The Facets of Learning French Online

The Good, the Boring and the Completely Eccentric

The methods of language learning are as many and diverse as the languages they teach. Thousands of language learning methods exist: everything from an immersive approach without direct translation, to the standard flash card method, to subconscious learning by listening to native-sung music while you sleep! Here we’ll discuss a few of the more effective methods to begin to learn French online.

Learning Without Translation

A method being pushed in the modern programs is an innovative approach to learning French online; learning without direct translation or memorization. In these approaches, the method rests on the idea that you learned your native tongue as a child without translation into another language or memorizing lists of words. You saw something and your parents told you what it was. From there, you built on that knowledge by forming short phrases and sentences.

Finally, you began to speak for yourself without translating or memorizing anything about the language. Popular implementations of this method draw on this idea and use audio and pictures to help you associate objects and ideas with words in French. Complete immersion in French will help you learn the language without the problems that come with direct translation.

Flash Cards

A tried and true method for learning French or any other language online is the “Flash Card” method. In this method, words and phrases are presented by themselves in French, the word or phrase is spoken by a native French speaker and the translation is shown in your native tongue. You are then expected to repeat the phrase or word and memorize what you see. This method is a very basic and effective way to learn a language if you’re willing to put in the work. While the “Learning Without Translation” method has a better chance of getting you to get lost in learning French, the “Flash Card” method reminds you constantly that you are learning a language. At times this method can be boring, but it is still an effective way to learn.

Tutoring

Another popular method is to learn French with a personal tutor. This method often requires more work outside of the course itself, but yields great rewards in individual learning. The personal attention given in this scenario is invaluable and you will be able to speak more fluidly and naturally. While it is much easier to sit down at a computer and learn whenever you have a spare moment, tutoring adds a sense of obligation to another person that you must meet, giving you extra drive to complete a lesson. Tutoring is often more difficult to coordinate as far as scheduling goes, but offers many more benefits in return.

There are countless more methods, including the ever-popular “Learn while you sleep” phenomenon. While this may help learning and merits additional research, it has not been conclusively proven to aid in language acquisition. This is included in some of the more eccentric learning methods and is not widely used. As you search for your personal way to learn French online with some of the top products around, we hope this helps you to know which method is best for you!

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