The most esteemed match in international rugby union will be held in France in 2023. The Rugby World Cup is an event that has taken place every four years since 1987 and features 20 qualified teams.
The traditional rugby powerhouses, New Zealand, Australia, and England, all previous champions, will give South Africa a tough fight as they attempt to retain the title they won in Japan in 2019.
Given that they won the 2022 Six Nations Championship, the champions will also be among the favourites. Could 2023 mark “Les Bleus'” first Webb Ellis Cup victory? France has finished second three times, but has never taken home the trophy. Wherever they perform, they will undoubtedly have devoted audiences supporting them.
Are you heading to the iconic Stade de France and hoping to learn French before the big event begins? Here’s how you can learn French quickly for the French Rugby World cup!
Where are the Rugby World Cup 2023 matches being played?
The 10th Rugby Union World Cup is being played at venues across France. All are in major cities with good transportation options, some in rugby hotbeds like Toulouse and Bordeaux and others in stadiums more accustomed to hosting football than rugby.
Here’s a full list of all the venues:
- Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille
- Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
- OL Stadium, Lyon
- Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
- Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
- Stade de Nice, Nice
- Stade de France, Saint-Denis
- Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne
- Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
How to learn French for the Rugby World Cup fast
If you want to learn French in time for the opening match, check out our top tips for learning French fast below:
Intensive French language courses
Intensive language courses are the quickest way to learn any language. An intensive French course can be extremely efficient, as you’ll be learning French, understanding how to listen to the language, learning speaking skills and gaining cultural knowledge all at the same time.
With intensive training, you can improve your conversational French in just three months.
The quickest way to learn French is through an intensive schedule. Just make sure you find qualified instructors who can assist you in achieving your desired degree faster than with other techniques.
Have real conversations with native French speakers
Gaining fluency in French, or any spoken language, requires retraining your brain to actually think in that language. It can be challenging to do this when you are surrounded by the language of your home country, but it is not impossible.
Finding a language partner who knows French will be helpful because not many people can devote themselves to learning French so completely that they actually move to France.
The best language hack involves spending time practising conversational speech, including asking and answering questions and allowing the conversation to flow naturally.
Create a mini France in your home
Get outcomes by setting the tone. To get the job done, you don’t need to dim the lights and put on some sultry jazz, but a few French movies, an appropriate soundtrack, and some delectable French food will help you get out of any language learning ruts you might run into. Anything by Yann Tiersen is a safe option.
The chance to completely ingratiate yourself in the vibrant and rich French culture is one of the main benefits of learning the language. Allowing yourself to appreciate it now will get your cogs turning again and may even have a scientific foundation.
Visualisation has been shown to increase learning rates and performance in a variety of skill sets, including acquiring French.
Make your own French phrasebook
Make a commitment to learning 20 new phrases each day.
Whatever it takes to help you remember them, such as creating flashcards or labelling household objects, should be done.
You’ll advance so much more quickly if you choose a realistic objective like this.
However, speaking French involves more than just reciting phrases from memory. You’ll learn French idioms, turns of phrase, colloquialisms, slang, and inside jokes as you consume French material or converse with native speakers, just like you would learn English.
Keep a notebook nearby or use the notes application on your phone for these; they’ll be the secret component that elevates your French from a beginner’s level to close to fluency.
Here’s a few French rugby phrases to get you started!
The rugby world cup: la coupe du monde de rugby
- A team: une équipe
- A goal: un but
- A player: un joueur
- The rugby ball: le ballon oval
- The referee: l’arbitre
- A try: un essai
- To convert a try: transformer un essai
- A penalty: un but sur pénalité
- A drop-goal: un drop
Remember that it’s okay to be a beginner
It’s perfectly fine to be a beginner, and you won’t do yourself any favours if you try to learn Advanced French too soon as you begin your language learning journey, whether you’re learning a language through a course, the French immersion method, or just by teaching yourself.
If you concentrate on the fundamentals first and let your progression happen organically, you’ll progress much more quickly and remain much more motivated. Stay in a positive mindset and you could be nearly fluent by the quarter finals!
Intensive French Language courses from Simon & Simon
An effective and quick way to acquire a new language is through intensive language programs. A SIMON & SIMON intensive French language course might be your best bet if you want to hasten your language acquisition.
You only get the best because all of our teachers are fluent in English, have extensive training, and have years of experience teaching French.
Contact us today or check out our Intensive French Language Course to get started!
Learning French For the Rugby World Cup FAQs
Is French easy to learn?
French is undoubtedly one of the simpler languages for English speakers to learn, but learning any foreign language takes commitment, patience, and unavoidable amounts of frustration before you reach your destination.
The fact that there is a lot of overlap between the two languages is one of the factors that makes French a relatively simple language for English learners.
There are many French terms in our language, and vice versa, because English is essentially a melting pot of cultural influences and dialects.
You’ll discover that many native French speakers use English terms as slang, and you’ll frequently run into cognates—words that are visually and acoustically identical or extremely similar in both languages.
How much time does it actually take to learn French?
If you’re wise with how you use your time, whether you only have twenty minutes to spare a few times a week or whether you can devote an hour a day to studying French, you’ll be able to make progress with the language.
Taking an intensive language course is the best option to learn French quickly.