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…]

abisproduction201 apprendre14 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 chanson31 chansonfrancaise31 cicommunity102 comprehend52 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 conference5 conferenceinthecloud3 dailyfrench190 fête de la musique5 film41 fle269 flow9 fluentinfrench58 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchmovie20 frenchmusic4 frenchonline68 frenchreaders66 frenchwithstories72 inputaloneissufficient223 intermediate707 keeplearning42 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 languageflow4 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listentostories41 live61 liveclass97 motivationbreak148 movie20 muguet10 music27 online french22 online learner187 optimalfrench57 optimalinput74 parlerfrançais24 reader145 reading252 selftaught48 slow french311 song29 speakfrench193 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…]

abisproduction201 apprendre14 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 cicommunity102 comprehend52 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 conference5 conferenceinthecloud3 dailyfrench190 film41 fle269 flow9 fluentinfrench58 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchmovie20 frenchonline68 frenchreaders66 frenchwithstories72 inputaloneissufficient223 intermediate707 keeplearning42 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 languageflow4 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listentostories41 live61 liveclass97 motivationbreak148 movie20 muguet10 online french22 online learner187 optimalfrench57 optimalinput74 parlerfrançais24 reader145 reading252 selftaught48 slow french311 speakfrench193 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 comprehension250 culture246 film41 film festival3 french input13 friends53 friendship63 fun413 fun story10 hilarious1 hobby5 ilini2 joy27 joyful4 language learning9 learnfrench20 listen283 Mary Glasgow6 may challenge7 natural approach59 netflix2 palme d'or1 politics4 positive3 reading252 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 engage150 engaging10 enjoy48 enjoyable39 film41 film festival3 films2 french actor2 french film5 french joke1 french online15 ilini2 listening52 may challenge7 natural165 natural approach59 natural way9 online tutoring6 opening ceremony1 pleasurable activity5 processing input2 reading252 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…]

comprehension250 examination5 exams3 free time7 futbolchapas1 grade 108 grade 98 hobbies8 IGCSE12 listening52 oral12 ping-pong de puerta1 presentation140 questions74 reading252 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 sport9 video350