How can I successfully learn to speak and understand French?
There are several essential elements: 1) A sincere desire to learn. 2) Attendance: You MUST be in class for the necessary practice listening and speaking. Much of the class is oral and cannot be learned from a book. 3) Participation is imperative. Learning a language is a skill. Like sports or music, it must be practiced. You cannot learn by only observing. 4) Practice: Practice involves homework as well as classwork EVERY DAY. 5) Consistency: Make sure to do your work everyday. “Cramming” does not work for foreign language learning. It’s like taking one vitamin a day. At the end of the month you will have taken 30 vitamins, but you take one a day. If you took 30 vitamins on the last day of the month, you would poison yourself. 6)Preparation: Be prepared everyday with your materials, your homework, and a fresh mind.
