Over the years lots of people have asked me: Why learn French as a foreign language? Bonjour! My name is David and I’m a French speaker and French teacher. This page provides a list of my personal reasons why I think it’s such a great idea to learn this wonderful language.
Why learn French
- French sounds nice
- Close to other Romance languages
- Internationally spoken
- Helpful for finding a job
- Tool for meeting people
- Way to understand French history and culture
- Travel tool
1. French Sounds Nice!
In my opinion, French has a beautiful sound that is like music to the ears. Personally, I have enjoyed listening to French since the very first day I heard it when I was a child.
2. Close to Other Romance Languages
Another great aspect to learning the French language is that it is a Latin-based, or Romance language. This means that the words which make up the language were derived from Latin.
In addition to French there are several other Latin-based languages including Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian.
By mastering French you will have the ability to study the other Latin languages much easier because a lot of the vocabulary and grammatical rules are very similar.
Along this line of thought you will find that a large percentage of the words in French are very similar to English.
Indeed, most of the “process” words which end in the suffix “tion” such as investigation are very similar in French.
Furthermore, many adverbs which end in “ent” and “ly” English such as probably are also very similar in French. This makes the language quite easy to learn for English speakers.
3. French is spoken internationally
Although English has become the international language French is also very useful in many countries.
There are 80 million people worldwide who use French as their first language and about 50 million who use French as a second language.
Essential tool in Europe
Europe has roughly 80 million French speakers. Knowing French is an essential tool for living and working in Europe. French speaking countries in Europe include France as well as parts of Belgium and Switzerland. French is also spoken in Monaco.
Countries Where French Is Spoken
French is the official language of France and a the predominant language of Québec, Canada.
Many African countries which use French including Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Sub-Saharan African countries which use French include the West-African nations of Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
In the South Pacific Ocean French-speaking countries include French Polynesia and New Caledonia.
4. Helpful for finding a job
Another reason to learn French is that it is useful for finding employment.
Indeed, having good knowledge of a second language can make your resume much stronger and help you to land a new position in a company.
5. Tool for meeting people
Another huge advantage to learning French is that it can help you meet new friends all over the world and maybe even offer you the opportunity for dating and romance.
Indeed, by being able to speak French you have a higher chance of being able to form closer relationships with native French speakers.
6. Way to understand French history and culture
Finally, one of the biggest reasons why I suggest you study French is that it can help you to appreciate French culture more.
France has an extremely rich history and fantastic culture. With knowledge of this language you will be able to read the history of France and works by famous French authors such as Molière in their original form.
7. Great Travel Tool
Finally, if you like to travel then you will find knowing French very useful. The French language is used all over the world and is the predominant language in France, Belgium and Switzerland in Europe, Quebec (French-speaking Canada), many countries in Africa, many islands in the Caribbean as well as the South Pacific.
By learning the language you can make your travel experiences much more interesting and meaningful.