After the competition I spent four days in Paris. I took a bike ride tour of the city and ate at many wonderful cafes. Thanks to the Rocket French course I was able to order food, ask for directions and shop. It was a lot of fun. There is something about the French language that is so attractive and sensual. Even simple expressions such as  voila (here you are) sounds somewhat romantic and sexy.

I wish I had been able to spend more time in Paris. It would have been great to take some French lessons and then imdiately put into practice what I would have learned. Anyway, that is something I hope I can do in the future. For the time being I will continue studying French online with programs such as Rocket French .

Anyway, if you are looking to learning French I can recommend Rocket French. It is a great beginner course and very good value for money. The learning lounge and lesson tracker in the member’s are great. The lessons come in downloable mp3 format so I did most of my study on the go with my ipod. You can also purchase the Rocket French program on CD.  I found it to be a too expensive and decided to purchase the downloadable version.  I am still reviewing several lesson as the course is fairly extensive.  So I really think I got my money’s worth out of this course.

In terms of developing a French accent I have a long way to go. In particular I am having trouble learning how to pronounce the R-sound. It is like trying to gargle air. Also, the silent  “H” will take some time getting used to.

As part of my study routine I have also been watching a lot of  TV online, renting French movies and listening to French radio. I have been doing my best to watch movies without subtitles. Listening to the radio is tough going. It is so fast paced and difficult to make sense of what is being said.

Learning how to read French has also helped me understand grammar. I don’t have a lot of time to do this, but it has been worthwhile. I might do this more when I return after my competition.

Finally, I am fortunate enough to have a access to a French native speaker. Near my school is a cafe which is owned by a French man. His English is outstanding, but he has been kind enough I to let me practice ordering food and talking about the weather. So I can practice speaking French everyday.

Only two more weeks!

YES! I want to claim my free instant access to the Rocket French 6 day Learn French course ($27 value).

Your Name:
Your Email Address:
(This is a private and fully protected mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time).

Two years ago when I competed in the same event I fell in love with France. The people I met were very friendly, the food was delicious and Paris was amazing. That whole experience inspired me to learn French. Unfortunately,  once I got home life got busy and I didn’t make time to study. Now almost two years later I am studying French everyday in preparation for my trip.

I stuck to my 10 day study plan which I rest every eleven days.  I have made progress and are starting to make sense of French. A cafe near my son’s school is owned by a French family. So I have practiced my speaking with him a little. I found some  good lessons on Youtube, but not enough for what I am wanting to achieve. I found a few podcasts, but ditched them pretty quickly. The the lack of format and audio quality didn’t impress me that much.

I ended purchasing the Rocket French program and I am pretty glad I did. The lesson are  easy to follow and somewhat entertaining. It course is pretty fast pasted , but there is heaps of repetition which I believe is really important. It really heaps with retention. I download the lessons into my iPod and go to a cafe or the local library to study. I take a lot of notes.

The Mega software games of the Rocket French program I don’t really use. They are pretty boring and not really games.  I am not a big fan of software when it comes to learning languages.  However, the audio lessons are great. I have completed about 10 hours of the program. There are heaps of situations and quite a lot of language to learn.  Also, the member learning lounge is pretty cool. You can chart your progress which I find motivating.

You can sign up for their free 6 day course and see if it is for you. You get over an hour of free audio lessons. So it is worth it. And, if you don’t like the emails they send you just unsubscribe.

On the day I set my 10 day study plan I will look for resources, such as Youtube lessons and podcasts and bookmark them so that I am well prepared for each day of study. I will also quickly review previous lessons daily before starting the lesson of the day

So here is my first 10 Day French Study Plan:

Day 1: Learn greetings and various ways to introduce myself

Day 2: Numbers  1 to 10, days of the week

Day 3: Numbers 10 to 20, months of the year

Day 4: Commenting on the weather

Day 5: Larger numbers, dates

Day 6: Talk about myself – where I am from & what I do

Day 7: My hobbies and interests

Day 8: Please, thank you, excuse me, sorry

Day 9: 50 nouns

Day 10:  Verbs -  to be, to go, to have

Day 11: Review and set the next 10 days

I think if you put your mind to it, have absolute clarity and take action you’ll be amazed by what you can achieve. Also, take advantage of any free resources you can get your hands on. I have signed up to just about every free French course. You can get a lot of free content and you can always unsubscribe if you don’t like what you are getting. I received an interesting  eBook  on the subject of languages acquisition from Rocket French which I cans hare with you.  It isn’t on  learning French, buts on learning language in general.  However it is a worthwhile read.

Click the link below to get the eBook.

Extraordinary Ways To Learn a Language

Sitting in front of a computer for 24 hours is something I didn’t enjoy at all, but it was worth it. My friend and I made it pass the qualifying round. This meant an all expenses paid trip to France to compete in the final.

The week I spent in France was amazing. I fell very much in love with the country, people and culture. Unfortunately, I couldn’t speak a word of French. Although, I enjoyed my week in France I was unable to converse with the locals and I think I missed some really wonderful opportunities.

This year I don’t want that to happen because  my friend and I have made the finals again!! We are off to France for another amazing WebJam. This time I want to be able to speak French and converse with the locals.  So I am taking a crash course in French.

I have been searching the web, looking at a number of online French language course. I have found some good youtube videos. There are a number of audio courses, but most of them are too expensive. Rocket French looked good so I took their free 6 day course. I liked it. You get full sample lessons on their learning program. I am going to buy the course and take a lesson every day.

I will keep you posted of my progress

YES! I want to claim my free instant access to the Rocket French 6 day Learn French course ($27 value).

Your Name:
Your Email Address:
(This is a private and fully protected mailing list. You can unsubscribe at any time).