I recently wrote about the advantages of using News apps to learn French alongside my language immersion course at the EasyFrench School in Montpellier. I do really think that this is the most convenient way to use the news to learn French and if they are convenient you are more likely to use them consistently. Although I like to think I’m a relatively disciplined learner I still really need to make things as easy as possible for me if I am to do them on a regularly basis. If there is too much effort involved in starting a task I’m very likely to put it off and never get off the ground which is the biggest issue. If I get start on any task I often find that rather than being the arduous task I sort of built it up in my mind to be it’s actually a pleasure, I enjoy the task and feel good for having done, its positive compounded by positive. Yet I’ll come to do exactly the same task just the next or even later the same day and I still have this battle of wills with myself. I mean I’ve loved writing this blog since I start my French language stay but still I had several cups of tea and washed all the pots before I sat down to write this article.
I hope you have found News apps equally useful to you while you have been learning French in Montpellier or wherever you have chosen to make your home for your language immersion stay. Next, I thought I would take a look at some websites for those of you who want to push past the convenient base line and get a bit more of an in-depth look into the news and using it to help you learning French in France. There are many great reasons to use the news to help you on this great quest both in terms of your development but also in terms of your enjoyment of the process. The news, although not necessarily in itself an exciting proposition for many brings you closer to France and, if you are in Montpellier watching a more local news station, it brings you closer to the Occitan region. You will hear about sports teams; their victories and defeats or about celebrities as they create great art or destroy their reputations in court rooms. You will hear about plans for the country’s future, maybe it’s the latest strike and what deal the government has come to and how this is going to trickle down or about ongoing problems and what the authorities are hoping to do about it like the rising numbers of homeless people.
Also, you will get to know the geography of the country better as the weather reports will show you a map with all the of the major cities on there as well as the regions which I always find fun to learn more of because of how they are connected to the license plates of French cars.
LeMonde.fr has got to be the first port of call for those of us learning French in France. It is one of the most respected of news broadcasters in France and covers a lot of international news as well so you can connect with what’s happening in the world as well as deepening your understanding and knowledge of French culture. They have a page on their website designated to many of the big players on the international stage so you will probably be able to stay up to date with the news in your own country through le monde.
Next up is CNEWS which although I find doesn’t report on as much stuff that interests me in the same way as Le monde it has still been a useful tool to me for learning French in France. One useful thing about the site is that all of the videos can be put into a special player which will keep it in the top right-hand corner of your computer screen while you carry on doing what you’re doing. So, you can crack on with your work from your French immersion course whilst absorbing the latest news. There are many news sites but these two will provide a very good basis to work from. Give them a go and see how they can help you whilst learning French in France.