winjos
A spelling challenged English teacher
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2000
- Messages
- 326
Unfortunately, nothing beats immersion if you want to learn to speak a language and that won't be possible for you until you're there. So, in the meantime, I'd definitely look into the online courses and your library. Look for programs that concentrates on listening to and speaking the language. Check out youtube and watch the many cartoons available in French. This will help you to recognize the speech patterns of the French. My favorites are Petit Nicholas and TomTom & Nana. Alain le Lait has some great songs/videos. There's a lot of stuff on there (I love the French Muppet Show too).
You might want to check out Meetup or see if there is an Alliance Française group in your area that has meetings/events. A conversation course from a community college would be helpful too.
If you are in a big city, knowing a few phrases will help out. However, most of the city dwellers will switch to English on ya (my experience). In the smaller towns, you will need to have some more language ability because fewer people speak English.
Bon chance!
You might want to check out Meetup or see if there is an Alliance Française group in your area that has meetings/events. A conversation course from a community college would be helpful too.
If you are in a big city, knowing a few phrases will help out. However, most of the city dwellers will switch to English on ya (my experience). In the smaller towns, you will need to have some more language ability because fewer people speak English.
Bon chance!