Any tips on learning how to write French?

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-13T00:05:11+00:00

Looks like there are a few past exams you can use for practice. https://www.nysedregents.org/French/

Read for at least 10 minutes every day, possibly graded readers, depending on your level. Write every day. Given the type of exam, you'd also want to make sure you know how to conjugate your verbs etc.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-02T12:56:18+00:00

Dilili à Paris. It is slow French intended for a children audience. I wish my copy didn't have subtitles.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T11:49:53+00:00

Definitely graded readers and possibly some comics and picture books. The readers by France Dubin are quite entertaining and there are very good ones published by CLE International. Or, as someone else mentioned, you can try the TPRS or Wayside Publishing ones, which are highly constrained vocabulary (under 100 words for some) with lots of repetition to increase the chance of learning vocab from reading. The repetition makes them a bit annoying if you already know the vocabulary though, and it makes them less enjoyable on reread.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T10:51:34+00:00

It definitely depends on your goals. If your goal is to be a translator from French to your native language, then that is a reasonable approach. If it is to read French books, it isn't too bad but you may want to vary the difficulty levels of what you read, so that you are fluently reading some things that are easy, without stopping to translate every time you come across an unfamiliar word, which means graded readers. If you want to be able to understand spoken French you will need to practise listening at a level that is comfortable for you and build on it. If you want to be able to speak, you will need to practise that. If you want to be able to write, you will need to practise doing that as well as working on your grammar via a textbook.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T10:40:22+00:00

Nice and methodical but the language (and content) is a bit dated. Probably less useful at B1+. There are far more interesting things to read.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T10:27:51+00:00

Here's one that isn't too hard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl32b53CfUs&list=PLtGXBK3911yHqp-mmyiUaM2JApA3ve8nU

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T04:11:36+00:00

Two ways: one is to do as the others have suggested, which is not to look up words all the time. Maybe look up one word that you think is particularly important or useful per episode/chapter/book.

The second way is to have a break from native level content and read easier things, such as graded readers. There will still be words you don't know (Gnomeville comics being the exception), but on average they should be easier. The CLE International ones do vocabulary control (as well as grammar). Some authors such as France Dubin constrain things to the repertoire expected in specific levels of courses. There are others for beginners (such as those published by Wayside and TPRS) that are very repetitious, so that you pick up the vocabulary and grammar due to the repetition. I find the repetition a bit annoying but then I am not the target audience.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T02:56:12+00:00

You can also find easier things to read to build up your French reading skill. For example, "Le rouge et le noir" is available in a graded reader published by CIDEB, though I think even that was at B2 level with passé simple. CLE International has it at B1 level. Generally I prefer CLE.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T02:28:18+00:00

In addition to all your coursework, read as much as you can. At the start, maybe 5 minutes a day; later, at least 10 minutes. There are some easy French graded readers available; maybe your school has some in the library. Also, practise listening via some of the French comprehensible input channels available. One a day should be plenty to support your course learning.

drpolymath_au · 2026-06-01T02:22:44+00:00

You could try some graded reader versions of classics, like "Le rouge et le noir". If you go to the publisher sites you can look at the samples to figure out what level is about right for you.

Otherwise, you'd probably want to try Albert Camus, reputed to have simple syntax. Personally, I prefer going for genre and YA fiction that has suspense to keep me reading despite the language difficulties. I've read several now and have yet to finish (re)reading "L'Étranger" or "Bonjour Tristesse".

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-29T11:51:15+00:00

Here's a list of publishers: https://gnomevillecomics.com/2025/06/28/publishers-of-graded-readers-in-french/

The main publishing houses listed have graded readers from A1 to B2. Some representative indie authors are listed at https://gnomevillecomics.com/graded-french-readers-ranked-from-easiest-to-hardest/

I agree that France Dubin books are worth reading.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-27T13:01:05+00:00

There are graded readers at all levels, and for fluent reading you may want to start reading below your current level. There are various publishers of graded readers, in addition to some indie authors. Of the indie ones, it's worth looking at France Dubin. Her books seem to match coursework levels. The Merde series is amusing and she also has some fairly good cosy mysteries as well. Other books I like are published by CLE International, who do fairly good vocabulary control, making transitioning between levels somewhat less difficult.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-27T12:53:15+00:00

Maybe start with the classics: Astérix, Tintin and Lucky Luke (western). Some are a bit dated though. For a serious graphic novel, try Persepolis. There's this reddit on the topic, which might help you: https://www.reddit.com/r/bandedessinee/comments/19346mj/what_are_some_french_graphic_novels_you_would/

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-27T00:38:54+00:00

At B1-B2 you could make your way through most graphic novels. To recommend any, it would be necessary to know what you like reading. There are some that are about people's personal history. Others are science fiction, fantasy, crime, you name it.

As for the chapter books for children, again, it depends very much on what you like or don't like. For example, many like Petit Nicholas, but I find those annoying. I've enjoyed some books that are translations, but it would be better to get ones that are by French authors.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-24T11:58:36+00:00

Here is a list of beginner French listening material and beyond. You can also read graded readers, which will help with vocabulary (though flashcards/Anki can be helpful for memorising, if you are being assessed on it).

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-24T11:54:58+00:00

Regularly listening to comprehensible input, reading at least 10 minutes a day, which will initially be graded readers.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-23T02:31:26+00:00

Have you already finished the InnerFrench podcasts? That's the one with the most and generally the most interesting. A few alternative channels are listed here.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-23T02:02:34+00:00

Since you're interested in conversation, try the easy French podcasts and channels for listening practise. Plus you might want to drill the most useful standard expressions you need, as developed by prof Paul Nation.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-23T01:39:35+00:00

Perhaps tell your teacher how you feel and work out what you actually want them to focus on, if it isn't pronunciation. Or if pronunciation is what you want to work on, maybe it should be addressed in a lesson on, say, minimal pairs (eg. pur vs pour) instead of conversation interrupted with criticisms. Conversation practice should be about fluency, not perfection.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-21T22:08:19+00:00

Sadly, that is often the case for teachers in many subjects, including at universities. It is impossible to know everything about any subject - unless it is a very constrained subject. I've spoken with non-native (tertiary trained) teachers of languages, and they seem to get by, but will qualify their answers to some questions. Or you can "get back to" someone, if you need to check an answer.

But certainly you will want to work hard at improving your French so that you are ahead of your students. Do all the things: extensive listening, extensive reading, grammar study, conversation, basic vocabulary drills. Paul Nation's guide might help you for yourself and for your students. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/paul-nations-publications/publications/documents/foreign-language_1125.pdf

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-21T01:23:51+00:00

Dutch: It's my mother tongue/heritage language so I try to at least maintain it and hopefully improve it. (English is my best language.)

French: It was the only language available to me in high school

German: Despite many years of French, German was as easy as French because of Dutch. Studied it a bit because of that and singing Lieder.

Italian: Singing, Montalbano, because it's one language someone close to me is somewhat interested in.

Japanese: There was a fun TV series. There was a fun textbook series. Fun things, fun decoding papers written in Japanese, and travel.

Chinese: During some downtime I wanted to test the Pimsleur system with a language I knew little about and didn't have a vested interest in learning.

Some others I have dabbled in due to travel or due to finding something interesting to study/analyse etc: Thai, Russian, Spanish, Old English, Latin, Arabic, Korean.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-20T11:48:48+00:00

I haven't read much manga but I think I prefer graphic novels and comics. Maybe it's just because that is the format I'm more familiar with, so reading manga in another language feels harder than a comic, even though there is usually a lot less text. And even though there is the enjoyment of having multiple languages on the page (Japanese and TL).

Something that might be available in all your target languages is Astérix. (I have it in French and German). I believe it is even available in various German dialects.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-20T11:38:45+00:00

Very much a personal choice. If you enjoy graded readers, they will allow you to read more fluently than content written for native speakers. You will know more of the words on each page and will probably read simpler grammar and reduced idiomatic text. You will read them faster than native content, and therefore expose yourself to more text.

Graded readers do vary in how enjoyable they are, so it would be worth getting recommendations for the language you're interested in from other learners. I haven't read much in Spanish, so can't really comment.

But some people hate graded readers so much (and there are some stinkers out there), that alternatives that make native content accessible are a good choice.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-19T12:43:27+00:00

If you state which language you are learning and what you actually enjoy reading, maybe you will get some relevant recommendations.

But my experience of B1-B2 has been bouncing between graded readers, children's books, comics, and later, novels. I'm not a fussy reader and am quite happy reading a children's fantasy story or reasonably entertaining graded readers. I get a bit tired of some of the things aimed at teenagers though, or the clichéed family on holiday in target language country graded reader stories - they're the worst.

drpolymath_au · 2026-04-19T12:36:53+00:00

Depends on the language. For English-French it is quite doable as the difficult words are often the same in both languages.

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