Learning French

Since I was a child I have always thought the French language was so beautiful and romantic and the ability to speak more than one language was covetable. Growing up I had bilingual cousins from Denmark and I was so jealous of their ability to speak and understand both Danish and English. When we would spend time with them and they would speak in their own language it was like they could have secrets right in front of us. There is something quite magical about knowing other languages.

Over the past ten years or more I have still been fascinated by French. When I was a teenager we could get the French news channel 'TV5' on our TV, and I would put it on not knowing what they were saying but enjoying the sounds of the words and repeating them to myself. Similarly I used to tune my radio in over long wave and get the crackly French radio stations from over the channel - full of interference and weird screechy noises. Hot quiet dark summer nights listening to that on the radio on my own were the best.

I have never really taken proper formal French lessons and wish we could have taken it at school - in my half of the school year you took German. My hope has always been that I can kind of learn it by osmosis and that if French babies can learn it then so can I. 

I found a few French novels in a junk shop in university and started reading those - not knowing what I was reading but enjoying saying the words- and every time I am in a second hand book shop I will look in their foreign language section and buy any French books I think look interesting. I now have quite a collection.

I also try to immerse my self in hearing the language, and listen to french radio online and watch french movies and videos on youtube. 

Some good resources I have found for learning French:

One of the best things I have found has been Daily French Pod who have a website you can listen to, but you can also subscribe for their regular podcasts on itunes. Louis from Daily French Pod is excellent and this is one of the resources I feel I have learned the most from. Each podcast is about five minuets long and quick and easy to listen to - I used to listen to them on my bus to work - and explains in both French and English basic topics and news stories. 

Garance Dore is a style and fashion blogger who has her site identically in French and English. I enjoy reading this site as I like this type of blog in general anyway, and because I can read the French version, try and work out what I think it says, and then read the English one and correct myself and check words I don't know.

Et Pourquoi Pas Coline? Is another fashion and Beauty blog in French also with videos, and although she doesn't do much English, her blog is really good looking and I like the kind of things she posts.

There are a few similar youtube channels - Rose Carpet, Enjoy Phoenix and Clara Channel, which are also beauty channels and are easy watching, and good for hearing lots of spoken French.