If you’d like to learn French, Lingoda is a good place to start. When learning any language, there are two main methods: working with a teacher in a group or individual class, or self-study, using books, online resources and apps. The more time you invest in learning French, the quicker you will learn the language. There are four main elements to language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In order to learn a language well, or to become fluent, it’s a good idea to cover these four bases.

Working with a teacher provides a structure for language learning and a step-by-step process. This is particularly useful as a beginner learner, as your teacher will be able to guide you based on your language level and learning style.

For self-study, there is a wealth of knowledge online about how to learn French and what resources to use. There are also many language apps which help you to practice things like vocabulary and reading.

Everybody’s different! There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to learning French and it really depends on the time you invest. English is a Germanic language whereas French is a romance language, derived from Latin. This means that sometimes English speakers can find French tricky as the grammar, sentence structure and vocabulary is not as similar as French and Italian for example. However, this has not stopped millions of English speakers from learning French! It’s all about studying consistently and getting as much speaking practice as you can.

A great place to start when learning French is to focus on a few key phrases to help you in everyday life. Being able to introduce yourself and ask simple questions will get you pretty far when you are in France: you will be able to order food at a restaurant, ask for help at the tourist office, or even meet some locals. We recommend learning the following phrases:

Bonjour, ça va? (Hello, how are you?)
Je m’appelle…. (My name is…)
Peux-tu m’aider? (Can you help me?)

Absolutely! There are many reasons to learn French. For one, it’s one of the most-spoken languages in the world, so there will be plenty of people to practice with when you’re learning. It’s also known as the language of love, so it’s a very beautiful language. In addition, if you know your ‘why’, it will help you stay motivated to learn French. Why do you want to learn French? It could be for work, or to help you communicate when traveling through the country. Whatever the reason, learning French is a wonderful way to expand your horizons and learn a new skill.

This is a tricky question to answer. The ‘standard’ answer is around 23-24 weeks of full-time study, however that’s very general and does not take into account an individual’s skills, capabilities, experience and free time. For example, if you speak another romance language like Italian, you will probably pick up French a bit quicker as the grammar structures are similar. Likewise, if you have four or five hours a week to dedicate to studying French, you will probably learn quicker than someone who only has one hour per week. The most important thing however is to make learning French a habit.

Speak! It’s as simple as that. If you want to improve your speaking skills, you have to speak French whenever you can, wherever you can! Lingoda offers many levels of classes which cover a variety of topics – the focus is always on encouraging students to speak the language. Speaking, and hearing other people speak French, will always be beneficial to you and will help you improve your speaking skills in the long term. Language exchanges are also a good idea, so do some digging online or search your local area for French speakers looking to do a French-English language exchange.