HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN FRENCH?
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- Learning a foreign language is not a finite process with an end date and if you live abroad in France, you might get the question, "How long does it take to learn French?" pretty often. But there are better, more helpful questions that can help someone get a feel for what language learning is like.
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Salut! I'm Diane, an American who has lived in France since 2012 and the creator of the blog/UA-cam channel Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond." I make videos on French culture topics, France vs. US culture comparisons, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like living in France as an American in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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I learned English at school (I'm French). I always loved it and never stopped improving my knowledge, although I'm far from fluent.
Today, I spend a lot of time translating from English to French.
I'd say that learning a language takes an entire life. And that includes your mother tongue!
Contre rénumération? Je voudrais faire de la trad.
EXACT!
Enfin une observation sensée !
just take 2 or 3 french boyfriends at the same time. you will learn faster and make a few guy happy along.
🤣😂🤣 - that is brilliant study advice. 😁
🤣
😁
that's certainly one way to do it! 😝
I studied French in high school and college but I didn’t believe I would ever be fluent. I took it just for the grade. But many years later when I decided to move to France my motivation was very different and I'd experienced success in doing a variety of difficult things in life, so it was easier for me to stay the course even when it felt hard. Now I'm happy to say I passed the TCF exam which will allow me to apply for a 10 year resident card or French citizenship, should I decide to go down that path.😀
I have studied French in 3 different times in my life. I took 2 years in high school, I took 2 classes in my late 30’s and I took 2 years of classes in my 50’s while living in France. Even though I was living in France, I found it more difficult in my 50’s. I am now navigating medical French as I deal with a new diagnosis. I pleased when I can understand more than I think I do. I’m not able to completely answer back correctly, but I am able to get my point across. I do find I am exhausted after speaking French for a few hours.
Amy, I’m in my 50’s and still learning French. I’d love to hear more about your experiences. When I was younger I believe that you needed a ‘natural’ aptitude for which I thought I didn’t have and I believed that you couldn’t learn a language in your forties. Now I realize that you can learn but being fluent is not what you dreamed it was.
Amy Speers: I know what you mean by you’re exhausted after speaking French for a few hours. I even get a headache just thinking about it before leaving home. But I suppose since it is not my first language I hope people understand & don’t snicker behind my back.
In Europe we begin to study foreign languages in elementary schools or in grade 6, until the end of our studies. You can’t properly learn a language only having studied it for a couple of years, 2-4 hours a week.
I started learning French when I was probably about 7. studied it at school/college from 11-18 and visited the country 6 or 7 times and have been doing Duolingo for about 4 years.. Am I fluent in French? Hell no .. though I could probably order meals and drinks ok and have a simple conversation -but could I *fully* follow a play or movie or even a fast paced news bulletin full of colloquialisms and street talk.. nope. No chance
I'm French, and I would not want to be a foreigner studying it. It's full of irregularities and rules that even native french-speaking people have issues mastering.
A lifetime.
Diane, I can’t even begin to tell you how much you have helped me in my journey to learn about French language and culture. As an American planning to retire in France in the near future I have taken your advice and continue to learn as much as I can about these things to help better prepare for the transition. As I am just beginning to move into the intermediate level, I realize that there is still so much more to learn and that it is a life-long process. But that excites me! People are always so quick to want everything to happen overnight and nothing in life works that way! I just wanted to let you know that you make this such a great experience for so many of us and we appreciate it so much.
Hi Diane, as you pointed out, there’s no universally agreed on definition of fluency. My definition is being able to converse with native speakers on a wide variety of typical topics without significant difficulty on either side. My French language exchange partners tell me that I’m fluent and a few different French teachers have told me that my French is advanced. But I still make mistakes and I’m still constantly learning. It took me 4 to 5 years and I started when I was 62. However, I am retired and have spent thousands of hours learning French. I have a lot more time than most people so my results are not typical. I also have a kind of obsessive personality, which drives my wife crazy but is useful for language learning.
More people need to hear your story. Age is a factor but not as much as I suspected even at age 18. I’m 53 and I’m not advanced but I’m way more conversational than I ever imagined I’d be. I takes so much time
@@alancabra I didn’t find age to be a factor. I’m now learning Italian at age 68, so I’ll find out if I’m wrong. Too early to tell for me, but I have a friend who has a good conversational level in French and she started learning it in her 70s.
@@thedavidguy01 Wow ! C'est vraiment génial d'apprendre à n'importe quel âge une nouvelle langue ! Je vous admire vous êtes déterminé et persévérant.
@@cassandracleret170 Merci, vous êtes très gentille.
I’m in the same boat as you! In retirement, spent thousands of hours studying. My biggest hindrance, I think, is simply being around other English speakers all the time, even while in France. And yet, after having gone to France five times now, I’ve realized just how much I’ve improved. It has been a wonderful feeling, to find out each separate time, that I am becoming more and more fluent. Thank goodness for language exchange partners in France!
English is my first (and mostly only) language, and I'm still learning it *lol*
I was just going to write that many native French people don't speak or wrrite it correctly... it's getting worse and worse sadly ;(
So what do they speak? Or what language are they writing in?
I am convinced that learning a new language will take the rest of your life, no matter what language we're talking about. There will always be some obscur expressions, some seldom used words and some nuances that you'll only learn after many years of practice.
It might not take very long to learn enough to get by, but you will always be able to learn something new. 😀
When I studied German in high school the goal was learning to read German and learn how to look up German words one didn't learn in school. As an older adult, I've find that my goals are more related to learning to understanding spoken German and speaking it. That is a very different task.
Raised by a French Canadian grandmother I grew up hearing bits here and there. Then, 2 years of high school french I sometimes dream in french but am FLUENT in my dreams..... What a joy
I began learning French in 1967. I am fairly fluent but language changes over time. I'm doing duolingo and Rosetta Stone as review and what they teach now is subtly different than what I learned. (which is why I'm refreshing) Its a process that doesn't end.
I think it's a journey, not a destination! Great content as usual! :-)
I feel so good reading, writing and even speaking, but my listening skills.... make me want to cry. I can never understand anything. And French is my second language. When I listening in Spanish or German, it is so much easier, but I feel so stuck with my French listening skills..... I legit can read books and understand the content, 85-90% but you could say something basic to me and it's like my brain cannot comprehend what is being said. I don't know what it is about French... I don't know how to fix it other than to just keep listening... but I can't get over the fact that everything sounds like it's being spoken at super sonic speeds. I do not experience this with German or Spanish (and these aren't even languages I really study - I have just dabbled a bit on duolingo because I teach ESL). Je me sens très triste....
I feel your pain! It has always seemed to me that my oral comprehension skills in French lag far behind the other three areas. I understand news programs, documentaries and such relatively well, but films and series still sound like gobbledygook to me!
@@michaelmedlinger6399 gobbledygook is the BEST way to explain it!!! I keep trying. But it seems to be just an uphill battle. Of course I don't want to give up... but more often than not, when it comes to just listening skills, I always end up with headaches.
In movies and series it's everyday French, it's fast, contracted, slang.
But you are taught formal, written, academic French. Inevitably, in everyday life, you are lost, the vocabulary is different, the expressions are very present.
Once an English correspondent came for a language exchange with my son. He had a long list of words to learn. We were "laughing". Most of these words had not been used since the 19th century. How do you expect the poor kid to understand anything under these conditions.
The teaching of foreign languages is poorly done, and everywhere in the world.
@@christianc9894 Exactly! Since older films and series are much easier to understand, I also suspect that French actors follow the same trends as American and English film actors. They seem to think it’s cool to mumble and speak so softly that you can barely hear them. I often enough have trouble understanding the dialog in newer films and series in English - and that’s my native language!
It varies. But total immersion and the right support tools really help a lot. Bonne chance a tous!
Your comments are all spot on (as usual when you discuss these topics). The questions are actually meaningless, but the people who ask them are generally seriously interested in hearing your response, so you don’t just brush them off.
Want to be able to order your croissant and a café au lait in the café every morning? You’ll be fluent in about 3 days (as long as you don’t forget the magic words “Bonjour”, “S’il vous plaît” and “Merci!”). Want to discuss quantum mechanics with leading physicists? You’re in for the long haul!
Hugo Cotton has a video (or maybe a podcast) on his channel “innerfrench” that gently points out the meaninglessness of the question by saying it takes a native French speaker 30 years to learn the language properly!
Very well put Diane. It's like how long is a piece of string and just how motivated are you. We just immersed in it by only watching French TV which helped and speaking to our neighbours. There's no definitive answer,everyone is different. I'm learning every day and that's after 16 years here.
I speak German and Spanish fluently but have never mastered French nor felt very comfortable with it. I am ashamed of my bad pronunciation, and the nuances of the language just don't make much sense to me. I also become frustrated with courses in French which are analyzed by native French speakers and heavily criticized ("Oh, we never say that!" of "Oh, that's completely out of date!") At the age of 70, I'm ready to throw in the towel. C'est tout!😛
In my opinion the question means after how long will you be able to have a fluent conversation in most of the situations of everyday life ?
And my answer is : if you are literate and study a few hours per day = 3 years.
But be careful : most of the people don't make this effort !
I am french and my personal answer would be: it takes forever...including for the french themselves. The french master less and less their own language. It gets worse every year. And don't get me started about written french!
Very true, you see it all the time on forums and social media. When I notice French people's mistakes (in French), you know it's bad lol
Great answers. I lived in France for a year and a half, have a masters degree in French and have taught it. I am more or less fluent but still am learning and will come across words and expressions I don’t know. It’s always a journey. That said with some topics like you said, I don’t even know all the words in English and it’s my native language. 😂 I would say most people need to expect to study a language for at least a year to get to the point where they are reasonably comfortable. I’ve also learned Spanish not as well as French, and that’s about how long it took for me to communicate with native speakers at a decent level.
You nailed it: the person asking that question never learned seriously a foreign language. Especially French. It is not only about language. Once you learned basic French, it becomes mostly a question of cultural codes. Using the words and expressions that correspond to the cultural "moment". Yes, fluency requires to live abroad. Otherwise, even fluent, you are a robot. Fluency also requires reading and writing in the language. It is true that some people have a more malleable brain for language than others. Finally, the highest level in your native language will result in higher level in your foreign language.
Let's not forget that languages are alive and evolve. The French language that many young people speak today, and I mean youngsters from French origins, is different than the rather formal French language I spoke when I was growing up in France. In high school, we had to learn Ancient Latin and Greek for 4 years, had 2 mandatory foreign languages and one optional. Every week we had to return a hand-written 3 pages dissertation. This level of education is gone in France.
Also, French society is still very much class stratified, and the language used in working classes, in middle classes or the one used in upper-class or old families milieu will vary, sometimes drastically. People in France will not tell you, but they will "evaluate" your social class by evaluating your language. It is mostly for Native French people. French language will also vary from one region to another. Northern France, Alsace, Brittany or the Riviera have not only strong different accents, but also different terms, expressions and words.
Agreed,
language learning never ends.
My first language is Russian, English language is my second.
I bet, you can find some mistakes, even in the few sentences, I am writing here.
I don't live in Russia for over 25 years now.
But when I visit, I pick up a few new phrases or a new words.
Languages evolve constantly, just like life.
Sadly.
Hi. They say French is the easiest language to forget! I’ve been studying French for years, but hardy ever practised it. Basically no chance to practise it! And when I do have a chance, my brain freezes! When a French speaker speaks to me, I go like : huh 🤔? I am seriously thinking to switch to Italian, far much easier. In Arabic, which is my mother tongue, we call Itaian language the language of birds. Absolutely love it. It makes me sad that I’ve not managed French, even after years! 😭. Sorry…..
In Canada (Ontario) we start French in Grade 4' and continue until high school. You can continue through high school as an elective if you want. I felt we got a lot of vocabulary and basic speaking through those years and studied grammar though it didn't stick. I did a minor in French through university but lost a lot after as I didn't keep practicing speaking. To me that's the most important skill, the vocabulary I learned is in there somewhere and once I keep practicing speaking the vocabulary resurfaces The grammar comes back too but people are forgiving of mistakes when you're making an effort.
When I learned my second language, I felt like I was creating a new brain!! 😂
Can definitely relate!
I'm French and it's a common saying that learning English is way easier than the other way around
Bonsoir, everyone. I enjoyed your video, Diane. Thank you for your insight.
Reading in French is different from speaking in French and from listening in French. I had French classes for seven years when I was a kid, but that was 53 years ago. I've tried in recent years to pick it back up, with very limited success. Listening is by far the hardest for me. Speaking is somewhat less difficult but hat's mainly a vocabulary challenge. Reading is the easiest because I can usually pick up the gist of it. Idioms are killers though!
As a native French speaker who has seen many foreigners, mostly Americans, learning French, I've realized that what might be the major difficulty of our language is that written and spoken French almost seem to be two different languages. So much for the silent letters and liaisons between words.
It sometimes depends on how fast someone speaks it's harder to keep up
Je suis au niveau B2 - on multiple choice tests! I do NOT speak at a B2 level. Tests assessing language level are not fool proof. For me, I over-score. I’m sure the opposite is true for others. Anyway, je suis à Montpellier pour fréquenter une école de langue française. J’espère que je m’améliorer!
Bonjour, j'ai réussi à parler français en 8 mois: Je commençais à construire des phrases courtes en français. J'ai réussi à passer mon niveau B1 en décembre 2021. Même après tout ça, j'e n'étais pas a l'aise de parler en français. Surtout quand je devais expliquer ou débattre ou faire qqc en multitâche. On attend pas qqn qui bégaie de parler son langue. Donc, oui c'est dur de vivre dans le pays qui parle pas anglais.
Bonsoir, juste pour dire, ton commentaire est très bien écrit et sans faute de ce que je vois.
Tu fais beaucoup moins de fautes d'orthographe ou de grammaire que des natifs.
@@alicem8564 : I wish more people are as encouraging & sympathetic like you.
Oof, so much nuance to answer those questions! I would like to answer with "How long did it take you to learn English?" On average, I'd say a 7-year-old child is fluent in English- they don't know all the vocabulary/grammar rules, but they can hold a sustained conversation. Note, however that the child has been in full, 100% immersion for the last 7 years. I like to remind myself of that when I feel despondent about my level of fluency in French (I've been living in France for the last 2 years, but I speak English at home with my husband, so no 24/7 immersion).
You’ve nailed this. I’m 53 and I know I can’t get by in French and even make jokes but I still can’t read a poetic description of the sea in French without checking the vocabulary. Everyday language is usually intermediate plus.
Thank you so much for this video. I’ve just finished my first year working in France and I still struggle a lot. When people back home ask me if I’m fluent I have no idea what to say (no, yes, sometimes??). It makes me feel like I should be more advanced by now. I was always told “oh, after 6 months there you’ll be fluent” but in my experience that is so untrue! I know I’m improving, it’s just a really up and down, slow process- and it takes a lot of confidence that I don’t always feel! Thank you for sharing your experience- it gives me hope it’ll be ok if I just keep trying xx
Hang in there, Amy! It's definitely a process and so many of us can identify!
Want some help ? I'm french so maybe we can try to chat sometimes if you want.
Background: 67 year old native English speaker, born and raised in the U.S. I took three years of high school Latin, learned “tourist” German while living in Germany, and I took two years of college-level Spanish. I am somewhat fluent in Spanish. I also dabbled in Portuguese for a few weeks and gave up. I am currently learning French, having done so for three years. I would rate myself as an advanced beginner in French.
How long does it take to learn French? I agree with what she says about how long it takes. It depends on the individual and how motivated you are to learn French.
For me, Spanish was easy, after taking Latin in high school. As far as French goes, it’s significantly harder for me to learn than Spanish. Portuguese and German are more difficult to learn than French.
France is such a beautiful language . I took 5 years in school in my elementary years. Don’t remember much . Going to Paris 1st time last year I loved how beautiful the language is and I was so surprised how soft they speak and so elegant . 💝
Great video, thank you. I studied French in school from the seventh to the twelfth grades. Could read French, but was never able to speak it. When I spent a month in Paris as an adult, I was surprised how much of it came back, and I was able to stumble through basic interactions. Now, I've been re-learning online for almost three years, using Duolingo and UA-cam. I'm better than I was at school, but am not having conversations with actual people. My studies are confined to time spent at my desk doing lessons. So I would definitely not say I'm fluent.
I have been exposed to Italian for 4 years and I’ve been living in Italy for almost 2 years. I’m confident in communicating with Italian friends and I can walk in to any business and somewhat confidently explain what I want/need. Understanding Italians on the phone? That’s another level and may take a bit more time.
Oh yes, the phone is so tricky!
"I'll always be learning". LOL; um ok you are TOTALLY exaggerating. Yea, there is something to what youre saying. As someone who started taking French at the age of 11 and is now in my 40s and still isn't totally fluent (as I haven't had a real opportunity to live in a French speaking country) I can say that you are exaggerating or possibly learning disabled : ) Yes, there is a point where you are just fluent. thanks.
Fluency doesn't have an end date. Even in English, I still learn new expressions and words (especially phrases used outside of North America). It's part of the fun ;-)
A lifetime. I'm still learning
Hi there!
I really loved your video as I've been through conversations with similar questions as you mentioned. I've first moved to France in 2019 for 7 months. Back then I was 22 and I intended to learn some French, but only to make my life easier there. Since that, I've been moving back and forth between my country and France as my boyfriend is French. And we fell in love, he proposed me, so I will permanently move to France. And for me it basically took 1,5 years from level 0 in 2019, to eventually start speaking with people. Until one specific moment I just listened, and then something just clicked in my mind, and I started speaking at a soirée. And everyone was just looking at me like wooow. But until this point I had so many headaches at the end of the long days that I spent by listening to the language. And I truly agree, it's really a life-long process and there is always something new to learn!
Really great video!!
Your videos are always so timely and on point. Thank you Diane. Hope life is treating you well.
Great answer to the question. I am still early in the process of learning in preparation for an eventual move to France when I retire.
It really does depend on the student and how much effort they're willing to put into it. Plus how fluently the student wants to speak French as well too.
I'd say for english speakers who would like to give it a try, french should not be that hard to learn as french and english are quite similar in my opinion. Both are european languages and share a good amount of words. Now, if you want to learn, say, african or asian languages that's gonna be much different !
I think the hardest for an english learning french would be the conjugation and the adjective being placed (most of the time) after the noun instead of before (blue ballon -> ballon bleue).
As for spelling or the gender of nouns, if you do a mistake french people can understand you anyway and it should improve with time.
My daughter became fluent with UA-cam, discord, TV shows and so on Networks are very immersive when you communicate in others language
I am a A2 in french and i want to study there so this video really stressed me out. Technically I have two more years to get my b2, and my c1 in English, but for English it seems that I have always been fluent and it was never so hard and overwhelming… does anyone have any experience with learning French to go to university❓
I started learning French at 45. I kept signing up for class for 20 years. I can have a conversation, but will need a miracle from God to understand when French is spoken very fast❣️😃👍🏼🙏🏻🙏🏻
I'm a 61 yr old American so native born English speaker. I am still learning English - new vocabulary and I make grammatical errors in complex sentence structure.
While I've studied French, try to speak to French co-workers, have been to France many times, read a bit of French, and watch French TV, I can only speak like a child. I struggle to understand rapid speaking and anything other than the most basic comments. I'm so happy when someone responds and I understand.
I don't think I'll ever be conversational, even if I moved to France (my retirement goal). I'll be happy to get through day to day. I would avoid English speakers so I'm not tempted to use English when I get frustrated.
As a Frenchman, I think that perfect mastery of our language takes time, a lot of time. Fortunately, it is not essential, the most important (in my opinion) is to understand our way of life, which differs considerably from US culture and which often confuses newcomers. If you pass this cultural hurdle, the rest follows easily. You will be accepted quickly, therefore more relaxed and more open to learning.
You won't have perfect French? And then, few French people have it and many are very limited, including natives, not only certain children of immigrants who remain in the culture of the parents and who have difficulties integrating.
I would argue very few people are fluent in their first language yet and still learning new vocabulary, evolving cultural terms, and when investing their lifestyle into something new will have to learn the words and context to it they have never spoken before. Try do crossword puzzles or play Wordle in your first language and see how you fall short on your language knowledge. Applying this same concept to a second language is like the video suggests, learning a language and being proficient at it is something we have to repeat everyday.
I’m 67 and since my retirement at 62 I have been studying French intensively. Probably at minimum 10 hours a week. I’ve also been to France now five times. I harbor dreams of one day living there part time, and being a part time English teacher. It was not until 2023 that I finally was able to carry on meaningful conversations in French. And that, I believe, was due to taking a week long immersion course wherein ONLY French was spoken.
A huge problem for me was being around English speakers. Not only do they constantly ask questions like “are you fluent yet?” and, “why can’t you speak French?”, but while in France with them, they would constantly interrupt me when I’m trying to talk to others in French. In other words, those who have never really tried to learn another language are clueless and oftentimes hinder progress. They don’t mean to, they just don’t know any better.
Did you find the same problems as an adult? Being married to an English speaker makes the process harder! (Not that I blame her, or anything like that. LOL).
I did French and German at university for four years after studying both languages at school. Uni was full on learning and only after the end of my 3rd year did I feel “comfortable “ in both languages. We did get sent to live in both countries and that helped enormously. But it’s true you never stop learning -as in life generally !
Fluency needs to be redefined
Lets think fluency of being: “which language do you think in?”
Whatever languages you talk to yourself in- thats fluency
Bon jour Diane. This year, I visited France for the first time (a week), and lived with a French family. I have never studied French, and now am very motivated to learn it even just for conversational purposes. What book or online course can you recommend for me? Merci! And by the way, English is my second language. Tagalog is my mother tongue.
I think you make the most progress one you overcome the fear of making mistakes. Also, you need to change the ratio of consumption to production to the latter. Find someone with whom you can practice either locally or online and just go for it ! You will never be "fluent" (as like a native) but you can shoot for "fluid" with success.
I'm a almost 55 Years old french man , i got 18/20 on french thesis and 19/20 on oral literature test (Moderato Cantabile from Marguerite Duras) / Baccalauréat....i was good....but French langage is endless and I keep learning ....
It annoys me when companies say you can become fluent in whatever common language used in a month or so. I'm like yes, people don't know what fluency is and assume it's native or close to that fluency. Fluency is how well you construct and say a phrase or a sentence. You can be fluent in French by saying a few words like where is the toilet, but it doesn't mean you know the language well.
Before I started learning French, I would have asked that same question. To me, it means how long does it take before you can carry on a basic dialogue with a French speaker? I started learning French in the 90s, I have had dialogues with French people who knew no English, but my level waxes and wanes, depending on my confidence with and exposure to the language. I started learning Spanish a few years after learning French and I don't feel like I struggled as much because there are a lot of similarities with French, especially with grammar. Ultimately, it depends on the individual, how much time they are willing to invest in the language and their motivation to learn the language. I don't know if I will ever get to a really fluent level, but I'm OK with that. I just keep plugging along spending time daily on French.
Hi.. ! I am french too... and interested in having your opinion.. I am going to live with a beautiful (... !) american Lady who does not know a single french word, excepted "bonjour, merci, bon appetit" !!!... We plan to live both in Austin (Texas) and France.. So I planned to teach her, using the way my school teacher taugh me (us).. it xas an interesting method even it was a basic english... our language, the french, is quite difficult, i do know it... and i noticed you are not bad in french ! how long did you manage to be fluent ???
I started to learn english as a 10 year old. Now after 60 years and still living in my native country reading 100 % english books there are still words and situations where I feel left out. But there are swedish words as well you learn at this time. Languages evolves, there are words that was not there 5 years ago and there are words we do not use anymore. My french is not evolving so much as that is a 3rd language. So as long as you live you learn each day
Mom sent Me to Live with Father in Golfe Juan was 12 left an 6th grade sent to a Private School at Chateaubriand did 1 Yr. then got out an went to School in Vallauris Collège PABLO PICASSO did 6th Grade again ! "3x's" did till 3'em - 9th grade in USA with French takes time an what helped Me All's I heard was French an Father an Wife we're talking to Me only in French ..Frustrating You really put Yourself into it You'll learn longer You hear an speak it quicker You'll learn😐
I'm such a slow learner of French... I'm embarrassed. I've been studying for YEARS and I still haven't made headway. I don't have an ear for it, so my pronunciation is meh, but listening? Nope. I miss so much. I can read French pretty well. As I told my inlaws (in my horrible French): I know a lot of words, but my grammar is terrible.
I feel the issue is also that idea that French is ONE language... but there are regional variations, both within France (...chocolatine or pain au chocolat ? XD ) and outside of it ! There are words that are French, but in use only in Québec (especially with Québec's habits in "francisation" of English words). Numbers are read differently in France French and Belgium/Swiss French (quatre vingt dix or nonante). There are African countries where French is spoken but with vocabulary or even grammatical variations. And so on and so forth. So when is it supposed to end ? Of course, the people who ask these questions are rarely thinking (or interested) in these nuances, especially if they're not even aware of the complex history of French as a language around the world (francophonie is also a topic laced with History, and not always proud parts of it).
Also, you don't mention it but "learning" a language is often interpreted as speaking it. But understanding it and speaking it are not always the same thing ! When you study a language in the comfort of a classroom, or even on your own with various learning methods, it's not the same as being confronted to people in real life, with different speech speeds and patterns, but also accents, etc. That also makes things more complicated than being able to have a theoretical conversation in the abstract.
As a sidenote, I've tried to look if on your channel you ever talked about popculture in France. There doesn't seem to be such a video, but maybe I didn't use the right keywords in my search ? I'm someone who believes in using popculture to improve in a language. It doesn't teach you all of the language, but watching TV, listening to the radio, going to a movie, knowing the lyrics to a song... that can really be helpful. A lot of people have improved in English because of how easy it is to find and consume English-speaking popculture ! Do you have any content about your own consumption of French popculture ? And in general, what is your point of view as an American on what you see of French media ? I think it'd be a fantastic topic.
Well, I have been "studying" French for 25 years and I still can't speak a word of it. I have always lived in the US and for about the first 20 of those 25 years I would travel to France once in a while for about one to two weeks each trip. Because I traveled for business, I just used English because everyone in the French office I worked with spoke English. Also, I was an engineer and most engineers in the world can speak enough English to be understood by me.
This is a decent answer but you could just make it to the point. In my experience you can become fluent in 2 years if you devote 1 hour a day. (B2) This will vary depending on your background. If you come from a romance languague or if you already know a different languague than your own because this will help with the mechanics every language has. Also you need to consider the skill. Passive skills such as reading and listening will be developed faster than productive ones such as speaking or writing. So you may be reading a lot sooner than when youll feel fluent enough speaking. My mother tongue is spanish and I speak english at c1+ and it took me 3 years to get there. My portguese is at b1 but i have never actually taken it seriously since the similiraties. Now at 38 im trying french for the second time mostly self taught and its been 5 months and im already at A2...but i feel my heavy accent even though i have a background in phonetice it feels like the sounds are really odd and tiring too pronounce. Anyways i know you need to make content but answers could be clearer and to the point it felt like you were avoiding an answer and for a teacher thats not very convincing to be honest
I did French at High School for 6 years and then 4 years at university. I could read and write perfectly but conversation required a lot of thought. I then moved to France, originally for 9 months but stayed on. It's easy to claim to be fluent even though this involves thinking about an answer in your own language, translating into French and then saying the words perfectly. This isn't being fluent. Fluency is when you shut out your own language and think only in French. It took me a year or two to reach this stage and I eventually began dreaming in French. When I knew I would be returning to the UK, I found myself imagining conversations and having to translate from French into English. I am now perfectly fluent, even using the subjunctive without a thought and can have three-way conversations in English, French and German.
PS: I forgot to say I've been living in France for 49 years and was even asked by a French lady to give French lessons to her son.
Like you, Diane, I am still learning! The slowest part for me is the actual speaking, as I have no people to converse with. Some day I may get around to doing one of the speaking apps to help. But I have been learning French since High School, which is way more than 50 years! So my advice is to hang in there and try to actually practice speaking with others. I can read the Bible in French, but that doesn't help when you're in a laundromat, trying to get change. lol
Enjoyed this content!
I don’t hate French but I don’t want to be forced by someone to learn a language 8hrs a day if someone don’t want to, which is quebec doing nowdays, infact they don’t use a single word of English to help to learn in French. Idk what they excepting from me.
For me, all I want is be able to feel comfortable in conversation. I live in Canada and have studied French since I was 7 years old until my first year of University. I feel like my French used to be pretty good and I could get around in any French speaking place. However, I have not used French in many many years. ( I am now in my 50s) i speak much more German now and I struggle to remember my French.After I had children my traveling stopped and it seems that I forgot a lot of my French language skills. i have been traveling a lot more since my children are now young adults. I travel mostly to German and i can also practice my German at home with my mom. I am traveling to France this May and I am nervous about my lack of conversational French, when in the past this was no problem.
I think what's implied in the questions is how long does it take for french to sound reasonably comprehensible for the learner, and for the learner to sound comprehensible with it as well, with the given factors considered like practice, method and exposure.
I admire your honesty. The truth is that is never enough.... You learn the languge all your life.
The fastest way to,learn French is to join the Foreign Legion. It’ll only take a few weeks.
I took 3 years in school then I just stopped. I didn’t think I’d use it again. A funny story was when I was in Germany my children needed to use the restroom and I practiced all the way up to the register and I got there and it came out in French which surprised me! The lady stared at me then the kids did the pee-pee dance (which is universal) and she pointed. When the pandemic hit I thought it was a good time to start again. I have been doing it online since.
Although I agree with you generally, you can also ask the question in a common sense way. of course someone could ask you " where are you? " And you can say that there are many ways to answer that question. That 1 is by saying that you are on planet Earth. The other one is by saying you are in the ground, another One is by saying you are.
On the solar system on on the solar system. Just make a general assui think that they're asking you. How long will it take for me to be able to hold up a conversation with someone in this foreign language?
It depends what your base is I guess, english to french wokd be harder than italian to french.
I get very annoyed at books that are called for example Learn French in 3 months. Most people don't realise at all how long it really takes to learn a language. I've been living in an English speaking country for 30 years now and I still feel at a disadvantage when speaking English with a native speaker. It is very unfair to use English as an international language, that's why I speak Esperanto which is much easier to learn than national languages. I often hear the question how long does it take to learn Esperanto. Even with Esperanto it can take quite a long time. And it depends also on which other languages you know. Someone who is already quite good in say 4 languages will learn the 5th much faster than a monolingual. In any case I have now many friends around the world with whom I communicate in Esperanto.
I always say "for a French it takes a lifetime to speak, write an almost correct French" and most of us speak mediocre level.
Ach! Understanding French people on the phone - this is the worst. When I have to make a phone call or answer the phone in France I go into a cold sweat, lol. 6:44
Terrific post! So many of the comments prove how spot-on you were with this topic. All of us who have been studying French for years know it’s never over! It’s a complicated language that even the French admit is a challenge! And languages have so many layers to success - written, oral, reading. Je ne parlerais jamais “couramment”, mais j’aime le défi de faire de mon mieux!!
If someone asks if I speak French, I now respond, “Je me debrouille.”
The answer is 18-24 months. Next question?
Wonderful presentation Diane.
Glad you liked it!
Studying/lessons plus immersion is the only way.
Verrrrrrryyyyyyyy Loooonnnnnnngggggggggggg!!
I am french and i dont think i known all of it yet.
Je trouve qu'il y a tellement de mots en anglais qui proviennent du français. Illusion-Illusion. Situation-Situation. Fréquent-Fréquent. Quand tu apprends donc l'anglais. Il est plutôt facile de deviner le mot à partir du français.
La structure sujet-verbe-complément est la même, etc.
Je parle anglais depuis 40 et bien sûr, je continue à apprendre.
***
Je suis à l'allemand depuis deux ans. Et, c'est tout autre chose.
Liberté-freheit.
And so on and so on.
Bref, après deux ans d'allemand sur U Tube.
Le cerveau est étonnant. Je suis peut-être un peu moins avancé que deux ans de télé américaine.
Mais je commence à comprendre et depuis quelques semaines, je peux commencer à acquérir du vocabulaire.
Je ne suis plus obnubilé par la nouveauté.
À mon avis on devrait également tenir compte de l'utilisation d'une langue étrangère, car si l'on peut souhaiter la parler, on peut également simplement souhaiter la lire, les occasions de parler l'allemand ou le russe en Amérique latine ou en Asie étant par exemple décidément bien rares... Personnellement je lis couramment l'allemand et l'espagnol, MAIS... cela ne veut vraiment pas dire qu'il m'est possible de soutenir une conversation dans ces langues! De toute manière, les occasions de les parler ne couvriraient que le temps de mes vacances annuelles, alors... Voilà donc deux objectifs bien différents, à distinguer absolument!
so... how long does it take?
I’ve lived alone in Paris and travelled all over France for 3 months. No French other than Bonjour, etc. I use English occasionally, but pretty much my communication is just going along with the context. Establishing yourself would be a different story, but just “being” in France is easy to do with little if any French.
As long as you demonstrate a willingness to fit in.
Fluency is "are you gonna struggle if I talk to ."
We get super specific "very" or "extremely " or "college level".
But when someone asks you "Can you drive?" They are not asking: 1. But have you driven in Los Angelos/Atlanta traffic 2. Could you be a driving instructor 3. Can u parallel park well.
It's simple.....CA u get us to the store or nah?
That's a good analogy
that's me, fluid with lots of mistakes. c'est moi, fluide avec bc des erreurs
What I want to know from multi-lingual speakers is when did you start thinking in your second language (as opposed to taking the two steps of first thinking in your cradle language, then mentally translating to the desired language). I agree the time it takes any one individual to reach this point is fairly irrelevant since as you pointed out, there are so many factors affecting acquisition. Still, I'm curious to know. I'm tempted to say a rough, casual definition of fluent would reading aloud a mainstream newspaper without a native speaker struggling to understand your pronunciation/accent.
Interesting questions. I don't believe you need to be able to "think" in your second language (in my case, French) in order to be fluent. My unconscious thought process is almost entirely in English, though I can make a conscious decision to think in French. However, when using the French language I don't translate when speaking or listening, I simply use the language. On a very simple level, when you use or hear "bonjour" I'm sure you don't need to translate every time. You know it means "good morning" or "hello". As your study of French continues, you will learn more and more words and phrases so that you don't need to translate them. Eventually you get to the point where your selection of words becomes automatic. You only need to think or translate when you need to express yourself with language that isn't embedded. That doesn't mean you will pick up language by osmosis or immersion - as an adult, that doesn't happen. You need to put the hours of work in until it becomes automatic.
I agree with Diane's suggestion that, coming to France at an intermediate level, it will still take a couple of years to become fluent. I'm still learning every day.
Reading a newspaper isn't really a good measure of fluency - first, to get the right intonation and rhythm is really hard but it also doesn't reflect on understanding. I believe understanding is another key to fluency.
These are, of course, my thoughts. Others may dusagree...
I'm an American, who has always lived in America for all 15 years of my life, and I don't even know every word in English, even though i've always learned it, and still am.
Yup, it's truly a never-ending process!
Maybe another question is whether it is worth learning the language?
I am learning it just for fun but I am constantly asking myself why am I really putting in so much time and effort.
I love the feeling of being able to speak and understand another language, but is it worth my time? I am constantly asking myself that.
I wish I found a definite answer. For now, I am telling myself, I will skip as much of the boring stuff for as long as possible.
I’m asking myself the same question every day but I can’t stop lol. I’m a native Spanish speaker and learned English after moving to the US as a teen. I’m 46 now and trying to learn French while second guessing myself lol
I agree. Knowing a language is not a destination. It’s like asking someone “how long does it take to become a grown-up?”😂
I love a good analogy. Right on!
How did you manage or what method did you employ to learn the tenses? Apparently, there are 21!
You don't need anywhere near 21 for everyday life and even native French speakers would be hard-pressed to properly conjugate all 21! Focus on the most common ones and you'll be fine. ;-)