Learn Canadian French While Watching a Movie!

Here's a cool way to help you learning Canadian French at a high speed. All you need to do is find a movie with Canadian French audio, and get English subtitles. After that just sit back, put your mind on auto-pilot, and let the learning begin.
What you need to do is follow the above instructions:
First Things First - Learn Some Basics
If you don't speak any Canadian French or even Metropolitan French at all, this method is fun but it's not going to help you too much. The real benefit is there once you already have a basic understanding of French, be it Metropolitan or Canadian French. That doesn't mean you need to be fluent -at all! As long as you know a bunch of verbs and nouns, and you have ready knowledge of a handful of sentences, you're fine. With just a few hours of "studying", you'll be ready to start using this awesome tool. Obviously, you can't learn a language entirely from film, unless you have a lot of time to spare. That's why it's important to also use a good program or book to teach you the basics, as well as the ins and outs of Canadian French.
Movies as a Teacher - Here's How it Works
I've personally tried this time and time again, and I can tell you, it's not only a fun exercise (who doesn't like watching movies, eh?), it's also amazing to see how the brain works. When you use this method, you kind of trick the brain into learning. Why? Because you feed your brain two streams of information simultaneously: audio and visual (the subs). And to make it even more fun, the actors provide the context for what you are hearing and reading. When the brain has to process two streams of information at the same time, it automatically tries to synthesize them into one coherent event of meaning and understanding. It can't help itself, it has to do this because the brain can only hold one thought at any given moment. Sure, you may be able to think very fast so it looks like you're holding two thoughts at the same time, but it only looks like that because you're thinking fast, switching from one thought to the other. In reality, it's one thought after another, like the frames of a film. So by feeding your brain the two parallel streams of info, you're just helping it to understand more, faster. Cool, eh?
Useful Tips to Get the Most Out of This Technique
Choose movies that are more or less adapted to your level of Canadian French. I'm not saying you should watch Sesame Street because you've only just started. But what I really mean is: if you're a beginner, don't choose a highly complex lawyer-drama or something like that. Start with something lighter, like a comedy or a romantic movie.
In the same vein, choose a movie in a genre that you enjoy. Maybe you've been told that you really should see this or that Canadian movie, but if it's not in a genre that you like, it's best to leave it for later. In this case we're talking about a learning tool so choose a movie you'll enjoy.
Don't try to understand the audio. Focus on the subtitles and just let the audio wash into your ears, without paying too much attention to it. See, the mind cannot stop itself from hearing audio. By focusing on the subs, you'll understand the movie, and by hearing the audio without thinking about it, you give your brain the space it needs to make sense of it.
Don't think. Yeah, I'm repeating myself because this point is so important. Just sit back, enjoy the movie, and do not try to learn anything. Just watch the movie and focus on the subs, and that is all you need to do to get the full effect of this trick. It may be confusing or tiring at first, but halfway through your first movie, you'll notice that you suddenly make connections and understand things that you haven't learned yet. Or you'll find yourself understanding something that you left for later learning because it didn't make sense at the time.
Try it! You'll find that it is a great way to help you learn Canadian French fast. And the cool benefit is that you'll be learning the strange words that you'll only find in Canadia French and you'll learn about Canadian culture at a really enjoyable environment.
Aunes Oversettelser AS has been in the business for 26 years, and we are specialized in technical translations. We are specializing in the Nordic languages, and can offer services into Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Icelandic. The premier translation agency for Norway and the Nordic region! Technical translation services for businesses in the Nordic countries and translation agencies world wide.