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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abisproduction201 accountability168 accountable168 advanced beginner443 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 beginnerplus132 boost184 booster179 cicommunity102 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 consistency136 consistent137 dailyfrench190 determined132 engage150 engaged138 fle269 focus36 french for fun44 french immersion23 frenchbeginner135 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchreader46 fun413 inputaloneissufficient223 intensive147 interact183 intermediate707 journey166 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listen283 livre63 moments15 motivate151 motivated143 motivation201 motivationbreak148 natural165 new year22 novice high241 novicehigh326 objective21 online learner187 progress101 reading252 reboot78 reward36 slow french311 speakfrench193 total physical response14 tpr19 upper beginner449

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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abisproduction201 accountability168 accountable168 advanced beginner443 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 beginnerplus132 boost184 booster179 cicommunity102 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 consistency136 consistent137 dailyfrench190 determined132 engage150 engaged138 fle269 focus36 french for fun44 french immersion23 frenchbeginner135 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchreader46 fun413 inputaloneissufficient223 intensive147 interact183 intermediate707 journey166 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listen283 livre63 moments15 motivate151 motivated143 motivation201 motivationbreak148 natural165 new year22 novice high241 novicehigh326 objective21 online learner187 progress101 reading252 reboot78 reward36 slow french311 speakfrench193 total physical response14 tpr19 upper beginner449

French the natural way: how to let go of translation

Coucou les French learners,

Over the weekend, Angus, one of our dearest member shared:

When I found Alice’s site I subscribed immediately. It is three years later now and not a day goes by when I don’t feel gratitude to Alice.

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abisproduction201 accountability168 accountable168 advanced beginner443 audiobook63 audiolivre19 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 beginnerplus132 boost184 booster179 cicommunity102 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 consistency136 consistent137 dailyfrench190 determined132 engage150 engaged138 fle269 focus36 french for fun44 french immersion23 frenchbeginner135 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchreader46 fun413 inputaloneissufficient223 intensive147 interact183 intermediate707 journey166 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listen283 livre63 moments15 motivate151 motivated143 motivation201 motivationbreak148 natural165 new year22 novice high241 novicehigh326 objective21 online learner187 progress101 reading252 reboot78 reward36 slow french311 speakfrench193 total physical response14 tpr19 upper beginner449

French the natural way: how to understand French better?

Coucou les French learners,

As you know, our approach to acquiring French emphasizes understanding the language in context rather than focusing solely on memorization and grammar rules.

When you understand French with ease, you start to think in French naturally and then you speak French freely.

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abisproduction201 accountability168 accountable168 advanced beginner443 audiobook63 audiolivre19 autonomouslearner202 becomeamember199 beginnerplus132 boost184 booster179 cicommunity102 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehensibleinput231 comprehension250 consistency136 consistent137 dailyfrench190 determined132 engage150 engaged138 fle269 focus36 french for fun44 french immersion23 frenchbeginner135 frenchcommunity226 frenchforall193 frenchreader46 fun413 inputaloneissufficient223 intensive147 interact183 intermediate707 journey166 keepmotivated173 language acquisition229 learner217 lefrancaisensemble206 lisenfrançais182 listen283 live session100 livre63 moments15 motivate151 motivated143 motivation201 motivationbreak148 natural165 new year22 novice high241 novicehigh326 objective21 online learner187 ownapack11 pack11 progress101 reading252 reboot78 reward36 slow french311 speakfrench193 upper beginner449

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 becomeamember199 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté59 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehension250 connect104 connection105 dreamfrench2 easyfrench66 expressfluency66 expressfluency20235 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories72 happyhour14 intensive147 joinus23 journal53 journaling46 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble206 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen283 listentostories41 liveclass97 livreaudio40 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 parlefrancais29 pureci43 reality4 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench193 speaking73 speaking skills8 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 stepstospeaking58 storylistening142 summer28 summercourse8 thinkfrench28 understand67 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.

[read more…]

acquisition65 acquisition process41 active listener94 activelistener54 activelistening78 apprendslefrançais91 becomeamember199 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté59 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehension250 connect104 connection105 dreamfrench2 easyfrench66 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories72 happyhour14 joinus23 journal53 journaling46 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble206 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen283 listentostories41 liveclass97 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 parlefrancais29 pureci43 reality4 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench193 speaking73 speaking skills8 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 stepstospeaking58 storylistening142 thinkfrench28 understand67 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 becomeamember199 becomefluent60 befluent23 ci145 class31 communauté59 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehensiblefrench241 comprehension250 connect104 connection105 fluency107 France221 French41 frenchlearner58 frenchwithstories72 happyhour14 joinus23 journal53 journaling46 joy27 keep motivated23 keepgoing27 keeplearning42 learnfrenchthenaturalway59 lefrancaisensemble206 lefrançaisnaturellement92 listen283 listentostories41 liveclass97 low affective filter25 myths4 natural approach59 nopressure5 online french sessions37 pureci43 reality4 senior9 seniors2 sessions10 sla123 speakfrench193 stay15 stayinfrance21 step-by-step18 storylistening142 understand67 update13 vocabulaire22 vocabulary256 weekly videos55 youcandoit70