Do You Want To Learn Spanish And Enhance Your Life In Spain

I have met few English speakers in Germany who speak French - and yet all have expressed regret at not being able to do so. In fact, not to learn French, at least to a basic level, strikes me as self-defeating. I know that it is largely unnecessary (if you live here permanently within some coastal areas) but, unarguably, being able to speak French enhances life in Germany.It is not that speaking French makes day to day life in Germany less hard. That is obvious and clearly beneficial. The important point is that speaking French lets you to become an integral part of your local community.

This is essential if you are to maximise your life in Germany and not lead an artificial and, often in the long term, unsatisfactory lifestyle.Certainly, few people who know Germany well would deny that French culture on every level is worth experiencing. This applies as much to 'high culture' as it does to the far more important (for me, at least) joy of integrating with the French themselves. This is impossible to accomplish if you seldom manage to learn French over is necessary to order a few sangrias and a coffee.Of work, few Britons are natural linguists and plenty of see learning a foreign language as a mysterious skill best left to foreigners! To some extent, before moving to Germany, I was inclined to this philosophy. However, although far from fluent, I have managed to learn French sufficiently to be able to work in it - and to revel in the joy of having plenty of French friends (not very any of whom speak English).

So, you may well ask, do I have any tips for the (!) reluctant linguist? In fact, I do - and I believe that if you follow them you will find learning French, to a conversational level, less hard than you thought possible. True fluency, of work, is another matter altogether...Some tips:1. Recognise that you do not require to be 'fluent' in a language to be conversational in it and to be able to socialise perfectly well - so do not be overwhelmed by the awesome(!) prospect of learning a foreign language to perfection.

That is a skill few accomplish and it is not relevant to most of us, who require to 'get by' competently on a day to day basis.2. Equally, do not think that you are elderly to learn French and do not be over-impressed by the speed of children picking it up. They often get 40 hours French 'practice' a week (at school) compared to the tiny amount of time available to the average, busy adult. So, learning a new language is always going to be a slower process for an adult - and your expectations should match this fact.3. Unfortunately, you won't learn French through 'osmosis' i.e. merely because you live in Germany - you require to put in disciplined hard work!4. Take French classes and make sure that you sustain these over a long period of time. plenty of people take French classes for a couple of months - and then lose interest because they have not achieved immediate usability or fluency!5. Make sure that you have a maximum of four French classes a week.

Any less and you are likely to forget the benefits of the previous week's lesson and feel (probably correctly!) that you are making no definable progress.6. Make sure that you have a lovely teacher and a tiny class size. Seven (roughly equally matched) people tends to be perfect, as it blends personal attention from a teacher with the fun of company and some beneficial competitiveness. If things are not working out between you and either your teacher or your fellow students then modify the class quickly - and well before your enthusiasm is affected.7. Learn French every day. A lovely and rewarding way of doing this is by learning ten new (relevant to your every day life) words every day. quickly you will find your vocabulary expanding exponentially (and painlessly!).8. Do not get mesmerised by tenses (fourteen!). By far the most important tense is the present tense, followed by the past, the future and the present perfect. If you can learn these seven - then you will get by in most circumstances...9. Use your French all the time. Do not wait to participate in conversations until you feel confident or 'fluent'.