By meeting interesting people, in my travels, and wanting to know more about them, I found I wanted to learn their language too.

Motivation is key - and I'll show you how to find yours. Confidence is also vital - again, I'll share how you get that. With confidence and motivation, you can learn French faster than most. But you will hit roadblocks. That's why I developed systems to help you learn faster.

Here are the 8 unexpected techniques you need to know in order to jump levels in French:

1: Learn the Basics

a. How to pick up the essentials of French in a couple of hours
- you need a system, a way to categorize what you need to learn, in order to access it easily
- use my Pronunciation Master Class, in order to avoid learning one word at a time
- use the Bescherelle verb conjugator, so that you only learn 96 verbs and find out which verbs fall in each category, rather than learning one verb at a time
- learn the prepositions that each verb conjugates with, so that you know how to construct your sentences.

b. Simple techniques for memorizing words and phrases
- break down the words, see what are the elements they are made of
- start with direct translation from English
- visualize the expressions

c. The best starter resource for French
- conversation for your business meetings
- thematic conversation: at the restaurant, asking for directions, shopping, renting an apartment, and more.

2: Rapid Vocabulary Expansion

a. How to expand your vocabulary by thousands of words for free, no memorizing
- use a French-French dictionary and look up the words as explained in French, rather than their translation in English

b. A new way of thinking that makes communicating easy
- don’t try to think in French before it happens on its own, thinking in French is a consequence of massive practice in French conversation only

3: Your First Conversation

a. How to drop your shyness and just start talking
- start from your English phrase, then shorten them to the bare basics, so that you can manage the phrase construction.
- don’t shy away from explaining with simple words a term you don’t know

b. Tips for beating conversation anxiety
- listen, get involved in what the other person says to you
- discover the words that you understand without even knowing them

4: “What Do I Say?”

a. Make your first conversation go smoothly

- say: “I’m learning French, can you please speak slowly?”: « J’apprends le français, pourriez-vous parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît ? »
- or « Répétez, s'il vous plaît ! »

b. How to keep the conversation going when you run out of vocab
- don’t look for words you don’t know
- explain them with simple words you do know

c. Simple scripts to keep the words flowing
- start creating short sentences that reflect your real life, nothing theoretical

5: “I Don’t Know the Right Grammar!”

a. How to let yourself make mistakes without tripping up over them
- expect them
- speak slowly in order to give yourself time to remind the words and regroup

b. What people in other cultures have that you need, and how to get it
- identify what is important to you: the French “R”, the style, the manners

c. The best way to learn grammar
- structure everything
- don’t learn a word at a time - use the pronunciation rules
- don’t learn one verb at a time - use the categorization from Bescherelle
- don’t learn one preposition at a time - use the categorization of the preposition used with the verbs

6: What To Do When You Don’t Understand

a. The “pick out” technique to make sense of almost anything
- look for the words you understand and guess from the context what the other words are

b. How to spot cues that give away what’s being said
- from the context, and using the words that are the same or similar in English

c. Why the real world is different from a language exam
- exams: dictées and verbs (left brain)
- real life: conversation (right brain)

7: “What If I Forget The Word I Need?”

a. The 4-year old’s speaking hack, no fear or over-analysing
- discover the side of you that has fun when playing, you have it in you
- apply first, then draw the conclusion/rules

b. How to avoid ummms and ahhhs
- slow down and create a consistent pace that allows you the time to pull the phrase together

8: No English!

a. How to avoid the temptation to fall back on your native language
- replace “so” with « alors »

b. What to do if people speak English to you
- ask: « Pourriez-vous me parler en français, s’il vous plaît ? »

c. A simple secret for masking your accent
- shift the stress of the word from the first syllable (English) to the last (French)

Now it is your turn!

Tell us in the comments below, what are your techniques that help you jump levels?

À la prochaine,
Llyane

Don't ever give up on your dream to become bilingual - the world needs your enthusiasm when you go to Paris and fully enjoy it!

Want to know these techniques in depth and jump to your next level?

Create a solid foundation for conversation,
master your fear, conquer your confidence, and travel the World,
with a 2-day J'Ouellette® Éclair Intensive Immersion 1-on-1.
(contact me to book it at an exclusive introductory price!)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

_______________
Llyane Stanfield is a Parisian French language coach, and founder of the J’Ouellette® French Method – an organic method using techniques that are employed by the world’s finest linguists. She travels between Toronto, New York and Paris, while teaching French via Skype in more than 15 countries. She is French language coach for busy traveling professionals, and has produced an unprecedented Intensive Program and French Pronunciation Master Class, as well as other visual and teaching materials. She now spends a large proportion of her time in Paris, where she also organizes an annual Immersion Retreat. Her unique methods produce a quantum leap in confidence and pronunciation, and a short session with her is the perfect start to brush up your French (whatever your level!) at the start of your Paris trip.

…and now Please Share this post with your friends. They’ll love you for it!