’s a result of his/her education.
You know this is their survival mechanism.
And just like having a friend – sometimes you’re having the best fun, sometimes you need to give them a hug and tell them everything will be ok.
Here are 3 powerful ways to use the joy of learning French to your advantage, and get rid of these feelings of pain and demotivation:
1. How the French pronounce first names
Take American or English names:
– Madeleine
– Stephanie
– Julie
(ending -e)
– Patricia
– Julia
– Anna
(ending -a)
– Michael
– Brad
– Jack
And see how the French would deal with it.
This will help your:
– Pronunciation
– Intonation (the French ‘slight rise’ by the end)
And most importantly, is it great fun to imagine French people say /Mah.ykul/ for Michael, and /Sté.fa.NEE/ for Stephanie.
It will also help with accents, without even having to ‘learn’ anything.
2. How the French pronounce cities
– Paris
– Lyon
– Londres
– Berlin
– Rome
French differs widely from English for these very popular cities:
– /pa.REE/
– /LYON/
– /lONdr/
– /berLIN/
– /rUM/
The same advice goes for countries, but these are just less fun: they are usually too similar to English (au Japon, au Canada, en Italie, en Russie – doesn’t leave much to imagination).
Try out these as they are quite different:
– au Maroc = /o.mah.ROCK/
– aux Etats-Unis = /o.zehta.zuNEE/
– au Royaume-Uni = /o.rwa.yo.mü.NEE/
– en Angleterre = /on.hun.gluh.TEHR/
(in Morocco, in the USA, in the UK, in England).
As you do this, try not to derive any other sense through logic (for example, noticing that ‘in the UK’ differs from ‘in « the » England‘, and try to make sense of it by thinking ‘au’ has the, but ‘en’ doesn’t, etc. But then you realize it’s not ‘in the Morocco’, etc. — you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
There simply isn’t any logic, so just try to enjoy the ride 🙂
Logic doesn’t prevail – fun does!
The joy of learning… 🙂
3. How the French pronounce Paris metro stations
– The infamous ‘Barbès-Rochechouart’ should not put you off.
It simply is a tongue twister – for the French even.
We cannot be bothered to be honest, so we’ll just go with ‘Barbès’.
But it’s always good fun to hear that voiceover going ‘Barbès // Rochechouart’ with a break in the middle, keeping his cool, as if it was possible to even pronounce the whole thing without stuttering.
– More fun names to practice include:
Gare du Nord = /gahr.dü.NOHR/
It helps you realize the silent -d in French.
Bercy = /bear.SEE/
It helps you realize the ‘ber’ that can be used in more advanced words later, like ‘berceau’ (cradle)
Poissonnière = /pwa.son.YEAHR/
This one’s good fun 🙂
Metro stations can be a bit misleading and I don’t recommend them to learn how to write French, because they are filled with people’s names, whose pronunciation is pretty much unpredictable, although often ‘Frenchied’. See:
Kléber = /clé.BEAR/
The usual logic in French is that an -er ending should be /é/.
But it turns out Jean-Baptiste Kléber, a French general who served Napoleon, was born in Strasbourg and inherited a German sounding name, thus keeping the ‘r’ sound from German – although that shouldn’t serve as a rule (common names from Alsace or Germany like Schneider or Berger where often ‘Frenched’ into /chnay.DEHR/ or /bear.JAY/, with or without the /r/.
It was often a case of wanting to be ‘more French’ – showing good will to integrate and give up on the original pronunciation of the country they came from.
There you go.
Learning French doesn’t even have to be learning.
Unless you consider that learning is a fun process in and of itself – using your creative side, your imagination, and travelling from your home – just listen to that pronunciation and the weird and wonderful ways French ‘behaves’.
BONUS
4. French luxury brands (more advanced)
Brands like:
– Louis Vuitton = /lwee.vüee.TON/
– Moët et Chandon = /mway.tay.chon.DON/
– Balmain = /bahl.MUN/
– Yves Saint Laurent = /eve.sun.law.RON/
You might be familiar with.
They take more advanced French skills to understand why they’re pronounced this way.
Download my free ebook for a complete list of the most useful fun French stuff to improve without even learning! 😉