Problems of the French language. Learn French using a self-instruction manual for beginners from scratch. French is difficult or easy

French is the official language of France and is also spoken in Monaco, Luxembourg, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, the Canadian province of Quebec, parts of North and Central Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Madagascar and other French regions and territories.

French can still be heard in some French communities in the US, Maine and Louisiana

Since a large number of words in Russian are borrowed from French, you probably know them
Deja vu, restaurant, cafe, omelet, menu, soufflé, chocolate, mousse, dessert, champagne. And the expression: “c’est la vie!”
To make the task of learning new words easier, it must be said that many French words ending in -tion or –sion, have a correspondence in Russian - tion, For example:
action, revolution, sensation, bond, evolution.

• Is it hard to learn French?

French grammar is similar to Spanish and Italian
If you are studying French, you will need to study gender, verb conjugation, and the pronunciation of nasal sounds.
Some vowels have the symbol aksan, irregular verbs, which are most often used only a few: etre - to be avoir - to have aller - to go venir - to come

• The hardest words

If you ask the French what the longest word is in their language, they will probably say anticonstitutionnellement, an adverb meaning 'unconstitutional'. It has 25 words, but is unlikely to be used often!

• If I learn French, will it help me in learning other languages?

French belongs to Romance group of languages, i.e. came from Latin. Romance languages ​​have similar grammatical structure and vocabulary.
If you know French, it will be easier for you to learn other languages, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Catalan

• The first written monuments and the establishment of rules

Written in 842 AD, "Les Serments de Strasbourg" - "The Oaths of Strasbourg", an oath sworn by Charles the Bald and Louis the German to fight together against their third brother Lothair after their father Louis the Pious died. However, just a year later, all three brothers made peace.
Modern French was finally established in the 17th century by such writers as Malherbe, Descartes, Corneille, Pascal, Racine and Moliere, etc.
The Academy of the French Language, which defines the rules of the language, was founded in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu

• How to be polite in French

As in Russian, when addressing people in French they say either “you” (tu) or “you” (vous):
When greeting, men usually shake hands. In informal situations, women, when meeting men or other women, kiss them on the cheek, but lightly, barely touching. There are different types of such kisses: bisous or bises.

To the question: Is it difficult to learn French already knowing English? given by the author pickle the best answer is It all depends on what is easier for you. For example, it became easier for me to learn French after English, because there are many similar words, but different pronunciation. In French grammar there are times when there are difficulties because there are many irregular verbs, just like in English. English has only two articles, French has six. For me, English is difficult in terms of synonyms and polysemy of words, French is easier.

Answer from 22 answers[guru]

Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: Is it difficult to learn French already knowing English?

Answer from IvKorzh[guru]
Oh yeah!

Answer from European[master]
no, because if you already know one foreign language, then it will be easier and faster for you to learn the second one.

Answer from Travis[guru]
English is not like this frog at all

Answer from Enlightenment[guru]
Google LingQ and find out for yourself.

Answer from Seeker of Truth[newbie]
I think it will be easier, because the brain is already trained to learn the language

Answer from Tanya - Manya[guru]
of course easier... languages ​​of the same group

Answer from NEMoY[guru]
no, if you have an aptitude for languages, then it doesn’t matter which ones you already know before learning the next one

Answer from Dron ivanov[guru]
The second one is easier.

Answer from Yomi Jade Hendrix[expert]
Is it difficult to learn French if you already know English? I’ll tell you from myself, who is learning French with a B level, this is a lot of work. Unlike active and passive, which consider the long-term and short-term, there are three clear groups here - past, present and future. The emphasis on "E" is not considered; endings are read depending on the rules of vowels and consonants. The other three groups: the first - endings -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. The second one is so tricky! We change this ending ir to is, it, sons, ssez, ssent. Well, as for the third group, it is necessary to rely on etre (to be). To be honest, it’s difficult with passe compose, feminine or masculine gender of words. If you know English and learn another language, it depends on training your mind. you need to eat well, doctors and mothers say

Answer from Tatyana Ushakova[guru]
Those who ask a lot are lied to a lot! If you have a knack for languages, everything is easy!

Answer from LnOXx[guru]
Multiple languages ​​are always difficult to learn.

Answer from Beaujolais[guru]
I learned French while speaking English. It went great. Alex described the main advantages in his answer, I won’t repeat myself. I’ll just add that I wanted and really wanted to learn French, because this language is my favorite. In general, there was a powerful incentive.
P.S. I will refute those who believe that having “trained brains” or people with “abilities” everything comes easy. Still have to learn.

Answer from XRAM09[guru]
And thinking in Russian... It's difficult.

Answer from Krzemelik Vachmurka[active]
I know 8 languages. including French. learning a foreign language is not a problem. The problem will arise later when you start thinking and catch yourself thinking in a language other than your native one. At least that's how it is for me))

And now you have come to the conclusion that you need to start learning French (by your own free will or under the pressure of circumstances (fell in love with a French girl)). I assure you - in any case you will not be disappointed! After all, in addition to the fact that it is one of the most beautiful languages ​​in the world, it is also one of the 5 most widespread. Along with English, French is spoken by everyone five continents peace.

Where to start learning French.

Where to start studying? As strange as it may seem, start with your own THINKING. Most people who want to master a new language are faced with the fear of failure in learning; many believe that languages ​​are not given to everyone, and that only a select few can be polyglots. So, I declare with all responsibility that these are groundless fears (if not to say complete nonsense)! Language is a skill! None of us are born speaking one language or another. We learn this in the process of life. And depending on the environment in which we were born, we master one language or another. Accordingly, if we succeeded in this once and we speak, read, write, think perfectly, for example, in Russian, then we will definitely be able to repeat our path and speak another language, for example, French. You must be internally confident that you CAN SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGES!!! This belief will determine your success. Of course, it won’t be easy, because learning a new language is work, and it’s not small work. But you should know that you can achieve your goals if you simply study constantly and do not shirk on completing tasks. The main thing in this matter is to remember why you started all this, and then everything will work out.

Now let's move on to 10 useful tips that will be useful to you in learning French.

Advice№ 1. Determine who you are by type of perception.

Who are you: an auditory learner (you remember better by hearing), a visual learner (you trust your vision), a kinesthetic learner (sensitive experience and sensations are important to you) or a discrete learner (you perceive the world around you using logic). During the first lesson, I always find out from my students which method of memorization is closer to them. The entire subsequent methodology for presenting the material and the learning process will depend on this.

If you've studied languages ​​before, think about what worked for you and what didn't. If you find it difficult to classify yourself as one or another type of perception, you can take a test on the vast expanses of the Internet. Or perhaps you, like me, are of the mixed type and for you, like me, it is important to hear, see, and feel the material, and think logically.

Advice№ 2. Start with phonics and reading rules.

The phonetics of the French language is quite complex. Despite the fact that the pronunciation of most letters of the French alphabet is similar to the pronunciation of letters from the Russian alphabet, our languages ​​are historically related, and in our speech we use many borrowed words from the French language (yes, don’t be surprised! you already know something) However, pronouncing words and entire sentences may be difficult. French speech flows, there are many connections and connections between words. Listen to French speech and repeat (the method is especially good for auditory learners). Listen to native speakers (audio and video can be found online) to get an idea of ​​speaking speed and intonation.

Work on your articulation, do exercises in front of the mirror. This is important for correct pronunciation, your rate of speech will depend on it, and this is so that the interlocutor, hearing your speech, understands what exactly you mean. Francophones themselves actively use facial expressions and articulation during conversations.

Learn the rules of reading. I warn you right away - it is not easy and will take some time. The peculiarity of the French language is that words are written with a large number of letters, but are pronounced with only a few sounds. For example: beaucoup (many) is written in as many as eight letters, and is pronounced “boku”.

Therefore, knowing the rules of reading will help you read words correctly, pronounce them correctly, and, as a result, enrich your vocabulary with the help of books. AND read, read, read and read everything in French again! (This is especially good for visual learners, and auditory learners can listen to audiobooks) Fiction, scientific literature, magazines, newspapers, brochures, even advertising... This will make your speech richer, more intense.

Advice№ 3. Practice grammar!

“Grammar” may sound boring, but it is incredibly important. Agree, we ourselves are pleased to communicate with a foreigner when he speaks Russian correctly. Likewise for the French, grammatically correct speech is pleasant and important. And in order to speak correctly, you must understand the structure of sentences, how to use verbs in the present, past and future tenses, know the gender of nouns and the use of adjectives. If you're a discrete person, you'll love grammar. This is pure logic!

If you are a beginner “Francophone”, then here is my practical advice. Remember, in a French sentence the subject always comes first, the predicate comes second, and then the object. For example: Je vais à l'école (I am going to school). And this is very cool, because having a small vocabulary (at first), you can clearly express your thoughts in short sentences. For example, introduce yourself: Bonjour! Je suis Tatiana Voronkova. Je suis russe. Je suis professeur. J'aime le français. (Hello! I'm Tatyana Voronkova. I'm Russian. I'm a teacher. I love French.)

Advice№ 4. 15 minutes, but every day!

I think a systematic approach to learning French is very important. Let it be 15 minutes a day (it’s not that much), but devote your entire day to the language. Learn new words and phrases, grammar rules, practice pronunciation, or just read something every day. Plus, at least twice a week, set aside a full hour of French class! This will definitely bear fruit. And within a month you will be able to speak in simple sentences, and after 5-6 months you will notice significant progress.

Advice№ 5. The Internet can help you!

Do you keep your phone or tablet in your hands because you're just stuck on social networks? Or are you a fan of video hosting? Or do you like to read e-books, magazines, newspapers? Great! This will all help you in learning French!

Urgently set up the main language on social networks "Français". You already know what is located where, and you can practice the language in practice. For example: Quoi de neuf? (What's new?) in the news section, or En ligne (online). On social networks you can also find French-speaking friends and communicate with them both verbally and in writing.

On Youtube you will find a lot of useful videos in French.

Well, we’ve already talked about books: look for your favorite reading material in French (it’s easier to do this in electronic form these days). Or find French children's books on the Internet. As a rule, they have bright illustrations and simple texts - just what a new francophone needs.

You will also find a lot of French-speaking news channels and applications on the Internet. I especially recommend the channel TV5Monde. Here you will learn world news, and watch interesting programs on various topics, but what is especially important is that this channel will help you learn French in the Apprendre le Français section (for all levels of language proficiency).

You can also find wonderful electronic dictionaries on the Internet. For example: Multitran, Academician, Yandex dictionary, etc.

And these are all free resources!

Plus, of course, you can find various online foreign language schools where people learn via Skype. For example, Learning French at this school via Skype is practical and effective because you can learn French with a personal teacher anytime, anywhere. Isn’t studying your favorite language at home on the couch with a cup of tea a pleasant experience?

Advice№ 6. Watch movies with subtitles in French.

French cinema is rich in masterpieces! Do not deny yourself the pleasure and watch French films in the original. This advice will especially appeal to kinesthetic and visual learners, but I’m sure people with other types of perception will also be happy to enjoy the movie. I recommend that you start with famous animated films. Be sure to watch films with subtitles. But with subtitles in French! It is important. Let go of the fear that you won't understand anything. You'll understand! Based on the context of the picture, the plot, knowledge of a certain number of words and expressions. It is not necessary to translate every word to understand the main meaning. But you will be immersed for some time in a French-speaking environment. And reading subtitles and matching them with what you heard will help you understand how the words you read are pronounced.

For beginners, it will also be fun and useful to watch the educational series Extra Francais - about three friends in Paris who help the fourth speak French. The quality of this video is not very good, but it is the only one with subtitles. Try downloading the entire series (or watch VK).

Advice№ 7. Learn phrases, not words.

Try to memorize not just single words, but phrases, phrases and sentences. Learn a few phrases to correctly say hello and goodbye, ask for help, ask something, give information about yourself, etc.

For example:

Say hello: Bonjour (Hello), Bonsoir (Good evening), Salut (Hello), Comment Why?(How are you?).

Introduce yourself: Je suis .. . (I am...) or Je m'appelle.... (My name is…).

Say goodbye: Au revoir(Goodbye), a bientôt (see you later), Permettez — moi de faire mes adieux! (Let me say goodbye!)

Forms of appeal:

Excusez— moi! Pardon! (Sorry!),

Excusez— moi de vous dranger (Sorry to bother you),

Pouvez — vous me dire… (Can you tell me...)

Puis — je vous demander? (Can I ask you?)

Pardon, pourriez— vous me dire oAnd se trouve... (Sorry, could you tell me where to be...).

Parlez lentement, s‘ il vous plait (Please speak slowly).

Je necomprends pAs (I don't understand)

Rourriez— vous m‘ aider? (Can you help me?).

Such memorized phrases will serve you well, for example, when traveling in a French-speaking country, if you need to know something or ask for help.

Advice№ 8. Speak up!

The best way to learn a language is to speak it! All the knowledge you have acquired - words, grammar, verb conjugation, hundreds of exercises completed - is nothing without conversational practice. If you do not use them and speak French, you will, unfortunately, quickly forget everything. Language is integrated into us when we interact with other people during a conversation.

And despite the fact that speaking is simple and pleasant, most people are afraid of this step. This is the fear of making mistakes, speaking incorrectly, not understanding the interlocutor, hearing criticism of pronunciation...

But you need to overcome these fears and just start talking. You must understand that it’s not a problem to make a mistake, the problem is not even trying... And as the heroine of one famous film said: “And you blurt out, but blurt out confidently!” Believe me, if you make a mistake, your interlocutor will help you correct it, and the correct pronunciation will be even better imprinted in your head. Accept any criticism of pronunciation with gratitude and find out how to speak correctly, construct a sentence, and which word is more appropriate here. This will help you improve your speech.

Speak French, even if you feel awkward because you don't know much. Everyone starts out this way, but over time you will improve. If you don’t understand what your interlocutor is saying, ask him to repeat it and speak more slowly. If you don't understand the meaning of a word, ask what it means. For example: Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire? (What does it mean?). This way, by the way, you will better learn and remember the meaning of new words.

You may ask, where can you find someone who is willing to communicate with you in French? On the Internet... On various forums and websites. And of course, teachers are happy to communicate with you!

Think in French. Speak French out loud when you are alone. Comment on everything you do. If you wash dishes or drive a car, talk about it. Pay attention to your intonation and pronunciation. Listen to yourself.

Chip №9. Praise yourself for every success!

Be sure to praise yourself for every success and progress in learning French. Most people in the world recognize how difficult it is to start learning a foreign language. Some never take this step... But you are great! You need it, and you do it. Even if you learn a language purely for your own pleasure (as I did), you do it for yourself, you develop, and that is worthy of praise.

The French love their language, their culture, and are very proud of their history. They are very sensitive to you trying to learn their language. They are usually patient and friendly. And most likely, they will also praise you for your zeal.

And positive emotions will fuel you for the next round of language acquisition and give you strength.

Chip№ 10. Don't give up!

When you start learning French from scratch, you will, of course, make constant progress at first. Enjoy these moments. Then, after a certain period of time, you may feel like there is no progress and you are at the same level for several months! Be patient. Keep working. You will definitely reach a new level of knowledge. The main thing is not to retreat and move forward!

LF School warns: learning languages ​​is addictive!

Learn foreign languages ​​via Skype at LingvaFlavor school

As a child, I always felt a sense of linguistic inferiority when watching television broadcasts of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Back in 1896, French became the official language of the Olympic Games, and since then all official addresses of ceremony participants have been duplicated in English and French. If I understood English speech without problems, then French remained melodiously incomprehensible.

Mastering the basics of French pronunciation is like playing the first chords on a musical instrument. When for the first time you manage to pronounce without error a word in which there are twice as many letters as sounds, - seulement, chapeau, haineux or malheureusement– there is a feeling of triumph. When you break it down into its component parts and then reassemble a simple phrase like “Quelle heure est-il?”, you feel as if you have learned the first bars of the piece, and it is even remotely recognizable in your performance.

If we continue the musical allusions, when you have mastered the rules of reading and more or less come to terms with, you have succeeded in solfeggio. Now we move on to something more complex - composition and music theory, in other words, to the subtleties of grammar.

• Verb conjugation, great and terrible

Unacceptably confusing verb conjugation is the most common complaint about French, especially from languages ​​in which the verb forms are identical for different persons and numbers. Let's conjugate the verb as an experiment manger(There is):

1 l. units: je mange(I eat)
2 l. units: tu manges(you are eating)
3 l. units: il/elle/on mange(he/she eats)
1 l. plural: nous mangeons(we eat)
2 l. plural: vous mangez(you are eating)
3 l. plural: ils/elles mangent(They're eating)

Everybody is alive? Great! At first glance, there are a lot of details that need to be understood, but in reality everything is simpler, especially in . The difference between what is written and how it is pronounced is so great in French that 1 l., 2 l., 3 l. units and 3 l. plural verb manger are pronounced exactly the same, despite the difference in endings.

Let's add to this that in everyday communication the form is 3 l. units on used instead of the 1 liter form. plural, and as a result, in the present tense you don’t have to think at all about the pronunciation of the correct verb. Verb manger ends with –er, therefore refers to regular, but you don’t have to worry about irregular verbs in French. Although the group of irregular verbs contains 570 verbs, communication requires about 50. In addition, it is considered “closed”, i.e. all new verbs appearing in French are conjugated as regular: googlieser, textoter And televiser.

• Verb tenses

If you've ever learned Spanish, I have good news again - French has fewer tenses. So, the most common form of the past tense is Passé composition, which is formed using auxiliary verbs avoir or être and the past participle of the semantic verb. So, the form is 1 liter. units verb manger V Passé compose – j'ai mangé. There's still time Passé simple, but it is considered archaic and is found in literary texts.

French also has a past unfinished tense - l"imparfait, which is formed from a base of 1 liter. plural semantic verb, to which the ending imparfait is added: je mangeais, nous mangions. Voila!

The future tense can be expressed using Futur proche, which is formed using personal forms of the verb aller(go, walk) and the infinitive of the semantic verb. We already know all this from the English “I am going to...” Future tense Future simple The principle of formation is somewhat similar to imparfait: a set of endings is added to the base of the future simple. The basis of the future tense of regular verbs is the infinitive: je mangerai. There are 20 verbs with an "irregular" future tense stem that you have to learn, but the best part is that these same stems, combined with imparfait endings, are used to form the conditional.

If you read everything carefully, you now have a micro-atomic explosion in your head, but French is extremely logical in nature and is built like a construction set: the more “building blocks” you have in stock, the more complex temporary forms you can build.

• Conditional mood, or what could be worse

The conditional mood is considered the bane of all French learners. Even in textbooks there is a section dedicated to Conditionnel, are traditionally placed “for dessert” towards the end. There is a grain of wisdom in this: the French subjunctive mood is largely based on already studied tense forms. Let's compare English and French:

English: If I were you, I would be happy.
Français: Si j' etais toi, je serais heureux.

The logic of constructing the subjunctive mood in the two languages ​​is similar, and the subordinate clause uses the past incomplete form.

• Just overcome yourself and speak!

Of course, French has many exceptions, features and subtleties that you have to pay close attention to, but is there at least one language on the planet that you can learn without making any effort? Of course, your French-speaking friends will immediately correct your mistakes, but the more you speak (even if clumsily and too primitively), the more natural your speech sounds.

Daria Ilkiv

One of the most beautiful languages ​​in the world is French. It is he and our native Russian that are considered the richest in synonyms. Many people dream of being able to communicate fluently or at least have basic knowledge. But at the moment, English is considered the main foreign language in schools. Some teach German. To master excellent French, you have to resort to various methods and independent study.

How to learn French if you have basic knowledge?

French is a language spoken by about 200 million people. There are countries in all 5 continents where it is considered official.

Knowing it, you can travel with ease. Traveling with knowledge of French to European countries is especially convenient, where approximately every 3 speaks it to one degree or another.

1. The greatest attention should be paid to phonetics. That is, the highlight of the language is the correct pronunciation. To do this, you need to constantly train your speech apparatus, constantly practice pronunciation. At the very beginning, even when you still don’t understand the meaning of the words, songs and text, try to repeat everything, say it out loud. Only thanks to such methods can pronunciation be brought to a decent level.
2. New - every day! You can only learn French by studying hard. Every day, on your own or with the help of teachers, set yourself a goal to remember a new word or phrase. That is, every day it is worth repeating the material you have covered and adding something new.
3. Strive for originality every day. To quickly master a language, you need to learn to understand foreign speech. To do this, it is recommended, in addition to classes with a teacher and direct communication, to listen to music and watch films. French with subtitles will help you learn in a short time.
4. Always have a dictionary with you, or better yet several. Is it difficult to learn French? If you don’t miss classes, show deep interest and independence in studying, then everything is quite achievable. A dictionary will always help you clarify new words and sentences.

How to quickly learn French from scratch

At any age it is never too late to learn. If you have long dreamed of learning French at home from scratch, then you should not put it aside. There are many techniques to remember a language from scratch.

Some important tips:

• Be patient! Starting from scratch is always difficult. But to realize your dream, you need to show tremendous patience. Even if at first it seems to you that there is no progress, you cannot retreat.

An important rule is to praise yourself and enjoy any successes. You managed to pronounce the first words in your language correctly - mark this achievement on your calendar.

• Learn to manage your time correctly. To start learning French from scratch, you need strong motivation. If there is one, then you must immediately purchase special textbooks, dictionaries, courses, CDs and reference books. You need to find enough time for all this. Give each source 30 minutes a day. After all, in order to master a language well, beginners need to go through the first stage of 40-50 lessons. It is there that one gains the first basic knowledge of pronunciation and grammar.

Time should be distributed in such a way that during the day at least 3 hours are spent studying. This can be done both in class and in your free time, watching, for example, clips in French.

• An important tip for learning from scratch is to determine your type of perception. This should be done at the very beginning of learning French. Each person has a unique ability to best remember only one type of information - visual, auditory or kinesthetic. Determining the type of perception will help you choose the most convenient ways to learn a language.

Many people believe that it is impossible to remember French without a teacher. Therefore, many are interested in how to quickly learn French on their own.

To do this you need to have:

• French-Russian dictionary (preferably more than one);
• Self-instruction manual;
• Large notepad for notes;
• French video courses;
• Grammar textbook.

These are the most basic and necessary subjects for self-study. To master French, you need to manage your time and make every effort.

For self-study you need:

• Buy a tome dictionary. This is a book in the most convenient format for learning;
• Connect several channels in French from your provider. If this is not possible, then find them on the Internet and bookmark them for frequent viewing;
• Listen to radio channels in a foreign language every day;
• Watch training programs on the Internet. There are a huge number of them on the Youtube website;
• Post educational posters, reminders, funny stickers in French around the house;
• Download educational games and programs to your smartphone as needed;
• Watch movies with subtitles;

The best way to learn is through live communication with native speakers. If possible, then with the help of social media. networks you can make useful contacts. Friends from other countries will help you learn the language quickly and on your own.

The fastest effect can be achieved if you are in a French-speaking country. In this case, independent study will be rapid and fruitful.

Here you will need:

• Listen carefully to your interlocutor;
• Try to constantly speak French so that they can correct you;
• Constantly work on verb conjugations;
• Talk to yourself;
• Meet people on the streets, try to talk about yourself;
• Every day write down and pronounce new words and sentences many times.

How to learn French in 5 minutes?

Is it possible to learn a foreign language in 5 minutes? Of course not. But you can always make every effort, with the necessary motivation, to quickly learn the speech of another country.

Some people learn languages ​​very quickly and easily. And others have to repeat the same phrases hundreds of times to achieve perfect pronunciation.

French is a very beautiful and rich language. If you suddenly need to learn it in 5 minutes, then you should resort to the following methods:

• You need to write down the most important words and phrases for yourself. During the day you can easily remember about 50 sentences in a foreign language. Then the portion should be slightly reduced to 30 new words per day.

If you are being sent to a French-speaking country in the near future, it is worth knowing expressions such as: “ hello, my name is X", "Thank you ", " repeat please», « I live in X. How do I get there?" etc.