So like, I'm gonna be real with you - French class was literally my worst subject in school. Every time the teacher would start talking in French I'd just zone out and think about literally anything else. My grades were pretty bad and I thought I was just terrible at languages forever. But then I figured out some stuff that actually worked for me and I managed to pass with decent marks. Not perfect or nothing, but way better than before.

The thing is, in Canada you kinda need French sometimes. Like even if you live in Alberta or BC where nobody really speaks it much, it still shows up on cereal boxes and government stuff. And if you ever wanna work for the government or move to Quebec or Ottawa, you basically need it. Plus it's kind of embarrassing when you're Canadian and can't even order food in French when you visit Montreal.

I'm not saying I'm fluent now or anything crazy like that. I still mess up all the time and my accent is pretty bad. But I went from failing tests to actually understanding conversations and being able to respond without freezing up. The tricks I learned aren't like fancy study methods from some expensive tutor - they're just things that made sense to my brain when regular studying didn't work.

If you're struggling with French class right now or you failed it before and have to take it again, this stuff might help you too. It's not gonna make you perfect but it might make French feel less impossible. And honestly that's a pretty big deal when you're stuck learning a language that doesn't make sense to you.

Watch Stuff You Actually Like in French

This was the biggest game changer for me honestly. My teacher kept making us watch these boring educational videos about French history or whatever and I couldn't pay attention for like five seconds. But then I started watching shows I already liked with French audio or subtitles and it was way easier to focus.

The trick is to pick something you've already seen in English first. Like I rewatched Avatar The Last Airbender with French audio and English subtitles because I already knew what was happening. You're not trying to follow a new plot AND learn French at the same time which is too much. You just focus on matching the French words to stuff you already understand.

After you do that for a while, switch it up - English audio with French subtitles. This helps you see how French words are spelled because French spelling is honestly crazy and makes no sense half the time. Then eventually you can try French audio with French subtitles if you're feeling brave. I'm not gonna lie, that's still pretty hard for me but it's gotten easier.

Netflix and Disney Plus both have tons of French options because they're big in Quebec. YouTube is also really good because you can find French gaming channels or music videos or whatever you're into. The important part is that you actually want to watch it - if you're forcing yourself to watch something boring you're just gonna quit after like two days.

Use Your Phone for Five Minutes Instead of Hours

Everyone always says to use Duolingo and yeah it's okay I guess. But the problem is those apps try to make you do like thirty minutes a day and that's just not realistic when you have other homework and stuff going on. What actually worked for me was doing way less but doing it every single day without skipping.

I set a timer for five minutes - that's it. Usually I'd do it right when I woke up before I got out of bed or while I was eating breakfast. Five minutes is so short that you can't really make excuses not to do it. And it adds up way more than you think because you're doing it literally every day instead of doing an hour once a week and then forgetting about it.

The app I actually liked the most was this one called Anki which is basically just flashcards but it's really good at showing you words right when you're about to forget them. It's kind of ugly and confusing at first but once you figure it out it works better than the fancy apps. Plus it's free which is nice because most of the good language apps want you to pay.

You can also just change your phone language to French for like one day a week. It's super annoying at first but you learn all the basic words really fast because you have to use your phone. Like you'll learn "settings" and "messages" and "cancel" and stuff just from trying to do normal things. Just don't do it before a big test or something because it will slow you down when you're trying to text people.

Talk to Yourself Like a Crazy Person

This sounds really dumb but it actually helps a lot. The biggest problem with learning French in school is that you never actually speak it except when the teacher forces you to in front of everyone. And that's super stressful so your brain just shuts down and you can't remember anything.

What I started doing was just narrating stuff I was doing in French when I was alone. Like if I'm making a sandwich I'd say "je fais un sandwich" or whatever. It doesn't have to be perfect sentences or anything fancy. You're just getting used to making your mouth make French sounds without the pressure of someone judging you.

At first you'll only be able to say like three words before you get stuck. That's fine - just switch back to English and keep going. The point isn't to be perfect, it's just to practice. After a while you'll notice you can say more stuff without thinking about it as much. It's like when you learn to ride a bike - at first you have to think about every little thing but eventually it just happens.

If you have a pet this is perfect because you can practice talking to them and they don't care if you sound stupid. My dog doesn't speak any language so she doesn't judge my terrible French accent. You can also do it in the shower or when you're walking to school with headphones in so people just think you're on a phone call.

Find Music That Doesn't Suck

French class always plays the worst music ever. Like old songs from the 1960s that nobody listens to anymore. I get that they're trying to pick stuff that's easy to understand but it just makes you hate French more. There's actually a ton of good French music if you look for it yourself.

Quebec has a pretty big hip hop scene and that's what got me into it. Loud Lary Ajust and Dead Obies are both really good and they rap in French and English mixed together which makes it easier to follow along. There's also French versions of popular songs which is kind of cool because you already know the melody so you just focus on the words.

The nice thing about music is you can listen to it while doing other stuff. Like I'd have French music playing while playing video games or doing chores or whatever. You're not really studying but your brain is still hearing French and getting used to how it sounds. Plus when you hear the same song a bunch of times you start memorizing the words without even trying.

Spotify has good French playlists if you search for them. Start with "French pop" or "Quebec hip hop" and see what you like. Don't force yourself to listen to stuff you hate just because it's in French - that defeats the whole purpose. The goal is to find French content you'd actually choose to watch or listen to even if you weren't trying to learn.

Read Easy Stuff Not Textbooks

Textbooks are designed to be boring I swear. They have these weird fake conversations that nobody would ever actually have in real life. Like "Bonjour Pierre, how is the weather today?" Nobody talks like that. You need to read stuff that real French speakers actually read.

I started with kids books from the library because they use simple words and have pictures to help you figure out what's going on. Yeah it's kind of embarrassing to check out picture books when you're in high school but librarians don't care and it actually works. Dr Seuss books in French are pretty good because they rhyme and that helps you remember stuff.

Once you get better you can read comic books or graphic novels. Those are great because the pictures show you what's happening so even if you don't know every word you can still follow the story. There's tons of French comics - they're called "bandes dessinées" or just "BD" - and Quebec makes a lot of them so they're easy to find in Canadian libraries.

You can also read news articles about stuff you're interested in. Like if you're into hockey, read French sports news about the Canadiens. If you like gaming, find French gaming websites. The vocabulary will be more useful than whatever random topics are in your textbook. And you'll actually care about understanding it instead of just trying to get through the homework.

Find Someone to Practice With Who Won't Be Mean

The worst part about French class is when you have to speak in front of everyone and people laugh at your mistakes. That just makes you never want to try again. But you do need to practice actually talking to someone eventually - you can't just watch TV forever and expect to be able to have conversations.

If you have a friend who's also learning French, practice with them. You'll both mess up and it's way less stressful than talking to someone who's fluent. You can text each other in French too which is good because you have time to think and look stuff up. Even just sending memes with French captions helps.

There's also language exchange apps where you can talk to people who are learning English and want to practice. You help them with English and they help you with French. HelloTalk is pretty popular for this. Just be careful because some people on there are weird - stick to text chat until you know someone is cool.

If you live near Quebec or a French-speaking area in Canada, try to actually use French in real situations. Order food in French or ask for directions even if you're nervous. Most people are nice about it and will help you if you're trying. Yeah some people might be jerks but that's life. You learn way faster when you're using French for real things instead of just pretending in class.

Stop Trying to Translate Everything

This was my biggest mistake for like two years. I would try to translate every single French sentence into English in my head before I understood it. That takes forever and by the time you figure out what someone said they're already three sentences ahead. Plus French and English don't translate directly a lot of the time so you just confuse yourself more.

Instead you gotta start thinking in French for basic stuff. Like when you see a dog, try to think "chien" instead of seeing it, thinking "dog," and then translating to "chien." Your brain can totally do this but it takes practice. Start with objects and then move to simple actions.

When you're watching French shows or reading, don't stop and translate every word you don't know. Just keep going and try to understand from context. If you miss one word it's fine - you'll probably figure it out from what happens next. Looking up every single word kills all your momentum and makes reading take like five hours.

Obviously you'll still need to translate stuff sometimes especially when you're starting out. But try to do it less and less as you get better. The goal is to understand French as French, not as English in disguise. This is really hard at first but it's what actually makes you decent at the language instead of just okay at translating.

Final Thoughts

Look, I'm not gonna pretend that I'm some French expert now or that these tips will make you fluent in like three months. Learning a language is hard and it takes a long time no matter what you do. But these things helped me go from completely failing to actually passing and even understanding stuff sometimes. That's progress even if it's not perfect.

The most important thing is to do something every day even if it's tiny. Five minutes is better than zero minutes. Watching one episode with French subtitles is better than nothing. Saying three words to yourself is better than never speaking at all. Small stuff adds up way more than you think over time.

Don't beat yourself up if you're bad at French class. The way they teach it in school doesn't work for everyone and that's not your fault. Some people are naturally good at languages and some people aren't - but everyone can get better if they find methods that actually make sense to them. Just keep trying different stuff until something clicks. And remember that making mistakes is literally how you learn so don't be afraid to sound dumb sometimes. Everyone sounds dumb when they're learning something new.