Bonjour dear French Listeners family, 👋

I have a confession: I need to contradict something you might believe about learning French.

You might think that memorizing vocabulary lists first, then using them later, is the path to fluency.

But what if I told you that’s backwards?

This Week’s Narration Challenge – Your Turn to Shine! 🎙️

Before I explain, I want to invite you to participate in this week’s narration challenge.

Here’s what to do:

1. Experience the story first: Watch and listen to La Légende de Saint Martin here: https://www.aliceayel.com/resources/la-legende-de-saint-martin/

(The audio sync button lets you read along at your own pace—use it if you need it!)

2. Then tell it back: Simply retell the legend in your own words, in your own way. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be word-for-word. Just share what you understood, what stayed with you.

3. Share with our family! Post your narration on Telegram by Sunday, December 14th using:

• 🎤 Audio message (my favorite!)
• 💬 Text message
• 📝 Picture of your handwritten narration

And here’s my promise: I personally give feedback on every single narration shared.

Why? Because I want you to feel the power of what you’re doing, and I want to build our French Listeners family stronger together.

Simply click this link: https://t.me/+kj7F0mWZ8Uo4OWE0

If you’re new to Telegram:

1. Download the free Telegram app from your app store (look for the paper airplane icon)
2. Create an account using your phone number
3. Click the link above and you’re in! 🎉

You can also use Telegram on your computer at web.telegram.org!

But Wait… What IS Narration Again?

Narration is simply telling back what you’ve heard in your own words.

Not translating. Not analyzing grammar. Just… retelling the story naturally, the way you understood it.

It’s the single most powerful way to make French stick in your memory forever.

The Garden and Your Memory

Think about learning to garden. Imagine someone hands you a thick manual.

You have two choices:

Option 1: Sit inside and memorize all the Latin plant names first—Solanum lycopersicum, Lactuca sativa, Cucurbita pepo. Study soil pH levels and fertilizer ratios. Then go outside and try to grow something.

Option 2: Walk through a beautiful garden with an experienced gardener. Watch tomatoes ripening on the vine. Smell the herbs. Feel the satisfaction of harvesting lettuce you planted. Get inspired by what’s possible. Then learn the terms and techniques that will help your garden flourish, because now you understand why they matter.

Which sounds more natural? Which sounds more joyful?

Experience first, inspiration first, the living thing first. Then memorization follows naturally, powerfully, permanently.

When you narrate, you’re tending your French garden. You’re not memorizing isolated seeds in a drawer—you’re planting living language in rich soil. The vocabulary, the expressions, the rhythm… they take root because they’re part of something alive, something that touched you, something growing.

That’s why narration works. That’s why it makes French unforgettable.

Your Challenge This Week

Listen to this week’s story. Let it nourish you.

Then tell it back—imperfectly, naturally, in your own way. Share it on Telegram.

Let celebrate your growth together!

And if you know anyone who’s struggling to make French stick, who’s tired of forgetting what they’ve studied… share this newsletter with them. They might need to discover that their brain is a garden too.

Je suis fière de vous,

Alice 🇫🇷

P.S. Seriously, I read and respond to every narration. Our Telegram community is where the real magic happens. Don’t just be a subscriber—be family. 💙