Last summer we spent a week in a converted camper-van driving around rural Southeast France. It was one of the best adventures of my life. I was enamored with the incredible food in every tiny village, the breathtaking beauty of countryside, and the French language itself.
I studied French for three years during high school and could manage very basic conversations during our trip. Experiencing France firsthand reignited my interest in French and I decided to pursue fluency. Once back in the US, I started researching what resources were out there.
Starting My French Language Journey
During my 20’s I lived in both Spain and then Brazil to do immersion study in the local languages. I’ve learned, when it comes to language acquisition, that you have to have multiple forms of exposure with as much immersion as possible. That means conversing, reading and writing.
I don’t include repetitive grammar exercises under the “writing” label. With grammar exercises you’re not thinking in the language so much as constructing a formula. Journaling, engaging in forums, or doing some other free form writing that forces you to think in the language is much more effective.
Truly, the best way to learn a language is to practice with multiple native speakers every single day. This is where LingoCulture has been my lifeline. I started to learn french with LingoCulture at the end of January 2022 after not having studied French for about 12 years. I went into it knowing how to introduce myself, order food, and I could understand some simple sentences.
Due to my background in studying multiple romance languages, I also have a solid understanding of the basic grammar. This allowed me to focus on pronunciation and vocabulary.
LingoCulture did reach out and ask me to write an honest review of my experience with them in exchange for two weeks of free lessons. I’ve been wanting to write a review anyway and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Below is a breakdown of my experience with LingoCulture along with a list of the other tools I’ve used to supplement my French education.
Why I chose LingoCutlure
I chose to learn french with LingoCulture first and foremost for the access to native speakers. I wanted to go with a paid program that allowed me to schedule classes in advance. Peer to peer language platforms are great but can be a time suck when trying to find a reliable language partner with whom to practice. I have very limited time and needed something with a more set schedule.
Another great feature is the ability to work with multiple teachers so that a student’s listening comprehension doesn’t become overly dependent on the way one teacher pronounces things. Increased exposure is important for transitioning from classroom to real world.
The website allows you to schedule up to several days in advance. This allowed me to plan out my lessons for the week ahead of time.
The First Weeks: Learn French with LingoCulture
Within the first two weeks on the platform I took lessons with probably four to six different teachers. I was super motivated at that time and doing one to two lessons per day. The great thing about the platform is that it allows you to privately rate the various teachers so that you remember who you liked working with (and who you didn’t). The teachers interests, hobbies and specialties are listed so that you can try to find someone you think you’ll enjoy.
After about two weeks I zeroed in on two teachers whose teaching style worked best for me. Its been two months and I still primarily work with the same two teachers. On the occasions that my schedule hasn’t aligned with any of their open times I’ve been able to schedule with other “back-up” teachers that I liked.
My advice is to think of the first 10 or so lessons as a time investment in finding the right teacher for you while learning the basics. I definitely had a handful of lessons with teachers who I just didn’t like for various reasons or teaching methods. I did notice some teachers seemed to have recurring connectivity issues. While in the moment those lessons felt like a waste of time, I’m glad I weeded out those teachers and know not to book with them going forward.
Once you find a one to four teachers you like working with then you can work with them to build out lessons that cater to your needs. You can mark up to three teachers as “favorite” which allows you to book further in advance on their calendars.
The teachers will also cater each lesson to your needs and interests. For example, with one teacher I’ve been reading Harry Potter and The Little Prince out loud. I wanted to focus on pronunciation and reading out loud has been key for my language development. My teacher mercilessly corrects me each time I mis-pronounce something and I love the progress I’ve made with that approach.
Two Months In: Learn French with LingoCulture
Overall, I’m really happy I decided to learn french with LingoCulture. I like the flexibility of both lesson scheduling and content. As I’ve gotten to know my teachers on a more personal level those conversations have led to my learning vocabulary thats of interest and actually useful to me. Many of the teachers are Algerian and I’ve enjoyed learning about Algeria and what their lives are like there.
The subscription fee as of today is $149 per month. It’s like a gym membership. You get your money’s worth when you put in the time. For me it is worth it. On average I do 6 – 8 lessons per week which averages out to $5 – $7 per lesson.
Additional Resources to Learn French
If you’re short on time, I would recommend you do one lesson per day to learn french with LingoCulture. During busy weeks I tend to not do much else but that one lesson per day. I don’t necessarily make the rapid progress I would like to, but it sustains my current level and keeps me focused.
In addition to my efforts to learn french with LingoCulture I use the following resources:
- I am slowly working through Practice Makes Perfect Complete French Grammar. It’s taken me two months to get to chapter two and this is due to time constraints. I try to do an exercise before going into a LingoCulture class. Then in conversation during the class I’ll focus on using the grammar concept from the book in real time.
- I aim for one hour per evening watching Netflix in French using the Language Reactor plug-in. This probably averages four hours per week. Listening comprehension is the biggest hurdle in language learning for me.
- I follow a handful of French language threads on Reddit. I’ve found reading in French on Reddit is a great way to pick-up new vocabulary while learning about French culture and current events. For example, I’ve enjoyed reading the comments of French people who are discussing the ongoing protests against the increase in the retirement age in France. This has given me much more insight into what’s actually happening than I would’ve gotten from the American news media.
- I would like to start journaling in French each day. I haven’t started yet but journaling is a great way to get oneself thinking in a language. I hope to start doing this in the next month or so.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, I would say I average about 6 – 10 hours of French exposure and/or practice each week. Being at an intermediate level can be frustrating at times because my progress isn’t as obvious. My learning progression is in hops instead of leaps.
I would encourage anyone learning a new language to look at it like an exercise routine for your brain. Just as with exercising your body, 30 minutes every single day over the course of a year is better and more efficient than irregular cram sessions.
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