French the Natural Way

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

🙏 Thank You for Joining Our Community Gathering!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined our live community gathering this past Wednesday!

It was a pleasure to see so many of you, and to share such a lively conversation about pets, food and hobbies.

Together, we also explored three simple steps to make the most of a French story on our site, practical strategies you can use with any of our resources.

If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry! The replay is now available on our site for you to watch at your convenience.

Click here to watch the replay!

And remember to save the date for our next gathering, on Wednesday, June 4.

More details will be shared as we get closer to the event, so stay tuned!

LaShawne’s Small Victory: Speaking French from the Heart ❤️

This week, I want to highlight a beautiful story shared by LaShawne during our meeting:

“I was in a Senegalese restaurant with a friend during a visit in a small town in Ohio. At the end of the meal, the restaurant owner was offering us a dessert, and I was having some difficulty understanding. I asked him if he spoke French, and when he said yes, we had a delightful short conversation. This was the very reason I wanted to acquire French-to love my neighbor better by meeting them where they are most comfortable-to touch the heart by speaking my neighbor’s language. Your site, gentle teaching style, lessons, and book club have made this possible, and I am so grateful!!”

LaShawne’s experience is a wonderful reminder that every step forward, no matter how small, brings us closer to meaningful connections with others.

What about you? What small victories, big or small-have you experienced on your French journey?

I’d love to hear your stories, so please share them in our community chat 💬 or reply to this email.

Your experiences inspire others!

🚀 Keep Going-The Journey is the Reward

To all our members, congratulations on your dedication and progress 👏.

Remember, French acquisition is not just about reaching a destination, but about enjoying the journey and celebrating each milestone along the way.

Whether you’re having your first conversation, understanding a story, or simply showing up to listen & read French, you are making progress 🌱.

Your efforts are truly paying off. The journey is the reward!

With gratitude and encouragement,

P.S. Come and connect with other members in the community during a live Community Session. Click here to join!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Get ready for a joyful French immersion! Join us for our monthly live gathering on Zoom.

Wednesday May 7
4pm UK / 5pm France / 11am EST / 8am PST

This is your chance to connect, learn, and have fun-all in French! Click here to join.

Icebreaker & Story: “Moi aussi” and “Ketchup”

We’ll kick things off with our favorite icebreaker, “Moi aussi” (“Me too”), to help everyone feel welcome and connected.

Then, we’ll dive into a lively session of reading and narrating the hilarious story “Ketchup”.

Expect laughter, surprises, and lots of comprehensible French!

Why Should You Join?

• Connect with the Community: Meet fellow French learners from around the world, share your experiences, and support each other’s journey.

• Discover 3 Simple Steps to Acquire French: Experience firsthand how comprehension and narration can help you understand and speak French naturally-no stress, just stories!

• Immerse Yourself for One Hour: Give yourself the gift of one hour surrounded by French-listening, speaking, and thinking in the language in a warm, encouraging environment.

Click here to join!

May 1st Tradition: “Un brin de muguet” for Good Luck

Did you know? In France, it’s tradition on May 1st to offer “un brin de muguet” (a sprig of lily of the valley) to friends and loved ones as a symbol of good luck and happiness.

Muguet et crocus, Maria Hildegarde Lehnerdt.

Today, I’m sending a virtual brin de muguet to each of you.

Thank you for your dedication, your enthusiasm, and your support for our French community!

Poetry Corner: “Le muguet” by Maurice Carême

To celebrate this lovely tradition, I encourage you to read and memorize the beautiful poem “Le muguet” by Maurice Carême.

Click here to see the poem!

It’s a wonderful way to enrich your vocabulary and connect with French culture.

Bouquet de muguet dans un vase, Suzanne Valadon

Thank you for being such a special part of our community.

I can’t wait to see you on Wednesday for a fun, inspiring, and lucky French hour together!

À très bientôt,

P.S. Come and connect with other members in the community during a live Community Session. Click here to join!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

We are now back from our trip to Morocco, and our hearts and cameras are full!

During our travels, we met wonderful people who generously shared their stories and perspectives.

Their insights were so captivating that we took the time to interview several of them, and we can’t wait to share these brilliant nuggets with you in our upcoming videos.

Stay tuned, there is a wealth of authentic French content coming your way!

Why French Is Spoken in Morocco

One thing that stood out in Morocco is how many people speak French.

This is rooted in the country’s history: French became widespread during the period of French colonial influence and remains an important language in Morocco today.

While Arabic is the official language and the primary language of daily life, French is dominant in education, administration, and business.

Moroccan people speak Moroccan Arabic, also known as Darija. It is distinct from Modern Standard Arabic, which is used in formal settings, and is the primary language for everyday conversation.

At school, Moroccan children learn both Arabic and French, and many subjects, especially scientific ones, are taught in French.

This bilingual education opens doors for Moroccans in the professional world and connects them to a broader Francophone culture.

Your Questions: How to Move Beyond Simple Sentences?

Here is a thoughtful question from one of our members, @Ross237, who asked:

“I have finished all the lessons. My listening comprehension has improved. But I still can’t say more than simple sentences. What do you advise?”

My answer is to practice narration, a powerful technique from Charlotte Mason’s pedagogy.

Narration is the practice of retelling a story or passage in your own words after listening or reading. According to Charlotte Mason, narration is not about memorizing or parroting back information, but about making the story your own, processing, organizing, and expressing it naturally.

When you narrate, you are actively using the language you have absorbed, which helps move vocabulary and structures from passive recognition to active use.

Start small: listen to a short, simple story, like those in our Baby Stories.

Try to retell it in French, even if it’s just a few sentences.

Over time, as you become more comfortable, you can narrate longer passages and add more detail.

This process gently builds your spoken fluency, confidence, and ability to express yourself in French.

Celebrate Your Progress

Thank you for your dedication and curiosity!

If you ever feel discouraged, like @Ross237, remember: language acquisition is a long journey, but every step brings progress.

The journey itself is the reward.

We are here to support you, and we are so proud of everything you’ve achieved so far.

Keep exploring, keep narrating, and above all, enjoy the adventure of acquiring French!

Cordialement,

P.S. Come and connect with other members in the community during a live Community Session. Click here to join!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

I hope this newsletter finds you well.

My dear Man & I are currently away in Morocco with our family, enjoying the vibrant culture and breathtaking landscapes.

On the boat to Africa, over the Mediterranean Sea.

As we immerse ourselves in this beautiful country, we often use the French expression “c’est dépaysant,” which means “it’s disorienting” or “it transports you to another place.”

The word “dépaysant” comes from the verb “dépayser,” which literally means to remove someone from their country “pays” or usual surroundings, often causing a sense of wonder or disorientation.

Immersing in Moroccan Culture

We are staying on a farm in Tetouan, where the food is delicious and also authentic and fresh, with products coming directly from the farm.

Couscous is served with fresh goat milk.

Last Friday, we had the pleasure of enjoying a traditional Moroccan couscous with meat and vegetables. For those who might not be familiar, couscous is a staple dish in North African cuisine, made from small steamed granules of rolled semolina.

In Morocco, it is typically prepared by steaming the couscous over a flavorful stew of meat and vegetables, creating a hearty and aromatic meal.

New Content from Morocco

While we are traveling, we are also working on new exclusive content for you, our dear members!

We are creating videos with transcripts and audio about our experiences in Morocco, which will be published soon on our site! These videos will offer a unique glimpse into Moroccan culture.

In the meantime, take a moment to delve into all our existing videos, ranging from pronunciation warm-ups to classical French stories and book discussions.

Click here to watch them!

A Word of Appreciation

I’d like to share a thoughtful comment from our member @Angus888 in the Community Chat:

“Using AI is amazing as a tool to help you through the awkward years of language speaking, when we might otherwise be nervous about speaking or writing French with a real person. That said, you can’t beat Alice. Her curated resources are brilliant, stimulating and tailored to the growth of our acquisition. You can’t beat a real person like Alice.”

Do you agree with Angus? Can you beat a real person to acquire a language?

Thank you for being an integral part of our French learning community!

Cordialement,

P.S. Come and connect with other members in the community during a live Community Session. Click here to join!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Our dear member, Laura shared a delightful idea after participating in our last French Reader club.

She suggested:

“As a part of the warm-up, it might be fun to include the learning of a short poem with each 5-week session.”

This thoughtful recommendation sparked a reflection on the numerous benefits of reciting poems.

As a child, I fondly remember learning and reciting poems in school. To this day, I can still recall some of these verses, which brings me immense joy.

It’s a shame that my own children no longer have this enriching experience in their curriculum. However, we can revive this valuable practice in our French journey!

The Joys and Benefits of Poetry Recitation

Did you know that by engaging with poetic language, your brains are stimulated in regions associated with pleasure, similar to the effects of music and art?

Reciting poetry produces highly pleasurable emotional effects. The rhythmic and rhyming patterns in poetry create positive emotional responses and even anticipatory pleasure.

This emotional engagement help you connect with the beauty of the French language.

It improves your pronunciation as rhyming sounds are repeated. Your ability to articulate French phonemes gets better.

La jeune fille lisant une lettre de Johannes Vermeer (1657)

Poems also help develop proper intonation and rhythm, crucial elements of natural-sounding speech.

Reciting a poem encourages clear enunciation, and the ability to convey meaning to an audience.

You build confidence and get prepared for future conversations with French natives.

More importantly, through recitation, you engage with beautiful thoughts and ideas. It provides comfort, inspiration, and a source of reflection.

Introducing Our New Resource: “Dans la prairie”

My dear Man & I are thrilled to announce a new addition to our “Diaporama“ section.

It’s a short, simple, and adorable poem called “Dans la prairie” that’s perfect for practicing the French sounds -or and -ie.

This delightful piece features repetition, making it ideal for beginners and intermediate learners alike.

Click here to look at the slideshow!

Each slide of the presentation includes a couple of verses, followed by an interactive element where you’ll fill in the missing words to reinforce your memory of the poem.

To make the most of this resource, follow these simple steps:

1. Listen to the poem being read aloud, focusing on pronunciation and rhythm. Watch the video below the slideshow.

2. Read along silently, then attempt to read it aloud yourself.

3. Try to memorize small sections at a time, gradually building up to the entire poem.

4. Recite the poem, paying attention to your pronunciation and intonation.

5. Use the fill-in-the-blank slides to test your memory.

A Word of Appreciation

I’d like to conclude this newsletter by sharing a heartwarming comment from our member @GatKat in the Community Chat:

“Bonjour, Je viens de terminer le Baby Stage et j’ai vraiment adoré. J’avais suivi un cours A1 en classe, mais je ne me sentais pas à l’aise lorsqu’on m’a obligé à parler français. Maintenant, j’ai hâte de commencer le Infant Stage ! Merci.”

Which translates to: “Hello, I just finished the Baby Stage and I really loved it. I had taken an A1 class in person, but I didn’t feel comfortable when I was forced to speak French. Now, I can’t wait to start the Infant Stage! Thank you.”

We’re thrilled to hear about your progress, @GatKat, and we’re excited to continue supporting you on your French journey!

Thank you for being an integral part of our French learning community!

Cordialement,

P.S. Come and connect with other members in the community during a live Community Session. Click here to join!