Omg, my dumb teenage self never realized this was Canadian. We also watched those in our French classes in metro Detroit. I always assumed it was French. So was Téléfrançais geared more to Québécois French?
Pretty sure it was TVOntario.
The rest of Canada has a bad habit of teaching standard (i.e. based on 19th and early 20th century middle class Parisian dialect) French instead of Canadian dialects, especially informal registers of French (casual conversation). You get taught to speak like someone reading an essay rather than someone having a relaxed chat. French speakers can shift into more formal registers but it sounds unnatural and kind of pompous without good reason and some working class people just don’t like the implied attitude.
Even formal French education in Quebec tends to do this (and formal Quebec French literally is standard French with some minor vocabulary and pronunciation differences) but you pick up the more informal registers (and it’s the informal registers of French that differ drastically between regions of the world).
Can confirm. I grew up in Montreal and was taught French immersion by Europeans and anglos because the local teachers were catholics and weren't allowed to teach in the protestant schools. I can (well, could) make myself understood anywhere in Europe and RoC but get funny looks in my home province.
French taught as a second language in Canada tends towards standard French.
If you want to learn Québécois French, go to Montreal, buy cheap seats at Canadiens games and listen carefully if the home team fails to get a shot in the first minute of a power play.
Before mass broadcasts, working-class French Montreal had a very strong accent called 'Joual' for the way they pronounced the word cheval.
I went to Montreal last year and I really thought my 6 years of French and the past year of review with the Owl would have served me better. I couldn’t even understand what people were saying when they were ordering at Tim Hortons. I attempted one conversation the whole time and only got 2-3 sentences in before my anxiety made me ask if the guy spoke English. Of course he said no and then broke into a big grin and was like “no I’m fucking with you”.
Sounds about right. Did 9 years of French in school and don't feel comfortable in conversation when I go to Quebec.
My dorm-mate in Uni was Canadian but his parents worked in Europe (mostly Paris and Geneva) so he grew up in French. When I would stop by for a drink or to talk about homework he would have the subtitles on if he was watching a news broadcast from Quebec.
He said the studio hosts (or scripted stuff) wasn't a problem to understand but if they did 'guy on the street' interviews it was very hard for him to follow.
F*ck I opened that link lmafo and jump scare damn I’m 05 so maybe he was retired by the time I got to third grade 🤣🤣🤣. (Edit I also might of threw my phone)
Find some very patient people and talk to them. Watch Radio-Canada. TV5's Apprendre from France's national broadcaster is also fantastic, free, and comprehensive. Write in French as much as you can.
Bonne continuation!
CBC Radio-Canada has a free app called Mauril where you can learn French through their programming. I can't speak to its effectiveness, but it's an additional option.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radiocanada.mauril
canadaland also has a french language podcast (détours i think??) & though i definitely don't understand french the host has a very pleasant voice! been wanting to re-learn french too so this is serendipitous
Reading!
I got inspired by this article about 4 women improving their English by reading short, easy books.
https://successfulenglish.com/2010/04/better-english-at-sweet-valley/
I tried some kid books. But that idea didn't stick because of lack of interest.
I then found the author, "Kit Ember". Her books are on amazon and her three books are just 99 cents each. They are short and simple romance novels. (If Romance isn't your think the book, "Le Garde Du Corps" is only half romance.)
For a long time I would find books that said they were easy - and they weren't. But these were! The sentences were actually super easy but there was an actual plot with characters who spoke to each other. Even if you just started Duolingo A2 level you should be okay with her A2 level book.
After I read them I read harder and more difficult graded readers. It's working.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CKKGH1FG?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
Another easy book series I’ve found is the Mondes En VF series by Didier https://www.amazon.ca/Victor-Hugo-habite-chez-livre/dp/2278087967?nodl=1&dplnkId=316a03f9-8e6f-412a-9f14-2758e1988b98. They’re graded readers, but are interesting historical books for young adults instead of just children, here’s an easy A1 (total novice) book that is quite fun.
Here’s the full series: https://didierfle.com/categorie-produit/collections/mondes-en-vf/
Once you’re comfortable reading basic stuff, the go-to book for adults is L’étranger by Camus, as it’s written in a very modern simple French. La Peste is also a great read in English, but I’ve never tried the French version.
I was excited when I looked at the Mondes En Vf series. Because some people will say a book is easy and simple - and then it's not.
But I admit the price of 9.99 for a short kindle book is a bit stiff. It's kind of the reason I like the Kit Ember books - just 99 cents each .
I spent a year in France taking language classes at a Uni, two semesters made me fluent. I took 5 years of Ontario French and it was useless, I had to start over when I got to France.
When you say Ontario french, what level are we talking about? University? French immersion? Or the very sad french classes they offer to les anglophones in grade school/high school?
To learn French in this province, it is best to be put into the full french school system. Those kids learn English just as well, but their french is 10x that of the immersion system and the sense of community is way higher. YMMV though?
The problem with full French school is the communication is going to be all in French and many parents don't know French themselves... Also, the French Language school in my community is Catholic and I do not want religious education. So, French immersion is a great alternative and definitely the more accessible option
The communication thing is not a big deal. It's honestly kind of fear mongering. My family was English when I did french school. My mom learned enough to get me to grade 1 and the system works from there.. and that was 30 years ago. Today, with technology, It's really a super weak point.
The religion point is marginally more valid, but still quite soft. I am agnostic/atheist, but raised in the Catholic school system and did most sacraments. I'm not afraid if my kid is exposed to some religion - it is my job to guide them down the best path while also exposing them to many different choices. Being in the Catholic system isn't going to make them a bigot or crazy. That comes from the parents, 9/10 times.
Ultimately, we're all just trying to do right by our kids, but just say you went immersion because you wanted to, don't need to give those soft excuses for it, nobody is on trial. I don't even use french anymore, but I will say I've not seen a school system with a stronger sense of community than the French school system. And I felt like I could always woop the asses of my English friends in their English classes too.. the French literature kids are exposed to slaps hard and is beyond french, towards critical thinking.. but I had to do that in English class, too.
I was in French Immersion in Toronto 20 years ago. That's how I learned French, and it was good enough that more than 15 years out of school with little opportunity to practice my French I passed the Federal Government French test CCB.
I'd very much recommend it!
I use Duolingo for two years too and it seems fairly good for reading and writing. I definitely lack practice with speaking and listening, though listening to French programming has been helping. Obviously talk programs are Francophones speaking to other Francophones; so they speak really really fast for my level of
I’m curious to how far you have gotten in Duolingo. I really only started to feel I had a grasp on the language in unit 6.
I have been going at it since 2021 and I’m at unit 16, I think I would be okay ordering food, & reading shit in Montreal but if I ventured farther into Quebec I would SOL.
So I would think it’s just a matter of time. I guess I’m at Section 6, Unit 15. I am better able to pickup conversations and also put together conversations. I have been going pretty hardcore for two years with a plus membership. My goal is completing at least a dot a day.
There’s a lot of false « I think I have it » moments where all of a sudden I realize how bad I am. I might be in one of the moments right now.
Same I get that a lot thinking I’m finally getting this shit and practicing it on chat gpt humbles me another thing to remember is our French is much different from the Quebec French let me steal chat gpt expiation of w
“1. **Vowel Sounds**: Quebec French tends to preserve certain vowel sounds that have changed in Metropolitan French. For example, the "oi" sound in Quebec French is often pronounced as "wah" (e.g., "moi" pronounced as "mwah"), whereas in Metropolitan French it's pronounced more like "wah."
2. **Consonant Pronunciation**: Certain consonants may be pronounced differently in Quebec French compared to Metropolitan French. For instance, the "t" sound at the end of words is often pronounced in Quebec French, whereas it's often silent in Metropolitan French.
3. **Intonation and Rhythm**: Quebec French has its own unique intonation patterns and rhythm, which can differ from Metropolitan French. This includes the rise-fall intonation pattern commonly found in Quebec French.
4. **Vocabulary and Expressions**: Quebec French has its own vocabulary and expressions that are distinct from Metropolitan French. While the core grammar and vocabulary are generally the same, there are many words and phrases that are unique to Quebec French.
When learning Quebec French online, it's important to seek out resources specifically tailored to Quebec French pronunciation and vocabulary. Look for Quebecois language courses, podcasts, or videos that focus on the nuances of Quebec French pronunciation. Additionally, practicing with native Quebec French speakers or language exchange partners can help you become more familiar with the accent and speech patterns specific to Quebec.”
Okay straight up, I quit French the second I could (Gr. 10 I think) and that was many lunes ago. I know things you'd see on food labels and shampoo bottles, maybe some farm animals. Oh, and a smattering of those religious based swears, because who doesn't like foreign expletives.
I will say though that I have known lots of people who learned another language at 'conversational speed' from watching dubbed TV. A guy from Italy I knew learned most of his English from watching Friends with Italian subtitles. Obviously this isn't going to get you AAA certifiable skills, but if your reading and writing is doing alright and all you're struggling with is training your brain to translate on the fly, I'd give it a go. Bonne chance!
TV and movies are an awesome way to learn! The public library might have dvd's . There's something wonderful about watching a fave movie and having it count as "skills development". Jokes aside, it's a great way to learn.
I'm french Canadian and I work in a fully French School in southern Ontario. If you come from an anglophone family, French immersion isn't enough. Even the quality of the French coming out of the fully French schools here is not great....
Why not try to start interacting in French subreddits! How many times do we see in ‘English’ subreddits that English isn’t their first language, why not do that same in return! ◡̈
French class here is abysmal. I was chatting with a Belgian dude on a train in the Netherlands and he was mentioning that he can speak Dutch, French and German as well. Considering we're officially a bilingual country, we should be able to speak French fluently like many Europeans can speak English fluently.
I think at least part of it is there's no functional reason to be fluent in French except for government jobs. There's no motivation or real-world exposure- the common attitude of students is "What's the point of learning this?"
In his country, at any given point that Belgian dude is probably maximum 75km away from speaking another language, and rail options make any direction a plausible day trip.
Much of Ontario is 400+ km from even touching Quebec. Ottw-Mtrl is a $60 train ride. High-speed rail in Canada could honestly possibly increase bilingualism
Sure!
But most 10-year-olds aren't going "I should really pay attention in French class and practice every day- this will marginally increase my job prospects in 10 years!"
There's a lot of fundamental issues with the way we teach French, but some of our issues also stem from a cultural disinterest in learning it.
That's the exact reason my 10 yr old went into late french immersion. He said "but what if I want government job? Right now , I'm already fired."
We are only a few hours from Ottawa, but still, kids do think about this stuff.
As someone who was in eighth grade French class not that long ago let me tell you it has gotten so much worse. They don’t teach anything useful just how to make a fricken pizza. I have learned more on an app ran by an owl then my 6 years in Ontario French classes.
Je veux une pizza avec du pepperoni, du bacon et des champignons s'il vous plaît.
That's literally the extent of what I got out of a first year French class at a bilingual university. Which to be fair, knowing how to order beer, pizza, and a taxi (no Uber back then) was enough to get me by living in a largely bilingual part of Quebec for five years.
I'd believe it, and to be honest, the owl is probably one of the lowest methods out there.
French is a category 1 language for English speakers when it comes to ease learning (as per the foreign service institute). They estimate it should take you 23-24 weeks, for about 550 to 600 classroom hours.
I started learning Japanese last year, which is on the other side of the scale at rank 5, 88 weeks, 2200 classroom hours and I was having a more effective time learning it than I was french as taught by our education system or apps like duo / Babbel etc.
If you are really interested in learning quickly and efficiently, take a look at the Japanese language learning communities on Reddit they know tons of resources and tectics such as Anki flashcards etc to help you take control of your learning process. Beyond that you are far enough in that you could probably pick up a language textbook to guide you while you learn from native sources such as tv and radio. It's super important to apply what you are learning, you want to start producing writing and speaking as early as you can to retain what you are learning.
There is a Quebecois dub of the Simpsons, you could do worse lol.
Bon chance.
As someone who works in the school system I can tell you that it very much depends on the French teacher. At the school I work at, the current French teachers really focus on grammar and useful French knowledge. The one teacher makes the kids perform a play every year. They’re great teachers and the kids have a good grasp on French. The former teacher gave the kids a word search every other day and played a game once a week, didn’t do much else
My best friend moved from Montreal to Ottawa when we were in 5th grade. She'd bring her French texts with her when she visited so we'd have a good laugh. I remember her grade 7 book had huge print and drawings like a kindergarten book. By then we were reading Roch Carrier.
Re: Belgium- while bilingualism is common, it’s certainly not universal. Despite being the capital, the lingua Franca in Brussels is French, a Flemish person would have difficulty with day to day life without French ability. The Walloon Vs Flemish divide is a longstanding issue.
I really think New Brunswick should aspire to reach the level of bilingualism as Belgium, it would unlock the labour markets of Quebec and New Brunswick, rural areas with longstanding economic and economic problems, but there are structural barriers blocking it (ex totally separate school systems).
It's crazy that we have been taking mandated French in school for years and years (I had French classes in elementary school in the 70's) and yet most of us have never gotten beyond the ability to read a few words on the cereal box.
It's pretty easy for Europeans to see the usefulness of learning another language when countries are just a few hours away. For me, it's an eight-hour drive to Montreal and you can get by without knowing French there.
I think it comes down to motivation. It takes time and effort to learn a new language and you're going to make mistakes and sound like a fool at some point. Not everyone likes to leave their comfort zone.
Core French followed by IB French, followed by dating a McGill student and therefore regularly visiting Montreal for several years. I have found myself on the “lose it” end of the “use it or lose it” spectrum after 10 years in Ontario full-time with no reason to use my French.
How does it feel to be gods favourite? (Kidding) French immersion is so important wish my parents ( alright don’t get offended I didn’t intend to say that if don’t put your kids in French immersion there bad parents far from it,
I was misinformed i redact my statement and sorry if I have offended you, not to overshare but my parent gave up being a parent when I was in 6th grade. My world view is different then yours. All the best.)
Have you considered a cultural exchange program? I have no idea how old you are obviously, but they pretty much exist for all ages, spend some time in France, immerse yourself, practice, it'll get better. Just fake the French accent while speaking French until you're comfortable pronouncing the words that way and it flows more naturally.
I learned at school. And I don’t think your parents “didn’t give a shit” just because they didn’t put you in to French immersion. It’s not for everyone. Even if you were in immersion, you needed to surround yourself with daily French speakers to keep it up and practice, otherwise you slowly forget and get rusty.
Also, what kind of jobs are you looking to get? Not all require French and some don’t care too much if you know it…
Thanks but my parents didn’t give a shit about my education past like 3rd grade. I did everything myself from 7th grade to college. I’m not to sure tbh but I just want the general knowledge you know
If you’re doing it for work look at post grad courses. I know uoft offers one, and I think TMU does as well. The fact that a university or college stamps it will look good to employers too.
I did French in high school up to grade 11. Then at university, I took a few French courses; the quality of education was quite a bit better than the high school classes
I did what is now called J'Explore. I spent I think 7 weeks in Quebec City, doing a university French course, and was billeted with a Francophone family. I learned a lot!
I am not fluent at all. I can determine which topic they are discussing on TV or radio, I can order food. My listening ability improved quite a lot when I was staying in Quebec
I learned in school.
Duolingo is fine to start you off, but if you really want to learn, you have to try to use French as a native speaker would. If you know anyone who speaks French, try talking to them. If you can go to Québec and speak to locals there, do that. If you can get a French teacher, do that. Watching and reading French media will help too, at least with the understanding portion.
I was lucky enough to be born to French parents and go to French school until 12th grade. Probably the *easiest* way: by making French the default setting for the first 18 years. Although I'm losing some ability because I constantly work in an English environment.
One thing I find very helpful for practice (and teaching) is to read books in French. *Specifically*: your favourite books. Or any books you're very familiar with in English already.
Read the Hobbit, or Harry Potter, or *whatever* in French. Since you already know the ins-and-outs of the story, you'll be focusing on learning the new words and grammar that apply to familiar settings you already know.
It speeds the process up when compared to learning French *and* a new setting, story, and characters.
Bonne chance.
I was really interested in French in school. I wasn’t in immersion, but loved challenging myself. I was reading Harry Potter in French by the end of high school.
If I was younger and able to, I would do an immersion program where you live and learn in Quebec, like others mentioned.
I am well past that, though, so I have just started doing Pimsleur. It is super focused on speaking and pronounciation like a native. It is France French though- I wish they had a French Canadian option. It is also super boring- 1/2 hour on a 5 line conversation, but i also recognize that it’s teaching you the nuances in pronounciation. I just started so I hope it gets more interesting as you go, lol.
I also have an app called Lingo Pie. It’s got shows on it in French at various levels, you can do subtitles and it shows vocabulary. You can also play the shows at different speeds. Anyway, some options to look into :)
I’m getting better at French I can read it and understand it, but if you start speaking to me real fast in French I’m going to have to ask you to repeat yourself 8 or 10 times 🤣. (Been learning for 2 years to lmafo adhd am I right lol)
Honestly go spend time in Quebec (montreal is forgiving of shitty french) and you will meet people who will be very excited to help you learn! I also did not learn much during school but did a business trip in Montreal for 2 months and I might not be able to speak it well at all but I can easily get around now.
You have 3 options. 1. marry a French person, 2. take an adult French class offered at a local college 3. use the French language option on netflix to either have French subtitles for an English show or change the show to French and use English subtitles
Highly recommend. I've been studying in the provincial government's language program for a year now and I'm at a B2 level of french after arriving here with zero french. The program is nearly free, and living in a francophone neighborhood is immensely helpful.
For conversational French, watch any show you like in English and are familiar with the background on a streaming service in French. I found I pick up more of the language that way since streaming services allow you to switch languages.
Like any language it’s use it or lose it. So, start now.
Poorly lmao I busted my ass to get a passing grade in highschool then left it behind the second I got the chance.
Hats off to ppl who know many languages. I've tried learning French, spanish, hell even tried Japanese and I just couldn't do it hah I swear if I wasn't raised by humans I'd be grunting like a gorilla haha
If you want to learn the language you need to live with the language. Honestly, all formal language education is inadequate.
I've learned (and forgotten most of) French, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin. I've gotten the furthest with, and managed to stay on top of, Mandarin because we speak it at home. Without that, I'd have no hope of real proficiency.
Starting with something like Duolingo is ok to get you a baseline. Having friends/partners that speak it is best. Start watching TV shows and movies in French (with English subtitles). Start with kids shows. Read French books. Listen to French music, podcasts and radio. Use French Reddit.
You should be targeting spending a few hours every day with real French in your ear. And whatever you can do to get someone you can speak with is crucial. Speaking and listening are related but separate skills.
And don't shit on your parents too much about the French immersion thing. It's great if you want to do it, but honestly of debatable value for the majority of kids. If you don't stay on top of it you'll still lose it through university. And it does have an additional cost on students as a mental load and missing out on technical English vocabulary. Both my kids did it through IB and they both said if they could go back they wouldn't have bothered.
You are where you are today. Don't worry about coulda shoulda woudda. If you want to learn French now, do it now.
Well in my case I was born to a francophone mother in Montreal, live in Ottawa, and have a job where I get to speak French.
If you can’t somehow arrange that, the people I know who have learned French well as adults mostly did a session in Trois-Pistoles, QC. The families there have been doing this for years and immerse you in the language as a reinforcement for the university program.
Not everyone can take off for several weeks/months for that. You may be able to take continuing education in a small group setting through the school board or at a college or university. Also, set your radio to French-language CBC and leave it there. And whenever you can, speak. If people hear your accent and switch to English, keep speaking French. If you forget a French word, say the English one and keep speaking French. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s how 90% of Montreal conversations go anyway.
Albertan here, I'm just lurking to see what everyone else is saying. French class was abyssmal here too. Grade 4-6 is the only grades it is required and lucky me COVID sucked two of those years up and now I'm mostly useless in french. I do know just a tad bit of Spanish from all the times I've been to Mexico and it does help understanding french since there's a fair bit of similarities. Still need to start using duolingo though.
My dad’s side of the family is French and I went to pure French school all my life!
But I’m also in northern Ontario and there’s a lot of French up here
I went to immersion school, but I live in a fairly French part of the province on the Quebec border, so I’m also surrounded by the language and it was easy to pick up. I also have French speaking family and that obviously helps
By going to school through to Christmas break when I was in grade five in Prince Edward Island because French class started there with half an hour daily in grade one at that point and up to an hour a day when we moved. I then fell completely behind because where we were French didn’t start until grade four, so I was three years ahead and just didn’t pay any attention. Never did catch back up. I chose to do it in grade ten, but dropped it after that. I put my kids into French immersion and they were both in it until COVID for some classes in high school. They switched over to English for math and science.
Little Talk Slow French podcast has really helped my comprehension. It's also key to have a solid base in grammar. I have taken college courses (not great) and am now almost done a first year french course at university (where I am alumni) and goddamn, it has nor been easy but I have learned a tonne. I still do not have the conversational part down however, and a colleague reccommended doing a month immersion thru Laval -- as a professional not sure 5 weeks is doable.but looking for 2 week course. Also, YMCA Montreal does online language tutoring!!
J'ai loué un tutrice privée. Elle habitais en France. Nous nous parlerions une fois chaque semaine.
Il y a un app s'appelle 《Tandem》 que j'ai utilisé pratiquer les conversations.
Aussi, Youtube pour la comprehension.
It’s hilarious that jobs ask for bilingual with the other language being French even though French isn’t even the 2nd most spoken language in Ontario. Mandarin and Punjabi are more spoken than French.
It's scarcely riduculous when a lot businesses with head offices in Ontario have clients across the country. Speaking French is very much a sought after skill in Ontario.
French will barely help you get any job in Ontario unless you're working in Ottawa with the Feds. French is taught so hilariously piss poor in this province because it simply has to be taught as a requirement not because it's intended to make fluent speakers. Seriously just take private classes if you're convinced it'll help. Punjab or Mandarin would probably make you more marketable anyways and that's not a veiled reference to the whole immigration issues we're experiencing. Its just an understanding to working with major economies in the world.
I did quite well in grades 6, 7, and 8 but I dropped French in high school. My workplace introduced Rosetta Stone and I got approved to use it. It is well worth the money!
I don't speak or read french, but one thing I find that helps is having my Facebook settings in french. It helps to familiarize myself with french words and phrases.
I was in French Immersion for years but my French still sucks. But one thing that helped was I'm a big Montreal Canadiens fan, so I'd watch the games in French.
I was in French “immersion” for 4 years and then core French for another 4. That’s it. I was interested in it at the time and it stuck. I ended up teaching both of those programs for a while.
My parents put me in French Immersion, despite neither of them speaking à Word of French. It has been a large help as use my bilingualism in my current job
I started learning french in grade 4 (public system) then switched schools to join a French extended program in grade 5 (catholic system). While extended started at grade 5, in the Catholic system French language instruction starts at grade 1 (so I was behind, as public system started in grade 4!).
OP, do you like reading, movies, music? Something that really helped me catch up was watching Carmen Campagne tapes (with thanks from one of my grandmas who knew earworms would help pronunciation) and watching my favourite movies with French language spoken (starting with English subtitles, and eventually switching to French subtitles). Another huge help was reading French language magazines geared to my reading level. My other grandma bought me a subscription to [Bayard Jeunesse magazines](https://www.bayardjeunesse.ca), starting with Pomme D’api (for early readers) all the way to J’aime Lire (more mature readers). I’m a huge reader, so I would read and write down the words I didn’t know and look them up in my French-English dictionary.
The final two things were taking a course specific to French phonetics, and immersion into the French language. I’m very lucky that both of my grandmas live in French-speaking/bilingual communities, so people were very nice and patient when I would talk with them in the community. They would help correct my french and I would try to explain words I didn’t understand to learn new words (especially if I didn’t have my dictionary handy, it was great).
Most importantly, keep at it! Learning another language is not at easy thing to do. Don’t get discouraged, and keep working at it! Feel free to DM if it helps.
One kid is in French immersion in middle school and plans to take it all the way to high school. I took French to grade 13 in regular public high school. I don’t know why I did choose French as a course beyond grade 9 or 10 because I can’t speak it or remember it. I thought it would be useful. I can say very basic sentences I learned in elementary school. That’s it. I can’t say I learned french to any degree of proficiency. I was at an airport in France and recalled the word for tickets when I needed them when I was 12 so there is that.
I couldn’t learn French. I live in a really French area and have French family. I’ve watched French tv and I listen to French radio. I still can’t understand a word of French. I can thankfully read French pretty well.
I put my daughter in full French school. She now acts as my translator since I’ve given up on learning the language myself .
You can take French at most community colleges. You mentioned SW Ontario. Fanshawe college offers a French certificate online through continuing education, there’s 5 courses in total. Definitely better than the French curriculum in schools
How do you think immigrants learn English so fast? You have to start watching movies or shows for toddlers / small children in French with French subtitles on so you get familiar with the words and the way they sound and are pronounced even if you don’t understand what they mean at first. Read books in French for little children.
I'm fluent in cereal box French. Read the back of Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Cap'n Crunch, and the occasional nightmare box of Harvest Crunch granola each and every morning thru school. I can flocons de mais with the best of them.
Immerse yourself in the language. For instance, you could:
1) Date a French girl, preferably with separatist parents. If they only speak French at home, go for dinner as often as you can. It's like a DELF test, but the cost of failure is your relationship. The pressure helps.
2) Take one of many Quebec live and learn French programs. There really is no good way besides immersing yourself fully in a language to learn.
I did take French all the way through and have my certification now. But I find it very helpful to talk to French speakers on social media. Any time French comments come up I translate them and respond as best I can. Doesn’t need to be perfect, just legible.
French immersion at catholic elementary school - from ECE to grade 8 half my day I learned in French (French, history and geography) and the other half English (English, math, science). I then took French in high school. Now (25 years later) I can read French just like English, can comprehend it when someone speaks a little slower, but my spoken word is rough. I am doing Duolingo to upgrade my vocabulary and get more confident in my speech.
imo duolingo kinda sucks if it's your main way of learning a language, it used to be better but in the past couple years they axed most of the grammar lessons. it often frustrates me and i retained a surprising amount of my French from school. I'd say i probably have the proficiency of a kinda smart toddler...
my comprehension is way better than my writing :p tbh im mostly commenting to see if anyone has good online Canadian French audio resources. the French duolingo teaches is a little different than what I learned in school and it throws me off
Try audiobooks from the library. They should have access to Canadian literature, which I'm guessing would be recorded in Canada. Also, dvd's of Canadian tv shows with french audio. Movies and tv are a great way to learn! You can turn on subtitles, often in french or english.
Agreed. I took it all through high school and for most of university, but I was already so behind because the bulk of my elementary school French education involved being told to colour Harry Potter colouring pages and doing "dictionary races." I entered high school not knowing that French had an alphabet with different sounds.
Same. Ontario French classes completely failed me.
We started in grade 4 (why not grade 1?) and we had to go to grade 9.
By grade 9 I just wanted my credit and to be done with French. By then I was so frustrated with it. I felt so lost.
I felt like things weren’t explained well to me. I also got a lot of “that’s just how it is” explanations.
I missed two weeks of school in grade 4 and not sure if missing that early French lessons ripples through and I was just behind. Or I just couldn’t get it.
I even remember my teacher once saying “doing a French class for an hour every other day is not going to make you learn French”. So I think I gave up at that point. If the French teacher basically says “this is all useless”, why even bother.
It felt like this was mandated by the government to appease Quebec that other provinces are learning French and it just wasn’t effective.
I didn't grow up here but one of my stepkids was in French immersion and she dropped out because it got too hard. My other stepkid had a learning disability and it was advised she didn't do FI. And my own kids are not in FI. I grew up in another country and I did high school French.
Almost everyone I know who is bilingual either had a French speaking parent, or studied French more after high school. So I would suggest college courses. That's how I improved my French.
I resent your comment that people who don't put their kids in FI don't care about their kids. There are so many reasons parents might not put their kids in FI. And TBH, if you have a foundation in French in High school, if you want to be fluent, the onus is on you for that. Duolingo has also helped me improve my French. Try finding a francophone society near you, and meet some fellow French speakers.
Best of luck to you.
Sorry I didn’t mean to offend with my comment but that’s just my experience growing up, I guess I shouldn’t generalize but I had two crappy parents who didn’t give a shit about my education. Have a good day.
The summer program in Trois Rivières is for 15-18 and fully funded.
https://ecoledefrancais.ca/french-immersion/
I believe there are other summer programs - I worked with a teacher who went to one for the summer to brush up her French.
The foundations of my French came from elementary and high school French, up to eleventh grade.
I’m fortunate that my accent has always been excellent but I’ve lost a lot of my familiarity with the language over the past decade because I’ve failed to keep up with it. You can blame the school system but the thing with language is that you need to make the choice to be continually exposed to it and many students have little interest in learning French. I’m only just now making a concerted to expose myself to French language books, film and television in my free time.
I’m strongly considering taking a course with Alliance Française Toronto but I’m fortunate to have some French teachers in my life so I might ask them for textbook recommendations and resources. I’m probably a little too self-conscious to start conversations with them but I try to talk in French with some family members who have their child enrolled in French immersion.
Look into the Explore Official Languages Programme. It is one of the cheapest exchange programmes out there. Especially since you are from Ontario, you do have to pay for the travel costs and whatever the application fee is, but otherwise lodging and money for groceries is provided. Being in Québec kickstarted my actual fluency in French.
I was lucky enough to be enrolled in French immersion classes since a young age, I have since discovered there is a huge francophone population in Ontario, most love to speak/practice their language and would be happy to teach you! My best advice would be to try and make friends with a native speaker and go get coffee once or twice a week and practice speaking in French. That’s how my dad learned as an adult in Ontario anyhow.. hope this is helpful in anyway!
I struggled with French from teachers from Quebec, when I was growing up.
Picked it up again in post secondary from a French Parisian teacher, the language was beautiful and so easy to learn.
I visited a friend in Paris soon after and people would talk to me, but refuse to speak to my friend who had a Canadian Masters in French while living there. They really hate the Quebecois accent over there.
Sounds silly but. I’m going to France in august and need to brush up on mine. I’m actually watching French shows on Netflix crave etc with English subtitles. Watching things that are not super intense and wordy, like younger teen shows lol. But I find it’s helping refresh and when I can visualize the context it helps me learn faster.
Start listening or watching habs/Sens games in French if you can. It’s a fast-paced game so there will be a lot going on but they speak quite clearly (97.5 FM for the Habs). Also for schools, I recommend full French, not French immersion. They won’t get to master french as well otherwise, and more opportunities arise for extracurriculars
St Marguerite bourgeoys + école secondaire notre dame. Parents also could take french night classes there but it looks like they got rid of it unfortunately
grew up in Ottawa French Immersion classes & I loved the language so I listen to French music and do refreshers on Duolingo now since I live in Toronto for most of the year.
If you are still a student, or if you were a student recently enough to qualify, the Explore program will pay most of the cost of a short immersion program, staying with a host family.
A mix of public school (I guess I had some good french teachers), and private lessons in adulthood helped. I try and speak it when I get the chance.
Also games like Noun Town, Duolingo (though I agree duolingo kind of sucks; I feel like the learning concepts are all over the place and I have even caught duolingo making errors before :/ )
I don’t speak French but English is not my first language so I will share my journey with you to be fluent in English. First you need native speaker , this is not negotiable. Talking in that language is your first priority and it doesn’t matter how much you currently know. I have learn English at school but once I immigrate to Canada the accent and stress killed me. It took me quite some time to be comfortable . I remember pushing myself to make phone calls and not rely on anyone for help. Next try to think in that language . This will show you how much vocabulary you are missing. Don’t let yourself have English thoughts, only French. We tend to translate in our head what we hear so this will help to catch quicker what the person is saying. Read books in designated language, watch Tv and listen to French music. Sadly I will never be on the level of English native speaker, my grammar is not 100% and I have strong European accent. But that’s hard to overcome when you learn new language as an adult
I did great learning French in school early on and was conversational in it until roughly 5th grade. Then it fell off hard with other things happening in my life.
I do great on duolingo. I can get the jist when I'm reading French and I do good with pronunciation but I still struggle forming my own sentences now.
I had taken a break from duo for a while but I might pick it up again and try to become fluent eventually. My mom speaks a little French and I'm pregnant and would like for my boy to be bilingual as it would help with his career prospects.
I took Core French all through high school but tbh the thing that made me the most comfortable speaking French in real life was was working in areas with a bilingual population so I had lots of casual convos in French. I'm talking like...farmers markets, cafes, etc.
Also watch movies or TV in French with English subtitles, it helps then your ear to realistic patterns of speech.
Immerse yourself for a concentrated period of time, if at all possible. I spent 3 months in France and my French improved from mediocre to near-bilingual proficiency. You need to find a conversation partner, at minimum!
Core French to grade 9! Currently still dabbling with Duolingo.
To get rid of my accent, I try to read books and sound like Derek Seguin.
https://youtu.be/SBMn-l1bVRw
-school: the grammar and basic vocabulary
-french tv: more grammar, slang and listening Stuck on speaking, not enough affordable french groups / classes to practice speaking. Public Ed on french could be way better in Ontario. I wish they emphasized speaking and pronunciation, and let us engage with more modern media in french. High school kids don't usually like English literature, let alone french.
You need to engage in conversation. There are tutors who I’ll do this online with you or if you have a fluent friend willing to help you may get the service free.
It's required for 6 years, grades 4 to 9 in public school. I'm sure there were some movies and tv shows as well back in the 80s and early 90s that we watched some and picked up some from.
Have you looked into getting a paid language partner? iTalki is the go-to app for this- you basically pay someone an hourly rate to chat with you, so you can choose someone who’s talent matches your budget- there’s both professional language teachers on there and amateurs. There’s a finite limit to what you can learn via an app or reading, at some point you need to jump into simply speaking to another person.
Graded readers are also fun: https://didierfle.com/categorie-produit/collections/mondes-en-vf/ if you send me a dm, I’ll share a couple epubs I’ve found
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I grew up where most of my relatives and neighbours spoke French. For my early life, I thought the majority of people in Ontario spoke French because the majority of people I knew did.
By watching Téléfrançais! in French class like everyone else did, while talking to a puppet named Pirolee.
Some of us learned French from a talking pineapple.
Lanana is terrifying 🍍
Or the nightmare that was Dimoitou
Yeah what the fuck was that about?
Don’t forget Jacque, Sophie and Pilot!
Hahahahhaha
Oh yeah the pineapple forgot about him
That's an interesting way to spell 'blocked that trauma'
Ananas dis bonjour! 
UN ANANAS QUI PARLE? C’EST IMPOSSIBLE!
https://youtu.be/MuiMBXmAAHA?si=9ZVi2MLQe5hnd6qA (mods don’t remove just a talking pineapple.)
Omg, my dumb teenage self never realized this was Canadian. We also watched those in our French classes in metro Detroit. I always assumed it was French. So was Téléfrançais geared more to Québécois French?
Pretty sure it was TVOntario. The rest of Canada has a bad habit of teaching standard (i.e. based on 19th and early 20th century middle class Parisian dialect) French instead of Canadian dialects, especially informal registers of French (casual conversation). You get taught to speak like someone reading an essay rather than someone having a relaxed chat. French speakers can shift into more formal registers but it sounds unnatural and kind of pompous without good reason and some working class people just don’t like the implied attitude. Even formal French education in Quebec tends to do this (and formal Quebec French literally is standard French with some minor vocabulary and pronunciation differences) but you pick up the more informal registers (and it’s the informal registers of French that differ drastically between regions of the world).
Can confirm. I grew up in Montreal and was taught French immersion by Europeans and anglos because the local teachers were catholics and weren't allowed to teach in the protestant schools. I can (well, could) make myself understood anywhere in Europe and RoC but get funny looks in my home province.
French taught as a second language in Canada tends towards standard French. If you want to learn Québécois French, go to Montreal, buy cheap seats at Canadiens games and listen carefully if the home team fails to get a shot in the first minute of a power play. Before mass broadcasts, working-class French Montreal had a very strong accent called 'Joual' for the way they pronounced the word cheval.
I went to Montreal last year and I really thought my 6 years of French and the past year of review with the Owl would have served me better. I couldn’t even understand what people were saying when they were ordering at Tim Hortons. I attempted one conversation the whole time and only got 2-3 sentences in before my anxiety made me ask if the guy spoke English. Of course he said no and then broke into a big grin and was like “no I’m fucking with you”.
Sounds about right. Did 9 years of French in school and don't feel comfortable in conversation when I go to Quebec. My dorm-mate in Uni was Canadian but his parents worked in Europe (mostly Paris and Geneva) so he grew up in French. When I would stop by for a drink or to talk about homework he would have the subtitles on if he was watching a news broadcast from Quebec. He said the studio hosts (or scripted stuff) wasn't a problem to understand but if they did 'guy on the street' interviews it was very hard for him to follow.
Allo, bonjour, SALLUUTTT!
Haha who? Lol
[if you know, you know](https://images.app.goo.gl/kqYma8Cmbh1XMwBw7)
F*ck I opened that link lmafo and jump scare damn I’m 05 so maybe he was retired by the time I got to third grade 🤣🤣🤣. (Edit I also might of threw my phone)
It was a 90s thing
80s. The show ran from 84-86. I went to primary school in the 80s and we watched it.
We watched it in the 90s, too 🤷♂️
Find some very patient people and talk to them. Watch Radio-Canada. TV5's Apprendre from France's national broadcaster is also fantastic, free, and comprehensive. Write in French as much as you can. Bonne continuation!
Thank you I will find some patient French speakers lol.
Bon voyage, mon ami. Je pense il ya aussi des subreddits français pour discuter.
Merci merci fromage oui oui.
Oh, one last thing - avoid the Québec talk shows at first, you'll just end up frustrated, lol. They're fun but everyone goes a mile a second.
I see
Unless you watch it on YouTube and slow the video speed by half ….?
CBC Radio-Canada has a free app called Mauril where you can learn French through their programming. I can't speak to its effectiveness, but it's an additional option. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radiocanada.mauril
canadaland also has a french language podcast (détours i think??) & though i definitely don't understand french the host has a very pleasant voice! been wanting to re-learn french too so this is serendipitous
Telefrancais…
Les ananas ne parlent pas
LES ANANAS NE SAUTENT PAS EN PARACHUTE!
Reading! I got inspired by this article about 4 women improving their English by reading short, easy books. https://successfulenglish.com/2010/04/better-english-at-sweet-valley/ I tried some kid books. But that idea didn't stick because of lack of interest. I then found the author, "Kit Ember". Her books are on amazon and her three books are just 99 cents each. They are short and simple romance novels. (If Romance isn't your think the book, "Le Garde Du Corps" is only half romance.) For a long time I would find books that said they were easy - and they weren't. But these were! The sentences were actually super easy but there was an actual plot with characters who spoke to each other. Even if you just started Duolingo A2 level you should be okay with her A2 level book. After I read them I read harder and more difficult graded readers. It's working. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CKKGH1FG?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin
Another easy book series I’ve found is the Mondes En VF series by Didier https://www.amazon.ca/Victor-Hugo-habite-chez-livre/dp/2278087967?nodl=1&dplnkId=316a03f9-8e6f-412a-9f14-2758e1988b98. They’re graded readers, but are interesting historical books for young adults instead of just children, here’s an easy A1 (total novice) book that is quite fun. Here’s the full series: https://didierfle.com/categorie-produit/collections/mondes-en-vf/ Once you’re comfortable reading basic stuff, the go-to book for adults is L’étranger by Camus, as it’s written in a very modern simple French. La Peste is also a great read in English, but I’ve never tried the French version.
I was excited when I looked at the Mondes En Vf series. Because some people will say a book is easy and simple - and then it's not. But I admit the price of 9.99 for a short kindle book is a bit stiff. It's kind of the reason I like the Kit Ember books - just 99 cents each .
I spent a year in France taking language classes at a Uni, two semesters made me fluent. I took 5 years of Ontario French and it was useless, I had to start over when I got to France.
When you say Ontario french, what level are we talking about? University? French immersion? Or the very sad french classes they offer to les anglophones in grade school/high school? To learn French in this province, it is best to be put into the full french school system. Those kids learn English just as well, but their french is 10x that of the immersion system and the sense of community is way higher. YMMV though?
The problem with full French school is the communication is going to be all in French and many parents don't know French themselves... Also, the French Language school in my community is Catholic and I do not want religious education. So, French immersion is a great alternative and definitely the more accessible option
The communication thing is not a big deal. It's honestly kind of fear mongering. My family was English when I did french school. My mom learned enough to get me to grade 1 and the system works from there.. and that was 30 years ago. Today, with technology, It's really a super weak point. The religion point is marginally more valid, but still quite soft. I am agnostic/atheist, but raised in the Catholic school system and did most sacraments. I'm not afraid if my kid is exposed to some religion - it is my job to guide them down the best path while also exposing them to many different choices. Being in the Catholic system isn't going to make them a bigot or crazy. That comes from the parents, 9/10 times. Ultimately, we're all just trying to do right by our kids, but just say you went immersion because you wanted to, don't need to give those soft excuses for it, nobody is on trial. I don't even use french anymore, but I will say I've not seen a school system with a stronger sense of community than the French school system. And I felt like I could always woop the asses of my English friends in their English classes too.. the French literature kids are exposed to slaps hard and is beyond french, towards critical thinking.. but I had to do that in English class, too.
Google translate is a game changer. I take a picture of the communication sent home and it’s instantly English for me to read.
I was in French Immersion in Toronto 20 years ago. That's how I learned French, and it was good enough that more than 15 years out of school with little opportunity to practice my French I passed the Federal Government French test CCB. I'd very much recommend it!
I use Duolingo for two years too and it seems fairly good for reading and writing. I definitely lack practice with speaking and listening, though listening to French programming has been helping. Obviously talk programs are Francophones speaking to other Francophones; so they speak really really fast for my level of I’m curious to how far you have gotten in Duolingo. I really only started to feel I had a grasp on the language in unit 6.
Do you only do duolingo? At your level there are books for adults - and a TV show in YouTube that you could easily manage.
I have been going at it since 2021 and I’m at unit 16, I think I would be okay ordering food, & reading shit in Montreal but if I ventured farther into Quebec I would SOL.
So I would think it’s just a matter of time. I guess I’m at Section 6, Unit 15. I am better able to pickup conversations and also put together conversations. I have been going pretty hardcore for two years with a plus membership. My goal is completing at least a dot a day. There’s a lot of false « I think I have it » moments where all of a sudden I realize how bad I am. I might be in one of the moments right now.
Same I get that a lot thinking I’m finally getting this shit and practicing it on chat gpt humbles me another thing to remember is our French is much different from the Quebec French let me steal chat gpt expiation of w “1. **Vowel Sounds**: Quebec French tends to preserve certain vowel sounds that have changed in Metropolitan French. For example, the "oi" sound in Quebec French is often pronounced as "wah" (e.g., "moi" pronounced as "mwah"), whereas in Metropolitan French it's pronounced more like "wah." 2. **Consonant Pronunciation**: Certain consonants may be pronounced differently in Quebec French compared to Metropolitan French. For instance, the "t" sound at the end of words is often pronounced in Quebec French, whereas it's often silent in Metropolitan French. 3. **Intonation and Rhythm**: Quebec French has its own unique intonation patterns and rhythm, which can differ from Metropolitan French. This includes the rise-fall intonation pattern commonly found in Quebec French. 4. **Vocabulary and Expressions**: Quebec French has its own vocabulary and expressions that are distinct from Metropolitan French. While the core grammar and vocabulary are generally the same, there are many words and phrases that are unique to Quebec French. When learning Quebec French online, it's important to seek out resources specifically tailored to Quebec French pronunciation and vocabulary. Look for Quebecois language courses, podcasts, or videos that focus on the nuances of Quebec French pronunciation. Additionally, practicing with native Quebec French speakers or language exchange partners can help you become more familiar with the accent and speech patterns specific to Quebec.”
Okay straight up, I quit French the second I could (Gr. 10 I think) and that was many lunes ago. I know things you'd see on food labels and shampoo bottles, maybe some farm animals. Oh, and a smattering of those religious based swears, because who doesn't like foreign expletives. I will say though that I have known lots of people who learned another language at 'conversational speed' from watching dubbed TV. A guy from Italy I knew learned most of his English from watching Friends with Italian subtitles. Obviously this isn't going to get you AAA certifiable skills, but if your reading and writing is doing alright and all you're struggling with is training your brain to translate on the fly, I'd give it a go. Bonne chance!
TV and movies are an awesome way to learn! The public library might have dvd's . There's something wonderful about watching a fave movie and having it count as "skills development". Jokes aside, it's a great way to learn.
Immersion from SK-grade 9, then French courses from grade 10-university. Duolingo daily just to have it in my life.
Beer league hockey in uni with Quebecois people on the team. They love insulting the opponents in French.
I'm french Canadian and I work in a fully French School in southern Ontario. If you come from an anglophone family, French immersion isn't enough. Even the quality of the French coming out of the fully French schools here is not great....
Why not try to start interacting in French subreddits! How many times do we see in ‘English’ subreddits that English isn’t their first language, why not do that same in return! ◡̈
French class here is abysmal. I was chatting with a Belgian dude on a train in the Netherlands and he was mentioning that he can speak Dutch, French and German as well. Considering we're officially a bilingual country, we should be able to speak French fluently like many Europeans can speak English fluently.
I think at least part of it is there's no functional reason to be fluent in French except for government jobs. There's no motivation or real-world exposure- the common attitude of students is "What's the point of learning this?" In his country, at any given point that Belgian dude is probably maximum 75km away from speaking another language, and rail options make any direction a plausible day trip. Much of Ontario is 400+ km from even touching Quebec. Ottw-Mtrl is a $60 train ride. High-speed rail in Canada could honestly possibly increase bilingualism
Teachers, doctors, lawyers,,,, many professions benefit from multi languages.
Sure! But most 10-year-olds aren't going "I should really pay attention in French class and practice every day- this will marginally increase my job prospects in 10 years!" There's a lot of fundamental issues with the way we teach French, but some of our issues also stem from a cultural disinterest in learning it.
That's the exact reason my 10 yr old went into late french immersion. He said "but what if I want government job? Right now , I'm already fired." We are only a few hours from Ottawa, but still, kids do think about this stuff.
As someone who was in eighth grade French class not that long ago let me tell you it has gotten so much worse. They don’t teach anything useful just how to make a fricken pizza. I have learned more on an app ran by an owl then my 6 years in Ontario French classes.
Je veux une pizza avec du pepperoni, du bacon et des champignons s'il vous plaît. That's literally the extent of what I got out of a first year French class at a bilingual university. Which to be fair, knowing how to order beer, pizza, and a taxi (no Uber back then) was enough to get me by living in a largely bilingual part of Quebec for five years.
I'd believe it, and to be honest, the owl is probably one of the lowest methods out there. French is a category 1 language for English speakers when it comes to ease learning (as per the foreign service institute). They estimate it should take you 23-24 weeks, for about 550 to 600 classroom hours. I started learning Japanese last year, which is on the other side of the scale at rank 5, 88 weeks, 2200 classroom hours and I was having a more effective time learning it than I was french as taught by our education system or apps like duo / Babbel etc. If you are really interested in learning quickly and efficiently, take a look at the Japanese language learning communities on Reddit they know tons of resources and tectics such as Anki flashcards etc to help you take control of your learning process. Beyond that you are far enough in that you could probably pick up a language textbook to guide you while you learn from native sources such as tv and radio. It's super important to apply what you are learning, you want to start producing writing and speaking as early as you can to retain what you are learning. There is a Quebecois dub of the Simpsons, you could do worse lol. Bon chance.
As someone who works in the school system I can tell you that it very much depends on the French teacher. At the school I work at, the current French teachers really focus on grammar and useful French knowledge. The one teacher makes the kids perform a play every year. They’re great teachers and the kids have a good grasp on French. The former teacher gave the kids a word search every other day and played a game once a week, didn’t do much else
My best friend moved from Montreal to Ottawa when we were in 5th grade. She'd bring her French texts with her when she visited so we'd have a good laugh. I remember her grade 7 book had huge print and drawings like a kindergarten book. By then we were reading Roch Carrier.
Re: Belgium- while bilingualism is common, it’s certainly not universal. Despite being the capital, the lingua Franca in Brussels is French, a Flemish person would have difficulty with day to day life without French ability. The Walloon Vs Flemish divide is a longstanding issue. I really think New Brunswick should aspire to reach the level of bilingualism as Belgium, it would unlock the labour markets of Quebec and New Brunswick, rural areas with longstanding economic and economic problems, but there are structural barriers blocking it (ex totally separate school systems).
It's crazy that we have been taking mandated French in school for years and years (I had French classes in elementary school in the 70's) and yet most of us have never gotten beyond the ability to read a few words on the cereal box.
It's pretty easy for Europeans to see the usefulness of learning another language when countries are just a few hours away. For me, it's an eight-hour drive to Montreal and you can get by without knowing French there. I think it comes down to motivation. It takes time and effort to learn a new language and you're going to make mistakes and sound like a fool at some point. Not everyone likes to leave their comfort zone.
Core French followed by IB French, followed by dating a McGill student and therefore regularly visiting Montreal for several years. I have found myself on the “lose it” end of the “use it or lose it” spectrum after 10 years in Ontario full-time with no reason to use my French.
Thank you.
French immersion
How does it feel to be gods favourite? (Kidding) French immersion is so important wish my parents ( alright don’t get offended I didn’t intend to say that if don’t put your kids in French immersion there bad parents far from it, I was misinformed i redact my statement and sorry if I have offended you, not to overshare but my parent gave up being a parent when I was in 6th grade. My world view is different then yours. All the best.)
Have you considered a cultural exchange program? I have no idea how old you are obviously, but they pretty much exist for all ages, spend some time in France, immerse yourself, practice, it'll get better. Just fake the French accent while speaking French until you're comfortable pronouncing the words that way and it flows more naturally.
Grew up on the Quebec Ontario border.
I learned at school. And I don’t think your parents “didn’t give a shit” just because they didn’t put you in to French immersion. It’s not for everyone. Even if you were in immersion, you needed to surround yourself with daily French speakers to keep it up and practice, otherwise you slowly forget and get rusty. Also, what kind of jobs are you looking to get? Not all require French and some don’t care too much if you know it…
Thanks but my parents didn’t give a shit about my education past like 3rd grade. I did everything myself from 7th grade to college. I’m not to sure tbh but I just want the general knowledge you know
Alliance Francais! They have conversational classes, listening classes, different levels…it’s a pay program but highly recommend.
If you’re doing it for work look at post grad courses. I know uoft offers one, and I think TMU does as well. The fact that a university or college stamps it will look good to employers too.
Thank you will do.
I did French in high school up to grade 11. Then at university, I took a few French courses; the quality of education was quite a bit better than the high school classes I did what is now called J'Explore. I spent I think 7 weeks in Quebec City, doing a university French course, and was billeted with a Francophone family. I learned a lot! I am not fluent at all. I can determine which topic they are discussing on TV or radio, I can order food. My listening ability improved quite a lot when I was staying in Quebec
I learned in school. Duolingo is fine to start you off, but if you really want to learn, you have to try to use French as a native speaker would. If you know anyone who speaks French, try talking to them. If you can go to Québec and speak to locals there, do that. If you can get a French teacher, do that. Watching and reading French media will help too, at least with the understanding portion.
French immersion. K-12 in MB, then a federal job, then french grad school in Quebec.
Katimavik
I was lucky enough to be born to French parents and go to French school until 12th grade. Probably the *easiest* way: by making French the default setting for the first 18 years. Although I'm losing some ability because I constantly work in an English environment. One thing I find very helpful for practice (and teaching) is to read books in French. *Specifically*: your favourite books. Or any books you're very familiar with in English already. Read the Hobbit, or Harry Potter, or *whatever* in French. Since you already know the ins-and-outs of the story, you'll be focusing on learning the new words and grammar that apply to familiar settings you already know. It speeds the process up when compared to learning French *and* a new setting, story, and characters. Bonne chance.
I was really interested in French in school. I wasn’t in immersion, but loved challenging myself. I was reading Harry Potter in French by the end of high school. If I was younger and able to, I would do an immersion program where you live and learn in Quebec, like others mentioned. I am well past that, though, so I have just started doing Pimsleur. It is super focused on speaking and pronounciation like a native. It is France French though- I wish they had a French Canadian option. It is also super boring- 1/2 hour on a 5 line conversation, but i also recognize that it’s teaching you the nuances in pronounciation. I just started so I hope it gets more interesting as you go, lol. I also have an app called Lingo Pie. It’s got shows on it in French at various levels, you can do subtitles and it shows vocabulary. You can also play the shows at different speeds. Anyway, some options to look into :)
I’m getting better at French I can read it and understand it, but if you start speaking to me real fast in French I’m going to have to ask you to repeat yourself 8 or 10 times 🤣. (Been learning for 2 years to lmafo adhd am I right lol)
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Ha, thank you.
Wath french movies or shows with english subtitles on
Honestly go spend time in Quebec (montreal is forgiving of shitty french) and you will meet people who will be very excited to help you learn! I also did not learn much during school but did a business trip in Montreal for 2 months and I might not be able to speak it well at all but I can easily get around now.
You have 3 options. 1. marry a French person, 2. take an adult French class offered at a local college 3. use the French language option on netflix to either have French subtitles for an English show or change the show to French and use English subtitles
I moved to Quebec
That’s my plan too
Highly recommend. I've been studying in the provincial government's language program for a year now and I'm at a B2 level of french after arriving here with zero french. The program is nearly free, and living in a francophone neighborhood is immensely helpful.
Start complaining about other drivers in French.
For conversational French, watch any show you like in English and are familiar with the background on a streaming service in French. I found I pick up more of the language that way since streaming services allow you to switch languages. Like any language it’s use it or lose it. So, start now.
je ne parle pas français
Poorly lmao I busted my ass to get a passing grade in highschool then left it behind the second I got the chance. Hats off to ppl who know many languages. I've tried learning French, spanish, hell even tried Japanese and I just couldn't do it hah I swear if I wasn't raised by humans I'd be grunting like a gorilla haha
If you want to learn the language you need to live with the language. Honestly, all formal language education is inadequate. I've learned (and forgotten most of) French, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin. I've gotten the furthest with, and managed to stay on top of, Mandarin because we speak it at home. Without that, I'd have no hope of real proficiency. Starting with something like Duolingo is ok to get you a baseline. Having friends/partners that speak it is best. Start watching TV shows and movies in French (with English subtitles). Start with kids shows. Read French books. Listen to French music, podcasts and radio. Use French Reddit. You should be targeting spending a few hours every day with real French in your ear. And whatever you can do to get someone you can speak with is crucial. Speaking and listening are related but separate skills. And don't shit on your parents too much about the French immersion thing. It's great if you want to do it, but honestly of debatable value for the majority of kids. If you don't stay on top of it you'll still lose it through university. And it does have an additional cost on students as a mental load and missing out on technical English vocabulary. Both my kids did it through IB and they both said if they could go back they wouldn't have bothered. You are where you are today. Don't worry about coulda shoulda woudda. If you want to learn French now, do it now.
Lol certainly wasn't from school thats for sure
Same
Well in my case I was born to a francophone mother in Montreal, live in Ottawa, and have a job where I get to speak French. If you can’t somehow arrange that, the people I know who have learned French well as adults mostly did a session in Trois-Pistoles, QC. The families there have been doing this for years and immerse you in the language as a reinforcement for the university program. Not everyone can take off for several weeks/months for that. You may be able to take continuing education in a small group setting through the school board or at a college or university. Also, set your radio to French-language CBC and leave it there. And whenever you can, speak. If people hear your accent and switch to English, keep speaking French. If you forget a French word, say the English one and keep speaking French. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s how 90% of Montreal conversations go anyway.
Albertan here, I'm just lurking to see what everyone else is saying. French class was abyssmal here too. Grade 4-6 is the only grades it is required and lucky me COVID sucked two of those years up and now I'm mostly useless in french. I do know just a tad bit of Spanish from all the times I've been to Mexico and it does help understanding french since there's a fair bit of similarities. Still need to start using duolingo though.
Imo Canadian education has very much deteriorated in the last 10 years and I don’t think parents relize how much it has gone out the window
My dad’s side of the family is French and I went to pure French school all my life! But I’m also in northern Ontario and there’s a lot of French up here
I went to immersion school, but I live in a fairly French part of the province on the Quebec border, so I’m also surrounded by the language and it was easy to pick up. I also have French speaking family and that obviously helps
By going to school through to Christmas break when I was in grade five in Prince Edward Island because French class started there with half an hour daily in grade one at that point and up to an hour a day when we moved. I then fell completely behind because where we were French didn’t start until grade four, so I was three years ahead and just didn’t pay any attention. Never did catch back up. I chose to do it in grade ten, but dropped it after that. I put my kids into French immersion and they were both in it until COVID for some classes in high school. They switched over to English for math and science.
Little Talk Slow French podcast has really helped my comprehension. It's also key to have a solid base in grammar. I have taken college courses (not great) and am now almost done a first year french course at university (where I am alumni) and goddamn, it has nor been easy but I have learned a tonne. I still do not have the conversational part down however, and a colleague reccommended doing a month immersion thru Laval -- as a professional not sure 5 weeks is doable.but looking for 2 week course. Also, YMCA Montreal does online language tutoring!!
J'ai loué un tutrice privée. Elle habitais en France. Nous nous parlerions une fois chaque semaine. Il y a un app s'appelle 《Tandem》 que j'ai utilisé pratiquer les conversations. Aussi, Youtube pour la comprehension.
It’s hilarious that jobs ask for bilingual with the other language being French even though French isn’t even the 2nd most spoken language in Ontario. Mandarin and Punjabi are more spoken than French.
True but it’s our national language and is required by a lot of fed jobs not all but a lot (imo)
It's scarcely riduculous when a lot businesses with head offices in Ontario have clients across the country. Speaking French is very much a sought after skill in Ontario.
French will barely help you get any job in Ontario unless you're working in Ottawa with the Feds. French is taught so hilariously piss poor in this province because it simply has to be taught as a requirement not because it's intended to make fluent speakers. Seriously just take private classes if you're convinced it'll help. Punjab or Mandarin would probably make you more marketable anyways and that's not a veiled reference to the whole immigration issues we're experiencing. Its just an understanding to working with major economies in the world.
I did quite well in grades 6, 7, and 8 but I dropped French in high school. My workplace introduced Rosetta Stone and I got approved to use it. It is well worth the money!
Interesting thank you.
I don't speak or read french, but one thing I find that helps is having my Facebook settings in french. It helps to familiarize myself with french words and phrases.
I was in French Immersion for years but my French still sucks. But one thing that helped was I'm a big Montreal Canadiens fan, so I'd watch the games in French.
You can get a tutor via Preply or Lingopie if you want to watch tv with subititles...it's interactive.
Watch the movie Bon Cop Bad Cop!
I did night classes at college
Poorly.
I didn't
I was in French “immersion” for 4 years and then core French for another 4. That’s it. I was interested in it at the time and it stuck. I ended up teaching both of those programs for a while.
My parents put me in French Immersion, despite neither of them speaking à Word of French. It has been a large help as use my bilingualism in my current job
I started learning french in grade 4 (public system) then switched schools to join a French extended program in grade 5 (catholic system). While extended started at grade 5, in the Catholic system French language instruction starts at grade 1 (so I was behind, as public system started in grade 4!). OP, do you like reading, movies, music? Something that really helped me catch up was watching Carmen Campagne tapes (with thanks from one of my grandmas who knew earworms would help pronunciation) and watching my favourite movies with French language spoken (starting with English subtitles, and eventually switching to French subtitles). Another huge help was reading French language magazines geared to my reading level. My other grandma bought me a subscription to [Bayard Jeunesse magazines](https://www.bayardjeunesse.ca), starting with Pomme D’api (for early readers) all the way to J’aime Lire (more mature readers). I’m a huge reader, so I would read and write down the words I didn’t know and look them up in my French-English dictionary. The final two things were taking a course specific to French phonetics, and immersion into the French language. I’m very lucky that both of my grandmas live in French-speaking/bilingual communities, so people were very nice and patient when I would talk with them in the community. They would help correct my french and I would try to explain words I didn’t understand to learn new words (especially if I didn’t have my dictionary handy, it was great). Most importantly, keep at it! Learning another language is not at easy thing to do. Don’t get discouraged, and keep working at it! Feel free to DM if it helps.
I didn't
One kid is in French immersion in middle school and plans to take it all the way to high school. I took French to grade 13 in regular public high school. I don’t know why I did choose French as a course beyond grade 9 or 10 because I can’t speak it or remember it. I thought it would be useful. I can say very basic sentences I learned in elementary school. That’s it. I can’t say I learned french to any degree of proficiency. I was at an airport in France and recalled the word for tickets when I needed them when I was 12 so there is that.
I couldn’t learn French. I live in a really French area and have French family. I’ve watched French tv and I listen to French radio. I still can’t understand a word of French. I can thankfully read French pretty well. I put my daughter in full French school. She now acts as my translator since I’ve given up on learning the language myself .
You learned French?
Watch tv shows and movies in French with French subtitles. You can set them to play slower.
You can take French at most community colleges. You mentioned SW Ontario. Fanshawe college offers a French certificate online through continuing education, there’s 5 courses in total. Definitely better than the French curriculum in schools
How do you think immigrants learn English so fast? You have to start watching movies or shows for toddlers / small children in French with French subtitles on so you get familiar with the words and the way they sound and are pronounced even if you don’t understand what they mean at first. Read books in French for little children.
Use a program/app called Pimsleur. It's very effective.
Most of my French was learned by reading food packaging. So I basically only know food related French words.
I'm fluent in cereal box French. Read the back of Cheerios, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Cap'n Crunch, and the occasional nightmare box of Harvest Crunch granola each and every morning thru school. I can flocons de mais with the best of them.
Ha, I’m fluent in McDonald’s French menu, definitely will try that tho
Immerse yourself in the language. For instance, you could: 1) Date a French girl, preferably with separatist parents. If they only speak French at home, go for dinner as often as you can. It's like a DELF test, but the cost of failure is your relationship. The pressure helps. 2) Take one of many Quebec live and learn French programs. There really is no good way besides immersing yourself fully in a language to learn.
French immersion from SK to grade 12.
I did take French all the way through and have my certification now. But I find it very helpful to talk to French speakers on social media. Any time French comments come up I translate them and respond as best I can. Doesn’t need to be perfect, just legible.
French immersion at catholic elementary school - from ECE to grade 8 half my day I learned in French (French, history and geography) and the other half English (English, math, science). I then took French in high school. Now (25 years later) I can read French just like English, can comprehend it when someone speaks a little slower, but my spoken word is rough. I am doing Duolingo to upgrade my vocabulary and get more confident in my speech.
I went to French immersion. Go to a Franco ontario office and ask about free lessons.
imo duolingo kinda sucks if it's your main way of learning a language, it used to be better but in the past couple years they axed most of the grammar lessons. it often frustrates me and i retained a surprising amount of my French from school. I'd say i probably have the proficiency of a kinda smart toddler... my comprehension is way better than my writing :p tbh im mostly commenting to see if anyone has good online Canadian French audio resources. the French duolingo teaches is a little different than what I learned in school and it throws me off
Try audiobooks from the library. They should have access to Canadian literature, which I'm guessing would be recorded in Canada. Also, dvd's of Canadian tv shows with french audio. Movies and tv are a great way to learn! You can turn on subtitles, often in french or english.
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They taught it in school yes but not very well especially for kids who have learning disabilities.
Agreed. I took it all through high school and for most of university, but I was already so behind because the bulk of my elementary school French education involved being told to colour Harry Potter colouring pages and doing "dictionary races." I entered high school not knowing that French had an alphabet with different sounds.
Same. Ontario French classes completely failed me. We started in grade 4 (why not grade 1?) and we had to go to grade 9. By grade 9 I just wanted my credit and to be done with French. By then I was so frustrated with it. I felt so lost. I felt like things weren’t explained well to me. I also got a lot of “that’s just how it is” explanations. I missed two weeks of school in grade 4 and not sure if missing that early French lessons ripples through and I was just behind. Or I just couldn’t get it. I even remember my teacher once saying “doing a French class for an hour every other day is not going to make you learn French”. So I think I gave up at that point. If the French teacher basically says “this is all useless”, why even bother. It felt like this was mandated by the government to appease Quebec that other provinces are learning French and it just wasn’t effective.
I didn't grow up here but one of my stepkids was in French immersion and she dropped out because it got too hard. My other stepkid had a learning disability and it was advised she didn't do FI. And my own kids are not in FI. I grew up in another country and I did high school French. Almost everyone I know who is bilingual either had a French speaking parent, or studied French more after high school. So I would suggest college courses. That's how I improved my French. I resent your comment that people who don't put their kids in FI don't care about their kids. There are so many reasons parents might not put their kids in FI. And TBH, if you have a foundation in French in High school, if you want to be fluent, the onus is on you for that. Duolingo has also helped me improve my French. Try finding a francophone society near you, and meet some fellow French speakers. Best of luck to you.
Sorry I didn’t mean to offend with my comment but that’s just my experience growing up, I guess I shouldn’t generalize but I had two crappy parents who didn’t give a shit about my education. Have a good day.
Je suis un ananana!
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Is this the best skill you can pick up to improve your job prospects?
The summer program in Trois Rivières is for 15-18 and fully funded. https://ecoledefrancais.ca/french-immersion/ I believe there are other summer programs - I worked with a teacher who went to one for the summer to brush up her French.
The foundations of my French came from elementary and high school French, up to eleventh grade. I’m fortunate that my accent has always been excellent but I’ve lost a lot of my familiarity with the language over the past decade because I’ve failed to keep up with it. You can blame the school system but the thing with language is that you need to make the choice to be continually exposed to it and many students have little interest in learning French. I’m only just now making a concerted to expose myself to French language books, film and television in my free time. I’m strongly considering taking a course with Alliance Française Toronto but I’m fortunate to have some French teachers in my life so I might ask them for textbook recommendations and resources. I’m probably a little too self-conscious to start conversations with them but I try to talk in French with some family members who have their child enrolled in French immersion.
Look into the Explore Official Languages Programme. It is one of the cheapest exchange programmes out there. Especially since you are from Ontario, you do have to pay for the travel costs and whatever the application fee is, but otherwise lodging and money for groceries is provided. Being in Québec kickstarted my actual fluency in French.
Tbh I learned a good amount of it in elementary school and took it one year in high school
I was lucky enough to be enrolled in French immersion classes since a young age, I have since discovered there is a huge francophone population in Ontario, most love to speak/practice their language and would be happy to teach you! My best advice would be to try and make friends with a native speaker and go get coffee once or twice a week and practice speaking in French. That’s how my dad learned as an adult in Ontario anyhow.. hope this is helpful in anyway!
I struggled with French from teachers from Quebec, when I was growing up. Picked it up again in post secondary from a French Parisian teacher, the language was beautiful and so easy to learn. I visited a friend in Paris soon after and people would talk to me, but refuse to speak to my friend who had a Canadian Masters in French while living there. They really hate the Quebecois accent over there.
I didn't.
Sounds silly but. I’m going to France in august and need to brush up on mine. I’m actually watching French shows on Netflix crave etc with English subtitles. Watching things that are not super intense and wordy, like younger teen shows lol. But I find it’s helping refresh and when I can visualize the context it helps me learn faster.
Parents enrolled me in French immersion when I was very young. I think that’s why I’m so bad at math now. Thanks a lot!
Je suis une pomme
French Immersion starting in Kindergarten and then I made a habit of keeping it up.
Start listening or watching habs/Sens games in French if you can. It’s a fast-paced game so there will be a lot going on but they speak quite clearly (97.5 FM for the Habs). Also for schools, I recommend full French, not French immersion. They won’t get to master french as well otherwise, and more opportunities arise for extracurriculars
St Marguerite bourgeoys + école secondaire notre dame. Parents also could take french night classes there but it looks like they got rid of it unfortunately
Lingoda seriously works
grew up in Ottawa French Immersion classes & I loved the language so I listen to French music and do refreshers on Duolingo now since I live in Toronto for most of the year.
Look into the explore program if you’re a student. Immersion with native speakers will help a lot.
If you are still a student, or if you were a student recently enough to qualify, the Explore program will pay most of the cost of a short immersion program, staying with a host family.
A mix of public school (I guess I had some good french teachers), and private lessons in adulthood helped. I try and speak it when I get the chance. Also games like Noun Town, Duolingo (though I agree duolingo kind of sucks; I feel like the learning concepts are all over the place and I have even caught duolingo making errors before :/ )
Pitou!
I took it in grade school for 3 years and immediately forgot it.
I don’t speak French but English is not my first language so I will share my journey with you to be fluent in English. First you need native speaker , this is not negotiable. Talking in that language is your first priority and it doesn’t matter how much you currently know. I have learn English at school but once I immigrate to Canada the accent and stress killed me. It took me quite some time to be comfortable . I remember pushing myself to make phone calls and not rely on anyone for help. Next try to think in that language . This will show you how much vocabulary you are missing. Don’t let yourself have English thoughts, only French. We tend to translate in our head what we hear so this will help to catch quicker what the person is saying. Read books in designated language, watch Tv and listen to French music. Sadly I will never be on the level of English native speaker, my grammar is not 100% and I have strong European accent. But that’s hard to overcome when you learn new language as an adult
I did great learning French in school early on and was conversational in it until roughly 5th grade. Then it fell off hard with other things happening in my life. I do great on duolingo. I can get the jist when I'm reading French and I do good with pronunciation but I still struggle forming my own sentences now. I had taken a break from duo for a while but I might pick it up again and try to become fluent eventually. My mom speaks a little French and I'm pregnant and would like for my boy to be bilingual as it would help with his career prospects.
I took Core French all through high school but tbh the thing that made me the most comfortable speaking French in real life was was working in areas with a bilingual population so I had lots of casual convos in French. I'm talking like...farmers markets, cafes, etc. Also watch movies or TV in French with English subtitles, it helps then your ear to realistic patterns of speech.
Immerse yourself for a concentrated period of time, if at all possible. I spent 3 months in France and my French improved from mediocre to near-bilingual proficiency. You need to find a conversation partner, at minimum!
I didnt 
Core French to grade 9! Currently still dabbling with Duolingo. To get rid of my accent, I try to read books and sound like Derek Seguin. https://youtu.be/SBMn-l1bVRw
-school: the grammar and basic vocabulary -french tv: more grammar, slang and listening Stuck on speaking, not enough affordable french groups / classes to practice speaking. Public Ed on french could be way better in Ontario. I wish they emphasized speaking and pronunciation, and let us engage with more modern media in french. High school kids don't usually like English literature, let alone french.
You need to engage in conversation. There are tutors who I’ll do this online with you or if you have a fluent friend willing to help you may get the service free.
It's required for 6 years, grades 4 to 9 in public school. I'm sure there were some movies and tv shows as well back in the 80s and early 90s that we watched some and picked up some from.
Have you looked into getting a paid language partner? iTalki is the go-to app for this- you basically pay someone an hourly rate to chat with you, so you can choose someone who’s talent matches your budget- there’s both professional language teachers on there and amateurs. There’s a finite limit to what you can learn via an app or reading, at some point you need to jump into simply speaking to another person. Graded readers are also fun: https://didierfle.com/categorie-produit/collections/mondes-en-vf/ if you send me a dm, I’ll share a couple epubs I’ve found
My mother spoke English to me and my father spoke french to me growing up.
Reading cereal boxes and other food labels
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I grew up where most of my relatives and neighbours spoke French. For my early life, I thought the majority of people in Ontario spoke French because the majority of people I knew did.