Learn to Speak French

French is the official language for 29 countries around the world and is spoken by about 175 million as native speakers and millions of others as a second language--making it one of the most widely spoken and important languages worldwide. With a plethora of famous literature and poetry also written in French, the language is not only useful in travels everywhere from the Caribbean to Africa to Europe, it is also a useful language for literature lovers as well as gourmands. As a once major world super power, French was also traditionally the language of diplomacy and remains an official language of both the United Nations and the Olympic games. Also often viewed as the language of love and synonymous with great food, French is also a great language to know for chefs and/or food lovers.

French, along with Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, is a Romance Language with Latin roots. While its influence on modern English is significant and native English speakers will find many similar words in the two languages, French is a notoriously difficult language to master. Unlike Spanish, which is pronounced almost exactly as it is spelled, the plethora of silent letters in French make it difficult to learn by sight and is best learned when you can hear a French speakers pronunciation. Nuanced, hard to spell and containing many difficult and complicated grammar rules, it takes steadfast dedication to master the French language. In fact, many native speakers even struggle with their own grammar and spelling. However, with its Latin base, it is easier than many languages for English speakers to learn the basics.
There are many ways to learn French. Of course, taking some sort of introductory French course at a local community college or getting conversational French lessons through a program like Berlitz can be a good way to start. You can also hire a private tutor or instructor and/or join a local French conversation group. Practicing speaking French is essential and with so many Francophiles around, there is certainly ample opportunity to try out your French. From there, the best way to quickly pick up on French (or any language for that matter) is to totally immerse yourself in it. Travel to a French speaking country and learn how to communicate. Eat, sleep and dream in French. A few weeks speaking French on a daily basis with native speakers is worth a year or more in the classroom. Of course, if you don't have the opportunity to travel and immerse yourself in order to learn French, programs like Rosetta Stone can help you work on your pronunciation and accent while learning vocabulary and basic grammar.