Learning Strategies and Resources
Disclaimer: this page is still under development. More strategies will be added over time.
Vocabulary
Recommended Resources
- Your Notes
- My Handouts
- Readings: Reread mini-novels and short stories
- Music: Reread lyrics and sing along to videos
- Conjuguemos: Writing practice includes timed writing activities, hangman, and printable crossword puzzles
- Quizlet:
- Flashcards: Flip through and familiarize yourself with the material. Start with French to English, listening to the words as you go. Then test yourself going from English to French/Spanish.
- Learn: Track your progress and review the things you got wrong. Includes the option to translation from Spoken French/Spanish to English
- Scatter: Match words to their definitions and try to finish faster than your friends.
- Speller: Type what you hear.
- Test: Prepare for the actual test with an automatically graded quiz. Question types include written, matching, multiple choice and true/false
- Space Race: Earn points by typing in words before their definitions vanish off screen.
- Lists, tests and flashcards you can print out
- Instantly import vocabulary spreadsheets you have already made.
- Your Notes
- My Handouts
- Readings: Reread mini-novels and short stories
- Music: Reread lyrics and sing along to videos
- Conjuguemos: Writing practice includes timed writing activities, hangman, and printable crossword puzzles
- Quizlet:
- Flashcards: Flip through and familiarize yourself with the material. Start with French to English, listening to the words as you go. Then test yourself going from English to French/Spanish.
- Learn: Track your progress and review the things you got wrong. Includes the option to translation from Spoken French/Spanish to English
- Scatter: Match words to their definitions and try to finish faster than your friends.
- Speller: Type what you hear.
- Test: Prepare for the actual test with an automatically graded quiz. Question types include written, matching, multiple choice and true/false
- Space Race: Earn points by typing in words before their definitions vanish off screen.
- Lists, tests and flashcards you can print out
- Instantly import vocabulary spreadsheets you have already made.
WordReference: multilingual online dictionary
- Make sure you are translating words between the desired languages
- Check the English words in parentheses to ensure you have the correct translation of the word.
Collins French-English Dictionary
- Check the English words in parentheses to ensure you have the correct translation of the word.
- Read sample sentences to ensure you are using the correct word for the context
NO ONLINE TRANSLATORS! Remember that the use of a translator for complete sentences is strictly forbidden in all circumstances! First of all, it frequently translates incorrectly to the user's embarrassment. Secondly, it prevents you from learning the language through the process of constructing sentences on your own.
- Make sure you are translating words between the desired languages
- Check the English words in parentheses to ensure you have the correct translation of the word.
- Read sample sentences to ensure you are using the correct word for the context
- Read sample sentences to see typical accompanying words or grammatical structures used with the word you are looking for
- Refer to forums at the bottom if you cannot find the right expression
- Check the English words in parentheses to ensure you have the correct translation of the word.
- Read sample sentences to ensure you are using the correct word for the context
NO ONLINE TRANSLATORS! Remember that the use of a translator for complete sentences is strictly forbidden in all circumstances! First of all, it frequently translates incorrectly to the user's embarrassment. Secondly, it prevents you from learning the language through the process of constructing sentences on your own.
Strategies
Learn
- Study vocabulary handouts I create, distribute in class, and post online
- Study words with images on my handouts
- Listen to the words as you learn them on Quizlet
- Pay close attention to gender of nouns and alternate spellings for different forms of the same adjective
- Print your own flashcards from Quizlet or Conjuguemos that you can use review while in the car or anywhere you don't have internet access
- Learn words in context by reading complete sentences from my vocabulary handouts and in the book
Practice
- Start by reviewing from French/Spanish to English
- Then match French/Spanish and English with Scatter on Quizlet and Memory on Conjuguemos
- Then review from English to French/Spanish
- Practice writing, checking spelling carefully. Quizlet writing practice includes Quizlet speller, learn, and writing tests. Conjuguemos writing practice includes timed writing activities, hangman, and printable crossword puzzles
- Practice words in context by using all practice strategies with complete sentences on handouts and relevant Quizlet activities for the sets I have created
Verb Conjugations
Recommended resources:
- Conjugaison: Find out all conjugations of any verb. Just enter the infinitive form of the French verb (ending in -er, -re, or -ir), and it gives you the conjugation for any tense. Beginning students generally learn the Présent Indicatif.
1. Learn the verb conjugations
- Analyze the conjugations of the verbs whose conjugations you want to learn.
- Notice patterns of endings and pay close attention to spelling differences in irregular verbs.
- Memorize conjugations in small chunks
2. Practice conjugating
On Paper:
- Write out conjugations of one or several verbs from memory.
- At a later time test yourself again on the conjugations you got wrong before. Follow the highlighting procedure above if necessary. Repeat until all are correct.
Online:
- Do written conjugation exercises with subject / verb conjugations on conjuguemos
3. Conjugating in context
- Reread texts (stories, novels), paying close attention to verb conjugations
- Study sentences I have provided with conjugated forms of the verbs we are learning. Practice filling in the blanks with conjugated verbs (with my Quizlets or practice on paper). When the check your answers, make sure you understand what the sentence means and why the verb chosen was the correct answer.
Listening
Recommended resources:
- Conjugaison: Find out all conjugations of any verb. Just enter the infinitive form of the French verb (ending in -er, -re, or -ir), and it gives you the conjugation for any tense. Beginning students generally learn the Présent Indicatif.
- French Verb Deconjugator: look up the conjugated form of the verb and it will give you the infinitives
- Conjuguemos: Reference and practice tool and practice Includes Verb conjugation, vocabulary, and grammar graded activities. You can also print flashcards, crosswords, worksheets, and conjugation charts
- Quizlet: Use the Quizlets I create to learn and practice conjugations of subject-verb combinations. Listen to the different forms of conjugations as you view them. The program corrects you as you practice conjugations, making you aware of mistakes you might otherwise overlook.
- Other online links
1. Learn the verb conjugations
- Analyze the conjugations of the verbs whose conjugations you want to learn.
- Notice patterns of endings and pay close attention to spelling differences in irregular verbs.
- Memorize conjugations in small chunks
- Find conjugation charts on conjuguaison.com or conjuguemos.com
2. Practice conjugating
On Paper:
- Write out conjugations of one or several verbs from memory.
- CAREFULLY check your answers with a conjugation chart
- Use a highlighter to mark the conjugations you got wrong and write the correct answers next to them
- At a later time test yourself again on the conjugations you got wrong before. Follow the highlighting procedure above if necessary. Repeat until all are correct.
Online:
- Do written conjugation exercises with subject / verb conjugations on conjuguemos
- Review with flashcards of subject / verb conjugations on Quizlet
- Listen as you conjugate verbs on Quizlet
- Complete tests on Quizlet
- Make sure that you practice writing out the conjugations
3. Conjugating in context
- Reread texts (stories, novels), paying close attention to verb conjugations
- Study sentences I have provided with conjugated forms of the verbs we are learning. Practice filling in the blanks with conjugated verbs (with my Quizlets or practice on paper). When the check your answers, make sure you understand what the sentence means and why the verb chosen was the correct answer.
Listening
- Youtube: Watch music videos and try to decipher what you hear. Watch videos with lyrics in order to read words as you hear them.
- Spotify: Listen to music whenever/wherever. Make playlists
- LyricsTraining: Sing/Read along Karaoke style and do the gap-fill activities
- Quizlet:
- LyricsTraining: Sing/Read along Karaoke style and do the gap-fill activities
- Quizlet:
+ Flashcards: Listen as you flip through and familiarize yourself with the material, going from French to English.
+ Learn: Track your progress and review the things you got wrong. Includes the option to translation from Spoken French to English
+ Speller: Type what you hear.
Speaking and Pronunciation
Audio Pal: A multilingual text-to-speech tool. You can type in words or sentences and it will pronounce them for you.
Forvo: pronounce any word - just enter the word in the search field, and you will hear it pronounced.
Youtube: Watch music videos and try to decipher what you hear. Watch videos with lyrics in order to read words as you hear them.
- Spotify: Listen to music whenever/wherever. Make playlists
- LyricsTraining: Sing/Read along Karaoke style
Other Strategies
1. You will need to click on the icon that is the "T" key from a keyboard.
2. You will change the language to French.
3. You will choose which voice you want to pronounce.
4. Then you will type in the sentence you want to pronounce.
Forvo: pronounce any word - just enter the word in the search field, and you will hear it pronounced.
Youtube: Watch music videos and try to decipher what you hear. Watch videos with lyrics in order to read words as you hear them.
- Spotify: Listen to music whenever/wherever. Make playlists
- LyricsTraining: Sing/Read along Karaoke style
Other Strategies
- Actively participate on classroom activities as much as possible
- Actively engage in classroom partner & group conversations
- Converse with classmates and others outside of class
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