Actually, Classroom French is Exactly What You Need
How many times have you heard someone say that learning French in a classroom setting is useless, antiquated, and won’t really make you fluent in French? The foreigners-living-in-France community is rife with this popular narrative, and we seem to be some of the only people who firmly disagree! The fact is that Maria and I both attained the highest achievable credential for French as a foreign language, the DALF C2, before ever moving to France – mostly thanks to learning French in a classroom setting. Keep reading to find out why classroom French is so widely denigrated and how we made French classes work for us.
Teachers Know Best
To teach in a classroom, you need credentials. An understanding of pedagogy, proven expertise in a subject area, and experience educating students are the base-level qualifications for becoming a French teacher. Consequently, teachers are equipped to instruct students in a classroom setting by means of activities, projects, assignments, tests, and more. They are able to correct students’ mistakes in real time, adapt coursework to students’ needs, tactfully explain difficult concepts, and monitor students’ progress. There’s a reason that not just anybody is hired to teach in schools!
Credentialed teachers are more effective than any language learning app or unlicensed French course creator could ever be. While apps are useful tools in their own right, they can’t help you do things like perfect your pronunciation and improve your conversation skills like a teacher can. Similarly, though any old French speaker can likely teach you something about the language, simply speaking French or living in France doesn’t an effective teacher make.
Structure and Accountability
Vetted curricula, established deadlines, and regular evaluations are the hallmarks of learning French in the classroom. Consistent class meetings create a structured language learning experience, and graded examinations encourage students to make systematic progress.
As John Wooden said,
The importance of repetition until automaticity cannot be overstated. Repetition is the key to learning.
Learning French in a classroom setting facilitates this cycle of repetition, learning, and assessment, motivating students to show up and holding them accountable for their skills.
Language learning apps and unlicensed French course creators will often present this format as restrictive and tedious, promising a relaxed, flexible experience instead. However, when you’re learning French without the organization that the classroom provides, the only incentive to keep going is your own dedication – and that’s often not enough! Learning French solely with informal tools just isn’t as effective as learning in the classroom. Besides, it’s pretty unrealistic to think you can become fluent in French using apps and online courses that have no clear timeline and that you cannot fail.
Slang is Secondary
Nobody, not even the most angsty of French teenagers, speaks fully in slang. After all, slang consists of words or phrases that are peppered into standard language, usually only when speaking in informal settings. Accordingly, it’s imperative to have an excellent understanding of standard French, or the formal French often taught in classrooms, if you hope to make yourself understood in a francophone country. Not to mention that you’ll sound silly interspersing slang into a conversation if you’re still struggling to string sentences together at all!
Furthermore, while zeroing in on conversational French might be fun, neglecting the formal register means you’ll have trouble doing things like reading academic articles, enjoying French novels, writing compositions in French, and more. Maria and I certainly couldn’t have succeeded as assistants with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) nor as graduate students in Logistics and Public Law if we had prioritized learning when to say wesh over taking our French classes seriously. Supplementing your formal French studies with pop culture that will allow you to learn slang is a great idea, but it’s better to speak standard French with no knowledge of slang than the other way around.
Excuses, Excuses
We’ve heard it all:
- “I took years of French classes, but they taught me nothing!”
- “Classroom French doesn’t prepare you to actually interact with native speakers.”
- “I thought my French classes were useful until I got to France and realized I couldn’t understand anything!”
The harsh reality is that language learners have to stop blaming French class for their weaknesses and start taking some responsibility. Any method of language learning requires hard work, serious dedication, and self-awareness. If during your time learning French in a classroom you exhibited poor study habits, an apathetic attitude, or unwarranted confidence in your own abilities, it’s no wonder that you didn’t come out fluent! Realizing that you might be the reason that your French isn’t up to par is an exercise in confronting cognitive dissonance, and it can be a difficult fact to accept.
For this reason, people are often surprised when we tell them that the vast majority of our French expertise was cultivated in the classroom before we ever moved to France. Once we explain that we had near-perfect attendance, turned in every homework assignment, studied daily, and made fluency a priority, they usually come to understand that when we say classroom French works, we don’t mean that classroom French does the work for you. Rather, we mean that learning French in the classroom can be an extremely efficient method if you put in the time and effort required.
It’s All About the Money
Internet influencers selling language courses and app marketing teams are especially guilty of disparaging learning French in a classroom setting. Learn the slang they won’t teach you in class! Get fluent in just 10 minutes a day! Here’s the French you really need to know! Glamorizing the process of learning French and pretending that fluency can be achieved quickly and easily is a great way to make money, especially when you consider how many people have given up on classroom French completely.
Nonetheless, clever marketing techniques do not equal effective language-learning systems. Before you purchase an online course or sign up for that premium app subscription, take a moment to evaluate whether it will truly help you to reach your language goals, or if the key to learning a language is in addressing your own shortcomings that make French class feel ineffective. Chances are you may be better served signing up for a French class instead.
Language learning methods are not one-size-fits-all, but we’re tired of hearing that classroom French is one of the worst. Trusting expert teachers and beginning with the basics in a structured setting is a foolproof formula for progressing in your target language, and it’s time to stop making excuses and falling for gimmicks that claim otherwise.
2 Comments
Joshua Mack
Hey guys!!! I’m a first time African American TAPIFer with dreams of working abroad in France long term. Do you know the best places for me to take french classes in France? Also, my french is around a B1 level so I may complete TAPIF a 2nd time before pursuing french language masters studies.
Jalen & Maria
Hi, thanks for your comment! We’ve never personally taken French classes in France, so we can only tell you what we have heard from others. Many universities offer French classes via their Centre International d’Etudes Françaises (CIEF). You can also take French classes at the different Alliance Française locations. Apparently, these types of classes can be hit or miss depending on your location, so we recommend you ask around (in city-specific Facebook groups for example) to find out what others in your city recommend.