One of the questions often asked by prospective students of French is whether it is worth learning.
Do you want to visit the Louvre Museum in Paris or discover the vineyards of Bordeaux, or perhaps walk the pilgrims' paths?
You will feel much more comfortable speaking about arts and international news in French.
In addition to France, French is also spoken in other countries such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Ivory Coast and many others. Thus, it can open up many possibilities for you.
Let's say you are travelling to Belgium on business and you meet foreign clients who are not fluent in English. With a good knowledge of French, you will be able to communicate with them and strike lucrative deals with your international partners.
Knowledge of French will make your CV more competitive and help you find a higher paying job in New Zealand or abroad.
Finally, research has shown that being bilingual helps prevent dementia in old age, trains your memory and improves your thinking abilities in general.
The cost of French lessons
According to a study by the British Council, French is one of the most influential languages in the world, along with Spanish and Chinese.
Another good news is that French belongs to the Romance languages. This means that its direct ancestor is Latin, from which many modern languages derive.
To name but a few: Italian, Spanish and Portuguese are also Romance languages, with similar grammar and a lot of vocabulary in common. French courses can therefore open the door to other popular languages.
Hardly anyone regrets learning French.
On the contrary, most students who have taken French courses regret not having continued learning the language or even having tried other languages! Considering all the benefits of a good level of proficiency in a second language, French courses can only serve you well.
It is well known that French is sometimes called the language of culture. But that is not all. It is also the language of human rights, diplomacy and international law in general.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was originally drafted in French by the Marquis de Lafayette and Count Mirabeau. Together with the English Bill of Rights, it laid the foundation for the later creation of the United Nations.
But history aside, can French be useful in today's world, where everyone has to speak English?
Apart from anything else, French can open up enormous career opportunities in Auckland and elsewhere in New Zealand. Chances are that some of the things you wear were designed or produced in France, or at least inspired by a French fashion designer.
You may have washed your hair this morning with L'Oréal shampoo, or there may be a Citroën or Renault in your garage.
France is home to many globally successful companies, and a good level of French will undoubtedly be an advantage for you, whether you specialise in engineering or cosmetics.
To learn more than just "bonjour" and "bonsoir", you will need to take your French studies seriously.
How to study best to speak French fluently? The best way to improve your vocabulary and develop your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills is to follow a comprehensive language course in your free time.
Given the popularity of French, you can easily find a good full-time or online course in New Zealand, or you can contact a private teacher and learn the language of Molière at your own pace.
Find more information about the cost of French lessons on our blog.
Meet a qualified tutor
It is not always easy to find good language teachers in New Zealand.
As we have already seen, to teach French productively it is not enough to be proficient in the language, a teacher needs a whole set of qualities.
Some of the qualities to look for in a teacher are:
- patience
- compassion
- support for every student, regardless of their performance
- confidence
- passion for what they do
- understanding
- the ability to see things from different perspectives and to adapt their approach to teaching
We have all encountered bad teachers at some point in our education and do not want to repeat this experience.
Another important criterion is how well the teacher knows their subject.
This may seem obvious, but in fact some people who try to teach languages do not even speak them very well themselves.
Language teaching is probably one of the most difficult professions.
Imagine you are in a classroom full of students, but only some of them understand your explanations and others don't even listen to you.
Such a situation can be very frustrating for the person doing the job, which is why patience is one of the most essential qualities on our list!
Of course, secondary school teachers are more likely to encounter such problems, but even an online tutor may encounter a student who does not understand him or her. The success of the whole course depends on his or her response.
The temperament of the French teacher is one of the most essential criteria you can read about in detail in our article.
A good idea to choose the right private tutor in Auckland and Wellington is to rely on the information provided by former students of this teacher, who can tell if they were patient, understanding and responsive.
On the Superprof website, for example, students can leave feedback about their tutors after several sessions, and this helps others who want to learn languages lesson by lesson with them.
If a tutor has many reviews and they are all positive, you can be sure that they are qualified in the field of education.
Then, if you are still undecided, you can always book an introductory lesson with the tutor to meet them in person.
Practise French daily
For many people, a diligent learner is someone who spends long hours at a desk, whether learning French or physics and chemistry.
Of course, we agree that a quiet environment is ideal for any kind of learning, including learning French vocabulary and conjugation. But what if you don't have time to memorise lists of French words?
The best way to improve your French language skills is through real speech, which means you can work on them while attending courses or even while shopping.
If you're learning the conjugation of verbs: j'ai, tu as, il a - etc. You can repeat them while walking or cycling until they become natural.
Do you like to run in the morning? This can also be a good time to repeat the tenses.
The same goes for the pronunciation of difficult sounds, such as nasal vowels.
Instead of verb forms, you can choose several words containing the corresponding sounds, such as pont, faon, mont, rien, and pronounce them quietly.
You have probably heard that more than 20% of everyday English vocabulary comes from French.
Many French words will be familiar to you, such as deja vu, Mardi Gras and many other expressions even before you study your first grammar rules at a language school.
You may also learn some French idioms, such as être dans la lune or faire la grasse matinée, which you can use to impress native French speakers.
Although French grammar can be complicated because many of its rules, such as grammatical gender or conjugation, do not exist in English, French also has many fun and challenging phrases that are used in certain situations. Learning them can be great fun for both the beginner and the advanced learner.
And some French expressions are still present in English:
For example, honi soit qui mal y pense is the motto on the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.
You can work on your French pronunciation by pronouncing words and phrases in your free time, for example while walking your dog or even at the gym.
Afterwards, you just have to find a way to use the phrases you have learned during your lessons in person or online. There are plenty of ways to practise French daily and Superprof is there to help you.
Take a French language test
One of the most popular language tests is the DELF. You can learn about it and other French tests in detail in our article.
DELF is not a particular exam, it offers a range of tests to suit the needs of any learner of French. There is, of course, DELF Prim - for young students, and DELF Pro - a test focusing on professional communication skills.
However, most students prefer to apply for DELF Tout Public, aimed at the general public.
There are four levels of DELF - A1, A2, B1 and B2, each more difficult than the last.
As for the content of the exam, like the DILF, it assesses the four main language skills of students, namely reading, writing, speaking and listening.
However, the topics covered in DELF are much more complex and varied than in DILF. The test can therefore last from one to several hours, depending on the level.
For example, the A1 test can be taken in one hour and twenty minutes, while the B2 test lasts more than two hours and can cover a wide range of topics, from politics to French arts.
An international candidate can take any level of DELF during the examination session in order to receive the certificate they need for their professional or other needs in Auckland, Wellington and elsewhere in New Zealand.
However, a practice test on the DELF website can be useful to determine if your level is sufficient or if you need to take additional courses this year and look for more information.
A score above 50 out of 100 is sufficient to obtain a certificate, even if some of your language skills are better than others.
If you do not reach this threshold, you will have to retake the exam at a later date, which is possible after 60 days from the first test. Unlike university and NCEA exams, you will not be able to retake only parts of the exam that you did not pass, but you will have to retake each section.
The cost of DELF varies according to the level. As the A1 level takes less than two hours and the B2 level takes longer, the first level is slightly cheaper than the second. To give you an idea, the current cost of DELF A1-A2 is $100 and students will have to pay $120 for DELF B1-B2.
If you retake the exam more than once, you will have to pay for each test.
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