French the Natural Way

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

I’ll admit, I’ve been struggling a bit with keeping up with my Chinese acquisition lately. With the warm summer weather, I’d much rather be outside enjoying the sunshine than cooped up watching Chinese videos!

Can you relate? Has your French journey taken a backseat to summer fun and relaxation?

If so I’ve got some tips to help you stay on track with your French this summer. (I plan to implement these practical tips myself with Chinese!)

Keep going!

Make it a social activity. Join our online community and discuss your favorite French stories with other learners. The Story of the Day which I post in the Community Chat and in the weekly suggestions is a good start to comment and share.

Change up your routine. Instead of being inside, take your French outside. Listen to our French podcasts on a walk, read our stories in the park, or watch videos while relaxing poolside! A change of scenery will boost your motivation.

Just last week, Tracy shared:

Merci beaucoup pour L’Instant Thé podcast.  J’ai écouté six conversations au cours de la dernière semaine.  Si j’écoute à x0.75 vitesse, je peux comprendre beaucoup!  J’aime écouter pendant mes promenades. Vos invités sont très intéressants et j’ai appris beaucoup de choses pendant les podcasts. 

Set mini-goals. Aim to watch one French video or read one story per day, no matter how short. Small, consistent steps add up over time. Celebrate each mini-milestone!

Remember your “why”. Reconnect with your reasons for acquiring French. Visualize yourself fluently conversing with native speakers or reading French literature. Let your big goals fuel your French routine.

Every bit of French you consume is moving you closer to fluency. #trusttheprocess #youcandothis

Remember, progress isn’t linear. Some days will be easier than others. The key is to be kind to yourself and keep showing up, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.

Answer yes/no questions

Our last live session on Wednesday was a blast!

We read the classic fable “Le renard et le bouc” together. It was so much fun discussing the story and helping each other understand. I’m already looking forward to our next live sessions in September.

During the session, we took the time to answer yes/no comprehension questions. It is such an effective way to improve your French phrasing and sentence structure. By responding to these questions, you need to restate the question in the affirmative or negative.

Read the fable and answer the yes/no questions at the end of the story. Click here!

To negate a sentence in French, you need to use the negative particle “ne…pas” around the conjugated verb. Answering yes/no questions pushes you to conjugate verbs correctly and place the negation properly.

This back-and-forth process helps your brain become more efficient at rephrasing questions as statements, which is crucial for fluid conversation in French.

Don’t underestimate the power of simple yes/no questions! Incorporate them into your French routine, after watching, reading or listening to a story. Your French phrasing and confidence will improve.

Bon courage et bon été à tous ! Enjoy the sunshine and keep up the great journey.

Don’t miss out on these chances to connect, acquire, and grow together!

Cordialement,

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Summer is THE ideal season to reconnect with the French language.

Why? Simply because for most us it’s a more relaxed period. The summer months tend to bring a more relaxed mindset, feeling less stressed and more open to new things.

Summer also provides a natural opportunity to set new goals and make a fresh start with your French. The warm weather and vacation vibes can boost your motivation to acquire.

So take advantage of the summer season to dive into French with renewed energy and passion! You will make real progress while truly savoring the process.

On our site, we have resources suitable for all levels to accompany you this summer. #trustheprocess #youcandothis

You are a beginner

Check out our story created during our Wednesday live session.

Our latest story is a wild ride that will captivate your imagination! It’s fun, strange, and even a bit disgusting all at the same time.

But that’s exactly why it’s such an effective tool for French acquisition.

When you’re fully immersed in a compelling story, your brain is primed to absorb new vocabulary and grammatical structures. The narrative engages your emotions, making the language stick in your memory.

Research shows that when you’re captivated by a story, your brain is working at peak efficiency to process the new language. The words and phrases get stored in your long-term memory, ready to be recalled and used fluently.

Dive into our latest story! Click here.

Let the strange and amusing plot twists carry you away. Your brain will be working in the background to make sense of the French, and the new language will cement itself in your mind.

You will also find comprehension questions and answers to properly assimilate the key vocabulary and structures.

Happy reading and listening!

You are intermediate

it’s time to start Free Writing!

Free writing is the practice of writing continuously without stopping, editing, or censoring yourself. You simply write whatever comes to your mind in French, without worrying about grammar, spelling, or making mistakes.

The goal is to get your thoughts flowing and express yourself freely.

This powerful technique will help you transition from an intermediate to an advanced level in French. You train your brain to produce French spontaneously. You become more fluent and comfortable expressing yourself.

You also experiment with new vocabulary and structures. You can try out different ways of phrasing things without fear of being wrong. As you get used to writing freely, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to communicate in French. You’ll realize you can express your ideas even if they aren’t perfect.

Try now with our 31 unique prompts in our Teen Stage. Click here!

From there, you can share your writing with the community for feedback and encouragement.

To incorporate free writing into your routine, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and write continuously in French without stopping. Don’t worry about mistakes, just keep your pen moving!

The more you write, the more comfortable you’ll become expressing yourself.

Happy writing!

You are advanced

Deepen your mastery of French grammar.

Understanding grammar will help you grasp the meaning better and express yourself with more precision.

But it’s best to wait until you have an advanced level to seriously delve into grammar. Before that, it’s more important to focus on communication and naturally acquiring basic vocabulary and structures.

Once you have a good handle on everyday French, deepening your grammar knowledge allows you to take an additional step. You’ll be able to express more complex ideas with precision and nuance.

Immerse yourself in the logic of the language and the French way of thinking. This gives you deeper access to the culture.

Grammar becomes a tool for refining your French, not an end in itself.

Our 15 sessions in the Senior Stage allow you to master key concepts while discovering the richness of French culture. Click here to start now!

Happy grammar!

Stay curious, and remember: fluency is a journey, not a destination.

Don’t miss out on these chances to connect, acquire, and grow together!

Cordialement,

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!

 

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

I’m excited to share some insights from our fantastic live session last Wednesday, where we explored the power of circumlocution.

For those of you who were able to join, you know what a fun and engaging session it was. We had a blast using circumlocution to explain various things and concepts in French.

Brianna who is a member since June 2024, shared:

Merci pour la session d’aujourd’hui ! J’ai beaucoup appris et la technique de la circonlocution me sera très utile ! 🙂

If you missed it, I highly recommend watching the replay. Click here to watch it!

Seeing circumlocution in action will help you understand just how useful this skill can be in developing your fluency.

But what exactly is circumlocution? As I explained last Wednesday, it is the art of “tourner autour du pot” !

It is describing something without using its exact name. It’s a valuable tool for expressing yourself in French, even when you don’t know the precise vocabulary word.

Mastering circumlocution

Here are some of the key benefits of mastering circumlocution:

• It allows you to keep the conversation flowing, even when you hit a vocabulary roadblock.
• It expands your ability to communicate complex ideas and nuances in French.
• It trains your brain to think more flexibly in the language.
• It boosts your confidence in speaking French in real-world situations.

The best part? Circumlocution is a skill you can practice on your own or when talking to native speakers.

Instead of reaching for your phone to check a translation, challenge yourself to describe what you want to say using the French you already know.

Let’s say you don’t know the French word for “umbrella”. You could describe it like this: “It’s an object that we use when it’s raining to protect ourselves. It has a round shape, and we hold it above our head to keep our body dry.”

C’est un objet qu’on utilise quand il pleut pour se protéger. Il a une forme ronde et on le tient sur la tête pour rester sec.

In this example, you’re using words and expressions you already know in French, such as “object”, “use”, “when it’s raining”, “protect ourselves”, “round shape”, “hold above the head”, “keep dry”, to describe what an umbrella is, without using the exact word.

With practice, this technique becomes more and more natural, and it helps you develop your fluency in the language.

Join me live this week

• Weekly Regular Sessions

Our next live sessions are coming up this Wednesday and Friday. This is your chance to put circumlocution into practice in a very small group (up to 5 participants) and start building confidence in your spoken French.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with your fellow learners and me. I can’t wait to see you all. Click here to sign in!

• Community Live Meetings

  On Mondays and Thursdays, these sessions are run by our dear members. They allow you to meet other community members and speak French in a supportive environment. It’s a great way to build confidence and reduce the fear of making mistakes. Click here to join!

Stay curious, and remember: fluency is a journey, not a destination.

Don’t miss out on these chances to connect, acquire, and grow together. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Cordialement,

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!

 

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Today, I want to start by celebrating a small victory with you all. Elena, who joined us in April this year, recently shared that she listened to La Pause Café avec Elodie Caussé and she was able to understand the gist of it.

This interview is aimed at intermediate learners because it is an authentic conversation between two French natives. We talk about building self-confidence and overcoming your fears when you want to speak another language.

I met Elodie Caussé in Pau in October 2023 when we had our Immersion week. Elodie came to give an amazing anti-stress workshop as she is a Systemic Sophrologist.

Listen to the podcast OR watch our conversation on YouTube.

Well done, Elena!

These small victories are what keep you motivated and remind you of the progress you’re making. So please share them with our community!

New audiobook

I’m excited to announce that we have a new audiobook available for you! Click here to listen to it.

It’s perfect for beginners and advanced beginners. The story is written in the present tense, and the vocabulary and structures are comprehensible and repeated throughout the story. Here is the synopsis:

When Alain discovers a stray cat behind his house, he’s drawn to its friendly personality and obvious need for attention. But there is one problem! Join Alain as he pursues a mission to make his new feline friend a welcome member of the household.

Listening to a French reader is a great way to immerse yourself in French and improve your comprehension.

Vickie, who joined us in September 2023, shared that she had purchased all the Theresa Marrama books to read aloud and then discovered later that we had made the audiobooks! It’s one of her favorite things on our site.

Vickie shared in the Community Chat:

Reading the actual paper books aloud feels different than reading online. It somehow feels like a different part of my brain is working. I do try to read each of the stories out loud as I do the lessons and I feel like I benefit so much, but the paper books seem to benefit in a different way. I feel like it has helped my pronunciation a lot.  To be clear,  I first listen to the lessons several times and then try to read along with you before reading aloud myself.  I try to actively work on the correct pronunciation.  

If you don’t know them yet, check out all our audiobooks. Just click here!

Live Sessions This Week

This week, you have loads of opportunities to join us live and enhance your French journey:

• Wednesday Free Session

  Everyone is welcome to join me for a free one-hour session on Zoom. Use circumlocution to speak French spontaneously. Circumlocution is a technique where you describe something without using the exact words. It’s a great way to improve your fluency and build confidence in your French speaking abilities. Click here to join!
  

• Weekly Regular Sessions
  

  In addition to the free session, you are also welcome to join my regular weekly sessions on Wednesday and Friday. These sessions provide more focused practice and interaction to help you progress. Click here to sign in!

• Community Live Meetings

  On Mondays and Thursdays, these sessions are run by our dear members. They allow you to meet other community members and speak French in a supportive environment. It’s a great way to build confidence and reduce the fear of making mistakes. Click here to join!

Don’t miss out on these chances to connect, acquire, and grow together. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Cordialement,

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!

 

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

You know it: receiving comprehensible input is powerful. It is the key to unlocking your French fluency.

You know it too: the journey to mastering French is challenging.

The good news is that input alone is sufficient to first understand, then think, and eventually speak French naturally.

By immersing yourself in comprehensible French content, whether it’s through reading, listening, or watching, your brain gradually starts to make connections and patterns. Over time, you find that you’re able to process the French language with ease.

#trustheprocess

The need for more

However, I do know that some of you feel they need more. If that’s the case, I have I believe an efficient solution for you: answering comprehension questions about a story.

Comprehension questions are useful because they help you improve your understanding of the language by focusing on the meaning of the text rather than just the grammar or vocabulary.

You actively demonstrate your understanding of the content. This helps cement the meaning and context of the language you are acquiring.

Try answering the questions about the peacock and the stolen feathers – Les plumes volées

First go through the Baby Stage session #14 which tells a simplified version of the story. You can watch me telling the story to help you understand it.

Then read and listen to the more complex version of the story written in the past tense. Make sure to turn on the Audio Sync View button.

At the end of the story, answer the questions. For most of the questions, you simply need to answer with a “oui” or “non“. This way, you are forming full positive or negative sentences, assimilating the way French sentences are structured. This encourages you to construct full French sentences, which helps you internalize proper sentence structure and grammar.

Check out the answers to the questions by clicking on – Cliquez ici pour afficher la solution –

I am eager to hear your feedback on whether this resource is useful for you. Your input helps us (My Dear Man & I) refine and improve our materials, ensuring that they meet your needs and preferences.

This Week’s Live Sessions

Now, let’s talk about the exciting live sessions planned for this week:

• Wednesday:
  We’ll be reading, discussing, and writing in the past tense the story of the toe – Le doigt de pied. This is a great opportunity to enhance your French  in a supportive and engaging environment.
• Thursday:
  We’ll be discussing where we live and how we feel about our living situations. Share your thoughts and experiences with the group, all in French.

There are still a few spots left for these two live sessions, so click here to sign up soon. I can’t wait to see you there!

Additionally, you can join our Community Live Meetings on Mondays and Thursdays.

These sessions are run by our dear members (MERCI BEAUCOUP Barry Rico!). They allow you to meet other community members and speak French in a supportive environment.

It’s a great way to build confidence and reduce the fear of making mistakes. Click here to join!

Wishing you a wonderful week filled with French and progress.

Cordialement,

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues and clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!