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Drinking alcohol and other 'cheats' to boost your ability to speak French

The Local France
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Drinking alcohol and other 'cheats' to boost your ability to speak French
Photo: torbakhopper/Flickr

A new study has confirmed something perhaps all language learners - or at least those with a penchant for a tipple - have always thought, that drinking a little alcohol can work wonders for your ability to speak the lingo. But what else can you recommend to boost your French.

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The conclusion came after the language skills of 50 native German speakers who had recently started learning Dutch were put to the booze test in a recent study by three European universities. 
 
Each participant was given a drink - some alcoholic and others booze-free - and asked to hold a conversation with a stranger in Dutch. 
 
The amount of alcohol was adjusted according to weight, with a 150-pound man getting just under a pint of beer.
 
Two native Dutch speakers then rated the speaking skills of all of the participants while unaware which participants had drunk alcohol and which hadn't.
 
And when the results were in, the Dutch speakers judged that those drinking alcohol had scored "significantly better" compared to those on non-alcoholic drinks. 
 
But while many might have already suspected this to be true, researchers aren't exactly sure why this is the case. 
 
"Given that executive functions are important when speaking a second (non-native) language, one might expect that alcohol would impair the ability to speak a second language," said the researchers. "On the other hand, alcohol increases self-confidence and reduces social anxiety, both of which might be expected to improve language ability when interacting with another person."
 
But given that not every language learner drinks alcohol nor perhaps can they afford to open a bottle of wine every time they want to speak French, are there any other "cheats" to becoming fluent?
 
We are looking for readers to help us build up a list of ways to become fluent in French. We'd appreciate your help in the comments sections below.
 
Perhaps your ideas are contained in this list below.
 
 
Thirteen free and easy ways to learn French

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