What would a carpenter be without his tools? Right?Â
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Well, same things goes for you. As a language learning, youâre not expected to know everything. But, if you want to be an efficient language learner, you need to use the right tools to learn French.
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Careful, Iâm talking about tools, not resources. Tools are the websites, apps, books,⊠that you use to do one specific thing. Resources are where you go to when you want to practice.
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So, in the resources youâll find Youtube channels, novels, TV Shows, movies,⊠And, in the tools, youâll find dictionaries, thesaurus, apps to check the pronunciation,âŠ
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Clear enough? Letâs get started then, because I have 6 tools to learn French you should be using already.
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Also, theyâre all FREE.
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WordReference
A good dictionary is ESSENTIAL to your learning. But, thanks to the internet, you donât have to carry a huge book with you wherever you go.
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WordReference is a website and an app that does exactly what a dictionary do and more.
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Plus, itâs not only for French / English. So if you are learning multiple languages, itâs perfect.
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Use it whenever :
- you have a doubt,
- canât find the RIGHT word,
- donât know how to pronounce a word,..
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Yes, because WordReference is more than just a dictionary. Check out the video to know more about it, as Iâm quickly showing you how to use it correctly.
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It is my NUMBER ONE tool, and I recommend it to anyone learning French, regardless of your goal, your level or your learning style.
Linguee
Iâve talk about Linguee in this article already.
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But, to be short, sometimes WordReference doesnât have the answer youâre looking for.
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And it can be frustrating, as you know, you NEED the answer, right?
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So thatâs where Linguee is useful. Not only it is a dictionary, it has a feature that WordReference doesnât: a translation in context of sentences.
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What does that mean? That means under the usual dictionary entry, youâll get a series of sentences (generally from government sources, or certified translated texts) that are translated for you.
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Pretty cool if youâre looking for a very specific term that WordReference doesnât know.
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In most cases, you wonât need Linguee. But, itâs good to have on hand if youâre looking for a specific or technical word.
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PS – itâs also an app.
LâObs La Conjugaison
One of the pain of learning French is the conjugaison⊠Am I right?Â
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Because of the different group verbs, the exceptions, the subjunctive,.. Itâs quite hard to wrap your head around it in the first place, and then, itâs even harder to use it correctly when you speak right?
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Well, thatâs where a tool like La Conjugaison comes in. And itâs pretty simple.
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You enter a verb in the search bar, and the website is working for you, conjugating the verb at all the tenses and forms possible.
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Pretty cool eh?
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I like this one in particular because the layout of the conjugasons is super clear. (Also, itâs a great way to check out how the French verb system works).
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Try it here.Â
Un Bescherelle
Actually, La Conjugaison is a modern version of something French people are familiar with since their early childhood and that they fear more than anything – LE BESCHERELLE.
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Itâs basically a dictionary of conjugaisons. So you can imagine the faces of French pupils when the teacher ask for a bescherelle.
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Iâm showing you how it looks like in the video, so go and check that out.
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Obviously though, you donât have to invest in a Bescherelle, itâs up to you. But if youâd rather have a paperback version, look that up on Amazon (affiliate link).
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I recommend the brand Bescherelle (affiliate link). Itâs the original, so youâre super sure itâs good quality đÂ
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Iâll advise you to take the most recent edition, as youâll get more âmodernâ verbs.
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Scribens
Who uses Grammarly all the time? I do.
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Even though sometimes when Iâm writing in French and English in the text, itâs bloody annoying.
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Well, Scribens is the French version.
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If you are writing an email in French to someone, or even a comment and you donât want to get it wrong, check out Scribens.
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You need to go on Scribens though, as the browser extension is a premium feature. But itâs worth the hassle if want to make sure what you wrote is grammatically correct.
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No, it wonât catch everything obviously, but itâs a good start đÂ
And finally, Google.
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Note I didnât say Google Translate, but Google in general.
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When I have a doubt about a verb form or a spelling, I simply type what I think is right in Google. If itâs wrong, Iâll have suggestion, if itâs right, Iâll have examples of sentences in which it is used. So I can make sure the context is the same.
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If you are going to type a verb form though, remember to put a subject with it.Â
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Google Translate can be a useful tool. But please please please donât use it to make complete sentences from English to French. You can use it as a translator from French to English if you want (be mindful of the punctuation though, it is very important for a good automatic translation).Â
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Use it as a dictionary, while keeping in mind that the same word can have several translations đÂ
And, youâre all set with these 6 tools to learn French:
- WordReference
- Linguee
- LâObs La Conjugaison
- Un BescherelleÂ
- Scribens
- And Google
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Is there an app or website youâre using as a tool that I forgot?
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Help me out and share this article with your friends if you found it useful.
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In the meantime, use the tools, use your French and Iâll see you next week for another article on Just French It.Â
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Ă la prochaine !
1 thought on “Tools to learn French đ you should already be using if you are serious about learning French”
You are so sweet đ goodluck in your life!