How to Read Online Short Stories in French
The international nature of the Internet makes learning a foreign language a fun and dynamic experience. From the comfort of home, you can find resources for learning grammar and building vocabulary. French is spoken around the world, and is an especially helpful language to have some facility with if you are traveling in Europe, Africa, or Canada. Reading French short stories is one way to familiarize yourself with the words and sentences of basic French. You can use an online translator tool and your dictionary to help you along the way.
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Instructions
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Find a story appropriate to your level. If you are a beginner, the short verse fables of Jean de La Fontaine may be a good choice. Many of these simple tales are quite short, and introduce basic vocabulary and expressions. For more advanced readers of French, Badosa online publishers offer a plethora of longer, more complex stories in French in their "Terre des Mots" section, which means "Land of Words."
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Open a second window and open an online translator tool such as Babelfish or Google Translate.
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Paste the URL of the short story you wish to read into the "translate" window. If you cannot translate an entire webpage with your online translator of choice, simply copy and paste the text of the story into the translation window.
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Begin reading as best you can. When you've completed a few sentences, check the translator window to see if you are getting the idea. If you are surprised by what you read, go back and study the words you misunderstood.
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Tips & Warnings
As you are reading, make note of the words that recur throughout the story. For example, in a story with a good deal of dialogue, you will likely see the words "dit-il" throughout. By learning the meaning of this expression when you first see it ("he said"), you will have many opportunities to see and recognize it before you are done with the story.
Reading in French is fun, but there is no substitute for practicing your pronunciation and speaking skills. Look for a French speaker or student to converse with so you can put your growing vocabulary to greater use.
References
- Photo Credit reading image by ivp from Fotolia.com
