French the natural way: listen to songs

Coucou les French learners,

June 21 is the official start of summer, youpi ! And to celebrate the longest day of the year, we have La Fête de la Musique. Live music is everywhere in parks and in the streets of cities and villages in France.

[read more…]

abisproduction204 apprendre14 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 chanson31 chansonfrancaise31 cicommunity102 comprehend52 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 conference5 conferenceinthecloud3 dailyfrench193 fête de la musique5 film41 fle272 flow9 fluentinfrench58 frenchcommunity229 frenchforall196 frenchmovie20 frenchmusic4 frenchonline68 frenchreaders66 frenchwithstories75 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 keeplearning42 keepmotivated176 language acquisition232 languageflow4 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 lisenfrançais185 listentostories41 live61 liveclass97 motivationbreak151 movie20 muguet10 music27 online french22 online learner190 optimalfrench57 optimalinput74 parlerfrançais24 reader148 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 song29 speakfrench195 stories40 teen18 teenstage16 thinkfrench28 thinkthat10 understand67 understanding22

French the natural way: let’s watch French movies!

Coucou les French learners,

Do you still remember the lines from your favorite movie? Well, you can do the same with a French movie.

Watching a movie in French gives you lots of input, although not all comprehensible! Watching French movies helps you experience the culture and French as it’s actually spoken by real French speakers.

[read more…]

abisproduction204 apprendre14 autonomouslearner205 becomeamember202 cicommunity102 comprehend52 comprehensiblefrench244 comprehensibleinput234 comprehension253 conference5 conferenceinthecloud3 dailyfrench193 film41 fle272 flow9 fluentinfrench58 frenchcommunity229 frenchforall196 frenchmovie20 frenchonline68 frenchreaders66 frenchwithstories75 inputaloneissufficient226 intermediate710 keeplearning42 keepmotivated176 language acquisition232 languageflow4 learner220 lefrancaisensemble209 lisenfrançais185 listentostories41 live61 liveclass97 motivationbreak151 movie20 muguet10 online french22 online learner190 optimalfrench57 optimalinput74 parlerfrançais24 reader148 reading255 selftaught48 slow french314 speakfrench195 stories40 teen18 teenstage16 thinkfrench28 thinkthat10 understand67 understanding22

French the natural way: attitude is key

“ La joie s’acquiert. Elle est une attitude de courage. Etre joyeux n’est pas une facilité, c’est une volonté. ” Gaston Courtois.
“Joy is something you acquire. It is an attitude of courage. To be joyful is not a competence, it is a will.”

[read more…]

acquirefrench76 acquisition process41 article46 attitude3 behaviour1 Cannes2 Cannes festival3 Chair de Poule1 Chef's table1 ci145 compelling39 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehension253 culture246 film41 film festival3 french input13 friends53 friendship63 fun416 fun story10 hilarious1 hobby5 ilini2 joy27 joyful4 language learning9 learnfrench20 listen286 Mary Glasgow6 may challenge7 natural approach59 netflix2 palme d'or1 politics4 positive3 reading255 real life video2 report5 resources online3 story script6 suprises1 teachfrench12 TPRS71 understandfrench35 weekly videos55 youtube67

French the natural way: how to access input?

Coucou les French learners,

I have just finished reading this fascinating article by Steve Kaufmann on how learning a new language is a subconscious process. Basically, the author explains how he learned Romanian by first reading a lot about Romania in Romanian! He says: “

[read more…]

acquisition process41 Cannes2 Cannes festival3 challenge22 ci145 cinema35 compelling39 comprehensible100 cultural10 culture246 engage153 engaging10 enjoy48 enjoyable39 film41 film festival3 films2 french actor2 french film5 french joke1 french online15 ilini2 listening52 may challenge7 natural168 natural approach59 natural way9 online tutoring6 opening ceremony1 pleasurable activity5 processing input2 reading255 story46 subconscious5 teenager story1 TPRS71 weekly videos55 youtube67 youtube channel52

How to get students to talk about a sport in Spanish for one minute or two?

When reviewing the topic of free time with my grade 9 students (14-15 years old), I decided to spice it up a bit with “different” kind of sports and hobbies such as “el futbolchapas”:

without subtitles

[read more…]

comprehension253 examination5 exams3 free time7 futbolchapas1 grade 108 grade 98 hobbies8 IGCSE12 listening52 oral12 ping-pong de puerta1 presentation140 questions74 reading255 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 sport9 video350