How To Use Flashcards For Advanced French

Flashcards are a well-known and popular study aid for many subjects and especially languages. Although cards are often electronic today, the basic principle is the same. One side of the card has a question and the other side the answer. In the case of languages, flashcards are really useful for memorizing vocabulary, with the words and phrases in the target language on the front and the translation on the back.

If you want to take your French up to an advanced level, you should seriously consider putting flashcards into your toolbox. I'll give some tips on how to best use them.

Flashcards can be effective because they are so flexible. You can sort them in various ways, take a few with you and study anywhere. It's also easy to identify those problem areas that may require more study. Those cards can be put aside for special attention.

Many people use the cards in a systematic way called spaced repetition whereby the cards are studied at fixed intervals. Electronic card systems are very good at this because the intervals can be easily programmed.

Digital flashcards are available on computers and on mobile devices. With software such as Anki you can make your own decks or even share decks with other users. One can also find commercial flashcard providers who sell decks or subscriptions to online decks.

Although digital flashcards are wonderful, there is something to be said for the lowly index card or plain paper product. It's inexpensive, quick and easy to make, does not require a device to run on, can be written on and takes up little space. Plain pieces of paper are fine but are not as durable as the heavier cards. Nothing prevents you of course from getting the best of both worlds and combining a digital system with a set of physical cards.

At the beginner French level, cards are used primarily for vocabulary study with a single word on one side and the translation on the back. At the advanced level, you should emphasize entire phrases and idioms in order to see how particular words are used in context. So, the front of the card could have a target word or expression, some conjugated forms if it is a verb and an example phrase or two. The translation goes on the back. Here is an example:

Front side:

Vouloir

tu veux - vous voulez - ils ont voulu - je voudrais

Que voulez-vous que je fasse?

Je veux bien vous aider.

Back side:

What do you want me to do?

I'm willing to help you.

Here is an example of a flashcard for an interesting use of the verb savoir in a reflexive form.

Front side:

se savoir

s'est su -- se sait -- se saura

Avec Internet, tout se sait.

Back side:

With the Internet nothing is secret.

In the course of your reading, you run across some interesting examples of this form. So, you take out your card and add the following examples to the front:

Tout se sait ou se saura un jour.

L'equipe se sait sous pression.

You now add the following translations to the back:

Sooner or later everything comes out.

The team knows it is under the gun.

These are very loose translations of course. You can put whatever you want.

Typically, you use flashcards by looking at the front and then turning them over. An interesting option is to go in the reverse direction. In other words, you look at the English translation and ask yourself how you would say that in French. This is really useful with idiomatic expressions where the French may not resemble the English translation.

Another use of flashcards at the advanced level is as a daily memory aid. Let's say you have identified one or two idiomatic expressions that you intend to use at least five times today. You carry the cards with you and look at them from time to time to remind yourself how the expressions are used. In a meeting you could even discreetly have a few cards in front of you and try to plug the expressions into the discussion.

When you are reading in French, keep some blank cards or pieces of paper handy. If you run across an interesting expression or phrase, jot it down. In a short period you will have a useful deck that you can later review and enhance.

For the advanced language learner flashcards are a very effective tool. Try them.

Stanley Aleong specializes in effective learning strategies for foreign languages. He believes that an effective strategy for achieving advanced proficiency is to work with many carefully selected authentic examples. To learn more about some very effective learning tools based on this principle, visit Advanced French/Spanish

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