France is in turmoil right now ; the French presidential election is certainly no news to you; however it is a good opportunity to (re)discover the French voting process and enrich your vocabulary. The French presidential election process in 12 facts: 1.The French President is elected for 5 years. This 5-year term is called "le quinquennat". 2. Before the year 2000, the French President was elected for a seven-year term in office. This was called "le septennat" (as in "sept"/7). 3. The French President is elected "à la majorité absolue" (= absolute majority). This means that he needs to … Read More →
Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter ?
Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter ? Emmener, amener, emporter, apporter are four French verbs which trigger nightmares for some of my students…but also for some French people! In this article, I hope to clarify things enough for you to feel confident about using them properly :-) So, keep reading then test yourself with my free practice exercises! “Porter” vs “-mener” “Porter” means “to carry” (and, when referring to clothes, “to wear”). Example: un porte-clé (= a keyring, literally “a key-carrier/holder”) It’s used with things, because things can’t walk or move themselves and need to … Read More →
Tips for driving in France
Guess what?! I didn't write this article! My husband did :-) He had been wanting to write a post about driving in France since we last went in summer 2014 and he had to learn how to drive...not only on the right-hand side of the road but some rules may be confusing to you (at least if you are Australian). Driving in France started as a scary experience! The first time my husband tried driving (= conduire) in France, we decided to borrow my mum's car and just drive around the block for him to get a first feel of the car. I was in the back seat (le siège arrière), my brother was in the … 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 →
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 →
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 →
FV 021 : Me on the Radio !
This episode is a bit special, because it’s an interview... of myself! In July I was invited as the guest for the weekly French program of a community radio, the Pulse (Broadcast is every Thursday 6-7 pm Melbourne time). This first radio show was a great experience. Here is the recording of our interview – I’ve edited the songs and the commercials for copyright reasons Episode Timeline [04 min 04 sec] How I met my husband [06 min 51 sec] A passion for travelling [07 min 58 sec] A romantic engagement [09 min 30 sec] Facts about my hometown [10 min 27 sec] My studies [11 min 40 sec] … Read More →
FV 020 : French Fashion, Tips and Faux-Pas with Caroline from Fren’CHIC Touch
In today’s episode, we’ll talk about fashion with personal shopper and image consultant Caroline from Fren’CHIC touch. Boys, stay tuned, it’s not only for girls! We’ll try to put words on what it is that makes French fashion so different and so famous all around the world. Caroline will give you her top fashion tips and we’ll also discuss fashion faux pas! At the end of this episode, you’ll also get a special offer from Caroline. Episode Timeline [05 min 18 sec] Where Caroline is from [07 min 14 sec] Arriving in Melbourne [09 min 34 sec] Struggles with English [10 min 44 sec] How … Read More →
How to make French vocabulary lists
Here’s my very first video for you!! I’m giving you 3 tips on how you can create your own French vocabulary lists AND how I recommend you use them for your French revisions! This includes how I used to learn Chinese when I was living in China. I hope this will help and inspire you :-) Feel free to share your own techniques to learn French vocabulary in the comment section, I’m sure it can help other students of French! Behind the scenes story: Shooting the video was a lot of fun…but took me a while! Unlike podcast recordings where I can easily edit the blanks or my many “um” and … Read More →
FV 019 : Virologist Serge Talks About his Work, the Difference Between French in Quebec and France, and Dancing
Serge is a marine virologist from Quebec now living in Australia. In this episode, we cover a broad range of topics such as Serge’s profession, the differences between the French from Quebec and from France (school system, language, accent, social differences). We also talk about Serge’s involvement with some events organised by Alliance Francaise de Geelong and his hobbies. If you like this podcast, I would love for you to leave a review on iTunes! I’ll read out a few reviews in the next episode. :) Episode Timeline [05 min 26 sec] Quebec and Montreal [06 min 38 sec] Chicoutimi [09 min … Read More →