How to improve and practice my english conversation skills using skype

December 8, 2005 8:44 AM

I'd like to improve my english (french is my mother language).

I have skype at home and would be interested in chatting with english speakers for free or for a reasonable price. Any suggestion (forum, website, webservice, community, etc...)?

posted by vincentm to education (27 comments total)

English people interested in learning french are welcome...
posted by vincentm at 8:46 AM on December 8, 2005

I am Dutch, so I can not help you. I love to learn better English myself. Since I read MetaFilter I have learned a new word every day and still there are comments that I just do not understand. Good luck! I will follow this thread with interest.
posted by kudzu at 8:49 AM on December 8, 2005

Ou est-ce que tu habites maintenant?

(Mon francais est pas partfait, mais, c'est raisonable, j'espere.)
posted by jon_kill at 8:50 AM on December 8, 2005

My sister is interested in working on her french. I'll pass this thread along to her.
posted by odinsdream at 8:53 AM on December 8, 2005

Ton français est très correct jon-kill. J'habite à Metz dans l'est de la France.
posted by vincentm at 8:53 AM on December 8, 2005

J'utilise pas Skype, mais s'il y a un comment ici que tu ne comprends pas, tu peux m'envoyer un courriel pour me l'expliquer.
posted by jon_kill at 8:55 AM on December 8, 2005

Written english is quite OK for me, as I read many blogs in english. My problem is more on the oral conversation side (and in the production of correct grammar and vocabulary when speaking...).
posted by vincentm at 8:58 AM on December 8, 2005

I'm very interested in getting my French going, and happy to chat in English. Warning is that I'm not a native speaker but having studied the language for 15 years and lived in London for 8 and being a language nerd I'm quite close to native. Would love to chat for example if there is a common time. Email is in the profile.
posted by keijo at 8:58 AM on December 8, 2005

Don't listen to rap.
posted by j.p. Hung at 9:00 AM on December 8, 2005

Je connais plusier gens qui ont appris l'anglais travers des films. Il faut aussi parler avec des anglophones autant de possible. Vous n'êtes pas loin de Luxembourg et j'y ai trouvé beaucoup d'anglophones. Peut-être il y aurait un "club" ou organisation ou on pourrait s'inscrire?

(j'aime tellement Metz, Kebab Ishmaël a le meilleur Kebab en France je crois!)
posted by blue_beetle at 9:07 AM on December 8, 2005

Written english is quite OK for me

Sure, I know, but you said I could practice my French, too. Don't fall for the Quebec Paradox, Vincent.
posted by jon_kill at 9:12 AM on December 8, 2005

Don't listen to rap.

Oh, I don't know if that's the best advice.

English Guy 1: Why does your friend Jean-Michel talk like that?
English Guy 2: Yeah, isn't that great? He learned English from hiphop records.
English Guy 1: Cool.
English Guy 2: Fully.
posted by jon_kill at 9:14 AM on December 8, 2005

I suggest the Police Academy movies.
posted by fidelity at 9:43 AM on December 8, 2005

Y a une université à Metz? Aux EU, souvent les étudiants étrangers se rassemblent pour parler dans leur langue maternelle -- vous pouvez chercher un groupe similaire d'Anglais ou Américains. Si y en a pas, vous pouvez mettre des publicités pour quelqu'un avec qui pratiquer.
Ou bien aller en vacances en Angleterre. All it will take is a few days to start getting used to hearing the spoken language, since you already have a good grasp of the vocabulary and the grammar. Et si vous pouvez trouver des films sous-titrés au lieu de ... dubbed? je sais plus le mot -- cela vous aidera, je crois.

Also I think in English we are more likely to say "native language" or "mother tongue" than "mother language." It's the most common place to directly translate "langue" -- normally you'd be right to translate it to "language," but "mother tongue" is a common English phrase.

And, while we're on the topic (sort of), I've always wondered whether one generally uses "tu" or "vous" with folks online at a place like MetaFilter. I notice you tutoiez (?) jon_kill -- is that because he started it? What would you do if this were a French site? How do you decide? Does everyone do the same thing, or do people have different opinions on it? How do you know when to switch? This is the grammatical thing that was the most problematic for me when I was in Europe -- I have no sense of where the line is or should be, or even if it's a consistent line for everyone, or if it varies across age groups, geographical locations, chosen careers ... ??
posted by librarina at 9:44 AM on December 8, 2005

I generally tutoyer everyone I meet. As a non-native speaker, they understand. If they don't (and they haven't) then I'm of the general impression they're not worth talking to.
posted by jon_kill at 9:50 AM on December 8, 2005

On the french web sites people mostly use the 'tutoiement'.
Thank you Librarina for your suggestion (moving to england) but I prefer, for the moment, using my internet connection with skype to talk.
posted by vincentm at 10:03 AM on December 8, 2005

Yeah, isn't that great? He learned English from hiphop records.

Well, it works for Swedes.
posted by martinrebas at 10:05 AM on December 8, 2005

Apologies in advance (as this is AskMe and all that) but:

MetaFilter: still there are comments that I just do not understand
posted by misterbrandt at 11:07 AM on December 8, 2005

No, not moving, going to visit. It's the daily interactions -- grocery shopping, asking for directions, getting on and off the bus, whatever -- as well as the total immersion in the other language that really help you learn.
This is how I learned, ten years ago, and while I don't remember a ton of it now, whenever I start hanging out with other French speakers, it all comes back really quickly.
posted by librarina at 11:35 AM on December 8, 2005

I second what librarina has to say--constantly needing another language in order to buy food, find the toilet, etc., utilizes a different brain place or something, and helps you learn much faster. Despite a great deal of instruction in German and some dialogue with native speakers, it was not until a 3-week vacation that I came close actually speaking the language.

(In the 8 or 9 years since then, I've pretty much lost it for want of practice, but when I run into someone, it comes back, I'm convinced, because that period of use rooted it somewhere in my brain that doesn't lose things).
posted by fidelity at 12:25 PM on December 8, 2005

Watch soap operas in English. It's what my mother has always done to keep up her Spanish. I believe Six Feet Under is all available on DVD now, or perhaps the Sopranos? This should help, at least until you can make a trip to an English speaking country.
posted by Sara Anne at 12:59 PM on December 8, 2005

Here's the key: what you do is, find somebody who is a native speaker of English and wants to learn French. Then, you take him/her to the bar with one of your native French speaking friends and just chat away. Another night, have him take you to the bar with one of his native English speaking friends. Rinse. Repeat.

See, conversations are too strained when it is forced over a conversation barrier, and really, too slow to be of practical use (you won't push yourself to think in the language if you have the time to think about each phrase before you say it, which is what a one on one conversation tends to permit). You will learn a lot more listening to other people using their language just as they would, but also have the advantage of slowing things down here or there for clarification, or jumping right in at a native speaker's pace. It is like learning from American sitcoms, but you have some crazy TiVo that lets you pause, rewind, has a pop-up dictionary, and... lets you jump into the TV from time to time.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 2:25 PM on December 8, 2005

It is very important, but extremely difficult, to find people who will correct you. What's easier to get from people is "[blah blah uncertain phrase] -- how would you have said that?" "What you said is fine [it's not], but I would have said [blah blah more common phrase]."

When you don't know the English word, ask what the cognate is of the French. Well-read Anglophones know most (?) long French words as archaic English words -- you'll be surprised what you can get away with.

Finally, watch movies in English with English subtitles turned on.
posted by Aknaton at 3:35 PM on December 8, 2005

In a recent related question, LingUp was recommended.
In Skype you can easily search for people by looking for: Language: English and in About: friend / friends / friendly / learn / world / hello to find friendly people.
posted by Sharcho at 3:41 PM on December 8, 2005

I'm a native English speaker who'd love to learn French. But, I grew up in California so you may not want to learn my dialict ;)
posted by starscream at 4:32 PM on December 9, 2005

If you don't find any takers from the above offers my girlfriend is wanting to improve her limited French and would be happy to help you out.
posted by mule at 10:22 PM on December 9, 2005

I tried to search in skype (as said Sharcho) but I couldn't find the "about" feature. Maybe it's a function that's not present in the french version of skype... ?
posted by vincentm at 10:55 AM on January 3, 2006