I get asked quite often which I think is the easiest way to learn French. Note, not the best way but the easiest way.
Usually I recommend a brain transplant direct from a French native but, as that tends to tick people off, I’ll go with the best way to learn French because, honestly, while a good course makes it a lot easier and quicker there really is no easy way.
If you are Italian or Spanish – one of the “Latin” languages – then the structure is similar so it will be easier for you. Most French learners are English speaking though and the root of our language is Anglo Saxon, Norse, Germanic… we’re right mongrels – and French is put together about as differently as it could be. I can recommend easier for you, but easy… nah, not really.
Lots of people also ask for the best free French course. Hey I understand that, we all like free and we get kind of used to it with the internet. There are free French lessons all over the place and some of them, like those from the BBC, are a very good introduction.
As is the one I recommend, the free six day introduction to French from Rocket Languages.
The trouble with these is “introduction”. Any free French lessons will only take you so far – maybe far enough for a weekend break but nowhere near fluency.
If that’s what you want then you need the full Rocket French course. Oh, and yes, in my opinion it is about as easy as it gets!
By all means do the six day free French lessons first – it will give you a good idea of whether it appeals to you or not – but if you want to move on to eventually be a competent French speaker, to be able to put French phrases together and to be comfortable in most situations you need a comprehensive course. What’s more, unlike when I was a kid and French was boring repetition of incomprehensible verbs while sat in cold classrooms, Rocket French is quite fun!
It’s that interactivity that you can get from computer-based French learning that books can’t give you. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good book, but when you’re learning French you want to be involved and entertained – more so if the whole family is learning. Rocket French offers that challenge and it just helps you learn that bit quicker.
What’s also very useful is that there are French MP3 components so if you’ve got a player, or a portable CD radio, you can take your French lessons just about anywhere.
It’s not the cheapest course in the world, but if you get the download set it’s about 30% of the price of some of the “big boys”. What’s more it’s voiced by a native French person so you can hear how French should actually sound. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to learn French from an English speaker or someone with a strong Eastern European accent – it just doesn’t sound right.
Well that’s my opinion anyway. Try the six free French lessons, see how you get on.
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