You may have heard that languages are best learned young. Certainly, two year olds intuitively pick up the intricacies of language, but the farther we are from childhood, languages seem to become increasingly difficult. Imagine you were planning a trip to Paris and needed to pick up some French vocabulary , where would you turn?
If you can’t pick it up at the Sorbonne , then the internet has a variety of places to improve basic language and arithmetic skills, like the kind you might find at dynamo.dictionary.com , where you can choose to study a number of subjects, languages and tests.
If you’re planning a family vacation to a foreign country, then everyone can brush up on their language skills. While it’s true that most of tourist spots in Paris will be English friendly, there are out of the way cafes and parks where a command of a few simple French phrases will be appreciated and come in handy. You might think you can get along with such terms as “oui” (yes) and “merci” (thank you), but how does one say “excuse me” properly in French. The answer is, it depends. To ask for someone to tell you more about something you don’t understand, you might say, “Pardon.” To ask for something that’s an inconvenience, or if you’re brushing past someone on the street, you might say, “Excusez-moi” (also vous avez l’heure s’il vous plait). If you want someone’s forgiveness and wish to appear contrite, you may say “Pardonnez-moi.” The point is that there is usually not one way to say a thing, no matter what language you’re using; therefore, it’s important to be able to apply context which we get through understanding the culture.
Culturally, it’s usually deemed a compliment to learn the language of the country in which you’re visiting, and almost universally appreciated. Even in Paris, those living in the city will understand you’ve taken some time and effort. If they know English, they may switch to it fairly quickly, for convenience sake, but you’ve already made a better impression than if you simply expected others to know the language with which you were raised.
With such sites, it’s possible to either test your skills (or to learn from scratch) the words you’ll need when you arrive in France, no matter if you’re staying for a week or a semester abroad.
Related posts: