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What do you do to practice listening comprehension?

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 10:01 pm: Edit

Listen to Radio France: http://www.rfi.fr/

You can listen to the news all day and all night. Also check out their l'actualite' en francais facile. If you look down the left side of the page that the above link gets you to, you'll see a link to a place where youc an learn French. Français facile includes an archived daily newscast in simple French. It also has a transcription (in French) of that newscast.

You can watch and listen to archived French TV 5 newscasts here: http://www.tv5.org/TV5Site/info/actualite_internationale.php

This very comprehensive site includes links to some great listening exercises: http://french.about.com/

It also can help to get some music CDs by French singers.

I have been learning French for fun because Paris is my favorite city. Using the methods that I listed has made a huge difference in my listening comprehension.

By Chamonix (Chamonix) on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 10:51 pm: Edit

Wow, thanks a lot. That was helpful. I barely understand it, but I'm trying.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 11:09 pm: Edit

What greatly helped me understand French was reading the Français facile sections while I was listening to it. That helped me understand the difference between how I imagined French words sounded and the way that they really sound.

It also can help to try to repeat some of the phrases after you hear them spoken. If other people are around, you can look pretty funny doing this, but making a fool of yourself can be worth it because saying the phrases aloud and accurately helps one learn how to understand spoken French.

By Justice (Justice) on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 11:56 pm: Edit

Hey my teacher gave us that site too! It's actually pretty clear--just a little faster than what students are used to.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 12:22 am: Edit

Practice makes perfect when trying to understand spoken French. For months after I started listening to Radio France, the only words I could understand were "George Bush."

It really helps you pick up the language if you run Radio France in the background while using the computer, too. You don't have to pay attention to it. It seems to gradually sink in so you understand more and also pronounce French more accurately.

By Jazzlogician (Jazzlogician) on Thursday, May 20, 2004 - 04:13 pm: Edit

I used www.rfi.fr. Great site, I highly recommend it.