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Adventures in French Education: CM and TD Posted by John Bauer on Jan 21, 2015
Before the shock of not being able to get un vingt (a twenty), there was another big surprise that was waiting for me dans une université française (in a French university). Most classes in France tend to be broken down into “CM”s and “TD”s. That is lecture classes and “supervised” classes. Now, the same idea…
A Cup of Coffee: « Un Café S’Il Vous Plaît ! » Posted by John Bauer on Jan 14, 2015
As a coffee lover one of the first things I wanted to do after arriving in France was to, bien sûr (of course), prendre une tasse de café (grab a cup of coffee). I got off the plane, jetlagged and groggy from the flight, but I still had that tasse in my head. After making…
Studying in France: A Perfect Score Posted by John Bauer on Jan 8, 2015
Les examens… I’m currently in the middle of exams. I have to passer les examens (take exams) and hope I can réussir les examens (pass exams). That leaves me quite busy, but it also made me realize just how different the grading system is here en France. The first thing that will jump out to…
Pronunciation Practice: Tongue Twisters Posted by John Bauer on Jan 1, 2015
A tongue twister, or un virelangue en français, is hard a hard to pronounce sentence, often used as a kind of game among children, but also used to clear up pronunciation problems. They are always specifically designed to be difficile de dire (hard to say), even for des locuteurs natifs (native speakers)! Just think of…
Winter Traditions: Marché de Noël Posted by John Bauer on Dec 24, 2014
In many pays européens (European countries) December brings les marchés de Noël (Christmas markets). These marchés are a special seasonal affaire that last all too short, but provide a nice traditional atmosphere right in the middle of town. The tradition originally comes from l’Europe centrale (Central Europe), and as such, the most famous marchés de…
Bernard Adamus: Y Fait Chaud Posted by John Bauer on Dec 17, 2014
When learning a new language it’s always good to have some music to listen to in that language. It not only motivates you, but it gives you a fun way to pratiquer the language that goes beyond the textbooks and conjugaison charts that are often so dull they vous font dormir (put you to sleep)…
French Around The World: La Francophonie Posted by John Bauer on Dec 10, 2014
It may sound strange, but one of the coolest things about learning French has nothing to do with France. The French language is the fifth most spoken in the world and opens doors to many countries and cultures beyond l’hexagone (The Hexagon, common term for France). The community of francophones has even formed…