Whatever your level is in French, I bet you will learn something in this article! What’s the difference between tout / tous / toute / toutes? How and when to use them ? How to know when to pronounce the “s” at the end of “tous” in French ? – This last question comes from one of my listeners of French Your Way podcast. I have featured it in episode 14. Click here to listen to the episode. “Tout” (meaning “all” in English or sometimes “all of”, “the whole”, “the entire”, “every” etc. – you get the idea) has different spellings, such as: There’s nothing complicated or out of the … Read More →
FV 015 : Paris to Provence, Melbourne’s biggest French Festival
Laura Rancie is the founder and organiser of the annual Paris to Provence French festival, the biggest French event in Melbourne. Listen to the stories behind the creation of the festival, find out what’s in store for the next edition in November and share Laura’s contagious passion and excitement for everything French! Episode Timeline [03 min 27 sec] Laura’s background [04 min 54 sec] Laura’s first own business [05 min 50 sec] Bringing Provence to Melbourne [07 min 56 sec] How Laura’s idea become the Paris to Provence French Festival [09 min 59 sec] Les santons de Provence [14 min 01 … Read More →
FV 014 : Travel the World While Playing Tennis
Sacha is a young French entrepreneur who’s turned his passion for tennis into a career. He offers to take tennis fans to exotic destinations to play tennis on the most prestigious courts in the world. To celebrate the upcoming French Open Grand Slam Tournament (Roland Garros), this episode is dedicated to all the tennis fans. Episode Timeline [03 min 13 sec] Sacha, "le Ch'ti" [05 min 35 sec] Sacha’s background [07 min 27 sec] First work experiences in Australia [07 min 58 sec] A passion for tennis [09 min 50 sec] World Tennis Travel : introduction [13 min 53 sec] Price range and … Read More →
How to Conjugate French Verbs in –IR Without Losing Your Mind
Ah, French verbs! They’re the nightmare of most students of French! By popular demand, here are some of my best tips if you’re feeling lost with how to conjugate French verbs in –IR. Learn how to Conjugate _IR Verbs Easily Good news: you only need to learn the indicative present tense and the past participle forms! All other tenses can easily be made from them ; refer to my article “The 7 Most Common French Tenses Made Easy” (it includes a downloadable worksheet with exercises). 1. Learn the verb endings for the indicative present tense Verbs in –IR have their endings as follows: _s, … Read More →
FV 013 : Hitting the Road with French Books on Wheels
Jacques Bernard is the founder of Le Forum bookstore, the only bookstore exclusively and entirely dedicated to French in Australia. He is also the president of the French Books on Wheels, an initiative which allows him to spend several months each year on the road surrounded with books, travelling through Australia to meet the French speaking and French students community and promote French language. If like me, you love travelling and reading, you will also love this episode! Episode Timeline [4 min 30 sec] How Jacques arrived in Australia [06 min 05 sec] A carrier change [07 min 05 sec] … Read More →
FV 011 : Being a Primary School Teacher in Rural France
Elodie is a young, energetic and very creative primary school teacher in rural France. She started teaching in a very small village school where she had to manage pupils of different levels all within the same classroom. We will also talk about the different ideas and projects that she has implemented to help children become more independent and finally about how she talked with her pupils about the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and at Charlie Hebdo. Episode Timeline [06 min 37 sec] “Professeur des Ecoles”: a description of the profession [08 min 10 sec] What her pupils call Elodie [08 … Read More →
Schtroumpfez-vous français?
Have you ever read an album of “Les Schtroumpfs” (The Smurfs) in French by Belgian cartoonist Peyo? If not, you are really missing the opportunity to both entertain yourself (after all, there’s a reason why Les Schtroumpfs have been so popular since 1958) AND to work on your French skills! (keep reading, I've designed some worksheets for you.) By the way, my favourite album has to be "La Soupe Aux Schtroumpfs" (you can read through the first pages) : it's fun from page one and it's very representative of the series: the album shows the dangers the Smurfs have to face as well as the smart, … Read More →
FV 010 : Pop-Up Crepes – A Delicious Growing Adventure
This episode is about authentic French crepes, made by an authentic French man, in Melbourne! I met Cedric, the owner, during the last Melbourne Paris to Provence French festival, where I got to eat a few of his truly delicious crepes. We’ll be discussing crepes making and flavours, but also languages and the issues that we sometimes face as expats, forgetting our native language sometimes! Episode Timeline [04 min 23 sec] How Cédric arrived in Melbourne [06 min 02 sec] The birth of Pop-Up Crepes [07 min 30 sec] Why pop-up? [08 min 44 sec] From a part-time to a full-time venture ? [09 … Read More →
Who wants to play French charades?
French charades: fun plays on words I would love to share some fun around French language with you, and introduce you to the game of French charades as I played it in my childhood. :-) This game is more suitable for intermediate and advanced students of French. As you know, I love words. I love languages, reading, writing, puzzles and crosswords. I love good plays on words / puns like in the Astérix album series or Raymond Devos’s sketches (read “A plus d'un Titre” – for advanced level). And charades are a form of play on words as they work with sound/phonetic associations. I run free live … Read More →
FV 009 : Hotel Particulier de Suhard: Tasteful Interior Design and History
Featured in many French interior design magazines, this 16th century hotel particulier in the Normandie region was renovated, tastefully decorated, then turned into a welcoming guest house by owner Josiane Lenoir. Travel back in time and learn about the characteristic interior design features of the past few centuries! Staying at a guest house is a great way to discover France, because you get to meet the hosts : they make your breakfast and tell you about the region / make recommendations of places to visit. Episode Timeline [05 min 27 sec] How Josiane became the owner of Hotel de … Read More →