Comment maîtriser le français ? avec Ana | Conversation en français COURANT avec sous-titres.

Hello and welcome to French with Fluidity. I'm Fabien and today I have a guest, her name is Anna, to whom I'm going to ask the questions, who is actually my video editor, the one who edits the videos on YouTube. Indeed, she is Mexican, she has a great level of French, and I'm going to ask her a few questions to ask her what she did to learn, what she likes in French culture and what she doesn't like either, and she's going to give you some advice for your French learning. But for that, stay tuned! Do you learn French? Fabien offers you content in common French that talks about culture, history, French geography, but also biographies, dialogues or learning tips. Welcome to the Fluidity podcast. Before starting, I would like to talk to you about our VIP club. This is my Patreon page where you have material to study my content and become better in French. For example, for each content I make, you have exclusive bonuses such as the vocabulary list, bilingual transcriptions, the audio version, and you receive the content before the public, so everything to promote your immersion. The VIP club is also a large community with more than 350 French learners. We talk together every day on a private Telegram group. We do different activities in French twice a week on video calls, so you can also practice your French, find or share resources with other learners around the world and make friends. You will practice your French while having fun and it is crucial to stay motivated. To sign up for the VIP club, I leave you the link in the description on podcast platforms and on YouTube to join our VIP club on Patreon. You can stay as long as you want and come with pleasure. I often do promotions, so don't hesitate to go see my Patreon page. In the description of the episode, you also have the YouTube video version, if you listen to me in audio, with subtitles in French or other languages to improve your oral comprehension. And you also have the link to the free transcription. Hi Anna! Hello Fabien, how are you? And you? I'm fine, thank you. Very good, perfect. Listen, we're going to start with the presentations, so can you introduce yourself to the viewers and listeners? Yes, with pleasure. First of all, thank you for inviting me. I was very happy to be here and to be able to chat with you and the whole community. My name is Anna, I am 27 years old, I am Mexican and in 2019 I arrived in France for work. Currently I live in Annecy, it is an extraordinary city next to Switzerland, in the Alps. And I live with my husband Francisco, he is Mexican too. And we love it, for him it's been 5 years that he is in France, me 4 years. And precisely why did you come to live in France? So he arrived before you and you joined him. So why did your husband come to France at the beginning? He had the plan to come to France to study the master's and do a double diploma with his school in Mexico and be able to do the master's here. So it was a kind of academic exchange. Okay. It was a plan he had for a few years. And I arrived after him because I was still at school in Mexico. And once I finished my studies, I took the step for the work holiday visa to be able to come to France and work. I wanted to work, I was a little fed up with school and I always wanted to start my professional life abroad. Okay, very good, perfect. And as everyone can see or hear, you really have a very, very good level of French, so already bravo. And it's been 4 years since you've been in France. And since when have you been learning French? Since you arrived or a little while ago? How did you do? So I had the basics when I was in high school and we had a French class 3 times a week, so 3 hours. It's not a top level, but it was basically for a beginner level. But when I started college, I stopped French because it wasn't my focus at the time. And when I took the step for the visa, I knew I had to learn French. Right away, I learned French, so we can say for 5 years. Okay, so you started a little before arriving in France to plan things. That's right, because when Francisco, my husband, was already in France, he was looking for a job, so an internship for the end of his studies. He told me, listen, you really have to start practicing French, studying French, especially you because you come for work. So it's going to be super hard for the job interviews, for everyday life. So really, you have to start studying to have at least an intermediate level, to be able to express yourself. That's it, it's super important in France for work. I know there are studies that can be done in English or there are jobs where you can work in English or Spanish. But since I was really looking to integrate into French culture, French was the priority. Yes, exactly. It's true that if you live in Switzerland, you can maybe work for a company, you can work in English, it's possible too. For example, I think in Paris too. In Paris, next to Switzerland, towards Toulouse too, but not everywhere in France. It also depends on what your goal is. If it's just for a few months, to have a little bit of experience and then go home. It could be an idea, but it wasn't my case. Okay, very well, I understand. And did you need to take a French exam, whether for your visa or for your everyday life? So no, for the visa it was not mandatory to take the exam. But I had already done the DELF B1 when I was in high school. It was to complete this stage of my school life, I did it. But it wasn't useful here for me. It wasn't required in work or for the visa process. I think it will be required if I ever do the French naturalization or the passport, I think so. Yes, it will indeed be required. I don't know what level it is anymore. I think it's B1, by the way. I think it's B1, it's not B2, it's B1. No, it's not B2. But in any case, once you manage to get the B1, if you continue to improve, the B2 is not very complicated. Yes, exactly. Yes, it's the level just after, indeed. Yes, that's it. Perfect. And what do you do in your everyday life to progress in French? To always learn a little more? What are you trying to put in place? So what works for me, and what has worked since the beginning, even when I was still in Mexico, was to make French part of my daily life. Every day, all the time. Or almost all the time. That is to say, starting by putting my phone in French, the computer, Netflix, YouTube videos, for example. It was just to get used to the language, vocabulary, the basic things, and make it part of my daily life. What also worked for me, the podcasts, a lot. Your podcast. Yes, thank you. It was super useful, various themes like history, everyday life, business. So different themes that allow you to, I don't know, to know different ways of speaking, accents, even a little more complex vocabulary. For me, it worked really well. And also watching series in French. Okay. So yes, immersion, as much immersion as possible. Different types of immersion, whether it's Netflix, series, podcasts, as much as possible. Yes, and finally, once you master that, or that for you it's no longer a big challenge, speak. Orally. For me, it was the most difficult, because I'm quite perfectionist. I was afraid of making mistakes. So, of course, it's scary. Not everyone, but yes, we are afraid of making mistakes, of looking stupid or a little slow. Yes, I understand. But it's super important. I think that's it. Once you go through this step of speaking well or stopping being afraid, you're on the other side. Yes, you can let go and practice as much as possible, yes. Don't get carried away with the way you speak, or if you have a bad pronunciation, or if you make mistakes, that's perfectly normal. But it's not easy at first. We try to do our best and not make mistakes. So it's complicated. Yes, I understand. Was it your first foreign language or did you already speak English? Did you already speak English before starting French, maybe? Yes, English. Since I was very young. So it's not that French wasn't that easy for me. Yes, I understand. Very good. And yes, in your everyday life, so you practice with French people. Do you... Do you speak French regularly? Do you have friends? Yes. In everyday life, in the gym, with neighbors, with friends. I also work with French speakers. So work is 100% in French for me. And even with Francisco, we speak in French. Yes? Yes, we have a mix. We have a bit of a weird mix between Spanish, English and French. It's super interesting, actually. Because as we learned French together, we help each other learn French. Mutually, yes. Great. But it must be super complicated to speak another language than your own mother tongue. It's super hard. It's natural. It's something we do all the time. Yes. Because in fact, we are so used to speaking... In fact, you have... Yes, you are both Mexican. So you are so used to speaking Spanish that changing this habit takes a lot of work. But then, yes, we get used to it too. And for you, it's become a little more natural. Yes, like the two of us, we work with French people. Well, of course, we are always immersed in the French language. He comes home and he explains to me what he did during the day. And sometimes there are things that he explains in French. I don't know how we got to this level. But for us, it's normal. Living in France, in fact, it brings you into a French inertia, French language. So it becomes a lot easier. If you were both in Mexico, speaking both French in Mexico would be a little more difficult because you are not in the French dynamic. Whereas here you are immersed in French, in French culture. So it's a little easier, I think. Yes, that's it. And on top of that, we love French. So I think that's it too. We like French. Yes, it helps a lot to learn it and to make a little more effort. If we like the language, it's much easier to make efforts. Very good. That's it. Perfect. And what do you prefer in French culture? Lots of things. I love French culture. I love fashion. I also love... I fell in love with wine. We took a little trip to Alsace. And we had a snack in a small town called Aiguissagne. We also traveled to Bordeaux. It's the city of wine, isn't it? Yes. And you also do a tasting. So we loved wine, cheese, charcuterie. We love that, raclette, everything. French gastronomy is incredible. It's really an art. And what else do I like about France and culture? History. History is super rich. Everything about the kings of France. The different stages of how France was built. It's super interesting too. There are lots of things. It's a pretty vast culture. And it's very interesting. Yes, it's true that France has a great past. So there's a lot to say. There's a lot to say about history, about the kings. And what did you have a hard time getting used to in the beginning? What was difficult for you? What was difficult was to find something that was complicated for me. Because for me, coming here was a dream. I never imagined coming to live in France. Because we grew up with American culture. So the United States was always a big dream. England, all that. So France was really another dream. It was a challenge, a big challenge. And I knew that if I was going to come to France, I was going to adapt to France and not France to me. And so I accepted everything with a lot of respect. And a lot of openness. Openness of mind. So every time I saw something negative, I said, well, it was me who decided to come here. So I have to accept it. And I have to adapt to that. But if there's one thing that made me struggle, it was the personality of French people who are unfiltered. So for me, it shocked me. It was a little hard for me, because for us Mexicans, we take everything personally. So at work, every time there was a remark about my work, or if I had made a mistake or whatever, in a negative way, I took it personally. Even though it wasn't to me. It was a remark about my work. And me, it's something else. But I didn't know how to divide or understand. On the side of things. That's it. Because French people are very direct. They speak without filters. But today, for me, that's a quality. I think it's great to be so honest and direct. It allows you to have things more fluid, more simple, without getting complicated. Like we do in Mexico. Yes, I think that Europeans are perhaps a little more frank and direct. Yes, drier. On the American continent, a little drier, yes. There is worse than the French, but indeed, I see the difference too. Yes, I agree. Yes, it's not super negative. I was shocked. I struggled a lot at work. Sometimes when I got home, I cried. Because I didn't understand. But today, for me, it's normal. It's totally normal. Even I become like that. And it's great. For me, it's incredible to be like that. And a second thing. It's also the closing hours of shops. Oh la la. Looking for a baguette here after 7 p.m. It's Mission Impossible. On Sundays too. It was a big change for me. And on top of that, you live in a medium-sized city, in Annecy. So it may be a little easier. But if you go to the countryside, you'll see. It's even more complicated. Yes, I think it's your case. Yes, it's my case. Indeed, it's difficult. The bakery next to my house closes at 1 p.m. So sometimes I forget. And so I have to go elsewhere. It's always possible. But it's true that if you want to go shopping in the evening, for example, after 8 p.m. it's complicated. While in Mexico, it's open until 10 p.m. It's normal to go shopping on Sunday evening. Because it's Sunday. You have time to do that. And then you can go to the restaurant or go get an ice cream in the evening. I don't know. No. Yes, it's always complicated. Until today, it's complicated for me to accept that. Yes, but even for me, it wasn't easy. Because I left France five years ago. And when I came back, I wasn't used to it anymore. And it's true that at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. one day, I said, I'm going to go shopping. Oh no, no, no, not possible. You'll wait until tomorrow. Yes, indeed, I understand. Okay, but it's funny. It's funny, yes, absolutely. And listen, thank you very much. Do you have any last advice to give for those who learn French? For all those who listen to us, of course. Well, you just have to get started. Without fear. If that's really what you want, if you want to come to France, I advise you to practice your French a lot on a daily basis. After that, it depends on everyone. At the level of intensity, I was quite intense. So I practiced French, I think, between two and three hours a day. Yes, it's a lot. What worked really well for me too is to write down every time things I didn't know how to say in French. For example, if I was walking down the street and I was thinking about my day, for example, I did that in French. I was trying to... Okay, how do I say that in French? And if there was ever an expression or a word that I didn't know how to say, I had a notebook, a small notebook, where I wrote down each word or each expression. Even conjugations. And then I would put the Spanish definition next to it, or even in English. And every night, I would look at the notebook, I would read it out loud, and it helped me a lot. That way, I kept a lot of sentences, a lot of words. But again, it depends on the personality. I'm quite visual, so it's true that having everything in a notebook or a small piece of paper, or even a laptop, and reading it, it helped me a lot. So if you're watching this video, you're a little more... Listen, there are podcasts, even songs. It helps a lot with pronunciation. So there you go. Try to find what works for you, for your personality. If you're a little more shy, if you're afraid to talk to someone, you can try to, I don't know, tell your day to yourself. Yes, that works too. Or elsewhere. So there you go. Try to find what works for you. There really is a way for everyone. Well, this will be the end of the month. Thank you very much, Anna. Thank you a thousand times. See you soon. Bye.