French the natural way: Overcome French writing challenges

Coucou les French learners,

Last week, Mohammad, one of our dedicated members who has been part of our community since June 2023, wrote to me. He told me he got stuck on writing in French:

I finished the Baby and Infant Stages,

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abisproduction204 acquire50 acquiring18 advanced beginner446 authentic168 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 beginner french28 cicommunity102 community157 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 course124 dailyfrench193 dailyreading32 fle272 fluency107 freewrite50 frenchacquisitionforall34 frenchcommunity229 frenchculture295 frenchfluency19 frenchforall196 frenchjourney20 frenchreaders66 improve19 improvement15 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 journal53 journey169 language45 language acquisition232 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 listen286 massiveinput10 natural168 novice168 novice high244 novicehigh329 online learner190 process22 produce12 production44 progress104 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 speak85 speakfrench195 speech9 teenstage16 tips50 translate7 translating6 upper beginner449 write59

French the natural way: how to transition to thinking in French

Coucou les French learners,

Here is something that that could be a game-changer for your French journey.

One of our community members, Eric, recently opened up about a common challenge that many language learners face.  While he can understand French well, he still struggles to think in French.

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abisproduction204 acquire50 acquiring18 advanced beginner446 authentic168 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 beginner french28 cicommunity102 community157 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 course124 dailyfrench193 dailyreading32 fle272 fluency107 freewrite50 frenchacquisitionforall34 frenchcommunity229 frenchculture295 frenchfluency19 frenchforall196 frenchjourney20 frenchreaders66 improve19 improvement15 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 journal53 journey169 language45 language acquisition232 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 listen286 massiveinput10 natural168 novice168 novice high244 novicehigh329 online learner190 process22 produce12 production44 progress104 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 speak85 speakfrench195 speech9 teenstage16 tips50 translate7 translating6 upper beginner449 write59

French the natural way: discover the power of taking notes

Coucou les French learners,

C’est la rentrée ! It’s back to school (or work) in France. This phrase is commonly used in French to refer to the time when people return to school or work after summer vacation. Because, you know, les vacances, c’est sacré !

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abisproduction204 acquire50 acquiring18 advanced beginner446 authentic168 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 beginner french28 cicommunity102 community157 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 course124 dailyfrench193 dailyreading32 fle272 fluency107 freewrite50 frenchacquisitionforall34 frenchcommunity229 frenchculture295 frenchfluency19 frenchforall196 frenchjourney20 frenchreaders66 improve19 improvement15 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 journal53 journey169 language45 language acquisition232 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 listen286 massiveinput10 natural168 notes2 novice168 novice high244 novicehigh329 online learner190 process22 produce12 production44 progress104 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 speak85 speakfrench195 speech9 takingnotes2 tips50 upper beginner449 write59

French the natural way: how writing prepares you for fluent speaking

Coucou les French learners,

I hope you are enjoying l’été, summer time! I love this time of the year because as some of you may know already, I am a frileuse. This French word cannot really be translated in English but it basically means I am sensitive to cold.

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abisproduction204 acquire50 acquiring18 advanced beginner446 authentic168 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 beginner french28 cicommunity102 community157 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 course124 dailyfrench193 dailyreading32 fle272 fluency107 freewrite50 frenchacquisitionforall34 frenchcommunity229 frenchculture295 frenchfluency19 frenchforall196 frenchjourney20 frenchreaders66 improve19 improvement15 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 journal53 journey169 language45 language acquisition232 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 listen286 massiveinput10 natural168 novice168 novice high244 novicehigh329 online learner190 process22 produce12 production44 progress104 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 speak85 speakfrench195 speech9 teenstage16 tips50 translate7 translating6 upper beginner449 write59

French the natural way: 3 techniques to break free from translation

Coucou les French learners,

Last week, I received a message from Josh, who recently joined our community:

I’ve finished the Baby stage and gone through video 9 of the Infant stage. My comprehension has improved A LOT in only 5-6 weeks of being a member in relation to my very beginner level from when I started.

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acquisition65 acquisition process41 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 apprendslefrançais91 audiobook63 audiolivre19 becomeamember202 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté61 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehension253 connect107 connection108 dreamfrench2 easyfrench66 expressfluency67 expressfluency20235 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories75 happyhour14 intensive150 joinus23 journal53 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble209 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen286 listentostories41 liveclass97 livreaudio40 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 parlefrancais29 pureci43 reality4 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench195 speaking73 speaking skills8 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 stepstospeaking58 storylistening145 summer28 summercourse8 thinkfrench28 understand67 understandfrench35 update13 vocabulaire22 vocabulary256 weekly videos55 youcandoit70

French the natural way: break free from translation with these 3 expert strategies!

Coucou les French learners,

Having a growth mindset is crucial when you embark on your French journey. The ability to learn and improve is indeed essential when you are acquiring French (or any other languages).

At the start of our intermediate online class, I asked learners to shift their thoughts.

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acquisition65 acquisition process41 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 apprendslefrançais91 becomeamember202 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté61 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehension253 connect107 connection108 dreamfrench2 easyfrench66 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories75 happyhour14 joinus23 journal53 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble209 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen286 listentostories41 liveclass97 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 parlefrancais29 pureci43 reality4 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench195 speaking73 speaking skills8 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 stepstospeaking58 storylistening145 thinkfrench28 understand67 understandfrench35 update13 vocabulaire22 vocabulary256 weekly videos55 youcandoit70

French the natural way: fluency at any age, 3 benefits of acquiring French

Coucou les French learners,

In response to last week’s newsletter, Debra wrote to me:

I started seriously learning French when I was 58. I’m 68 now. Not “fluent” but conversational. And, yes. I forget things I know but I do that in English too.

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acquisition65 acquisition process41 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 age2 aging2 apprendslefrançais91 artdevivre14 becomeamember202 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté61 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehension253 connect107 connection108 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories75 happyhour14 joinus23 journal53 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble209 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen286 listentostories41 liveclass97 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 pureci43 reality4 senior9 seniors2 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench195 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 storylistening145 understand67 understandfrench35 update13 vocabulaire22 vocabulary256 weekly videos55 youcandoit70