Intermediate

Have you spent years at trying to learn French, but still can’t express yourself properly? Perhaps you still find it difficult or impossible to understand French movies or the French TV news, despite having completed several private French courses. Many people find themselves in such situations, despite having invested years of effort and lots of money. Don’t you think learning French should be easier?

Fast French will enable you to take your French to the next level so that you can speak fluently and confidently. And if you are occasionally stuck for a word, you will know how to ask for help (in French) and what appropriate sounds to make if you’re completely at a loss for words. You will sound like a French speaker who just needs a moment or two to think, instead of an English speaker who is totally clueless.

Apps

Maybe you have spent a lot of time using Duolingo. Duolingo is a great little app. A lot of people come to Fast French after having used Duolingo. They have usually been able to learn a lot of words from Duolingo. But they rarely feel confident to engage in conversation, even after extensive Duolingo usage. They are often in the dark about basic French grammar, despite having progressed in Duolingo.

If you have been using Duolingo, you don’t have to stop using when you start lessons with Fast French. Duolingo is great for acquiring extra vocabulary. But it is like the linguistic equivalent of a side dish, like a small side salad. It’s not the main course and it won’t be enough to keep you satisfied. That’s where Fast French comes in. Fast French is the meat and potatoes of French learning. You will receive tips and techniques on how to enhance your own French learning with activities you can do at home. And you will be encouraged to keep using Duolingo if you already find it beneficial for you.

One of the things that determines how useful Duolingo will be for a learner is how much they like the game-like interface. If you like the gamification of language learning, then Duolingo will be helpful for you, as long as you understand its limitations.

Classroom learning

Or perhaps you have done some classes with the Alliance Française? These can also be really great, especially for retired people looking for a social outlet. If you’re looking to make friends with other retired people who share an interest in French, the Alliance Française is perfect. But you might also want to consider the University of the Third Age (U3A), which offers the same benefits but is far more affordably priced than the Alliance.

A lot of people are under the impression that the Alliance Française is some kind of national French government organisation. That is not true. It is an organisation that receives 5% of its funding from the French government, but it is not a government organisation. It is completely independent.

Some people really like the classroom method of learning that you find in organisations like the Alliance Française. They believe that is how one should learn. That’s totally fine. But the classroom is not the best place to learn a language. For a start, unless you’re going to chatter in class while the teacher is talking, you won’t get much of a chance to speak French. And some people report that class discussions tend to be dominated by whoever has the most pushy personality. Less aggressive students often find they don’t get to talk much French.

When you learn with Fast French, all sessions are one-on-one (unless you decide you want to learn with your partner, in which case there will be three of us). Most people are lucky to speak French a few times during a whole one hour class with a classroom-based method. But with a Fast French individual lesson, you will be talking French between 20% and 50% of the session time. That means you will be talking French for between 12 and 30 minutes per session. Sometimes even more. It’s a totally different process. You will multiply your exposure to the French language far more rapidly than if you are one of the 15 students in a language class, fighting to be heard among the other 14 people who all want to speak French too. A one hour language class has 60 minutes divided by 15 people. 60 divided by 15 equals four. So the most French you could hope to speak in a language class is 4 minutes. And that’s assuming that the teacher is silent for the entire class! That is not going to happen, so you will probably be lucky to talk French for more than 60 seconds in a group class.

Quiz

This two-question quiz is for your amusement only. Getting the questions right or wrong does not necessarily mean you are or are not intermediate level. Assessing your level of French is done in your first session in a more natural and organic way (via questions in English about your French learning experience, as well as forays into French conversation). With that understanding, please read on.

Q1: Could you translate a simple phrase like “I’m supposed to fix the problem” into French?

Hint: The verbs “supposer” or “fixer” would be the wrong choices, although they might seem logical. “Supposer” means to imagine. It doesn’t relate to the senses of “meant to,” “ought to” or “have to” at all.  And “fixer” means to attach, like fixing a picture to the wall. It has nothing to do with repairing or solving.

Q2: How would you say “I’ll take care of it” in French, referring to the fact that you are accepting the responsibility of sorting out an issue?

Hint: there are various ways “to take care” in French. There is “soigner” which is to treat or to look after. There is “faire attention” which is the sort of care you take when you’re crossing the road. But the verb we want here is different.

Reflect a little, then scroll down below to see the answers.

Answers

A1: The answer to the question of how you would translate “I’m supposed to fix the problem” into French is:

“Je suis censé régler le problème.”

A2: The answer to the how to say “I’ll take care of it” is:

“Je m’en occupe.”

No, it’s not “je m’en occuperai.” Congratulations on knowing the Future Simple verb tense, but it is usually not necessary in this situation. Come to a lesson and find out more!