Just French It

This week, I’d like to address something that comes up a lot recently in my coaching classes. And it has to do with systems. I’m a system girl myself, I love a good one. I love to invent my own, and tweak some, so they fit me perfectly. Like my organization system, my to-do system, my note-taking system… Love them all. And I spend a good deal of time talking about ways to make your French learning system more efficient here as well....

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When I was in high school, I had three fantastic English teachers.

One for each year.

They were all very different from one another.

Imagine a sixty-something cute lady, a 40-something Woodstock mum and a 30-something proper minimalist tech-bro.

And each gave me different advice.

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I feel like I should start this episode with a disclaimer about habits.

Because when we're talking about habits, sometimes we think they are some sort of magical things that we need to reach ours goals.

And here’s the truth:

Habits only work if you find the love for what we are doing within it.

For example, when you brush your teeth every single day, you do not get better every single day. You just do it because you have to do it.

But if you get into the habit of writing a little, with love and genuine interest, you will get better.

It’s the same with French.

Putting on a French movie is a great habit, but it doesn’t work if you don’t pay attention to it.

So this is not a series of usual habits like watching tv and read in French. Some habits are going to call for that, but it’s much more profound than that.

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When it comes to pronunciation, there are mistakes that are more important than others.

Typically, liaisons. Liaisons are sounds that we add to connect words together. And yes, if you intend to be fluent in French, you going to have to work on your liaisons. But if you are an intermediate or a beginner, and that you don’t know how to make them, it’s ok. There are far more important pieces of pronunciation to work on.

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I was speaking with a few language learners the other day. One of them was complaining about Duolingo, not in a bad way, he was just annoyed that Duolingo always served him with non sense phrases and vocabulary he already knows. And if you have ever learned a language with an app before - you know what I mean.

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Watching tv in French, would it be movies or series, is def a good thing for your French. Because that’s where you’ll find a lot of current and practical vocabulary. And sitting in front of your TV, maybe with a French movie, maybe with English subtitles, is a great passive exercise.

It is going to slowly, overtime, teach you new things.

But, if you intend to speak French just by watching TV, know that it will take a very long time. That’s the deal you are making when you are using passive ways to learn. It's possible, but it will take a very long time.

If you want to speed up the process, you guessed it, you have to become… more active.

There are ways to make watching tv an active exercice. So that you can learn faster. Ways that we are going to talk about in this episode.

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Let's talk about mistakes. It can be a very scary thing for learners. My Philosophy is that as long as you are understood, mistakes are not worth correcting.

What I mean is that you are better off spending the time you would spend on collecting your mistakes by immersing yourself more and practising more. Especially if you are a beginner and that you’re still making a lot of mistakes.

Because when the amount of mistakes that you are making is big, The time you would spend to correct every single mistake is too big.

So overall mistakes are not as important as you think and what’s more, typically, students focus on collecting the wrong kinds of mistakes.

Because yes there is hierarchy of mistakes. Some mistakes are going to get in the way of your communication more than others. So today, let's talk about the kinds of mistakes that you want to correct in priority.

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I invite you to join me and other French learners on Sundays in my weekly newsletter entirely in French. And don’t worry if you are a beginner, you’re going to learn very fast.

You can sign up on justfrenchit.com/podcast - and you get a free French Learner Kit as a gift too.

It’s going to be great, I hope to see you on Sunday!

I went to Dublin for a couple of days with 4 people who didn’t speak English.

So it got me thinking - if you’re leaving for France soon, how can you best prepare yourself to be able to speak French in France, even if your level right now is not too good?

Let’s say you’re leaving in 2 weeks.

What can you do to help you be more confident?

Travel Sentence Pack - https://school.justfrenchit.com/sentence-pack-100-french-sentences-to-travel

I invite you to join me and other French learners on Sundays in my weekly newsletter entirely in French. And don’t worry if you are a beginner, you’re going to learn very fast.

You can sign up on justfrenchit.com/podcast - and you get a free French Learner Kit as a gift too.

It’s going to be great, I hope to see you on Sunday!

I’m battling perfectionism everyday. In myself but also in my students.

And you know perfectionism is a really perverse thing. Because it presents itself like a quality. And when we are children, we are pushed toward it too. So those of us who have to tendency to listen to the grown ups a little too well, end up as adults who are never truly satisfied with themselves. Who think we should have tried harder, and who only see where there is room for improvement.

Want to work on that?

Join the French Accelerator here - https://school.justfrenchit.com/french-accelerator

Or book a single session with me here - https://school.justfrenchit.com/consult

I invite you to join me and other French learners on Sundays in my weekly newsletter entirely in French. And don’t worry if you are a beginner, you’re going to learn very fast.

You can sign up on justfrenchit.com/podcast - and you get a free French Learner Kit as a gift too.

It’s going to be great, I hope to see you on Sunday!

There comes a time into any learner’s journey when you realise the theory and the practice really are two different things.

And this happens in almost all fields.

But in language learning it’s usually quite difficult to deal with, especially when learning French.

One day, you realise the French you are learning, and the French that natives speak, is… not the same.

I invite you to join me and other French learners on Sundays in my weekly newsletter entirely in French. And don’t worry if you are a beginner, you’re going to learn very fast.

You can sign up on justfrenchit.com/podcast - and you get a free French Learner Kit as a gift too.

It’s going to be great, I hope to see you on Sunday!