French the natural way: from silence to speech – When to to start speaking?

Coucou les French learners,

This week, I want to highlight a thoughtful comment made by Sherezade in response to my recent video about reading aloud.

Sherezade suggests that reading aloud using the shadowing technique is beneficial because speaking is a physical activity.

She emphasizes the importance of physically training the tongue,

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French news: achieve more with less – The power of comprehensible input

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

I have some exciting news to share with you this week!

Dr Beniko Mason, who has just published groundbreaking research on language acquisition, has had the biggest impact on my way of teaching French. It is thanks to her Story Listening method that I came to build our site and provide you with comprehensible French stories.

[read more…]

accountability179 accountable179 acquirefrench76 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 advanced294 advanced beginner454 advanced french93 beginner318 classesdefrançais40 conversation311 feedback47 feelgood30 frenchclass90 frenchclasses61 frenchnews27 guidance35 infolettre35 interact194 interaction47 interactive43 intermediate718 lessons36 live session100 liveclass98 motivation212 novice168 novicehigh337 observe25 online teaching29 pronounciation43 research17 speak85 speakfrench199 stayontrack35 stepstospeaking58 study3 teaching42 train29 training56 upper beginner449 warmup43 zoomclass83

French news: uncover the legend of the Pont d’Avignon (and join me live!)

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Today, during my Monday live class, I shared the legend of the Pont d’Avignon. This legendary tale captivated everyone and sparked a lot of interest in learning more about this iconic piece of French history.

New Resource: The Bridge of Avignon

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accountability179 accountable179 acquirefrench76 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 advanced294 advanced beginner454 advanced french93 amusing47 beginner318 classesdefrançais40 conversation311 feedback47 feelgood30 frenchclass90 frenchclasses61 frenchculture295 frenchhistory88 frenchnews27 frenchsong14 guidance35 infolettre35 interact194 interaction47 interactive43 intermediate718 lessons36 live session100 liveclass98 motivation212 novice168 novicehigh337 observe25 online teaching29 pronounciation43 silence7 silent10 speak85 speakfrench199 stayontrack35 stepstospeaking58 teaching42 train29 training56 upper beginner449 warmup43 zoomclass83

French news: feel energized, join me this week!

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Every Monday, I spend 30 minutes with Suqing, my Chinese tutor, and it’s something I always look forward to. Our interactions leave me feeling energized and accomplished because I can understand her, ask questions when I’m confused, and use new words I’ve picked up from watching Chinese videos during the week.

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accountability179 accountable179 acquirefrench76 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 advanced294 advanced beginner454 advanced french93 beginner318 classesdefrançais40 conversation311 feedback47 feelgood30 frenchclass90 frenchclasses61 frenchnews27 guidance35 infolettre35 interact194 interaction47 interactive43 intermediate718 lessons36 live session100 liveclass98 motivation212 novice168 novicehigh337 observe25 online teaching29 pronounciation43 silence7 silent10 speak85 speakfrench199 stayontrack35 stepstospeaking58 teaching42 train29 training56 upper beginner449 warmup43 zoomclass83

French the natural way: it’s OK not to understand!

Coucou les French learners,

Today, I want to touch base on a common concern that many of you might encounter: the feeling of being lost when you don’t understand a story… Or even its gist!

Have you ever found yourself in this situation?

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French news: embracing the silent phase

Coucou les membres de la communauté,

Last week, I shared with you my evolving perspective on pronunciation in French, emphasizing the importance of training our mouths and tongues to speak with confidence. (In case you missed it, read about my recent ephihany here!)

[read more…]

accountability179 accountable179 acquirefrench76 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 advanced294 advanced beginner454 advanced french93 beginner318 classesdefrançais40 feedback47 frenchclass90 frenchclasses61 frenchnews27 guidance35 infolettre35 intermediate718 lessons36 live session100 liveclass98 motivation212 novice168 novicehigh337 observe25 online teaching29 period3 phase3 pronounciation43 silence7 silent10 speak85 speakfrench199 stayontrack35 stepstospeaking58 teaching42 train29 training56 upper beginner449 warmup43 zoomclass83

French the natural way: how to make sure you understand it!

Coucou les French learners,

As language learners, we often wonder how well we’ve understood a video, a story or a text. We find ourselves asking:

Did I understand the message? Did I grasp the main idea? Did I really get the gist of it?

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abisproduction212 accountability179 accountable179 advanced beginner454 autonomouslearner213 becomeamember210 beginnerplus143 boost195 booster190 cicommunity102 comprehensiblefrench252 comprehensibleinput242 comprehension261 consistency147 consistent148 dailyfrench201 determined143 engage161 engaged149 fle280 focus36 french for fun44 french immersion23 frenchbeginner146 frenchcommunity238 frenchforall204 frenchreader46 fun424 inputaloneissufficient234 intensive158 interact194 intermediate718 journey177 keepmotivated184 language acquisition240 learner228 lefrancaisensemble217 lisenfrançais193 listen294 livre63 moments15 motivate162 motivated154 motivation212 motivationbreak159 natural176 new year22 novice high252 novicehigh337 objective21 online learner198 reading263 reboot89 reward36 slow french322 speakfrench199 total physical response14 tpr19 understandfrench35 upper beginner449