One of our recent students informed me that he was quoted $28,000 by a local language school for thousands of hours of lessons to prepare him for the government language test. 

In my opinion, that is highway robbery!

There is no reason to spend that kind of time and money to prepare for the language test.  A student simply needs to focus on the essential elements that will enable them to pass the test, instead of focusing on useless information that they don’t need.

My programs are all about effectiveness.  What is the minimum information that a student needs to know to get the maximum results?

Whether it is the reading, writing or the oral, there are essential elements of French that will enable students to successfully pass any of the government language exams. 

My non-traditional way to prepare students for the exams enables them to focus on what is absolutely essential, cutting out the “fluff” of traditional methods and student testimonials confirm that my approach really works.  It works in less time and costs much less than any other program available anywhere. I guarantee it!

This French sound does not exist in English.

One example of a French word where this sound is used is “rue” like in “rue de Paris”.

To say this sound there are a few steps:

1. Say the French “i” which is “ee” in English.

2. Pucker up – tongue flat against your bottom teeth, lots of tension in your lips, tense up your body from the stomach up, do not move anything!

3. Go back and say the French “i” from that position.

You should be saying the “u” correctly if you follow these simple steps – that’s all there is to it!

There you have it – the Fabulous French Five vowels!

Let’s recap – in French, you must:

1. Never suppress vowels, especially the Fabulous Five which are called “prime” vowels.

2. Keep your tongue flat against your bottom teeth.

3. Always say vowels the same way (they don’t change in French as they sometimes do in English).

4. Pay attention to mouth position and tension.

If you have any questions, you can email me at robert@rebelfrench.com.

A la prochaine…..

Robert

Try this:

Say the word “hard” in English.

What did you do to produce that sound?

There are a few steps involved:

1. You curled your tongue towards the back of your mouth.

2. You pronounced the “h” by blowing over your tongue.

3. You then said the “r” with the tongue curled

4. You flicked the tongue on the roof of your mouth and you said “duh”.

This is the technique for speaking English – the tongue is often curled towards the back of the mouth and consonants such as “h” and “r” are more important than vowels such as “a”.

French speaking individuals will have trouble with this word because the “h” is not pronounced in French.  They will say “ard” as in aardvark.

If you ask a French person to say “this” or “that”, they will say “dis” and “dat”.  Most French speaking people struggle with the “th” sound in English because this sound does not exist in French.

When you speak French, you MUST keep your tongue FLAT at all times.

Your tongue must also touch your bottom teeth at ALL times.

You may say that this does not feel comfortable.  I know!

Do it until it becomes comfortable!

By doing so, you will speak French well and you will correct 80-90% of all your pronunciation problems.

Experiment with tongue and lip positions when words don’t sound correct.

By trial and error, you will find the correct position.

REMEMBER THIS:

English puts the emphasis on CONSONANTS (h,r,d, etc.).

French emphasizes VOWELS (a, e, i, o, etc.).

In my next post, I will tell you about the main vowels which are used in French and how to pronounce them correctly.

If you have questions, you can email me anytime at robert@rebelfrench.com.

A la prochaine….

Robert

There are some critical steps needed for this.

Repetition:

Students learning a second language such as French have been told that repetition is an important part of the process of learning. However, not many of them do it the way they should.

When learning something new in your second language, you must repeat it at least 50 times to retain the information. The more rapidly you repeat the information, the better! Rapid repetition will force your brain to assimilate the information at the “gut” level, rather than just the “intellectual” level.

Let me explain.

When you learn as an adult, your brain tries to put the information into compartments so that it can retrieve the information at a later date.

As you learn something new when studying French, your brain will try to do the same thing.  At first, your brain seems to “catch on” and understand the new information, but 20 minutes later, it can’t put 2 words together!

So…. let’s fool the brain!

By repeating information at high speed at least 50 times, you by-pass the normal mechanisms of the brain and the information is “absorbed” at the “gut” level.

Your brain will ask you to slow down. Don’t fall for it!

If anything, go faster!

By following this process of repeating information that you want to learn in French at high speed, you will assimilate the language more quickly.

Solidifying the information:

After you have repeated information at least 50 times, ask yourself over the next few days “How do I say that again?” and repeat the French sentence or word or phrase that you originally practiced. This is the “recall” phase.

By using this technique, you will be amazed at how much you remember!

Enjoy playing with the language and let me know how you are doing.

You can email me anytime at robert@rebelfrench.com.

A la prochaine………..

Robert

“Like Leonardo, you can learn a new language at any age.”

We all know that babies are the best learners.  Their openness, energy, and playfulness allow them to learn languages with ease. A baby raised in a home where three languages are spoken will learn all three without difficulty.

The good news is that if you are willing to adopt key aspects of the baby’s learning strategy, you can progress with similar ease and delight. And as an adult, you can take advantage of resources that can help you learn faster than a baby.”

So, what are these key strategies?

First, be willing to make lots of mistakes.

Children do not worry about looking good or achieving perfect pronunciation – they just dive in and speak!

Your progress in learning will depend a great deal on your willingness to play and to embrace feelings of unfamiliarity and foolishness.

Second, open yourself to the feeling of the language and culture.

When you speak French, pretend you ARE French! Adopt the gestures and mannerisms that you have witnessed in movies and on TV!

Remember Maurice Chevalier?? (I know, I am giving away my age!)

What about Kevin Klein in the movie with Meg Ryan called ‘French Kiss’? Remember how he sounded in his role as a Frenchman? Remember the facial expressions and the hand gestures? Have fun and pretend you are French when speaking the language. Move your hands, your body… get into the rhythm of the language!

Last but not least, adopt some of the techniques for super accelerated learning.

I’ll tell you more about this in my next post!

For now, play with the language. Amusez-vous!

You can email me anytime at robert@rebelfrench.com.

A la prochaine……..

Robert

1.  The student WANTS to learn French.

This may seem obvious to most, but in my experience, it is not always true.  Some people are forced to take language training because of their work, others feel it is an obligation for other reasons.

Learning a language should be fun – and it will be much easier if the individual wants to learn!

2.  The student does what is expected of them, no matter how simple the activity.

Learning French does take some work however, sometimes simple activities work best in assimilating the language.

The ideal student does these simple activities, even if they seem silly, because they know it will help them in the learning process.

3.  The student dares to speak from DAY 1.

Sometimes, when we start to learn a new language, especially as adults, we feel awkward because we cannot say what we want to say, when we want to say it. It’s like a baby learning to talk – so we clam up because we are afraid of being embarrassed!

How long did it take you to learn your mother tongue?

2 weeks??

2 months??

2 years??

Why would you set yourself up for failure by expecting to speak fluent French, using complex sentences, on Day 1???

Start by making an effort to speak, even if you make mistakes. Start with baby steps and repeat them over and over until you have mastered them.  In other words, use simple phrases at first and repeat them until you know them well. By building on a solid foundation, you will become more and more proficient over time, until you become fluent.

4. The student has FUN while learning.

This person takes everything in stride and doesn’t let little things get in the way of their learning. Humour is an important element in learning a second language so relax – HAVE FUN WITH IT!

5. The student tries to draw comparisons with their mother tongue.

This strategy helps to develop a greater understanding of the similarities between the two languages.  It also creates some sense of control for the student if they can make some connections between what they are learning in French and their own mother tongue.

6.  The student tries to focus on context instead of vocabulary or grammar.

It never ceases to amaze me when people give up because they don’t understand a word in a sentence.  If they simply look at what is happening around them, they will be able to figure it out.

7.  The student takes wild guesses.

This doesn’t sound very scientific, I know, but it works!

Take a stab at it – even if you are not sure.  No one will laugh at you.

Try to figure out the correct response to a question or try to put a sentence together, even if you are not 100% sure of yourself.  Trial and error is ok when learning another language.  There is no cost involved!

8.  The student talks to himself or herself a lot.

When a student does this, they are teaching themselves (this is great!) and reinforcing what they have learned.

In learning a language, repetition is absolutely essential, so if you have no one to practice with, practice with yourself!

There you have it – adopt all these strategies and you will be successful in learning French!

You can email me anytime at robert@rebelfrench.com.

A la prochaine……..

Robert

Research studies in memory retention show that adult learners retain only 20% of what they hear but 70% of WHAT THEY SAY!

When adults are given the opportunity to put into practice what they are learning, and also talk about its personal significance to them, their retention jumps to 90%!!!

This fits in with the Rebel French method for language learning, which is based on the concept of involving as many senses as possible in the process of language learning.

Conclusion:

The more you say it, the greater the retention!

To learn a language and be able to use it effectively, you must speak up!  You must talk as much as possible, even if you make mistakes, because the more you speak it, the greater the retention.

Generally speaking, the Rebel French method reduces the learning time by 70-90%, depending on how many of the techniques and tricks of the language that a student chooses to adopt in their learning style.

My next blog post will focus on the characteristics of the ideal student.

You can email me anytime at robert@rebelfrench.com

A la prochaine………

Robert

• I like simplicity!
• K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, s’il vous plaît?

I would ask you not to proceed to the next lesson until you have completely mastered the current one on the instinctive level. Some lessons will be easier for you than others. That’s OK. You will be learning faster than most people. Be patient. Remember, the tortoise and the hare! Consistency works. Don’t forget, I’m here to answer your questions if and when you struggle.

Our focus will be on rhythm and pronunciation of the language. We need to build a solid foundation if you want your French house to stand forever.

Rebel French will lay out the manner in which to study, practice, repeat, memorize and assimilate the information to learn French. If you choose to skip any technique in the learning process you will be impeding your learning. You will fall into the traditional mode of learning which means the Rebel French Program will lose its impact for you.

Benefits to you

People are intrigued by the possibility of speaking French. Why? It conjures up images of speaking French in Paris, the city of Lights and love, seated at an outdoor cafe with traditional French music in the background.

Let’s be honest ! Most people will quickly have their balloons burst because of:

1. the fear of failure.
2. what others have said about learning French.
3. excuses such as no time, no money, no real need.

French is French. Every program, including mine, presents the same information. How the information is presented must resonate with you in order to be successful.

Here is what I feel : You do not have to get it right, you just have to get it going!

There are 3 important Ps to being a successful French speaker:

1. Perceive : you need to perceive what you read and hear.
2. Process the pattern : you need to process the pattern you must use.
3. Perform : now, you need to perform the pattern

Unfortunately, most people tend to go directly to the perform stage. When they do, they are doomed to fail.

In the Rebel French program, you will learn the techniques and strategies to be successful in speaking French.

The most important question you need to answer is: How many systems do you need? The answer: One! You need the one that really works for you.

The only reason people fail is due to broken focus. I often say that everyone can learn French – it all depends on the time required to speak the language. My program compresses that time into manageable bytes. You will not need to spend countless hours studying because I will show you an accelerated method for learning French

I will lead you by the hand through the minefield of pitfalls. Once you understand my techniques and strategies, then your ambition, insights and willingness to learn will propel you forward. No one will be able to stop you!

What you will learn in the blog/social media posts and in the Rebel French program, most people never understand (even teachers). I understand instinctively what it means to speak french but more importantly I am able to impart this knowledge to others.

I am not out to impress you with my knowledge of French or present you with a glitzy, multi-media program. What is most important is the knowledge contained in the Rebel French program.

I am not perfect and I wanted that reflected in my program. You may find errors in the audio portions or typos in the layout of the written word. I want to keep a real classroom feel to Rebel French because you and I are in this thing together.

Here are some of the things you will learn in my newsletters and in the Rebel French courses :

1. Learn the technique of the language.
2. How to say words correctly, the first time, every time.
3. Learn how to speak French with musical rhythm.
4. How not to conjugate verbs in a traditional way.
5. Get an excellent understanding of French verb tenses.
6. Learn without having to study grammar.
7. Work on your own timetable.

The reason I spend a great deal of time on this is because I came to understand French by having learned a third, fourth and fifth language just like you. I did the things you will want to try in your French lessons; but we will not go there because you will know the better way to go.

In all my years of teaching, I came to understand that if I taught like most teachers, I would get the same results they got. I did not like their results! That is why I have been so effective in my teaching career.

I believe you want to succeed! That is why I have designed this program.

You will be on your way to speaking Fluent French! Get started today! Bon succès! To your success!