Right now I’m using Duolingo, but I’m getting tired of being told dejeuner means “lunch”. Is there something I can use that’s more localized?
There’s this one, but I haven’t tried it personally
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Oh, neat! I think I’ve heard of that one but didn’t look into it at all. I’m gonna try it now :D
How did you like it? Any good?
Oops - I’m sorry, I forgot to look at Lemmy for ages!
I ultimately gave up on apps and did the thing called “comprehensible input”. That’s where you watch a bunch of stuff you’re inherently interested in, and you eventually pick up on the sentence structure, pronunciation and vocabulary they use.
They stress emphatically that it must be something you’re interested in enough to pay attention to. If it’s something you’re watching as a chore, or something you’re tuning in and out of, stop and watch something else.
I’ve realized that there’s a massive difference between the ‘relationship’ I build with words and grammar from something I want to watch versus something that’s “neat but essentially just fun homework.” I remember how a certain word was used, I recognize the exact context in that moment (rather than every single possible context that word might have), I learn entire ways of communicating an idea that sticks to me in French rather than directly translating something I’d say in English, and I care enough to be able to watch it a few times to force myself to understand the whole thing. So I find that I’m watching lots of content related to horror and violence, which does leave me with many words I wouldn’t say in a test, but gives me so much clarity on how to express ideas. Think of most horror movies and how they’ll have those bland, small talk conversations to establish the happy victims, or how they problem-solve to escape - all of that is excellent vocabulary, and the extra effort I put into learning words I should definitely not use ends up helping me learn all the other ones I can use. :)
I think apps - even Duolingo - would work if you have zero vocabulary, maybe. But as someone trying to go from a B to a C, the apps just aren’t doing it for me.
As for localization, I’m just watching some stuff specifically about Québec vocabulary, and trying to take the pressure off myself over having to be perfect right now. I’m clearly an anglophone so it’s not like I’ll be fooling anybody, so my goal is to just understand what everyone else is saying. :) Baby steps!
There’s a Quebecoise YouTuber called MaProfDeFrancais who does videos unpacking the differences between the dialects. It’s not an app but I’d still recommend it as a learning tool
I wish I knew. I work for the government and they even offer to pay for a Duolingo premium to learn French an a trial program, but acknowledge that it’s very much not Quebec french.
I did have some success targeting people from Quebec on Hello Talk, but that’s not really an equivalent app.
I guess this is where that advice to read in French as much as possible comes in, huh? That way you at least build up a Quebec French vocabulary that survives the France French education this owl is delivering :P
Yeah, that and listening to audiobooks read by Quebec speakers has been very helpful. It helps that I’m a sci-fi fan and Jules Verne is incredible. A lot of french audiobooks are free on librivox, though it can be hard to tell who is Quebecois or not.
There is a YouTube channel called Wandering French who makes videos for people looking to learn Quebec French.
I’ve been watching her stuff, and she’s excellent!! Very clear, fully subtitled, and a fantastic teacher.
