Monday, September 25, 2017

Keep Up Your French, learning, speaking, translating



Problem
Where can I speak, practise and keep up my French?
These countries:
Andorra, Canada, Belgium, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, St Martin, Mauritius, Monaco, Martinique.
A few of the older people in Vietnam speak French.

Map showing French speaking countries from Wikipedia.

A few handy words
French - English
champs - fields (as in: Champs-Elysees in Paris; Rue des Champs, Roubaix, France)
concours - contest
Grande-Bretagne - Great Britain
industrie - industry
la piscine - the swimming pool
Mme
musée - museum
nord - north
prioritaire - priority (on the postmark on an envelope)
rue - street

English - French
contest - concours
fields - champs
Great Britain - Grande-Bretagne
industry - industrie
museum - musée
north - nord
priority - prioritaire
street - rue
swimming pool - piscine

Tips
Other ways to keep up your French:
MEDIA
Read French newspapers and magazines
Watch French films
Listen to French radio
Hear French songs

CUISINE
Go to French restaurants
Look at French recipes and menus

EXCHANGES
Have French students studying English to stay in your house.
Arrange for an English speaking school or college to do an exchange programme with a French equivalent.

ONLINE
googletranslate - use it to translate to and from French.
Google translate - sign up to help correct translations. You can skip anything too challenging.
BUSUU - links you with others who speak another language.

TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL
Join a French speaking Toastmasters group such as
Francophone in Singapore - entirely French - but English speakers can look at the French language manual to get help.

French Toastmasters in London, England: Monday evenings (tell them you are attending). They have meetings alternating system. Some meetings have a French speaking Toastmasters of the evening linking speeches in English, other meetings have an English speaking toastmaster of the evening linking speeches in French. Phone to check the format of the evening you are attending.

Toastmasters International has many manuals about public speaking in French. Members can download certificates in French for contests.
You can also start a language club in MeetUp, or join a polyglot club.

Websites
To translate for Google English into French or French into English or other languages:
https://translate.google.com/community?source=t-return-user#en/fr
www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_by_languages.htm
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken
Toastmasters International:
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/01515540-toastmasters-francophone-de-singapour
Experience French toastmasters in London:
http://toastmasterclub.org/portal.php?page=2386

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