So You Need To Learn French (Or Anything Else)
When I was eleven years old, my aunt gifted me with a CD she had bought because the album cover was pretty. She was right, I did like the cover art, but I took one look at the title and promptly put it in the drawer of Things I’ll Never Use. Putumayo Presents: Acoustic France. Boring. Plus, why would I listen to music in a language I didn’t understand?
Fast forward to this past weekend, where I found myself listening to that exact album while relaxing by the side of Lake Annecy. As it turned out, I did grow into acoustic music, and trying to decipher the French lyrics serves as great practice. Because I haven’t taken a French course since high school, I spent the two days before my flight scrambling to brush up on the language. I rummaged around in that long-lost drawer, dusted off the cover, and transferred the contents of the CD to my phone (hello 21st century!). From there I’ve transitioned to a steady stream of French music.
While I of course recommend starting earlier than I did, it’s never too late to familiarize yourself with your study abroad destination’s local language. My recommendations are oriented towards those looking to learn French, but the methods are the same for every language: look for media! The classroom is a great tailored learning experience, but we all know that it’s not everything. Media made by native speakers is such a good way to get the hang of the accent and phonetics, as well as common slang language.
Music
As a musician myself, music is absolutely my preferred medium. Music is a good choice for any level, since you can pick from slow ballads with easily understood lyrics, or lightning-fast rap stuffed with slang. I personally tend towards pop, which contains all that and more. For my recommendations, I’m linking to YouTube, but these artists are available on Spotify or Pandora or whatever service you might use.
Field notes from France: French singers have a slightly different set of vocalization rules than usual speech patterns, especially with respect to the silent ‘e’ that pops up everywhere. You might hear extra syllables inserted where that silent ‘e’ is concerned – they’re still silent in speech!
- MIKA: A Lebanese-English singer who releases works in both English and French, MIKA has to top my list. I first encountered his music in middle school with the very popular “Elle Me Dit.” His music is honest, mature, and lots of fun – the kind that makes me get up and dance in my room. His slower songs are romantic and sweet. One thing I think is cool is that he is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and it shows in his music. A number of his songs seriously tackle what it means to be a man who loves men. Recommendations: Elle Me Dit / J’ai Pas Envie / Boum Boum Boum
- Coeur de Pirate: From Quebec, Cœur de Pirate also releases both English and French songs. She also composed the soundtrack for Child of Light, which is a video game dear to my heart. I would describe her music style as calm and collected, delicate but not fragile. Recommendations: Oublie-moi / Crier Tout Bas / Adieu
- Stromae: Arguably the most popular modern artist on this list, Stromae is Belgian (seems I’m pulling French artists from everywhere but France itself!), and makes incredibly thoughtful music. I first found him when Pentatonix and Lindsey Stirling did a cover of his song “Papaoutai,” which is from the perspective of a boy without a father. His complex social commentary mixes with hip hop and electronica in really interesting and creative ways, not to mention great listening. (Fun fact: the name Stromae comes from French verlan slang. In verlan, the syllables of a word are switched around, like super advanced Pig Latin. In this case, “Stromae” comes from “maestro.”) Recommendations: Papaoutai / Formidable / Tous Les Mêmes
While I’ve spent all this time gushing about French music, what else is there to practice with? If music isn’t to your taste, don’t worry! There’s plenty out there for you to exercise that brain.
- Try TV shows and movies. I recommend ones made originally in the language you’re looking to learn, because then you’ll be able to read lips a bit. Additionally, you’ll get a taste of what the culture is like. Foreign-dubbed American shows and movies don’t have that advantage, but they’ll still be easily accessible. Just this week, I talked with my host family about Rampage, and it’s hard to miss the Deadpool 2 advertisements everywhere in Paris. Your local library is your friend here! Check to see if they have a foreign/international DVD section; even if they don’t, a librarian might be able to get you some DVDs from another library.
- Books! Reading on your own will build your vocabulary, and you can get listening practice in with an audiobook. If starting an entirely new book is intimidating, try one you’ve already read. Bilinguis is a cool site that has classics like Alice in Wonderland in a wide variety of languages. You can pull up the text in both English and your target language and compare the two. Otherwise, libraries are again your friend: see if they’ve got something at your level.
- Hear me out here: French YouTube. Vloggers? Comedy? Whatever floats your boat. The French need entertainment too, and YouTube’s not just for Americans! As a video game lover, I’ve watched a few French Let’s Plays myself. My personal recommendation here is this Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney playthrough. It’s an investigation/court trial game, with lots of dialogue, narration, and built-in subtitles.
- If all else fails, here’s my last trick. Just go about your daily life: talk to people, scroll through social media, make food. When you get a spare moment, take a quick catalogue of what you’ve done so far. Could you have done all of that in French? If not, find a dictionary and start looking up words: I use WordReference and Linguee. It doesn’t all need to stick, but just the exposure to everyday vocabulary will be a major boon to your speaking skills.
This list is by no means exhaustive, so keep an open mind. After all, the citizens of your study abroad country live life just like you do. That means that anything in your life can be a learning tool to flip languages with. And if you’ve got it, use it!
