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French Lessons In El Paso, Texas

Although French is not a popular language spoken in El Paso, it is however very similar to the Spanish language. Spanish is spoken by about 70% of the El Paso population, making it one of 22 US cities that have more Spanish speakers than English speakers. And French and Spanish are both Romance languages or languages that descended from Vulgar Latin. They both use the same basic 26 letters from the Latin alphabet meaning that they both share the same basic writing system. Which is good news for you because it makes writing easy to pick up. Another similarity between the two is that they both use accent marks over certain letters, and two of the accent marks used in French also appear in Spanish. This is why French people can usually understand written Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese better than any other group. So if you are thinking about studying French as a Spanish speaker and El Paso native you are in for a fun time, that will have you speaking the European language in no time! 

French Pronunciation Might Be Difficult

Pronunciation tends to be the most difficult part when it comes to the French language because you need to teach your tongue to move in ways you’re not used to in order to make specific sounds. There was a time when the last letter of French words was actually pronounced, but over time it became silent. Although it may seem strange to learn, this is quite common in all languages as they are constantly evolving over time. In the English language, for example, there was a time when the “e” at the end of words was actually pronounced, and now it’s not. Another reason for the difficulty is that English is a stress-timed language, while French is syllable-timed. A syllable-timed language is a language whose syllables take approximately equal amounts to pronounce. Which is something that not many people know until you start studying the differences between languages, which makes it so much fun to immerse yourself in a new one! You start learning something new every day about your native tongue and your second or third language. 

Improve Your French Pronunciation

One thing you might struggle with even as a Spanish or English speaker is pronunciation. This is because the French language tends to use sounds that foreigners aren’t used to and so it becomes difficult for them to make these new sounds. French is more evenly stressed, so it’s not as distinct as English. However, don’t feel discouraged by this as it’s something that can definitely be worked on in many ways. The best way of going about it is by constantly exposing yourself to other French speakers whether it’s in person or in the comfort of your own home. You can do this by watching pronunciation YouTube videos, watching movies, or even listening to podcasts. Your options are endless but the key is exposing yourself to spoken French every single day, that is if you want to see results!

Learn French By Reading

Studying French through reading can definitely be an easy and fun way to start the learning process since it will definitely expose you to a lot of the vocabulary. It also helps you see how French grammar works in real context instead of just hypothetical examples in textbooks. But we don’t encourage you to simply learn French by reading. In fact, the best part about learning a language is speaking it out loud and being able to converse with others. Yes, reading will help you understand French, but it won’t help you communicate easily if you’re having to write everything down. Besides, in order to read each word properly, you need to essentially learn how to pronounce it as well. Definitely immerse yourself in French books as you can learn a lot from them and improve your way of life, but remind yourself to also listen to the words. Perhaps you can try reading a French book by also listening along to the audiobook at the same time. Remember, speaking, listening, and reading French is what will make you fluent!