French Vocabulary Online – Crochet

Crochet is not, perhaps, the most popular hobby, but I have a certain fondness for crochet. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a child and anytime I crochet anything new (or discover some old unfinished crochet project) I think of her.

Yesterday we talked about turning our hobbies into excuses to practice French. Today I'm going to demonstrate with crochet.

From simple dictionary searches we learn that:
to crochet = faire du crochet
a crochet-hook = un crochet
to crochet (something) = faire (qqc) au crochet

Now we have our basic search terms.

The Wikipedia article is pretty basic: Crochet

Nonetheless, from it we learn the names of a few different kinds of crochet as well as:
une aiguille = a needle
le fil = thread, yarn
crocheter = to crochet
le tricot = knitting
la dentelle = lace, lacework

And here's one I didn't know, but was happy to learn:
un carré de grand-mère – a granny square

Unfortunately, the "lien externe" on this article takes us to an English-language page, so now it is time to tearn to Google and when we do we find all sorts of websites with patterns, history, and commentary:

Passion Crochet
Crochodile – Blog
Crochet Forum (Practice reading and writing! – Please note though that this is not a language forum; don't bombard the forum with a lot of language questions. If you have a lot of language questions go somewhere like: www.wordreference.com.)

Want to practice your listening comprehension? Why not try YouTube?

YouTube videos vary greatly, the quality and content can be poor, but it's worth a look. The great thing about How To videos is that there is almost always a LOT of repetition, so if you didn't catch a word or phrase the first time around, just wait. It's sure to be repeated. For example:

 

 

 

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/NlVgrv7tQk0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1

So? What did you learn? What do you have to add?

Learning French Online – Vocabulary

The easiest, quickest, and most effective way to learn a language is to pick up and move to a country that speaks it. Once in a sink-or-swim situation you'd be surprised at how well you can swim. Unfortunately, this is not always practical. Given this reality, we look for ways to study the language in our day-to-day lives and online.

There are two essential aspects to learning a language:

1) Study it.
2) Use it.

The complication comes in deciding just how you will accomplish these simple steps. While the internet is full of online activities and lessons, some free, some costly, one of my favorite ways to study French has nothing to do with lessons, activities, or fees.

Start with what you know and love.

It's that simple. What interests you? Do you spend every free moment golfing? On the tennis courts? Creating new crafty gifts for your friends? Painting? Discovering music? With your pet? Whatever your hobby, your career, your passion – research it in French.

Assuming you have a basic grasp of the fundamentals, you'll be surprised at how much you can pick up this way. Many French words are similar to English words and you will be working with a subject that you know well. What is interesting is easy to learn and remember and what's more – it's easy to use. Start thinking about your hobby in French. Are you making a shopping list for your next trip to the craft store or REI? Write it in French. Have friends who are into the same thing and who also speak French? Practice with them!

The internet is full of excellent online resources for building your grasp of vocabulary and grammar in French.

Start at: www.fr.wikipedia.org
Read about your hobby.

(Not sure what it's called in French?
Look it up at: www.wordreference.com)

Then click on the external links on the Wikipedia article (you'll find these at the bottom of the article under "liens externes".)

Finally, enter some of the key vocabulary terms you've found in French in your favorite search engine and have fun!

Okay, seriously now – I want your comments! What are your favorite hobbies, pastimes, interests?