What's the slowest way to learn French?
Good ol' school style: once a week.
While intense study sessions are helpful, they're not enough on their own. If you're serious about French fluency, you need to practise more frequently.
That doesn't mean cramming in longer hours, but rather studying more often.
Introducing daily practice habits!
Daily habits are little tasks that help your knowledge really stick, becoming a solid foundation for more complex subjects. Read on for our top picks and why they work so well!
Table of Contents
- What Makes a Good Daily Practice Habit?
- Our Top Picks of French Learning Daily Habits
- French Fluency: Within Your Reach!
What Makes a Good Daily Practice Habit?
The best methods of French learning, even for a brief period, fall into one of these categories:
- Exposure
- Recall
Exposure is the only way to learn new French vocabulary and phrases. Then, you need to practise recalling what you've learned. Recall is 300% more effective than just rereading what you've already learned!
Our Top Picks of French Learning Daily Habits
Here are our favourite daily practice habits. They're all small, manageable tasks that almost anyone can squeeze into their day-to-day:
Read News Headlines, Tweets, and Posts in French
Whenever you look up "French reading practice," reading the news is one of the top suggestions. However, a news article can take a good 30+ minutes for non-native speakers to work through.
Instead, every morning, glance at just the latest headlines in French or some brief news tweets and other short posts. This self-study habit only takes a couple of minutes, but it exposes you to new vocabulary. Plus, it keeps you up to date with what's going on in the French-speaking world.
Vocabulary Post-It Notes
Everyone knows the trick of labelling their doors with a Post-it note saying "la porte". Each time you see it, you'll reinforce your vocabulary.
If you're a beginner, that's a great idea. But for more advanced learners, we suggest a twist on this technique for French practice.
Use post-it notes around the house in places you'll often see them. But write new phrases and vocabulary on them! Change out the notes every week, and test your recall each time you see them.
Whether you're level A1 or C2, this is a great way to test yourself daily and several times throughout the day.
TV Subtitles in French
Rewatching your favourite shows in French is a popular way to expose yourself to the language. Sometimes, though, you may not feel like having to concentrate when you're supposed to be relaxing!
So instead, we suggest watching your shows and movies in English as usual. However, turn on the French subtitles.
Your eye will often catch new words and phrases as you go, all without concentrating too hard. You might even find yourself pausing because you're so curious about how a phrase has been translated!
This is also a great way to learn new phrases and idioms used by native French speakers.
Listen to French in the Background
These previous three tips expose you to written French. But listening to French is just as important.
As a daily habit, leave French media running in the background while you're at home or on the move. While it's not quite the same as immersion, it's still super effective! Even if you don't pick up a new word every single time, exposure will do wonders for picking up new words faster and with a more accurate French pronunciation.
Always Carry a Notebook
What should you do when you notice a new word in news headlines, TV subtitles, or radio shows?
Write it down!
We suggest keeping a small notebook with you at all times. When you come across a new word, jot it down, along with its translation and maybe even an example of how to use it in a sentence.
A couple of times a week, test yourself on these new words. Either read the French word and recall its translation, or do it the other way around.
Take Regular Tests
The best type of recall is one that comes with corrections and accurate feedback. Otherwise, you'll end up practising your mistakes!
If you can find as little as 10 minutes a day, you can take one of our short kwizzes.
These low-stakes, bite-sized tests are scientifically proven to improve language learning by up to 25%. Best of all, Kwizbot, your smart French coach, uses the results to inform your Study plan and suggest what subject you should work on next.
This deliberate practice, though brief, is essential to retention and progression!
French Fluency: Within Your Reach!
Even if you can only incorporate a couple of these daily practice habits into your routine, they'll surely make a huge difference if you're consistent with them.
So, where should you start?
We suggest creating your free Kwiziq French account today.
It includes 10 free kwizzes a month and access to some of our reading, writing, and listening exercises. This one habit alone will take your French learning to the next level. Set up your free account today!
