How to Learn French

in 5 Steps

The Ultimate Beginner's Guide

 Bonjour! I'm
Mathilde
A native French speaker,
entrepreneur, language teacher, and
the host of the French Made Easy
Podcast with over 80,000 monthly
listeners.

Chances are, you're here for one of the following reasons:

You're a beginner, and you need some help to get you started on your French
learning journey. You need a crystal clear roadmap telling you where to start and
what to study.

Or maybe you've been a beginner for months (or years?) and still cannot build a
full sentence in French, let alone have a conversation with French speakers. You
need to create a new "plan d'attaque."

Either way, I got you. You're in the right place.

I know that right now, speaking French seems unreachable. Spoiler alert: it's not! Like
all good things, learning French takes time and dedication. But with the right tools, I
can guarantee you that speaking French with confidence is just around the corner.

In this guide, I give you the steps you need to help you kickstart (or restart) your
French learning journey today and ultimately speak French with confidence!

Are you ready to make that happen? Let's get started!

Bises, Mathilde

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 STEP ONE

Goal Setting

SET YOUR GOALS

To keep yourself motivated, your learning goals need to be precise. Knowing

why you’re working towards a big goal is necessary for reaching it!

Answer the following questions:

Why do you want to speak French? (relocation to a French-speaking

country, career change...?)
What level do you want to reach? (basic level, independent, proficient...?)
When would you like to reach this level? (three months, six months, one
year...?)

ORGANIZE YOUR TIME

The time you dedicate to learning French varies for everyone and depends on
your schedule and deadlines. The key is to study consistently!

Answer the following questions:

When will you be studying French? (on your way to work? Sunday
morning...?)
How many times per week? (once? twice...?)
For how long? (20mn, 30 mn, 1 hour...?)

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 CHOOSE YOUR RESOURCES

There are so many French learning resources out there! Find out your own
learning style. Ideally, I recommend resources that are involving all four skills
(writing, listening, reading, and speaking).

Answer the following questions:

What resources do you have? (textbook, podcast, online courses, youtube...?)

What skills are involved? (writing, listening, reading, speaking)

CREATE YOUR STUDY PLAN

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

Now, it's time to write down your learning plan! Your monthly study plan (or
weekly, if you are ultra motivated!) should include:

Your goals
The learning resources you'll be using when studying
What skills are involved
When you will be studying
notes

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 STEP TWO

Study Pronunciation

WHERE TO START

Learning and mastering pronunciation at the start of your French learning

journey is crucial! It will help you:

Pronounce French words effortlessly.

Understand easily what people are saying to you.
Engage more with people.
Boost your clarity and confidence

All the world's vocabulary will be close to useless if your pronunciation is

incorrect, and French speakers can't understand you.

Some of the key points you need to focus on while studying French
pronunciation is:

Vowel and consonant sounds

Nasal vowel sounds
Accent marks (and the cedilla)
The liaison

Ensure you practice your pronunciation as much as possible until you're

confident with all French sounds!

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 HOW TO PRACTICE

Here are some ways to practice:

Pronunciation exercises (from an online course, audiobook...)

Watch movies, series, videos with French subtitles
Listen to a French podcast with the transcript and try to repeat
Sing along with the music
Read a passage from a book out loud
Talk to yourself out loud in French
Use Flashcards (with sound on!) and repeat the words.

I know from teaching experience that learning all of the French pronunciation
rules may seem complicated; I promise it will get more comfortable with time,
perseverance, and practice!
notes

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 STEP THREE

Study Grammar

GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS

Grammar is essential to learn any language. To express yourself in French

clearly, you need to understand how the different components in a sentence are
put together and learn the French language's structure.

While it may seem overwhelming and complicated because French has so many
different rules, it's not! The key is to prioritize what you learn. As a beginner,
you should focus on some of these essential grammar points:

Nouns and determiners

Pronouns
Adverbs
Prepositions
Adjectives
Negation
Questions

No need to dwell into the complicated tenses yet (they are so many), focusing
on these first:

Present
Future
Past (present perfect and imperfect)

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 CONJUGATION

You should also learn and master the most common French verbs. Learn how to
conjugate them at the present tense, and then once you are mastering the
present, move on to the future and past tense.

Here's a list of the most practical verbs that I recommend learning early on:

être (to be)

avoir (to have)
aller (to go)
faire (to do)
pouvoir (to be able to)
vouloir (to want to)
savoir (to know)
devoir (to have to)
parler (to speak)
venir (to come)
dire (to say, to tell)
falloir (to be necessary)

Keep those verbs handy in your phrasebook; you will have to use them so often.
notes

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 STEP FOUR

Study Vocabulary

LEARN THE MOST COMMON FRENCH WORDS

Learning French requires learning a lot of new words. But let's not take the
dictionary and learn every single word that you might never use! Experts
believe that 500 words are enough to carry a basic conversation in French. To
help you get started, I recommend learning the 500 most common words.

LEARN USEFUL VOCABULARY

It would be best if you also studied as soon as possible practical vocabulary

such as:

Greetings (how to say hello, introduce yourself and others, asking "how are
you"...)
Goodbyes (formal and familiar)
Small talk (politeness, asking to repeat, chatting about the weather, what
you do for work, etc.)
Numbers (how to count, tell the time, talk about specific dates...)

Then when you are ready to dive deeper:

Talking about your home, your family, your daily routine

Shopping
Food
Accommodation
Transportation, etc.

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 CREATE YOUR OWN DICTIONARY

Once you know the most common French words, expand your vocabulary and
learn words and phrases that will help you!

I recommend you create your own French dictionary. It could be on your phone
or even in a notebook. (I personally like writing things down! Old school!) Every
time you hear a new French word that might be useful to you in the future,
write it down!

Later on, when you forget a word, you can turn to your French dictionary for
help.

It will allow you to become more conversational in French, and writing down
French words and phrases will help you memorize them.
notes

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 STEP FIVE

Practice

SPEAK

As soon as you've got a good grasp of French grammar and a more substantial
vocabulary, start speaking as often as possible!

Over are the days where you had to go to another country to immerse yourself
in the French language. They are other ways, thanks to the internet!

Why not join an online language platform? So you can exchange with native
speakers? (There are a few out there, such as Italki, Preply, HelloTalk, etc. )

LEARN USEFUL VOCABULARY

There are a few ways to keep practicing and learning daily, without even
feeling like you are learning! Here are a few helpful ways of improving your
skills:

Read books, newspapers, magazines, etc., with a French dictionary handy.

Watch movies, series, etc., with French subtitles.
Listen to music, podcast, etc., with lyrics/transcript.

Reading, watching, and listening has a massive effect on your brain when
learning a new language. After a while, you will find yourself using words you
didn't even study!

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

 IT'S OK TO MAKE MISTAKES

Many students are shy to talk because they are afraid of making mistakes.

But when learning a new language, everyone makes some kind of error; it's part
of the learning experience, and making mistakes is a great way to progress! (If
you learn from them!)

Don't worry if you say something that sounds strange when speaking to a
French speaker. If they can't understand you, they will correct you!
notes

© MATHILDE KIEN • HOW TO LEARN FRENCH IN 5 STEPS

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