Tips to Improve French Reading Comprehension
Advice for Developing French-Language Reading Skills
May 5, 2009
One of the best ways to develop your French-language fluency is through reading. But reading from contemporary, non-classroom materials like newspapers and novels can often be a daunting task – too many unknown vocabulary words, unfamiliar sentence structure, long paragraphs. Here are a few suggestions to help develop careful and effective French-language reading skills.
Select Appropriate French Reading Materials
Don’t just click onto that newspaper website and start browsing any of the articles. Look for familiar vocabulary or subjects in titles and headings and select a short article with which to begin. Most newspapers are organized by theme, so select a theme you already know a lot about, like current events or culture, food or travel. Then choose an article, print it out if possible and move away from your computer.
If you’ve picked a novel to tackle, make sure it’s appropriate for your level. See this list of Intermediate-level French novels for some suggestions or ask your language instructor for advice. For learners with less confidence, perhaps begin with a children’s book. Le Petit Nicolas is a classic collection of stories for children written in simple French and beautifully illustrated. And most everyone has heard of Babar and his elephantine adventures, another good choice for beginners.
Skim Reading Materials First
When you’re ready to begin, start reading! Don’t spend time worrying about words you don’t immediately understand. Get through a chapter or a short article and try to appreciate the overall meaning. Identify the main points of an article and its objective. Is it a persuasive piece? Is it simply providing information? If you’re reading a novel, take note of all major characters and the basic story or scene. Pinpoint the emotional tone.
Now go back and read the piece again. This time underline (or note on a separate sheet of paper) any unknown vocabulary words as you go, but don’t stop reading to look them up. Chances are you will already understand more on this second reading by paying attention to context clues.
How to Handle New Vocabulary for Faster French Reading Comprehension
Sometimes it’s a good idea to put the book or newspaper away at this point and take a small break. Come back to the text in a day, or a few hours later, and begin by looking up the words you noted previously. Finally, sit down with your text and read it a third time, this time making sure to reference your vocabulary list. A final, seamless fourth read isn’t always necessary but can boost your confidence and help you memorize those tricky new terms.
Reading in a foreign language can be a challenge but it is one of the best methods of developing fluency and increasing vocabulary. As a part of any language-learning program, your reading should be guided by a method if it’s meant to be effective.
