Coucou les French learners,
J’adore l’été ! I love summer! Time to go outside, have long walks, enjoy the swimming-pool and read, read, read!
I have just finished reading Terre des hommes by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It is such a beautiful memoir about friendship, death, heroism, and solidarity among colleagues, and what makes life worth living. A must read!
How to improve reading comprehension
The biggest hurdle when you are reading is to comprehend what you are reading.
Language acquisition happens when you comprehend.
Reading comprehension is the ability to read a sentence and understand its meaning. It is the ability to look at written words and process the meaning or ideas behind them.
Reading comprehension isn’t just understanding a single word or its meaning. It is the ability to recognize words, sentences, and paragraphs and make sense of the overall meaning.
How can you become a better French reader?
Start with French readers, books which are easy to read and to comprehend. These are books which have lots of high-frequency words and structures. I record the audio of many Theresa Marrama’s French readers aimed at beginner French learners. Just yesterday, I published the recording of Theresa’s newest reader Le Château de Chambord – Secrets d’une famille. And a few weeks ago, I interviewed Theresa for my Pause Café series on YouTube.
Re-read sections that are confusing. Revisiting the parts that were confusing can help you gain a more complete picture of what you are reading. This also helps ensure you are able to understand upcoming material in the text.
Write down questions about what you don’t understand. Make notes about what you don’t understand while reading. When you have a question, pause and reflect on what you have read.
Read for pleasure! This will motivate you to engage with the text and embrace reading as part of your daily life (rather than just your study/work life). As you truly engage with your reading material, improvement will come naturally.
Begin by reading texts that are below your level (especially if reading is frustrating or difficult for you). This will take pressure off of you and allow you to relax and enjoy the story.
QUOI DE NEUF ?
Let’s imagine a story together!
We are meeting on Saturday July, 31 to co-create a story! The objective is to publish a great story for the community!
We will spend the first 30 minutes co-creating a character and plot together. We will then write and discuss. This will get the story in written form, and through the process we will read the story again and maybe even embellish it!
JOIN US for our first story together! How exciting!
Gain New Friends and Get Involved with the French Learners Community. #youarenotalone
Increase your vocabulary and comprehension #storyispower
Reduce your stress #relax
Summer INTENSIVE course
Do you want to boost your French?
I am back in August! Join me live for a daily experience for 2 weeks (10 sessions) Monday to Friday from August, 9 to 20.
The Advanced Beginner Course is designed to gain a solid French comprehension.
You think you are “kind of” a beginner and you want to move on! Start each session by reading or listening to a story and/or a song, a poem. Travel virtually to France and francophone regions. Let’s escape and acquire French!
Karin Brewer who is a dear community member and signed up for the course in June wrote: “ The best part of this class was that there was no homework or boring grammar exercises. Instead a recording of each lesson/chapter was sent to the students after class so that we could watch and listen to it over and over again if we so chose. Before I knew it the lesson was over and I truly enjoyed myself! I can’t wait to sign up for the next class!”
If you feel you have reached the “intermediate plateau”, the Intermediate Course is for you.
Start each session with optimal input, then discuss and debate. This will boost your confidence in talking in French! The goal is to develop fluency as well as the ability to process the language spontaneously.
Alan Roberts who is also a member of the community wrote about the course in June: ” The class was challenging at times but also fun and enlightening. Most of all, it was effective. Highly recommended.”
Each session is unique. You can miss one and you’ll be able to join the next one without feeling lost. All sessions will be recorded and posted online.
#youcandothis
New on the membership!
We have just published the 17th session of the Infant Stage. It deals with the frequent verb prendre, to take which you can use when ordering a coffee.
” Je vais prendre un café, sil vous plaît ! ”
The goal is to reach 31 sessions just like the Baby Stage. That way it will take you 2 months to reach an upper beginner level in French.
The Infant Stage is for advanced beginners who have completed the Baby Stage. This stage continues to make you acquire the most common structures as well as how to tell the time or how to talk about the weather. Each session includes A STORY to help you become fluent in French joyfully without having all the pain to learn grammar rules nor word lists.
STORIES make you ABSORB the French language the JOYFUL way!
#trusttheprocess
Review of the week
Angus wrote: ” What I love about your course is that it is so comprehensible that I can completely avoid reading the English definitions of novel words and phrases, confidently knowing that I will build up a sense of their meaning in later stories. I am completely mind blown by this new method of learning a language. I am so grateful that you have produced this amazing French learners’ course.”
What are you waiting for? Join us now for as little as 5 Euros/month (so the same as getting a nice drink)!
Happy French acquisition!
P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues or clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it!