Archive for October, 2018
Welcoming Halloween In French – Mister Jack’s Strange Christmas Posted by John Bauer on Oct 31, 2018
It’s the spookiest night of the year tonight and children all across l’Amérique du nord (North America) will be dressed up in their scariest costumes as they get ready to go door to door looking for tricks and treats. La tradition (the tradition) may not be a long-standing one en France, but with the influence…
French Culture – Candy Commercial Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 30, 2018
I was poking around online this week and came across a great video about the first French TV commercial. And since, as John reminded us last week, it’s almost Halloween, I thought it would be fun to look at a cute recent pub (short for (la) publicité / ad or commercial) about les bonbons (candy). La Pub à la télé en…
C’est l’Halloween Hey! – Getting Into The Spooky Spirit In French Posted by John Bauer on Oct 24, 2018
It’s October and for everyone outre Atlantique, (over the Atlantic, saying for “in North America”) that immediately brings up spooky thoughts of ghosts and des bons bons (candy). Cependant (however), the “traditional” Halloween I grew up with aux États-Unis (in the United States) is not really traditionally a thing en France. Trick or treating and…
French Travel – Montmartre Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 23, 2018
Even after all these years and all the many trips I’ve made to Paris, I’m always delighted when I go back to find that there is still more to see, to learn, and to do. On this most recent trip, I took my son William up to the Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and was enchanté…
Egg In Your Eyes – Difficult French Voyelles Posted by John Bauer on Oct 17, 2018
Confusing simple things in a new language is so common it can be more surprising when it doesn’t happen than when it does. While mixing up the meaning of un mot (a word) happens all the time, when le mot has a sound that doesn’t exist en anglais it leads to different kinds of mistakes…
Useful French Vocabulary – The head and face Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 16, 2018
Idioms and other non-literal expressions can make learning another language more difficult. If you have the right attitude though, they can also make it more fun, they can help you learn useful vocabulary, and incorporating them into your everyday speech can help you sound more like a native. This week we’ll look at a number…
Mixing Up Chocolate Croissants And Croissant Chocolates In French Posted by John Bauer on Oct 10, 2018
Sometimes I surprise myself when I make une faute (a mistake) speaking le français. Même si (even if) I have years of experience, I still can oublier (forget) words or realize I don’t know how to talk about certain subjects. Occasionally, I just make really silly mistakes that don’t seem to make any sense, but…