How to make the most of your lessons and learn French fast

So, you’ve signed up for French lessons, and now you want to make the most of them + have the best results. Good on you!

Different students attending the same French lessons may have drastically different results. One may get fluent and one may learn nothing at all and quit.

In this article, you’ll learn my 8 best tips to make sure that YOU are the one who’s learning French as fast as it gets and becoming fluent.

If you like this video, click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I make new videos regularly about what it takes to become a French speaker.

Taking French lessons? Congrats! But do you know that two students attending the same lessons may have very different results when it comes to actually learning French? One may speak fluent French in a short time and the other may learn no French at… — Taking French lessons? Congrats! But do you know that two students attending the same lessons may have very different results when it comes to actually learning French? One may speak fluent French in a short time and the other may learn no French at all and quit. Here are 8 ways you can make sure that you’ll be the one who learns to speak French fluently as soon as it gets. #learnfrench #languagelearning #learningfrench #language #french

#1 Know your goals

“if you don’t know where you’re going, every road will take you there” - Derek Rydall

Let’s start with some “bad” news:

“Learn French” is a very bad goal.

The French language features around 100 000 words and very complex grammar with loads of exceptions.
You can waste a ton of time learning all of this, if you don’t know exactly what you’re after.

So the key here is to know why you are learning French. What exactly do you want to do with your future French skills?

This helps cut through the irrelevant stuff and make sure you learn only what’s relevant and useful. You have a limited amount of time and energy so you need to use it wisely. Here is an article that explains the fastest way to learn French based on your own personal goals.

#2 Commit

Once you know why you’re learning French and you have defined your goals, it should be easier to commit to your study.

Make sure you

✅Show up for your sessions.

✅Do the homework.

✅Put your study sessions in your calendar (even if it’s just you studying alone)

✅Make all of this non-negotiable.

If you’re having 1-1 sessions with a tutor or a coach, try having the same time every week. It’s not always possible (you might have a hectic, ever-changing schedule) but if you can, do it. It helps your brain know that your French study is important and you’ll return to it every week at the same time.

The same goes for your daily French habits. Make them non-negotiable.

#3 Practice every day.

Practicing French every day, even briefly, also shows your brain that French is important for you and that it’s here to stay.

So, make sure you keep French around and keep your study top of mind.

Even if it means spending just 5 minutes reviewing your vocabulary and/ or just listening to one French song in your car.

The more time you spend listening to French everyday, the better. But what matters the most is that you do it at all. A 3 minutes French song is a lot better than no French at all.

#4 Keep your motivation high

People fail at learning French because they quit. Or they show up for class half-heartedly and don’t really do the work.

Why? Because they get demotivated.

I’m preparing a full article about keeping your motivation high.

In the meantime here are some quick pointers:

✅Remember why you started

✅Think daily of all the amazing things you’ll be able to do when you speak French

✅Make French a part of your life everyday so it stays top of mind

✅Stay in touch with French speakers or other learners. Staying motivated is easier when you have peers.

Side note: this is one of the benefits of my group program the French Fluency Accelerator. Being in touch with the other students everyday in the group and having them cheer you on makes a huge difference in comparison to being alone & only doing French once a week.

#5 Write down your questions

We progress in life by asking and answering questions. This is how our brains work.

For this reason I start every 1-1 coaching session by answering all the questions that my client has. A question is a sign that there’s something you are ready to learn here.

I strongly encourage you to write down your questions so you can remember them and ask them to your teacher at the next session.

#6 Ask, ask, ask. Never leave a session with an unanswered question.

Often, students feel self-conscious about asking “too many questions”. However, there is no such thing as “too many questions”.

I’d rather spend the entire session with you answering your questions than let you leave with some unanswered questions. If you have a question, if means you will be able to learn the answer now. So answering your questions is the best thing I can do as your coach.

This can get trickier if you are having group lessons. This is why I really recommend 1-1 coaching or tutoring if you can do it. You can have sessions with tutors and coaches offline (depending on where you live) or online (I work exclusively online and I have students from all over the world)

#7 Grab every opportunity to practice.

You learn French by making the language part of your life, and engaging with it as much as you can. It’s never too early to start speaking French. You can start speaking French on the first day of your study (you will if we work together!).

Nowadays, opportunities to practice are limitless. You’ve got Youtube, Netflix and podcasts for listening, and you’ve got apps like italki, tandem and amikumu to find speakers to practice, either online or close to you.

#8 Get a Roadmap

The best tool I know off to know clearly your goals, how to get there and stay on track until you reach your ideal French level is Your Roadmap to Fluency.

It’s a personalized French learning plan that you can either have me make for you if you study with me 1-1 or you can make it yourself following the step by step instructions in my group program, The French Fluency Accelerator.

When you have a roadmap, you can use it to direct your French study with any tutor you work with and make the most of your sessions. It pulls together all the necessary aspects of your study and helps you stay on track and accountable. So, if you are serious about learning French as fast as it gets, I recommend you check it out. You can find it in this free starter kit:

Your next steps

If you like this way of learning French, you will love to learn with me as a student or client. Please check out:

My 1-1 coaching program, The French Transformation, if you need to improve your French fast.
My group program, The French Fluency Accelerator, if you’d like to join a community of students from all over the world. We have weekly practice calls together and the best online video library to learn French.

Pro tip: you don’t need to choose!

All my 1-1 clients are invited to join the French Accelerator free of charge.

Feel free to book a call with me now to discuss options.