How Long Will It Take to Learn French

How Long Will It Take to Learn French Take French Language Courses: What is the Optimal Time for Learning French? ChaptersThe Number of Hours Necessary to Learn FrenchWhat Are the Components in Learning FrenchLiving in France to Become a FrancophoneWhether you’re studying French as a foreign language through free lessons in your community, partaking in language services online, or practice your French with other anglophones â€" you’ve probably asked yourself the same question: how long does it take for an English speaker to master French?Whether you’re in Ontario, Los Angeles or London â€" learning world languages has become an even better, more efficient process, even by just translating English to French online.According to the Francophone Observatory, the French language is now spoken by 421 million people. To put that into perspective, Spanish has 451 million speakers and Arabic has 402 million. A fun fact that might not come through in your French class is that the number of Francophones is forecasted to surpass Hispanophones around 2022.Whether you’re interested in learning more ab out the influence of vulgar Latin, are striving for and intermediate French level, or simply want to get a Job in France â€" understanding French is a powerful tool!For language learning to be effective, you must practice every day AnnieFrench Teacher 4.89 (9) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors CarolineFrench Teacher 5.00 (13) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LowriFrench Teacher 5.00 (9) £90/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarianneFrench Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ThibautFrench Teacher 5.00 (3) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AnnickFrench Teacher 5.00 (6) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DéborahFrench Teacher 5.00 (10) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SamyFrench Teacher 5.00 (2) £100/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsThe Number of Hours Necessary to Learn FrenchWhether you’ve tried going to language schools, are currently taken a French for beginners course or are part of a Facebook group for French learners â€" it is impossible to know how many hours it will take for you to become fluent in French.However, as French teachers or any polyglot will tell you, French a global language that is one of the easiest to learn. According to a study by the American Foreign Service Institute, or FSI, the Romance language is one of the easiest living languages in the world to learn.As with all language programs around the world, the levels of French language have been set out in a framework created by the European Union known as the CEFRL for European languages. These levels aren’t just for English speakers, but for everyone trying to gauge their knowledge of French. There are six levels ranging from the basic, A1, to the level of complete fluency, C2.The B2 level, an intermediate step that means you are able to listen to French audio and express yourself easily in both written and oral terms, is the one normally required for entry into public un iversities for a language study or maths and sciences. Oral expression is particularly important in French universities, meaning you will have to work on perfecting your accent.The FSI study has grouped some popular living languages into different groups corresponding to the amount of time it will take to reach an advanced level of knowledge.Group 1, 24 to 30 weeks of learning: French, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, SwedishGroup 2, 36 weeks of courses: German, Indonesian, MalaysianGroup 3, 44 weeks: Armenian, Czech, Farsi, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, RussianGroup 4, 88 weeks: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, KoreanAccording to this guide, you might be able to get by in French by trying out some coffee break French podcasts or by listening to some modern French radio channels â€" something that would be near impossible to do with a language like Mandarin Chinese.However, looking at the study, if you’re interested in learning more than just basic gram mar rules or French verb and syntax rules, you’ll need to put in more than 480 hours. Using a coffee break or podcast method should, theoretically, be enough to get you to a level A1 or even A2.If you’d like to reach a more advanced level, however, you might want to consider taking a French lesson either online or with a language institute. According to the study, the FSI recommends spending 600 to 750 hours over 24 to 30 weeks in order to reach a B2 or C1 level in French.This is pretty significant, considering that as a foreigner, you will be able to reach high degrees of autonomy in a language in as little as 6 months!In conclusion, to reach an intermediate level, you will need to study 10 hours a day for 48 days â€" which is the some actually many choose.However, many of us don’t actually have that sort of time to set aside for language â€" unless you’re Canadian French and probably spend most of your day practicing anyways. Here are some tips on what to expect on your jo urney towards becoming fluent.Discover the best French classes London here.One way to get free lessons in French is to simply move to a Francophone cityWhat Are the Components in Learning FrenchWhether you’re studying through a language exchange, French classes or simply by memorizing your phrasebook â€" it’s clear that the amount of time you spend learning is one of the most important factors in language acquisition.There are, however, several other components you’ll have to take into account when studying both French or any of the other Romance languages. Not mentioned below, but can be found with this guide, is a price comparison between the different types of courses you're likely to encounter.What is the Right Methodology?The methodology under which you learn French will vary significantly from the type of learning you’re engaging in â€" be it through Duolingo or through live, conversational French practice with French people.For most people, taking French courses at a university or through private lessons with a native French speaker will result in a much quicker understanding of the language than through self-teaching methods.From walking you through the basics of the French alphabet to understanding the complex rules of French verbs, following a French course has many benefits â€" the most important one being regularity. A French language school or tutor won’t just guide you to your desired level of French, be it beginner French or bilingualism, but it will also help you appreciate French culture and history.The Framework of Studies in FrenchAs with studying any of the many unofficial and official languages around the world, practising French daily is an imperative step towards mastering the linguistics of the language.In order to do this, it will be important to define your goals from the beginning. Whether your goal be in the form of a French internship to living and working in the country, chances are you’ll probably have to take a stand ard French exam.The acronyms for these tests are the DELF, DALF and the TCF, all of which do not have the same levels. In order to prepare for these, the ideal framework would be to study under an intensive program.If you’re looking for free French language resources, there are plenty of French online options: Campus France, Le Point du FLE, Bonjour de France, and the Alliance Franciase. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a master at French to be able to access these sites.MemorizationLearning French, as with all languages, will involve some memorization skills. The recommended way to learn French vocabulary is to divvy up the words you want to learn by what they deal with. For example, for vocabulary words concerning the hospitality sector, you will have to learn specific vocab like the words for hotel, restaurant, bar service, building, tourism, etc.Learning vocabulary doesn’t just deal with memorization, but also the frequency with which you learn these words â€" a lesson al ong the lines of the phrase “use it or lose it.”A study by Harry P. Bahrick concluded that without practicing, people who had studied a language forgot about 60% of their vocabulary in the 3 years after they stopped actively learning it.French people are some of the best language teachers!Living in France to Become a FrancophoneWhile a French course might teach you about French pronunciation or French conversation, there is no language course that can teach you â€" whether it be online French or through a private French teacher â€" better than your own ears.In the mid-1960s, linguist and neurologist Eric Lenneberg developed an important theory on language which stated that acquiring an native accent in a language after puberty is impossible if someone has only been surrounded exclusively in their maternal language their whole lives.More generally, this is known as synaptic pruning â€" a process in which your brain gets rid of informational ties it has not used until then.While t his might seem like a dreary picture for those looking to acquire perfect French as an adult, a French immersion program might be in your best interest. While learning a new language is always stressful and language courses can sometimes conflict with even the most flexible of schedules - becoming a native speaker through intensive French lessons is highly effective.While acquiring your second language can be accomplished through beginners and intermediate level courses, where your language skills will be refined by learning about French language and culture - you can also consider moving to France. Whether it be through an student, internship or another professional opportunity - you will learn new words and phrases daily just as a product of living there.If you'd like to learn French while living somewhere that you can still speak your native language, there are many options to start learning French in the UK. From tutors on our website to UK universities - your journey to master French doesn't have to start tomorrow.

How To Improve Your Chinese Fast

How To Improve Your Chinese Fast Tips Tricks for your Chinese Lessons ChaptersRe-read the Previous Lessons Carefully Before Your Next Chinese LessonSumming Up Your Chinese Lessons and Making FlashcardsImmerse Yourself in the Chinese Language Just Before Your LessonTrain on Your Favourite Chinese Learning App“There is no single way of learning something.”This maxim, spoken by Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), well illustrates the fact that any learning methodology needs to be not only efficient, but tailored to each individual student as well in order to better learn and assimilate.For example, when learning Chinese, some students find it more difficult than others to memorise, pronounce and reproduce the tones of the Chinese language, while others have difficulty remembering the Chinese characters, or understanding written Chinese.Our memnonic capabilities are not created equal. Some people have a more oral memory, others a more visual one - in other words, some retain anything they hear spoken while others remember better if they read some thing, as if their eye were taking a mental photograph. Still others need two or three times as long to memorise Chinese characters, for example.Taking Chinese language courses doesn’t just mean showing up at your Mandarin lesson: it’s a long and hard road that requires motivation, discipline and diligence. It requires a daily dose of independent work. Here on Superprof we have worked out four tips to help you arrive at your Chinese class perfectly prepared - a necessary step in the process of learning Mandarin Chinese.Also read these tips for the best ways to learn Mandarin... NingChinese Teacher 5.00 (10) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorraineChinese Teacher £10/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JoyceChinese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicoleChinese Teacher £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KatyChinese Teacher £16/h1st lesson free!Discove r all our tutors YangChinese Teacher £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ChengChinese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsRe-read the Previous Lessons Carefully Before Your Next Chinese LessonIt bears repeating: learning Chinese is not easy.This millenia old language goes back to the dawn of history and even the most educated of Chinese - academics and other men and women of letters - don’t know all of the Chinese characters by heart.As you can see, any beginner Chinese student has a long, steep road ahead of them!However, notwithstanding the prospect of rapid progression, getting better at the Chinese language is obviously not impossible.In fact you “only” need to know about 400 Chinese characters - about 2/3 of the most frequently used characters - to get along tolerably after three years of Chinese language courses.But how to get there when you are just starting your beginner Mandarin classes?The main thing is to carefully re-read your lessons as you go. Don’t let it slide or you will be overwhelmed or find yourself with gaps in your knowledge.It is all the more important if you are taking beginner Chinese lessons. Remember:Being attentive in class and listening to your teacher is 50% of the workRe-reading your notes and  reviewing regularly with a clear head makes up the remaining 50%“Memory is the best camera there is” - Kevin Spacey.Here are our recommendations to help you prepare your Chinese lessons and memorise them:Make sure the conditions during your lessons are suitable to learning, allowing you to focus your concentration and keep a good postureWhen you are revising your previous lesson, disconnect all your devices: computer, smartphones, tablets…Take a small break every half hour: 5-10 minutes to have a glass of water or air out your mindAvoid time-consuming distractions such as Facebook or televisionWhen re-reading your Chinese lessons, make notes of things you did not understand so you can ask your Manda rin teacher the next time you see them (a specific translation, Pinyin transcription, the order and direction of the lines in Chinese calligraphy, the meaning of certain Chinese symbols…)Re-read your Mandarin lessons and notes every day: the best time is at night, shortly before going to sleep, as we memorise best at night.You still have trouble learning Mandarin despite these good habits?You still need to take the time to sum things up at regular intervals.Summing Up Your Chinese Lessons and Making FlashcardsSummary flashcards are an excellent way to help you memorise your Chinese language lessons - or, indeed, learn French, English or Spanish - more rapidly.Don’t hesitate to put up posters with Chinese characters to help you work on your Mandarin pronunciation and vocabulary.While I was a student at University, I was rarely stressed out when studying for exams because, instead of re-reading dozens and dozens of longhand A4 sheets, I had previously summed up the main points of the lessons in bullet points on little flashcards. This helped nudge the brain into retaining only the important information, to help me understand without learning by heart.Learning Pinyin becomes easier when you use flashcards. Photo credit: http://klarititemplateshop.com/ via Visualhunt / CC BYYou’re not very organised, even a little lazy?Here are some tips to help you learn Chinese:After each Chinese language class, take up your notes and reformulate them digitally or longhandSum up each part of your Chinese lessons in a few simple bullet points, keeping sentences shortRestructure your class notes so they follow a clear progress: titles, subtitles, bullet pointsColour-code your notes: underline, highlight or circle the essential pointsLook over the key words, definitions, translations of Chinese wordsFigure out mnemonic devices to remember Chinese charactersMake charts and graphs to illustrate points of Chinese grammar or the order of Mandarin charactersMake one flash card per idea: Pinyin transcription, pronouncing the Chinese phonetic alphabet with its 23 initial consonants and 35 final vowels, the tones of Mandarin speech, Chinese grammar rules, the direction of strokes in Chinese calligraphy, Chinese vocabulary by theme…By grouping each lesson into summary flashcards, vocabulary and pronunciation exercises will become easier. For example, you might try repeating these words aloud every day:Learn how to say “hello” in Chinese: « ni hao » (? + ?)Learn how to say “good-bye” in Chinese: « zài jiàn » (? + ?)Review your numbers: ? (two), ? (five)If you can’t contact your Mandarin teacher, get help from the internet.Work daily in smaller chunksWhether you are learning to play the piano or guitar or learning Chinese, there is no point in revising just before your lesson.To assimilate the Chinese language, it’s better to work on it 5 to 10 minute a day than during an intensive, hours-long revision.It can also be helpful to pretend you are in China right now…Why not make use of some of these great Mandarin learning tools, too?Immerse Yourself in the Chinese Language Just Before Your LessonImmerse yourself in the language? Already? But why? Your trip to China isn’t until next year!It’s quite simple: it lets your brain soak up the music of the Chinese language.Since the language of Confucius is a tonal language, its phonemes sound odd to our ears.In order to better understand the aids your teacher will give you in class, it can be helpful to hear Chinese spoken every day by native Mandarin speakers for listening practise.Let’s look at the possibilities:Listen to Chinese, Taiwanese or Singapore newsWatch Chinese movies (if need be, with English subtitles)If you live in a city with a Chinese quarter, go do some of your shopping thereDownload Chinese podcasts suach as this one  or these.Speak Chinese on social networks or with Chinese friends you’ve met on your travels (if you know any)Install a free Chinese lear ning app to listen to one lesson a day and get ahead of your Mandarin course.Watch Chinese films at film festivals in the original language, or else stream them or buy them on dvd or blue ray. Photo credit: digitALWINner via Visualhunt / CC BYWatch Chinese videosIt has been frequently noted that online videos - from YouTube, for example - can help you learn a language easily. Learning Chinese is no different.However, YouTube is not available in China. They use a similar site calledYouku.Of course, a beginner Mandarin student will not understand anything and it is important to know some basics of the Chinese language and understand spoken Chinese to follow the videos.However, even before you understand what they say your brain will learn to identify the tone and sounds of new words better in the future.Find a native speakerOne last tip to soak in the language while learning Chinese at home: find a native Chinese speaker. Hook up with a language partner - a native speaker who will hel p you learn Mandarin while you help them with their English.There are a lot of Chinese students out there who want to better their English. Photo credit: maltzevans via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-NDMosalingua has created a page with links to various tools that will help you learn to speak Chinese like a native. Among them is Italki https://www.italki.com/home, a site that lets you find a language partner or else a native speaker to help you with Chinese lessons.It’s like a Chinese Superprof!The app is very easy to use. The catch? It costs about $15 to $27 per hour to for a teacher who is also a native Mandarin speaker. However, the language partners are is free - a true intercultural training programme, with a free, internation exchange of linguistic competence.A must for preparing your Chinese classes London!Discover how to find the perfect Chinese teacher for your learning needs...Train on Your Favourite Chinese Learning AppAre you looking for a smartphone app that will help you rev ise for your Chinese lessons? Nothing simpler!How better to work on your Chinese vocabulary everywhere you go than to have it on your smartphone?There are more than 500 million Chinese watching videos online, and giving Chinese lessons is a way for them to make some money while learning English, French, Spanish, German or Portuguese.With language apps, there are no walls between native speakers and students of Chinese. Photo via Visualhunt.comHere, we’ll be describing Hello Talk, one way among many to learn the Chinese language and speak to native Mandarin speakers.This app has more than one million users throughout the world and fits you to one of the thousands of language partners.It’s a bit like the Facebook of foreign language courses: you can send a message to whomever you like and start trading languages!Here is what you need to do (it’s quite simple):Download the app onto your smartphoneCreate a profile (e-mail address, password, name, birthdate, profile photo)Enter the information about your native tongue and land of originMention Chinese as one of the languages you want to learnIndicate your level of proficiencyFind a language partner!It’s ideal for a free Mandarin lesson and for practising your written Chinese.Is your trip to China coming up soon?The Internet is a gold mine for discovering Chinese culture between two lessons, practice your Chinese and take a language immersion course before even setting foot in China!How much do you think Mandarin lessons should cost? Find tutors to learn Chinese with Superprof. No mater where you live, you'll be able to learn Mandarin London to Lincoln, from Plymouth to Portsmouth.