New learners of French are often unsettled or scared when they find out –very early- that every noun had a gender: masculine or feminine. I hear you say: How to know whether a word is masculine or feminine? How the hell am I supposed to tell the gender of French nouns, to guess that the word” telephone” is masculine whereas the word “television” is feminine?? Well, the bad news is that you’ll need to learn/memorise it. And therefore you’ll need to set good learning habits from the start by memorising the gender of French nouns as part as your vocabulary! The good news (because there’s … Read More →
FYW 033 : How to Tell if a French Noun is Masculine or Feminine (Part 2)
This is the second part about how you can tell whether a noun is masculine or feminine in French! (For the first part, listen to French Your Way Podcast, episode 32). In last week’s episode, I’ve ran you through groups of words/categories which are generally masculine or feminine (eg: numbers, names of colours, trees, metals, etc were most often masculine nouns); today the categories we’ll see will be about the spelling of the words. The last letter of a French word can indeed give you a clue about its gender! I’ve also published an article about the gender of French words on my website … Read More →
FYW 032 : How to Tell if a French Noun is Masculine or Feminine (Part 1)
New learners of French are often unsettled or scared when they find out that every French noun has a gender: it is either masculine or feminine. How to know whether a word is masculine or feminine in French? You need to learn it as part as the vocabulary and therefore create good learning habits from the start, so you build on strong bases. Plus, here are tips on how you can predict the gender of a word ! In this episode, I’ll talk about categories of nouns which tend to be either mostly masculine or mostly feminine. This should greatly help you! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words … Read More →
FV 024 : A Year as an Au Pair in Australia
A working holiday visa is the perfect way to travel and be able to work to finance your trip or simply to learn the language. That’s what Sabine is doing: she is currently working as an au pair in a family in Sydney. Sabine will tell us why she decided to go to Australia, how she found her host family and what her typical day is like. She’ll also share her plans of travelling. If you have some suggestions and tips for Sabine to enjoy the travelling part of her stay in Australia, you’re welcome to use the comment section at the bottom of the show notes. Stay tuned after the interview if you … Read More →
FYW 031 : The Guide to Movement + Direction in French
How to say “to run up”, “to run down”, “to swim past”, “to crawl through”, etc. in French? Learn to think differently so you won’t get stuck anymore, because literal translation is not working here! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode To run up = monter en courant To run down = descendre en courant Il monte et descend les escaliers en courant. = He’s running up and down the stairs. To run past = passer en courant Il est passé en courant sans me voir = He ran past without seeing me. to crawl = ramper to crawl through = traverser en rampant Le bébé … Read More →
FYW 030 : How to say Fruit and Fruit Trees in French
This short episode is a 2 in 1 episode: By adding extra words to your vocabulary, you will also (and mostly) brush up or add to your existing knowledge of some basic vocab : names of fruits. Just as in English where you need the word “apple” to make the word “apple tree” or “cherry” to make “cherry” tree, you need to know the name of the fruit in French to name the tree (or plant) it grows on. So, test yourself! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Une orange, un oranger = an orange, an orange tree Une peche, un pecher = a peach, a peach tree Une noix, un … Read More →
FV 023 : Behind the Scenes of SBS French Radio with Christophe Mallet
Have you ever heard about the Australian radio called SBS? Wherever you are in the world, you can listen to it live or in podcast (so, it’s very good for more French exposure!). SBS broadcasts in many languages including French, and a few weeks ago, I met Christophe Mallet, the executive producer for the French program. He invited me and gave me a tour of the studios. I also attended a live broadcast and got interviewed about French Voices podcast. (You can listen to this short interview too, the link is in the shownotes below). In today’s episode, Christophe and I switched roles and I … Read More →
FYW 029 : A New Insight into “Voir” and “Regarder”
"Voir" or "regarder"? I’ll explain the difference, because it seems to be a source of confusion for many students of French. Learn vocabulary and expressions along the way too! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Voir = to see (passive) Déjà vu = already seen La vue = the view, the sight La télévision, une télévision = TV, a TV set Voir un film au cinéma = to go see a movie at the cinema. se voir = to see oneself Les vampires ne se voient pas dans le miroir. = Vampires can’t see themselves in a mirror. se voir = to see each other, see one another Mes … Read More →
FYW 028 : Le Cahier De Vacances – All About Holiday and Homework
In the Northern hemisphere, summer is coming to an end, holiday time is over. Children and students are going back to school soon (la rentrée) and you may now be listening to me on your commute rather than on the beach. Don’t worry! To help you transition smoothly, I’ll start the episode talking about holidays (the word “vacances in French”) and then we’ll move to duties and homework talk! Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Nous sommes allés en vacances en France / Nous sommes allés en France pour les vacances = We went on holiday in France. Les grandes … Read More →
FV 022 : Marie Aubinais, the Author of “Petit Ours Brun” stories for French Children
Meet Marie Aubinais, author of Petit Ours Brun stories. Every French toddler knows this famous childhood character! Marie will tell us how she became the author of Petit Ours Brun, how she chooses the topics of the stories, what inspires her and also what challenges she needs to take into account when writing for her very young audience. Last, but not least, Marie will also raise awareness about the importance of exposing children to books from an early age. Episode Timeline [04 min 24 sec] History of Petit Ours Brun: the birth of a childhood hero [07 min 35 sec] How Marie started to write … Read More →
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