<p>Though I've dropped a language from my high school schedule (I'm a senior), I absolutely love French. I've heard it growing up with my family and it's interfered with the language I took in school.</p>
<p>So, I've decided to try to teach myself it. I was trying words the other day and I'm pretty good with the accent, just..from hearing it, I guess. </p>
<p>I do have a propensity for languages and I DID take Spanish throughout HS, but, I'd prefer some general French-only tips instead of general language tips. </p>
<p>Any tips/suggestions/etc. on how I can get good at French quickly? </p>
<p>This doesn’t quite answer your question, but you won’t get good at French “quickly.” Languages take time and care. This is also a “general language tip,” but after having taught myself multiple languages, I’ve found online resources to be the best. There are myriad sites with French vocab, grammar, exercises, texts, audio clips, etc.</p>
<p>Nothing beats a combination of a strong audio program (Pimsleur for example), a set of premade flash cards, grammar workbook, and some basic literature in the language.</p>
<p>I’ve learned a few languages with these items and devoting time regularly to studying.</p>
<p>I would recommend (once you get to the point where you can identify/guess most vocab) watching clips of French news shows on the web whenever you can. Reporters typically speak much more clearly than the average Frenchman, so it would be to your benefit to listen to the accent in a controlled (replayable) environment.</p>
<p>There’s this program that you can download called byki (before you know it), and it helps with the really basic stuff. It’s better than just a book, because it says the words out loud for you, and the pronunciation of French words is a lot more difficult than Spanish words. It’s also completely free. I have downloaded it for Danish and I know all of the colors, days of the week, months, numbers, and some “polite conversation.”</p>
<p>Thank you all so much! I’m going to be looking into all of these things. </p>
<p>My problem really isn’t the accent. Actually, my mom overheard me talking to myself in French and told me my accent is pretty good! Clarification about the accent: Members of my family speak french around me and through the years, I think the accent has come to me. When I was taking spanish, I’d screw up words like “informatCION” by pronouncing the end of the word like French–despite never taking French in school. Odd, I know. I was thinking of asking my aunt for help (who is a French citizen) but I think I’d end up regretting that I asked her for help.</p>