Learning Basic French/Creole

OK, so you're going to Haiti.  Its great to learn some French or Creole (very similar to French) for two reasons- one, practicality.  If you know a few of the words used in construction, you can more easily work with the Haitian contractors. The second reason is respect and building relationships.  Being able to  say hello, please, and thank you is a way you can be polite.  Plus, showing that you took the time to learn some of their language shows you respect the people of Haiti. (The same goes if you visit France, too.)

The good news is, you already know some French:

French = English
May day = help me (written in French m'aidez)
encore = again
voyage de mission = mission trip
J-Z = Jesus (in Creole)

Video with basic construction words in Construction:


iPhone/Smartphone Apps (Creole)- There's a free iPhone app with basic Creole words and phrases.  They're spelled completely different than the French counterparts, but a lot of words are pronounced the same way.

Pimsleur Language CDs (French)- This is how I (Brian) really learned how to speak French.  I'd stick them in my car on the way to work, and listen and speak with them on the way back home.  Its amazing how quickly you pick it up if you work at it.  You can contact me or Jacob to borrow Series 1 (I bought it just to help people going on trips to Haiti).  I also have Series 2 and 3.  If you finish those, you'll actually be pretty fluent in French.  It just takes time and hard work. The Williamson Country Library also has Pimsleur CDs 1 for check-out.

Rosetta Stone (French)- I've heard these are great, but haven't used them myself.

Foreign Language Institute- This organization is located in Nashville, and has classes and resources for learning languages, including French.

Alliance Francais de Nashville- This is for over-achievers who really fall in love with learning French.  There are weekly meetings where people learning French for travel, those learning French for fun, and actually people from France who live in Nashville, get together to talk French.  Newbies are actually highly welcomed.  On Saturdays, they have a 'circle de conversation', where the leader throws out a topic and everyone discusses it in French.  Its perfectly fine for new people to sit on the edges and just listen.