A beginner's guide to learning French

Learning French can be a daunting endeavour. There’s so much to learn, from the niceties of grammar to the nuances of everyday expressions. When confronted with the task of learning all this, new learners often ask ‘Where should I begin?’

To answer this question, we’ve put together some tips for beginners to help orient their French-learning journey and start off on the right foot.

Many beginners make the mistake of setting about trying to learn as many words as possible. This isn’t a bad idea per se, but you run the risk of verbal exhaustion, spending hours and hours learning words that you still don’t know how to use properly.

You’re much better off prioritising the most important words and expressions. Luckily, it’s easy enough to find lists of key words and phrases that all beginners should know. These are vital for being able to make basic conversation in French, and by learning just a few key expressions you’ll be able to get better than you might think! At this stage, don’t worry about what each part of each individual phrase means, or why s'il vous plaît is spelt the way it is - the important thing is that you know what they mean and when to say them.

It’s understandable why beginners often want to put off speaking French until they’re more or less fluent. The irony here is that you simply can’t achieve fluency without first putting your speaking skills into practice. Doing so allows you to get used to identifying blind spots in your vocabulary and grammar, stringing sentences together on the fly and practising pronunciation.

It isn’t just embarrassment that holds beginners back from speaking French. Learners often cite a lack of opportunities to speak French out loud. That’s why we’ve compiled some helpful advice on how - and where - you can work on your French oral skills, including our regular speaking practise sessions.

Exposing yourself to the French language is key to properly understanding and being able to speak it. Even if you don’t live in a French-speaking country, there are plenty of ways to immerse yourself in the language. Why not try changing your phone language to French, for example, or opting for a French-language flick on your next movie night? French podcasts, radio shows and songs are another great way to improve your language skills while imbibing fun or informational content. Repeated exposure to different media is an unbeatable way to develop an ear for how the language sounds, and how it’s spoken in different formats and contexts.

Every month, Alexa hosts live lessons on YouTube where she guides you through a topic on the French language. These lessons are interactive, meaning you have the chance to interact with Alexa and take part in the lesson. Previous live lessons - on topics from the passé composé to the Paris Olympics - are available to watch on the Learn French With Alexa website. Subscribers to the Complete French Course get access to an exclusive live lesson along with the monthly open live lesson. You can see the schedule of upcoming live lessons here.

Following a French language course is vital to provide structure to your learning, and to ensure that you don’t miss any key elements of the language as you progress. The Complete French Course is designed so that newcomers to French can start from the very beginning and advance all the way to proficiency without ever having to switch course. World-renowned for her engaging and easy-to-understand approach to teaching French, Alexa guides you through the basic elements of the language and helps to demystify key concepts wherever they crop up. Why not try out Lesson 16 for free?

For more tips and tricks, make sure to read up on some of our other blogs.