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I got an A in standard grade French and I can't get by in France


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Old 04-12-2016, 03:47
SULLA
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Why do the French insist on having their own language??????????
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Old 04-12-2016, 05:53
spkx
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We actually went to france as part of our GCSE for a week long exchange trip, that for me was by far the best way of learning (after the initial 1 year studying)
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Old 04-12-2016, 06:33
Cornish_Piskie
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Je parle français comme une vache espagnole

gets you off on a good foot (unless you're speaking to a Spanish person by mistake)
"Je parle Francais un peu" also helps. OK, so you've passed exams but the person you're speaking to doesn't know that, so it does no harm to inform them that your French is somewhat limited. The French are always impressed (not to mention surprised) when the English attempt to speak their language at all..!!

The reputation Les Rosbifs have on the continent, for expecting everybody to speak English, is widespread and well earned. It makes us look ignorant and arrogant so trying to converse with them on their own terms does you credit in their eyes.

My experiences of conversing with the French in their language have been positive. Generally, they're helpful and will be smilingly tolerant of your little mistakes. Don't give up, you'll improve in time. Good luck.
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Old 04-12-2016, 06:39
himerus
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As someone who failed his School Certificate examination in French in 1949 I have little to add to this discussion.
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Old 04-12-2016, 06:53
noise747
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What a load of bullocks noise747...another 'mate' problem LOL

GCSE? it means nothing in reality...its another Mickey Mouse ticket given out to UK children in the hope of empowering them... they should all be scrapped. http://www.ibo.org/ is the way forward for better Schools in the UK.

He is fine with other countries, including the one you seem to love and spend your time in, I wonder how that will work when we leave the E.U. It is just the French, they are too proud that is the problem and think that people who do not come from France can not speak French as well as them.

My French is awful, never was good at French, but I must admit, when I went to France, only been once, I found out that the french can be a bit like that, at least I was trying, badly, but i was trying.

Italy on the other hand is a different kettle of fish.

It have been a long time since i have been to school, they seem to be in and back out before they have time to sit down these days, I hated school, but I do wish I took more interest, but nothing i can do about it now and I learnt far more since I left anyway,
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Old 04-12-2016, 06:55
noise747
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Why do the French insist on having their own language??????????
Disgraceful, should all speak Chinese,
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Old 04-12-2016, 07:09
MAW
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"Je parle Francais un peu" also helps. OK, so you've passed exams but the person you're speaking to doesn't know that, so it does no harm to inform them that your French is somewhat limited. The French are always impressed (not to mention surprised) when the English attempt to speak their language at all..!!

The reputation Les Rosbifs have on the continent, for expecting everybody to speak English, is widespread and well earned. It makes us look ignorant and arrogant so trying to converse with them on their own terms does you credit in their eyes.

My experiences of conversing with the French in their language have been positive. Generally, they're helpful and will be smilingly tolerant of your little mistakes. Don't give up, you'll improve in time. Good luck.
This, pretty much. You could also bear in mind what your average foreigner sounds like when trying to speak English. Many are quite cute, and dare I say sexy. I met a Pole a week or so ago who told me he grew up on a farm, with cows, sheeps, cocks and porks. My wife was charmed Pretty sure the French are the same.
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Old 04-12-2016, 07:27
Bob_Whinger
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Totally have the same experience as the OP. Cannot understand a single sentence they are saying.
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Old 04-12-2016, 07:57
james_lndsay
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I'm in Paris for the weekend and I'm struggling to get by. I can speak basic phrasebook French but when they reply in rapid French I haven't a clue what they are saying. At FNAC in Forum Des Halles, I offered too much money and the guy gave me back the extra €20 note and smiled and said a big long sentence and I had no idea what he was saying and i just nodded foolishly.

Also despite my best efforts they can tell immediately I'm not a native speaker and they switch to English, while I try to be courteous by attempting to speak French...

Is there something wrong with the French that is taught at school? It bears little resemblance to how real French people speak the language
Yes even when I was in education, I never got a qualification but I can speak and read French like a native, I remember very little conversation in French being practised it was all ooh la la and that nonsense and educational films about a family of ********s in Créteil.

I took a intensive course in my twenties, the education of languages in UK schools is rather dire, they tend to stick to the basics rather than teach Mandarin ect that will be much more required than say dreary Spanish and German.
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Old 04-12-2016, 08:00
Ovalteenie
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When French people speak English with a French accent it sounds quite attractive... I'm curious to know what does French with an English accent sound like to the French?
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Old 04-12-2016, 08:00
CravenHaven
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Also despite my best efforts they can tell immediately I'm not a native speaker and they switch to English, while I try to be courteous by attempting to speak French...
ah dernt knerr, ah ave neverr ad a problèm madame, ah just tork to zem in ze sily acsent zey preferr
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Old 04-12-2016, 08:05
BinaryDad
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Passing a GCSE in a language and being able to speak it fluently and properly are two different things.
Pretty much this.

I've lived in German speaking countries for about 12 years now, and I've learned most of my German simply by speaking and listening to people speaking the language day-in and day-out. I did two years of German at school (many years ago) but it only gave me a grounding in the basis.
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Old 04-12-2016, 08:09
Ovalteenie
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I leave tomorrow back to Brexit Britain...
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Old 04-12-2016, 08:47
stud u like
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A Level French in England is not the same as in France. We should have proper tutors.
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Old 04-12-2016, 09:02
razorback Tony
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Thanks, though I had to Google Translate, my French is that good. I did German to O Level, not French.

Verstehen sie?

Ja, natürlich.
But I only remember little bits from phrase books, like, ich spreche kaum deutsch.
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Old 04-12-2016, 09:35
Ancient IDTV
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Yes, the 'O' levels I passed in French and Spanish have proved to be a complete and utter waste of time and effort. Wish they'd taught me something useful at school, such as DIY, car maintenance, etc. etc.
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Old 04-12-2016, 09:44
LostFool
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Yes even when I was in education, I never got a qualification but I can speak and read French like a native, I remember very little conversation in French being practised it was all ooh la la and that nonsense and educational films about a family of ********s in Créteil..
All I remember from 5 years of French lessons at school is doing endless verb tables (what the hell is the "imperfect subjunctive" anyway?) and vocabulary lists with very little attention paid to practical language skills. It's no wonder that when we go to France we can't string a sentence together.

A few years ago I did a short Spanish course at the local college and I was very impressed with the way that was taught. The emphasis being on building up confidence in conversation rather than getting hung up on grammar. If you've done some French in the past basic Spanish is very easy to pick up.
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Old 04-12-2016, 09:48
TUTV Viewer
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If I'd known how good Nordic dramas were, I'd have studied Swedish at school!

Young people studying languages are quite lucky nowadays really. It's so easy just to stream live media and content from any country around the world.

No need to rely on your teacher coming back from a holiday with SECAM videos of French documentaries with dodgy colour being played on a PAL Video recorder with awful tracking.
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Old 04-12-2016, 10:05
Ovalteenie
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I'm at Starbucks, Bercy Parc... I was called next with a 'Hello' and I hadn't even said a word

I must be sending out 'English-speaking tourist' vibes

Anyway I got a Starbucks Paris tumbler for my collection
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Old 04-12-2016, 10:09
Ovalteenie
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If I'd known how good Nordic dramas were, I'd have studied Swedish at school!

Young people studying languages are quite lucky nowadays really. It's so easy just to stream live media and content from any country around the world.

No need to rely on your teacher coming back from a holiday with SECAM videos of French documentaries with dodgy colour being played on a PAL Video recorder with awful tracking.
We had a French language assistant at my school... I think they were French university students on some sort of language exchange


I'm trying to pick up French pop music and French film/tv DVDs but annoyingly they tend not to have English subtitles
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Old 04-12-2016, 10:11
GusGus
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They should teach conversational French in schools instead of all the grammar, nobody is going to write a book in French
I had a fourteen year old French student to stay for three weeks when I was at school, the French master was very excited at the thought of a real French person in his classroom. In the event he couldn't understand him so we had a swift lesson in different dialects
Two years ago I was hospitalised in a French hospital where nobody spoke a word f English and my French was useless. What a nightmare
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Old 04-12-2016, 10:42
Doctor_Wibble
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That would be the DS interpretation of academia.
I'm tempted to agree with that!

The reality is that schools teach you enough about a language at GCSE level to prepare you for A-level studies and so on, like the rungs of a ladder.
There's certainly more than just an element of truth there, and the earlier remarks about going somewhere and listening to people speak the language and for you to use it 'for real' are certainly on the money.
I had the privilege of staying in a number of non-touristy places over the years and the experience of attempting communication with people beyond just speaking loudly and clearly is the one that helps put it all into place, and boost the confidence for the next one.

Maybe part of the learning needs to include a 'buying fags at a bar in a remote village with no shops' segment. Or asking a baker where to get a souvenir pack of lavender soap (etc).
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Old 04-12-2016, 10:44
Doctor_Wibble
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... I must be sending out 'English-speaking tourist' vibes
The knotted handkerchief is a slight giveaway

Anyway I got a Starbucks Paris tumbler for my collection
Ah, so you now know the French for "Oi come back here with that"
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Old 04-12-2016, 11:08
barbeler
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If native French speakers have as poor a grasp on their own language as the vast numbers of native English speakers with theirs, it's a wonder that any of the two can understand each other's languages at all. How on earth would a French person understand a British teenager who randomly slips the word, 'like' into every sentence. I think one of the reasons why people complain that they can't understand foreign call centre operators is that they are far more likely than their customers to be speaking English correctly.
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Old 04-12-2016, 11:14
Ovalteenie
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Another thing I've noticed here in France is that you don't see many obese French people
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