How to be the top student in your French class

With the summer holidays coming to an end, and a new academic year about to begin, now is the perfect time to set yourself some goals for the year ahead. Maybe you have exams coming up, or simply want to improve on your performance last year.

Sure, it might feel redundant to set yourself academic targets. Isn’t that what the teachers are for? But giving yourself a goal to strive towards will add the impetus of personal motivation to the work you do both in and out of class, allowing you to achieve top results.

With that in mind, we recommend making this the year you become the top student in your French class - and we’ve outlined some steps to help you make that goal become a reality.

Asking questions is not a sign of ignorance. Rather it shows that you are curious and want to learn more. If there’s something you want to know, or don’t quite understand, then the teacher is there to help you with that, so don’t be afraid of putting your hand up.

Are you someone who watches a lot of movies and TV, or listens to podcasts or music in your free time? What if I told you you can do all that while learning French at the same time? Streaming services like Lingopie and France Channel are designed to help you improve your vocabulary while enjoying the best of Francophone cinema, and there are many French-language podcasts you can listen to - including our very own - during which you'll learn plenty of interesting tidbits about anything from French cuisine to history. Audio and video media provide a great way to get attuned to how the language is spoken in everyday conversation, and to expose you to it beyond the hours allotted for classes and homework. You’ll be dreaming in French soon enough!

Now, we don't want to sound like we're nagging...but teachers don’t set you homework for the sake of it, and marking your and your classmates' work is a time-consuming job! The point of homework is to demonstrate and expand on your learning, as well as to help prepare you for your exams, so always make sure to do it to the best of your ability.

Like any language, there’s a lot involved in learning French, from grammar and vocabulary to idioms, syntax, accents and so on. Even in one lesson you may find yourself covering lots of different points, so it’s vital that you pay attention. If you miss a crucial piece of information, the next point may not make much sense either, as so much relies on foundational knowledge. You'll struggle to conjugate the passé composé, for example, without first getting your head around the présent.

Even if you can already pride yourself on being alert and attentive, try to go above and beyond this year.

Thanks to the Internet, there are so many resources out there to help you learn French, and teachers can only cover so much in class time. At Learn French With Alexa, we have you covered for YouTube videos, articles, podcasts and vocabulary, as well as in-depth courses for students who want to take their learning to the next level. Our GCSE Preparation Course, for instance, is the perfect complement to what you'll learn in class as a GCSE student, while the Complete French Course is ideal for learners of all levels.