(SpanÂish and French editions of Harry Potter)
BritÂish people are really, really bad at learnÂing foreign languages, because we can arrogÂantly rely on English being an interÂnaÂtionÂal language, and it can be quite an insuÂlar culture. People whose native language is spoken by fewer people have to learn anothÂer language, unless they want to spend their whole life in their home counÂtry only exposed to local things or whatever someone has transÂlated. I donât think our school system helps at all either. Everything is focused on exams and box-tickÂing, and learnÂing and regurÂgitÂatÂing vocab lists and gramÂmar points gets you better grades than genuÂine commuÂnicÂaÂtion. Most of my lessons at school were in English, with endless exerÂcises from the textÂbooks and little opporÂtunÂity to have real converÂsaÂtions or make mistakes.
With my own history with languages, I learnt French as a child, and have no formÂal qualÂiÂficÂaÂtions in it. My spelling is still appalling, like a dyslexÂic French person, but I underÂstand pretty much everything, and happily read books in French without a dictionÂary. I donât speak it often though through not having many opporÂtunÂitÂies to do so, so I struggle for words someÂtimes talkÂing on the fly, and donât feel like I express myself in the way Iâd like to. I know the words, but I canât quite summon them to mind fast enough these days.
I learnt German the âpropÂerâ way, via school lessons and a year at univerÂsity. I took 6 years of classes at school, resultÂing in an A-level, and took a C1 level class at univerÂsity. That was thirÂteen years ago though, so Iâm not sure where to offiÂcially put myself on the level system now. I used to visit Germany and Austria a lot for work, and spoke it a lot more then. My A-level classes werenât that great, and what we were doing in class didnât reach the level that was expecÂted from the exam, so I had to find ways to study on my own. UniverÂsity was anothÂer step up again, we were readÂing Kafka storÂies and historÂicÂal texts, and watchÂing ExpresÂsionÂist films and having debates. Quite a few of the other students hated it, because it strayed outside the safe confines of the school textÂbook materÂiÂal, but I loved it, and would have continÂued it throughÂout my entire degree if that had been an option. I also took a yearâs accelÂerÂated class in ItaliÂan for speakÂers of French or SpanÂish, and a yearâs course in Modern Greek.
Once I left univerÂsity, I starÂted teachÂing EFL. I had a lot of students who had studÂied English at home under much the same condiÂtions as me at school and who hadnât really got anywhere, and had come to the UK to try to improve matters. They found it frusÂtratÂing not being able to commuÂnicÂate with people in real life, and wanted as many tips as they could to help themÂselves. I also used to teach a lot of teenÂagers both in the UK and abroad, and the tips worked for them as well. Itâs a common New Yearâs ResolÂuÂtion to study anothÂer language. A lot of people buy a cd set, and play a bit of Duolingo, do some gramÂmar drills, maybe even pack an evenÂing class into their tiring schedÂule and then give up because theyâre not getting anywhere. Hereâs some tips to help you get someÂwhere, and hopeÂfully enjoy the process
(WhenevÂer I write âthe languageâ here obviÂously I mean the language youâre studyÂing).
1) Donât be afraid of lookÂing stupid by making mistakes
At school in a lot of counÂtries itâs often better for your grades if you just stick to the materÂiÂal taught and try to replicÂate it as accurÂately as possible, and youâre often penalÂised for trying to say someÂthing more ambiÂtious and getting it a bit wrong. UnforÂtuÂnately in real life you canât stick to discussÂing how you played tennis with Jean-Baptiste and Rachida last WednesÂday and asking people how many brothÂers and sisters they have. In real life youâre going to have your own ideas and opinÂions and things happen to you, and have real converÂsaÂtions with other people who say things that werenât in the textÂbook. Try to have propÂer converÂsaÂtions with people and piece togethÂer what youâre trying to say with words you already know and ideas you have about how sentences work. You might not get it 100% correct, but hopeÂfully people will underÂstand. If you donât know the word, try paraÂphrasÂing. If you donât know the word for coat hanger, try saying âthe thing you put clothes on in the wardÂrobeâ and the person youâre talkÂing to will probÂably provide the word. A lot of people will be thrilled youâre trying to learn their language espeÂcially if itâs not one thatâs often studÂied abroad, and will be keen to help you. No one is deductÂing marks or failÂing you on some eternÂal markÂsheet of life. That time you got the irregÂuÂlar past tense of that verb wrong doesnât go on your permanÂent record.
No matter how long youâve been studyÂing, youâre going to make mistakes, and someÂtimes theyâre very weird or funny mistakes. I once cheerÂfully told my landÂlady in Austria that when Iâd been for a stroll in the mounÂtains Iâd nearly fallen in some open graves full of slurry. She looked at me in horror, until we both realÂised that Iâd got the words for graves (das Grab, plurÂal die GrĂ€ber) mixed up with ditches (der Graben, plurÂal die GrĂ€ben), and I remembered that the German word for mud Schlamm can also mean slime or slurry. âIch bin fast in zwei GrĂ€ber voll mit Schlamm gefallenâ turns out to be quite differÂent to âIch bin fast in zwei GrĂ€ben voll mit Schlamm gefallenâ.
2) Use your language
Fear of making mistakes stops people trying. Try going to a language swap or a club for learners of that language if you can find one in your area. Youâll be surrounÂded by people keen to learn the language. If you drink alcoÂhol, a couple of drinks in a friendly social situÂation suddenly makes it seem even less dauntÂing. Read websites in the language every day, even if itâs just one news item. If you have anyone who is willÂing to pracÂtice with you, whethÂer in real life or online, pracÂtice with them. Try writÂing things in the language. If you can get someone to check and correct them, so much the better, but even if you canât, itâs still pracÂtice at expressÂing yourÂself.
3) PracÂtice thinkÂing in the language
When youâre going about your daily life, try to narrate what youâre doing and name the things around you mentally in the language youâre studyÂing. Your brain will probÂably creak slowly and not come up with any particÂuÂlarly profound or flowÂing thoughts, seeing as itâs used to thinkÂing in a mix of your native language and non-verbal images. Itâs still all good pracÂtice though, and the more you can think in the language rather than constantly mentally transÂlatÂing word for word, the easiÂer using your language actively will become.
4) How does it work? Why does it work like that?
Just learnÂing a load of gramÂmar by rote doesnât help you underÂstand how to put it togethÂer in your own speakÂing and writÂing. GramÂmar isnât someÂthing created to torture you, no matter how it might feel. The fiddly bits of gramÂmar commuÂnicÂate someÂthing to native speakÂers. Things like verb aspect commuÂnicÂate importÂant things about what the sentence is focusÂing on, and what the relaÂtionÂship is between the differÂent actions. If you underÂstand why these things are used rather than just memorÂising them, itâs so much easiÂer to use them in your own commuÂnicÂaÂtion. Hereâs two examples in English and French showÂing you the differÂences between some basic verb tenses in the two languages.
I read booksâ I read books as a generÂal habit, any time
Iâm readÂing the bookâ Right now, I am readÂing a book. I havenât finished it yet.
I read the book (last week)- I read the book in the past, once, and itâs finished
Iâve read the bookâ I read the book at some time in the past. When and how many times is unimÂportÂant. The importÂant thing is that now I have the experÂiÂence of readÂing that book.
I was readÂing the bookâ I was in the process of readÂing the book, and the importÂant thing is that it isnât finished.
Je lis le livreâ I read the book/â Iâm readÂing the book- thereâs no differÂence in French, the only importÂant thing is that itâs present tense
Je suis en train de lire le livreâ Right now Iâm readÂing the book, the process is the most importÂant thing
Jâai lu le livre- I read the book in the past, once, and itâs finished
Je lisais le livreâ I read the book in the past as a habit or multiple times
Je lus le livreâ I read the book in the past, and itâs finished. Iâm writÂing a novel or telling a story, and would sound totally bizarre if I said this in a normal converÂsaÂtion
5) PracÂtice pronunÂciÂation a lot
PronunÂciÂation can really let you down. If you mangle a big worldÂwide language like English or SpanÂish, people will probÂably be able to follow, but if itâs a smalÂler language where people are only used to hearÂing native speakÂers, theyâll look at you in total confuÂsion. PracÂtice speakÂing along with recordÂings at home and try to mimic the pronunÂciÂation exactly, even if it makes you feel a bit silly. You might also feel like youâre doing a comedy exagÂgerÂated accent, but that wonât be how it sounds to someone else. If you dare, try recordÂing yourÂself. DifferÂent languages involve differÂent mouth shapes, and youâre probÂably not used to them, and default to that of your native language. English tends to lurk someÂwhere in the middle of the mouth, but French for example all happens much further forward and involves moving the lips more.
LearnÂing the InterÂnaÂtionÂal PhonÂetÂic AlphaÂbet, so you can make sense of the pronunÂciÂation guides in dictionÂarÂies is a real boost. It also helps you see where the sounds differ from your native language. The full WikiÂpeÂdia article is a bit overÂwhelmÂing, because it shows every possible sound in every known language, and no language uses all of them. However, if you look for the PhonÂoÂlogy article for the language youâre studyÂing, it will only show you the informÂaÂtion for that language. Hereâs the TurkÂish one. You can click on each sound, and it has its own article with a sound sample, and explanÂaÂtion and examples of how that sound is used in differÂent languages. There are also a lot of simpler online guides just for certain languages. This poster with BritÂish English vowels and illusÂtraÂtions of words using those sounds is in probÂably every EFL classroom in the UK.
6) Look at connecÂtions
Languages belong to familÂies, aside from a few isolÂates like Basque. For example English belongs to the bigger group of Indo-European languages, which includes a wide range of languages like Hindi, Farsi, ItaliÂan, French, Swedish, ArmeniÂan, LatviÂan, RussiÂan, etc. Languages withÂin the same family come from the same source, and the further you go back in time, the more similÂar they are. Latin and Sanskrit were very similÂar, but modern ItaliÂan and Hindi are much more differÂent. Language familÂies also split off into smalÂler branches over time. English is in the GermanÂic branch with German, Dutch and the ScandÂinaviÂan languages. This means that they are even more similÂar. English also took on a lot of influÂences from French and Latin for historÂicÂal reasÂons.
So what does this mean in terms of learnÂing a language? Languages in the same family will share a lot of words and strucÂtures. Hand is hand in English, Dutch, Swedish and German, hĂ„nd in Danish and hönd in IcelandÂic. Languages are often influÂenced by other languages from differÂent familÂies for historÂicÂal and geographÂicÂal reasÂons too â for example Muslim counÂtries picked up a lot of ArabÂic loanÂwords. This doesnât always always mean the words look or sound exactly the same, because these things change over time and differÂent languages use differÂent spelling systems, but once youâre used to spotÂting the pattern of changes, you can identiÂfy them. For example cabalÂlus was an informÂal word for horse in Latin, which became cheval in French, cavallo in ItaliÂan and caballo in SpanÂish. So if you know a bit of French, and youâre studyÂing ItaliÂan and know what to look out for, you have a headÂstart. You have to beware of false friends though, words which are the same or very similÂar in two languages, but actuÂally mean someÂthing differÂent. For example sensÂible means careÂful and reasÂonÂable in English, but sensÂitÂive in multiple other european languages.
Of course this is only useful if the language youâre studyÂing is related in some way to anothÂer language you know. You can still use connecÂtions to help you rememÂber vocab though. If a word reminds you slightly of a word in your language, you can think of a bizarre mental image using the real meanÂing of the word and the word it reminds you of. For example boldog is happy in HungariÂan, so I remembered it by thinkÂing of a very happy and bold bullÂdog.
7) Use Duolingo wisely
Duolingo can be fun, and is a good way to build up a strong beginnerâs vocab, but it canât replace everything, and has plenty of flaws. Iâve played to the end of both French and German, and after a certain level it just gets frusÂtratÂing and full of errors. The beginÂners levels are solid, but things get weird as you progress along, because it relies on machine learnÂing and crowdÂsourcing, the same as Google TransÂlate. This works fine for basic sentences combinÂing the same words in unamÂbiguÂous ways, but once you start branchÂing out to more complicÂated sentences with nuances and multiple ways of saying the same thing it goes a bit wrong, with the system not acceptÂing a valid sentence that people say in real life, or pushÂing an outright wrong or weirdly phrased one that no-one would ever say, leadÂing to scores of annoyed comments. The comments get acted on evenÂtuÂally, but the whole experÂiÂence would be better if they had got some real teachÂers to provide banks of materÂiÂal for the highÂer modules. I guess that would involve paying someone though. I was hoping the highÂer levels would have solid pracÂtice exerÂcises for fiddly gramÂmar points that catch people out, but the topics I was expectÂing to find werenât there, or werenât covered in much detail.
Iâd hoped to use the collectÂive transÂlaÂtion exerÂcises as good pracÂtice, but again theyâre not careÂfully chosen by a human and matched to levels that people have studÂied. Theyâre randomly chosen articles, mostly from WikiÂpeÂdia or Buzzfeed by the looks of it, and a lot of them are way beyond the right level. You end up with the frusÂtratÂing experÂiÂence of you transÂlatÂing an idiom or gramÂmar point correctly, and then someone else barging in and chanÂging the transÂlaÂtion to a word for word literÂal transÂlaÂtion that makes no sense, because theyâre transÂlatÂing each word in isolÂaÂtion because the text is too hard for them, and no-one has taught them any transÂlaÂtion skills but theyâre having a good go anyway. ApparÂently Duolingo was hoping to make money from crowdÂsourcing these transÂlaÂtions at one point, but stopped.
Thereâs a reasÂon people pay real transÂlatÂors, who have studÂied to postÂgrad level and have a lot of culturÂal as well as linguistÂic knowÂledge. Trying to make money via apps by shortÂcutÂting paying profesÂsionÂals for their knowÂledge, skills or time by using crowdÂsourcing or on-demand schedulÂing seems to be a major part of the current neolibÂerÂal worldÂview of the techÂnoÂlogy industry. It might work for Uber (who I refuse to use because theyâre underÂcutÂting the liveÂliÂhoods and workerâs rights of reguÂlar taxi drivers who have to be vetted, take exams, and have propÂer insurÂance, wages, tax accounts and workÂing schedÂules, and who take all of the off-shored and untaxed profits but none of the responsÂibÂilÂity when things go wrong) in the taxi industry, but Iâm glad itâs not workÂing for everything.
PolitÂicÂal rants aside, my tip for Duolingo is to use it for the beginÂner stuff, to drill basic vocab and gramÂmar points into your brain. I espeÂcially like the tablet version as well, because it speaks each word when you click on it, which helps to reinÂforce it. The computer speech they use will never teach you the naturÂal flow and music of a sentence in the language, but it will help with the pronunÂciÂation. Once youâve learnt the basics, try switchÂing to pretendÂing youâre a native speakÂer of the language whoâs studyÂing English (or your native language). Most of the answers will have to be typed in the language youâre studyÂing, and itâs very strict about spelling and gramÂmar, which is good pracÂtice. The instrucÂtions will also be entirely in the language.
8) Read a book you already know.
If you pick a book youâre familÂiÂar with, you already know the context and the story, which will give you a major boost in underÂstandÂing, and you can concenÂtrate on the form of the language and the new vocabÂuÂlary. Childrenâs books are ideal- a lot of people choose Harry Potter for this purpose. The language is fairly straightÂforÂward, and popuÂlar childrenâs books are likely to be availÂable in the language you want. If there are people who speak the language youâre studyÂing in your local area, or itâs commonly taught in schools, your local library is likely to have a selecÂtion. If not the interÂnet, and second hand books are your friend.
When I was doing A-level German I ploughed my way through the NeverendÂing Story (which is originÂally in German), and it filled in so many gaps in my vocabÂuÂlary. At school weâd gone from the GCSE level of âwhere did you go on holiÂdayâ straight to âdiscuss the German health insurÂance systemâ. I used to go once a week to visit a German co-workÂer of my mumâs to pracÂtice speakÂing. She enjoyed helpÂing someone learn, and also hoped it would encourÂage her son to speak German more often. I felt like I often struggled to talk about anything that wasnât related to basic hobbies or the fairly dry social studÂies topics in the A-level textÂbook. The NeverendÂing Story provided me with all sorts of new and useful every day words that we never once covered at school. I rememÂber clearly when I was readÂing the first chapter, I learnt the word for cliff (die Felsenâ the mounÂtain sort of cliff, the sea type is die Klippe) and it suddenly dawned on me how much more useful the vocab from the book was than the themed lists from the exam board weâd been assigned to memorÂise each week. (I still have phrases like unbedingt nötig â totally necesÂsary, die EntzĂŒndungâ inflamÂmaÂtion and of course die AntiÂbabypilleâ the pill drummed into my head from that though). I bought a copy of Emil and the DetectÂives (a clasÂsic German childrenâs book thatâs not well known in the UK) on a school trip to Cologne, but that took me much, much longer even though itâs a drasticÂally shortÂer book, because I didnât have the same grasp of the basic story and charÂacÂters as the NeverendÂing Story, so I was trying to underÂstand the plot and the words and the new vocabÂuÂlary all at the same time (and Erich KĂ€stÂnerâs light-hearted 1920s slangy Berlin style too).
I wouldnât jump straight in with the dictionÂary though. Read a section first, and see what parts you underÂstand already, and what words you can guess the meanÂing of from context. You learnt your first language entirely through context, and trying to underÂstand without the dictionÂary the first time helps you out for future occaÂsions where you wonât be able to check the dictionÂary. Then look up the new words in the dictionÂary and write them down in your noteÂbook (with the gramÂmatÂicÂal gender if thatâs relevÂant to the language). If the language youâre studyÂing has features like irregÂuÂlar plurÂals or counter words, and the dictionÂary tells you this informÂaÂtion or anything else useful, like special contexts you would use this word, write them down too.
9) Get a good dictionÂary and use it well
As Iâve already said, always try to work out a word from context before going for the dictionÂary. With a paper dictionÂary, get hold of a decent qualÂity one for learners, not a bargain baseÂment one thatâs likely to be full of errors or not give you enough informÂaÂtion. The range availÂable will obviÂously depend on what language youâre studyÂing and what your native language is. If youâre Portuguese and studyÂing Ubykh, you might be on your own. Online and app dictionÂarÂies vary enormÂously in qualÂity, so try to find a good one. In German I have two go to sites- dict.leo.org is good and thorÂough at splitÂting up phrases and giving you context and dict.cc is really good with idioms and slang. Once youâve progressed a little, try using the standÂard monoÂlinÂgual referÂence dictionÂary that native speakÂers of the language use. The words will all be explained in the language then, which will boost your vocabÂuÂlary and phrasÂing.
10) Watch tv shows in the language, with local subtitles on
The opposÂite way round from my recomÂmendÂaÂtion for books, I would pick a show from a counÂtry that speaks the language youâre studyÂing (and to begin with, not a counÂtry that has a very strong dialect/âaccent compared to the âstandÂardâ accent, if that applies). You can underÂstand the story from the visuÂals. If you pick one of the AmerÂicÂan shows that is sold all around the world, some counÂtries will just show it in English with subtitles, which is no good, and some will dub it with new voice actors. Seeing a familÂiÂar actor speakÂing with a differÂent voice can be jarring and ruin your concenÂtraÂtion, and the dubbing transÂlatÂors and actors someÂtimes have to choose weird phrasÂing or timing to make the new words match the mouth moveÂments.
Find a popuÂlar show originÂally in the language which you will be able to follow even if you donât get 100% of the words. SomeÂthing like a stanÂdup comedy show wonât be very good for that, whereÂas a soap opera or drama will be clearÂer what is going on. If there are subtitles availÂable in the same language for people with hearÂing probÂlems, watch with them on (donât watch with subtitles in your own languageâ your brain will just ignore the audio). It will help you mentally split up the sounds you hear into words you recogÂnise and make links between what you hear and what youâve already learnt. It also means that if you want to look a word up, you know how itâs writÂten. For languages where the spelling and pronunÂciÂation are very differÂent, or where the writÂten and spoken forms are almost separÂate like Chinese, this is espeÂcially useful, as itâs often diffiÂcult or nearly impossible to guess the writÂten form of that word you keep hearÂing.
Itâs also useful to immerse yourÂself in the way people really speak. It used to frusÂtrate my poor English students so much when they came to the UK to study, because all the listenÂing activÂitÂies that accomÂpany textÂbooks are acted in this very exagÂgerÂatedly slow and clear way that bears no relaÂtion to the way people really speak. Even when they had a cover version of Imagine to listen to it was slowed down and over-enunÂciÂated! If they came from a counÂtry where tv shows and films were dubbed, that might be the only English they reguÂlarly heard apart from songs (and a lot of people donât really pay attenÂtion to song lyrics). So when they talked to real people, they felt lost and couldnât underÂstand.
11) Listen to music in the language, and sing along
English dominÂates music worldÂwide, with some counÂtries like France passing laws requirÂing radio to play a certain percentÂage of music in the nationÂal language to stem the tide. Lots of people around the world are more motivÂated to learn English, because they want to find out what that song they like is actuÂally about. Find some popuÂlar artists in the language in a genre you like, and find the lyrics online (look up the word for lyrics in that language and use it in your google search to help you). As well as expandÂing your listenÂing abilÂitÂies and giving you new vocab, it also helps you to become more familÂiÂar with the culture of the language youâre studyÂing.
There can also be other unexÂpecÂted beneÂfits. ListenÂing to KraftÂwerk helped me to rememÂber an annoyÂing and fiddly gramÂmar rule in German. KraftÂwerk fahrân auf der AutoÂbahn (dative case), theyâre drivÂing along not leavÂing the motorÂway and not chanÂging their locaÂtion. If they were fahrân auf die AutoÂbahn (accusÂatÂive case) that would mean they were drivÂing on a differÂent road, and then joined the motorÂway from outside and changed their locaÂtion. GramÂmar is more fun with KraftÂwerk. (Itâs also more fun to compute with them). When I was studyÂing German, I saw a load of the German editions of KraftÂwerk albums for sale second hand and bought them. Now it seems weird to hear them in English.
12) Listen to talk radio in the backÂground
Find an online talk radio station you like in the language- lots of counÂtries have a high-qualÂity nationÂal one- and put it on in the backÂground when youâre potterÂing around at home doing things like washÂing up. The words will go in someÂwhere, and the constant exposÂure can dramatÂicÂally improve your listenÂing skills and pronunÂciÂation because youâre so much more familÂiÂar with the sounds and flow of the language.
13) Use the mundane
InstrucÂtions and signs are boring. Adverts are annoyÂing. Local news is dull. You hardly look at packÂaging. You barely read the menu items on your phone or what the buttons on FaceÂbook are labelled. Buzzfeed is full of vapid nonsense that takes about two minutes to read. However all of those things are availÂable in the language youâre studyÂing (with the possible excepÂtion of Buzzfeed, but thatâs also availÂable in a lot of languages), and are full of everyÂday useful words and phrases. Youâll also feel a tiny sense of achieveÂment when you manage to decipher any of these everyÂday items. if youâre not a total beginÂner, try chanÂging the interÂface on your phone and FaceÂbook account to the language. Read stupid Buzzfeed articles. A lot of them are transÂlated from English anyway, but some of them are locally produced and will help you pick up culturÂal referÂences.
14) Label your house
Cover your house in post-it notes with the name of all the objects, if it doesnât annoy the people you live with too much. Youâll subconÂsciously absorb the words just by going about your daily life.
15) Have fun
LearnÂing a language isnât a terrible punishÂment to torture yourÂself with, and perfecÂtion is unreachÂable, so you might as well enjoy it. I must admit I spend more time mentally beatÂing myself up for not being a flawÂless native-soundÂing wunderÂkind who never makes silly errors with adjectÂive endings or word order or ever struggles for the particÂuÂlar word Iâm lookÂing for than I do thinkÂing speakÂing my other languages any kind of achieveÂment, mainly because Iâm comparÂing myself to people who have flawÂless English from being surrounÂded by English-language media and needÂing it to get any kind of better paid job. Iâm always waitÂing for someone to trip me up, going âHah, youâre a massive fraud, that article should have been dem rather than der! Get out!â. Thatâs never actuÂally happened though. The only negatÂive reacÂtion Iâve ever had is from other BritÂish people who donât speak any other languages, and Iâve come to the concluÂsion that they can do one.
Hello! Thank you for this fine article. Youâve inspired me to pick up French again. Iâve realÂised that I abanÂdoned it out of frusÂtraÂtion because I could never read, write, speak and underÂstand the language at the same level.
Are there any French websites or radio stations that you particÂuÂlarly enjoy/âwould recomÂmend?
Yes lots!
1) I would recomÂmend readÂing comics in French. Theyâre called Bandes DessÂinĂ©es or BD for short, and theyâre much much more popuÂlar in French speakÂing counÂtries, and cover a much wider range of story genres. Tintin is much better in French, the English transÂlaÂtion is a bit bland. Asterix is exactly the same in feel and level of jokes, because Anthea Bell is an excelÂlent transÂlatÂor. I used to really like Lucky Luke, BecasÂsin and the Duck Tales comics too. Local librarÂies in the UK often even have them.
2) Try magicrpm.com â itâs a music magazine in France that has pretty good artlÂcles
3) French music radio is truly awful. Honestly. Lots of MylĂšne FarmÂer, who is basicÂally the french Madonna if she was also a seriÂous poliÂtique artiste in her own mind and Johnny HallÂiÂday, the french Cliff. Radio France Culture covers a lot of stuff the same as Radio 4 http://www.radiofrance.fr/ and thereâs RFI which is more news and current affairs http://www.rfi.fr/
TV5 is a French language chanÂnel you get on digitÂal in the UK, and also online. Theyâve got some decent stuff, and theyâve also got CountÂdown, which is originÂally French. Itâs called Lettres et ChifÂfres. http://www.tv5monde.com/
Engrenages/âSpiral is a good French detectÂive show as well. BBC4 showed it with English subtitles a while back. http://www.canalplus.fr/c-series/pid4559-c-engrenages.html Canal + are the main cable company in France and make a lot of good shows (like les RevenÂants). French TV is pretty decent.
4) Try some caraÂmÂbar jokes. CaraÂmÂbars are some chewy sweets that come with a christÂmas crackÂer level joke inside the wrapÂper. Lots of them are really really terrible puns that youâll only get from readÂing out loud. Hereâs a huge assortÂment of them http://blague.carambar.free.fr/blagues/blague.html
5) Theyâre really big on dictaÂtion exerÂcises in France, because there are so many silent letters. Thereâs some free ones for school kids here http://bescherelle.com/dictees-audio (collĂšge is KS3& KS4- lycĂ©e is 6th form & the school years count backÂwards, so 1Ă© is the final year of school)
They love it so much they actuÂally have a nationÂal dictaÂtion bee that kind of like the Great BritÂish Bakeoff of spelling. http://www.tv5monde.com/TV5Site/dictee/dictee.php
Oh and I forgot about the Petit Nicolas books too, which are really popuÂlar for learnÂing French. http://www.petitnicolas.com/collection/albums
Great post. I just spent a whole afterÂnoon messÂing about with Duolingo, which I had no idea exisÂted. Youâre right, itâs not perfect, but it is good fun! I hope it adds more languages. I did surprisÂingly well in German, which I havenât touched since I was 16, got all enthused and settled down to watch a German film without subtitles â which promptly got switched back on after ten minutes. It was a good film, though â this one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276216/ . Any other German films you would recomÂmend, or German-specifÂic tips? I have plenty of KraftÂwerk. đ And variÂous things from the Morr label.
Sorry it took me so long to reply! Hereâs some German films I recomÂmend:
East German/â EhemÂaÂlige DDR
GoodÂbye Lenin- an obviÂous choice but a good one
The Lives of Others
SonnenÂallee
2nd World War
DownÂfall
The Tin Drum (die BlechtromÂmel)
Das Boot
SophÂie Scholl- the Final Days
Expressionist/b&w
The CabinÂet of Dr Caligari
NosferÂatu
MetroÂpolÂis
The Blue Angel
M
Misc
FitzcarÂraldo (some of itâs in SpanÂish too. WernÂer Herzog has a lot of other films too)
The EdukatÂors
ChrisÂtiÂane F (also gets called Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo â has a Bowie soundtrack as well)
Run, Lola Run /â Lola Rennt
The Enigma of Kaspar HausÂer (Jeder fĂŒr sich und Gott gegen alle)
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Die Welle
The White Ribbon
The Silence (Das letzte SchweiÂgen)