French the Natural Way

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

This week, you have an exciting opportunity to enhance your language abilities and immerse yourself in French culture.

Free French Session: Saint Martin’s Day Legend

Join me this Wednesday for a special one-hour free French session on Zoom. We’ll be exploring the heartwarming legend of Saint Martin, celebrated on November 11th.

This session is open to all levels, so feel free invite your friends, colleagues, clients, family who are interested in acquiring French!

JOIN ME FOR 1 HOUR LIVE
FOR LA PAUSE DE NOVEMBRE 2024 !

Wednesday November 6
4pm UK / 5pm France / 11am EST / 8am PST

Click here to join the FREE session!

Saint Martin’s legend tells the story of a Roman soldier who, on a cold winter’s day, encountered a poor, freezing beggar. Moved by compassion, Martin cut his cloak in half with his sword and shared it with the man. That night, Martin dreamed of Jesus wearing the half-cloak, thanking him for his kindness.

Click here to read & listen to it in French!

The Power of Story Listening

During this session, I’ll use the Story Listening technique to share Saint Martin’s tale. For those new to this method, Story Listening involves hearing a story in French, supported by simple language, gestures, and visual aids.

Story Listening is an engaging and effective technique I incorporate in all my videos when narrating stories. This method focuses on making stories comprehensible and compelling, allowing you to acquire language naturally through understanding rather than through traditional rote memorization.

In my sessions, I use a whiteboard to draw and visually represent elements of the story as I narrate. This captures attention and also reinforces understanding by connecting words with images.

By using simplified language and short sentences, I scaffold the experience, making it easier for you to grasp new vocabulary and concepts.

Developed by Dr. Beniko Mason, Story Listening offers numerous benefits:

• Natural Language Acquisition: Just like children acquire their first language by listening, you absorb language in context without the pressure of speaking or writing immediately.
• Enhanced Comprehension: The combination of auditory and visual stimuli helps reinforce understanding, making it easier for you to remember new words and phrases.
• Engagement: The storytelling format captivates your  attention, fostering a deeper emotional connection with the material.

By the end of the session, you’ll have the chance to narrate the story in your own words.

Narration is a powerful tool in language acquisition. It helps you actively recall vocabulary, practice sentence structure, and gain confidence in expressing yourself in French. (Of course, you don’t have to speak if you don’t feel ready to!)

Connect with Fellow French Learners

This session is not just about French; it’s an opportunity to meet other French enthusiasts.

Share your experiences, challenges, and triumphs in your French journey. Building a community of learners can be incredibly motivating and supportive.

Whether you’re a beginner or more advanced, this session offers a unique opportunity to enhance your French abilities in a relaxed, engaging environment.

Acquire, connect, and grow in your French language journey!
Looking forward to seeing you all on Wednesday.

Cordialement,

P.S. If you’ve been enjoying our online French program, My Dear Man & I would be grateful if you could share your experience by leaving a review on Trustpilot. Your feedback helps us improve and reach more French learners like yourself! Click here to post your review.

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

This week is particularly special as we approach an important French holiday. On Friday, November 1st, the French will be celebrating La Toussaint, or All Saints’ Day. This Catholic holiday honors all saints, known and unknown.

It’s a time when many French families visit cemeteries to pay respects to their deceased loved ones, often placing chrysanthemums on graves.

The following day, November 2nd, is known as “Le jour des morts” or All Souls’ Day. While not a public holiday, it’s traditionally a day to remember and pray for all departed souls.

I invite you to explore this theme further by reading and listening to “Le Festin des Morts” (The Feast of the Dead), an intermediate-level story available on our site.

This tale is from the Gascogne region, which is in the Southwest of France. The French playwright, Molière, was inspired by this tale to write the play, Don Juan. The character of the Commander is inspired by this tale.

Listen and read to this gripping tale. Click here!

Community Question of the Week

I love hearing from our community members, and this week, I’d like to highlight a question from @3Wonders who asked in the Community Chat:

I am just beginning the Teen Stage videos and am wondering how most people go about the dictation/ copy work for the lessons. Do you recommend pausing the video from time to time as needed to catch up, or do you recommend listening to the whole thing and then coming back to transcribe while reading aloud, or even other ideas? Merci !!

The main purpose of this exercise is to develop free writing abilities in French. This means you have a couple of options:

Write your own answer: After watching the video, listening, and reading as usual, you can try to write freely in French about the topic or question presented. Don’t worry about perfect spelling or grammar at this stage. The goal is to let your thoughts flow naturally in French.

Copy the provided answer: If you’re struggling to come up with your own response, it’s perfectly fine to start by copying the answer I provide. This can help you get comfortable with French sentence structures and vocabulary.

The key is to write without focusing too much on errors.
Just let your writing flow in French.

This approach helps build confidence and fluency over time.

A Word of Gratitude

My Dear Man & I deeply appreciate your participation in our program and community.

Your dedication to acquiring French inspires us to continually improve our offerings.

If you’ve found value in our resources, please share your experience by posting a review on Trustpilot.

Your feedback helps us grow and also assists other language learners in discovering our community.

In fact, Sebstian shared on Trustpilot:

Alice Ayel’s videos make it really easy to learn french. I am progressing really fast using her Comprehensible Input Videos.

Thank you for being part of this journey, and Happy French Acquisition!

Cordialement,

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Lately, My Dear Man & I have been working behind the scenes to bring you a variety of new resources designed to provide optimal input for your French language acquisition.

We’re thrilled to share these with you today!

Understanding Optimal Input

Before we dive into the new materials, let’s briefly discuss what we mean by “optimal input.” According to Dr. Beniko Mason, optimal input is comprehensible input that is also rich with a mix of frequent and less frequent words.

Click here to watch, read & listen about Dr. Beniko Mason.

This approach to language acquisition offers numerous benefits. It allows you to naturally absorb vocabulary and grammar structures in context.

It also enhances your overall language proficiency without the need for rote memorization or tedious drills.

New for Intermediate Learners

If you have reached an intermediate level, we’re excited to introduce “Pour ou contre la solitude?”

Click here to read and listen to this argumentative text!

This resource is designed to help you understand how to construct arguments in French and prepare you for expressing opinions.

It comes complete with comprehension questions and answers to reinforce your understanding.

Advanced Level Materials

If you are an advanced learner already, you have 2 new stories to explore. These authentic texts come with comprehension questions and answers, as well as open-ended questions for deeper reflection.

The first story is an extract from the novel “Pêcheur d’Islande,” a classic French novel about Breton fishermen and their perilous journeys to the waters of Iceland.

Pierre Loti was a French naval officer and novelist who lived from 1850 to 1923. Loti joined the French navy at a young age and traveled extensively around the world. His experiences during these voyages greatly influenced his writing, allowing him to vividly depict exotic locations and cultures in his novels.

Despite not being a professional writer by training, Loti became a prolific author. One of Loti‘s most famous and popular novels was “Pêcheurs d’Islande” published in 1886.

Click here to read and listen to an extract from this famous French novel.

The second text is an informative article discussing the benefits of singing, providing both rich language and interesting content.

Click here to read and listen to this interesting article!

For Advanced Beginners

If you’re an advanced beginner feeling ready to start speaking a bit of French,  there is a new pronunciation video for you.

It focuses on two common French expressions: “n’importe quoi” (meaning “whatever” or “nonsense”) and “c’est vrai” (meaning “it’s true”).

This video will help you perfect your pronunciation of these frequently used phrases.

Click here to watch it!

A Heartfelt Thank You

Your enthusiasm and dedication inspire us to continually improve and expand our offerings.

If you’ve found our program helpful, we would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave a review on Trustpilot.

Your feedback helps us grow and also assists other French learners in discovering our program.

In fact, John shared this week on Trustpilot:

Alice Ayel’s program of acquiring French is the core of my learning the French language. She leads you through stages during which you are exposed to many many stories in French – and the great majority have French-language explanation of words and phrases. Also, grammar is presented tangentially to the stories; you learn vocabulary in context. She projects her love of teaching with great warmth. I have been with the program for 9 months. It is a great investment!

Thank you for your continued support, and Happy French Acquisition!

Cordialement,

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Today, I’d like to share some thoughts on language acquisition that have evolved over time.

As you know, I’ve long been a staunch advocate for the power of comprehensible input in achieving fluency.

While I still firmly believe in its effectiveness, I’ve come to realize that there’s wisdom in the above French saying which translates to “Only fools never change their minds“.

Over the years, I’ve broadened my perspective to recognize the value of comprehensible output as well. While input remains crucial, I now see the benefits of incorporating some output activities, particularly self-talk, to build confidence in speaking.

This shift in thinking has led me to explore new ways to support your French journey.

Pronunciation Videos

In light of this evolved perspective, I’ve begun creating pronunciation videos to help you develop confidence in speaking French.

These videos are designed with a specific purpose: to train your mouth, tongue, and facial muscles for French speech.

Each language has its unique way of utilizing these physical elements, and French is no exception. Some key characteristics of French pronunciation include:

• Forward lip positioning for many vowel sounds
• Nasal vowels that require air to pass through both the mouth and nose
• The subtle “r” sound produced at the back of the throat
• Liaison and elision, where words are linked or sounds are dropped in connected speech

Our latest pronunciation video focuses on the phrase “J’ai bien/mal dormi”
Click here to watch it!

This seemingly simple expression provides an excellent opportunity to practice several important aspects of French pronunciation.

French Reader Book Club Update

This new pronunciation video served as a warm-up for our recent French Reader Book Club session.

On Friday, we used it to kickstart basic conversations with confidence before diving into our reading material. While it’s too late to join this particular session, you can still benefit from the experience by purchasing the recordings.

Click here to access the Reader Book Club’s replays!

If you are at a more advanced level, I also offer Book Club recordings where we explore authentic French literature together. Click here to access the Book Club’s replays. We are talking about “Mr Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran“.

A Word of Thanks

As always, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for being part of our vibrant community of French learners.

Your enthusiasm and dedication continue to inspire me
to innovate and improve our acquisition resources.

If you’ve found value in our programs, My Dear Man & I would greatly appreciate your support in the form of a review on Trustpilot. Click here to post your review!

Your feedback not only helps us grow but also assists other language learners in finding the right resources for their journey.

In fact, Dereck just shared today on Trustpilot:

The focus on storytelling is very comprehensive and I believe is the key to understanding the language. My favorite method (which is only possible due to the extraordinary structure of the site) is to read a story (each word can be clicked on to instantly provide a definition- in French), then listen and read along, the same story with the audio playback and finally watch and listen only to the video retelling of the story by Alice herself. With soo many stories on the site throughout the various stages, I believe it has been the greater advancer of my progress in the language.
Thanks Alice

Thank you for your continued trust and participation. Together, let’s embrace the joy of acquiring French, both through input and output!

Cordialement,

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

We had a wonderful time last Wednesday during our monthly Community live session on Zoom! It was a joy to see so many of you join me for a lively discussion about the charming animation “The Season.”

The atmosphere was incredibly relaxed, which encouraged everyone to speak French freely without any hesitation. This is precisely the goal I strive for in each of my online French sessions: to create a comfortable environment where language acquisition feels natural and enjoyable.

If you missed the session or would like to revisit it,
you can watch the replay at your convenience. Click here!

Mark your calendars for our next monthly reunion, which will take place on Wednesday, November 6. I’ll share more details as we get closer to the date, so stay tuned!

Community Question of the Week

I love hearing from our community members, and this week, I’d like to highlight a question from Karel, one of our Dear Learners. He asked in the Community Chat:

J’ai vu la vidéo 16 du senior-stage. Je trouve cela, pour moi, très intéressant de comprendre la grammaire de la langue française. Est-ce que c’est aussi important quand on parle français ?

In English: “I watched video 16 of the Senior Stage. I find it very interesting for me to understand French grammar. Is it also important when speaking French?”

Click here to access the Senior Stage!

For those unfamiliar, the Senior Stage is a series of videos, texts and audios designed to explain grammar and literature texts to Advanced French learners. It is the ultimate stage in our French program!

The Role of Grammar in French Acquisition

This is an excellent question, Karel! Merci beaucoup.

When you first start acquiring French, knowing all the grammar rules isn’t crucial. The natural approach to language acquisition focuses on immersion and comprehensible input, allowing you to absorb the language organically.

However, as you progress to more advanced levels, understanding grammar becomes increasingly important, especially when reading complex texts or engaging with literature. Grammar provides the framework that helps you decipher nuanced meanings and appreciate the intricacies of the language.

For instance, in the Senior Stage, we explore works by authors like Blaise Pascal. Understanding the grammar used in his essays allows you to grasp the depth of his philosophical arguments and the beauty of his prose.

It’s like having a key that unlocks deeper layers of meaning in sophisticated French texts.

Now to answer Karel‘s question about the importance of grammar when you speak French:

I believe that understanding grammatical structures enables you to form more complex sentences, convey precise meanings, and engage in nuanced conversations.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Your enthusiasm and dedication make our community vibrant and inspiring.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for being part of our French program.

If you know anyone who might benefit from acquiring French the natural way, please share our program with them. Together, we can spread the joy of acquiring French!

@DebinCda shared on Trustpilot:

This program is by far the most promising of the many I’ve used to learn French. My writing and reading tests at a B2 level but my listening and speaking is still A1. I’m HORRIBLE!!! I started at the Baby Stage a couple of weeks ago and halfway through this stage, I’m actually understanding without needing to translate from French to English. And even better, I’m remembering the new vocabulary without a problem. It helpfully keeps showing up in the stories so I get constant reinforcement. Amazing! I’m also filling in a few holes in my knowledge I didn’t know I had. Merci beaucoup !!!!

Thank you for your continued support, and happy acquisition!

Cordialement,