Voted Best Answer
Jul 01, 2011 - 09:39 AM
I don't speak French, but I'm fluent in Spanish and I think the following tip probably applies for any romance language:
Read newspapers, read newspapers, read newspapers.
There are a couple reasons for this. One is that vocabulary related to science, politics, etc. is often very similar to English, so you'll be able to learn new vocabulary without having to always look up the meaning and your ability to understand the articles will therefore be substantially higher.
The other major reason is that since vocabulary isn't as much of a problem, you'll really be able to focus more on the subtle grammar structures that are so critical and generally one of the most difficult parts of learning a new language. You'll find certain structures used over and over again, and they'll consequently come to feel really natural to you.
I think the strategies you wrote about above are spot-on as well. I did the exact same thing -- started out with English subtitles, then moved on to Spanish subtitles. If you can watch some French news programs, that might also be helpful. Just like newspapers, the vocab will generally be easier to understand so you can focus more on the rhythm rather than on individual words. And since it's not a movie, there won't be any potentially distracting background music, characters whose way of talking is more difficult, etc (but do keep watching those movies!).
Read newspapers, read newspapers, read newspapers.
There are a couple reasons for this. One is that vocabulary related to science, politics, etc. is often very similar to English, so you'll be able to learn new vocabulary without having to always look up the meaning and your ability to understand the articles will therefore be substantially higher.
The other major reason is that since vocabulary isn't as much of a problem, you'll really be able to focus more on the subtle grammar structures that are so critical and generally one of the most difficult parts of learning a new language. You'll find certain structures used over and over again, and they'll consequently come to feel really natural to you.
I think the strategies you wrote about above are spot-on as well. I did the exact same thing -- started out with English subtitles, then moved on to Spanish subtitles. If you can watch some French news programs, that might also be helpful. Just like newspapers, the vocab will generally be easier to understand so you can focus more on the rhythm rather than on individual words. And since it's not a movie, there won't be any potentially distracting background music, characters whose way of talking is more difficult, etc (but do keep watching those movies!).