8 Top tips

What are your best tips for memorising word spellings, accents, etc.?

It can be quite hard to memorise how to spell words in French, because there are accents which we don’t use in English. So I try to think about how the word sounds. For example, the sound of the c with the cedilla underneath it in français. Knowing how that ç is pronounced helps with the spelling of other words that have it, like the expression ça va.

Some people use flashcards. Some use mnemonics or rhymes to help them remember things. I just see the accents as being as important as letters of the alphabet, and so they should be learned with the word. When you get to writing on a word processing app that can switch between languages, you’ll find that you can have the typewritten words spell-checked and it will fill in the accents for you. But you should still learn the correct spelling of the word and where the accents go, because they have an influence on how the word is pronounced.

In relation to memorising word spellings, especially words which have accents on them, I would say that you should continuously write that word down. If you continuously write it down and refer to that, you will remember the different accents that go on specific words. And that will really help you in terms of remembering the way that a word is spelled.

What would you say to encourage a new learner who is anxious about learning grammar?

If you’re new to learning French, you might be a bit anxious about learning grammar, but don’t be. Think of it as a way to unlock the language. The building blocks that will enable you to express yourself in another language. And it’s the thing that will take you from single words to whole sentences. And there are tons of online resources that can help you too (blogs, videos). I just think it’s so important to get over that fear of grammar.

Learning grammar is like adding another tool into your tool kit. It is progress. It is new stuff and new challenges. It’s the part of the journey that will make the ride more comfortable. As you learn the grammar you strengthen your skills, and you make it possible to do more with the language you’re learning.

Initially I would say that learning grammar was a very daunting aspect of studying French, because it appeared really difficult and really different from English. But I think now I would say that learning grammar really has provided me with knowledge about the way that the language itself works. Not only that, I would say that it’s helped me to understand English grammar more as well. I would say that-- a lot of grammatical structures I didn’t even know I use on a daily basis in English, but I’m more conscious of them now when I’m speaking. But that’s thanks to the fact that I learned these grammatical structures in French.