Learn French to Leave The USA
Hi, I'm Chris. Your French coach.
Quite a few Americans among our students mention leaving the USA for the greener pastures of France.
In this post, we'll talk about how to make this project happen.
Welcome to OuiCommunicate Online French Coaching for Adults
We’re not just another “legacy school”. We’re a no-nonsense, progress first, forward-thinking French coaching service that enables adult learners master French by means of the highest level of bilingualism available.
Why are Americans leaving?
The political landscape and a general sense of worry are the first reasons mentioned. The need for a slower-paced lifestyle comes in close second.
Where are Americans going?
The most popular choice remains France, and with it the prospect of a more peaceful and simple life. A need for authenticity is a driving factor, as well as a desire to escape the current drama.
How are they doing it?
As a first step, many Americans try apps like Duolingo or group classes. When they realize it’s working they seek better solutions.
What problems are they facing?
The biggest problem Americans are facing is the realization that there are many French classes available, but quite few places to learn it effectively. They feel overwhelmed and often give up.
Can learning French as an adult be done?
Meet Bree from New York – She started from scratch with no prior French knowledge. She achieved French in under 200 hours.
Just 3 years later, she confidently speaks French and happily lives in France. Are you ready to do the same?
Some necessary advice to help you learn French
What does “learning French” mean?
Before we accomplish a new task we have an “idea” of what it means. Only when we have done it can we say: “this is what it’s actually like”. If you have never learned a foreign language before, you are at the stage where you do not see clearly the road ahead.
This is nothing to feel bad about and it is perfectly natural. Only the very best coaches in the world have a structured understanding of a language. Most French tutors do not have this understanding.
Language teaching is largely broken
What does it tell us that high schools are struggling to find teachers when at the same time the online tutoring platforms are overflowing with tutors?
It either mans that the tutors are all former teachers (highly unlikely) or that most tutors are unqualified.
The internet has made it possible for everyone to try their hand at tutoring, creating a language app or opening an online language website.
On the other side of the spectrum are the “legacy schools” comfortably sitting on their outdated methods such as group classes and abstract language levels (A1 / A2 / B1 / B2 / C1 / C2)
What will be your main obstacle?
The main obstacle(s) for the adult learner getting back into French will be mental mostly. But it won’t be the “learning French” part that will be most challenging – it will be the fact of understanding what is expected of you and knowing where you stand on the “map of French”.
You will not be able to separate trivia from the core necessary skills and you will not understand how much further you must progress until you officially know French. This is why the right coach is so important.
Don’t listen to the masses
The internet is full of opinions on how a language should be learned. Few of these people ever completed a Masters degree in Linguistics and fewer still are qualified teachers or educators.
Remember that at this initial stage, you have no clue what to do and you will fall pray to any solution that seems to carry a semblance of common sense.
The internet did NOT cause a breakthrough in language learning. We are still at the same stage we were at last century. Do not listen to the merchants of shortcuts – there are none to find.
Think about your own American culture
The French don’t know you
Every learner figures that if they book with a French tutor “from France” they are sure to get the most genuine teaching and the best accent.
Think again. Firstly, their accent will not rub off on you and will not be the focus of your class. Accent reduction is a skill in itself that few teachers (or tutors) specialize in.
Next, the fact that you are American means you belong to a language culture and a way of thinking that the French from France do not know about.
They have no idea what it feels like to be you and the difficulties you will face. The reason being that they are not native speakers of English and teach following some very rigid French traditions.
This approach is not suited to speakers of English and generates some very underwhelming results.
Their most famous “legacy school” A.F. stands almost as a monument to these ineffective methods.
France as a monolingual bastion
France is one of the rare countries in the world where cultural diversity is the exception. They do not recognize other languages than French and perform poorly at (even) English.
This – in short – is the social aquarium in which your average French tutor grew up. A French tutor from France is not naturally wired towards language diversity or understanding “otherness”.
They will approach you as an American learning French and will fail to understand the depth of what makes you as a person. Since they do not grasp English as natives, they will only see their half of the narrative.
For cultural reasons, French teachers from France find it very hard to “extract” themselves from their habits and take a step back on their language. More often than not, they will overwhelm you with trivia and marginal points of French.
It creates discouragement in English speakers who often give up because of this cultural obstacle.
Meet your French coach
Hear it straight from the owner. Chris gives you a rundown of OuiCommunicate and the French Classes you will find here.
A rundown of your (worst) learning options
- Schools / group classes
To many, this seems like the most reasonable option. It is familiar due to the closeness with other formal institutions such as high school and seems well structured an built for the job.
Cons: Group classes are slow and have the inconvenience of only allowing progress at the speed of the rest of the class. You get limited speaking time and no personal coaching. Schools like to lock students into imaginary French levels to be able to sell the next level after you’ve passed one of their tests. Slow, clunky and not designed for performance. The product of another era.
2. Apps and language websites
There is so much to criticize, it is actually hard to know where to start and yet legitimacy is the main point of concern here. “Who built them and following which logic?”
A language app is built with volume in mind which necessitates for the French instruction to be fun and accessible. It is designed as a commercial product, with language concerns being almost irrelevant.
When the owners actually disclose their identity, we find that they are from a business background and saw an opportunity in online education. Let’s be clear: they’re not here because of their passion for languages.
3. Conversation partners
This one is recommended by anyone with an opinion and seems to make sense until we realize that we’re confusing activity for learning. Yes, you are speaking. No, your conversation partner is not an expert tutor and cannot guide you through the language. Unstructured conversations produce a lot of satisfaction but very little targeted progress.
4. Tutoring mills
A tutoring mill (italki or Preply) offers the opportunity to tutor in our native language with virtually no barriers to entry or qualifications.
Your success in French is of no real concern to a tutor who mostly does a few hours as a way to earn extra cash. To them, it is no life or death situation. Their name is not attached to your success and it is likely not their main job.
The format of these unstructured conversations make many parts of French impossible to learn due to the need for formal studying and retention.
5. Films and podcasts
Time-consuming and untargeted. The mathematical odds and close to zero that you will encounter every meaningful part of French, recognize it and turn it into a rational explanation. There are just as many chances of learning tennis by watching Wimbledon on TV.
Learning French is serious business
In this article, we laid out much of what awaits you on your journey towards French and France.
There is much noise and many ineffective learning methods. There is also the fact that the majority of French tutors do not have the answer of how to make you a competent user of French.
The timeline you should be looking at is a year. During the first year, you can dedicate time to learning French and during the second you can improve your fluency.
In case you are not convinced, you can use your own judgement to decide if your current method is likely to work. Language learning follows the same principles of common sense as any other parts of life. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
If you’ve never seen unqualified car mechanics, chances are that there is a reason. If you didn’t get through your studies by playing on an app, chances are that it won’t work for French either. Only you can cut through the noise and decide which method will bring you French.
Booking your free Guided Tour is the start to something better.
We’ve heard enough nightmare stories about French classes to know that this contact form is a crossroads.
You can go back to the old, or book a tour at the risk of discovering something much better.
Click on “New Students Guided Tour” to book a guided tour of this website as well as the opportunity to discuss your needs for French.
You will meet with Chris for a friendly chat, during which we will discuss your project of learning French
When we hang up, you will have all the necessary info to consider if this course is for you. No pressure.
Phone or text us at: (+1) 860-339-6480
Wish for a callback? Use the contact form!
