Archive by Author
Retro French Music – Michel Fugain Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 5, 2019
Michel Fugain is a French singer and songwriter who, with his ‘Big Bazar’, chanté l’insouciance et la joie de vivre (sang about being carefree and about the joys of living). This week, just for fun, a song from the early 1970’s that embodies this spirit (and will, I hope, tide you over until i have…
French Vocabulary – Teaching and Learning Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 29, 2019
In a few short months, I will be completing my studies towards a Masters in Education. If all goes well, one of these days I hope to become prof de français (a French teacher) in a local college ou lycée (middle or high school). While that days is still a ways off, my work got me thinking about…
French Language – Of numbers and letters Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 22, 2019
Des chiffres et des lettres is a long running television program in France that challenges contestants’ spelling and computation skills. The two different parts of l’émission (the program) can help you build your spelling and counting skills in French. Le mot le plus long / The longest word In the first part of le jeu (the…
French Language – Gender Neutrality Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 15, 2019
One of the trickier aspects of learning to speak French, for the average English speaker at least, is dealing with the rules of gender. Not just remembering which nouns are masculin and which féminin, but also l’accord des adjectifs, keeping professions straight, and understanding why one man in a group of 99 women takes precedence…
French Language – Three Wise Monkeys Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 8, 2019
A random line in one of my favorite French podcasts sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole to explore a variety of expressions … and from rabbits I was soon at des singes (monkeys)! Il n’y a pas pire aveugle … A few years back, I wrote a blog on the senses in…
French Music – Michel Polnareff Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 1, 2019
As one season (l’été) turns into another (l’automne), I find it’s time for another song that evokes memory, loss, and the oncoming of fall. Je me souviens, moi, Me, I remember, De ce musicien That musician C’était l’automne à It was fall at La maison The house Je me souviens, moi, I remember, I do…
French Literature – La Dame aux Camélias Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 24, 2019
France has supplied the world with some of its greatest writers. I often return to my favorites to keep up my skills. Some – like Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris (which incidentally helped to save the magnificent cathedral the last time it was in need) or Alexandre Dumas‘s Les Trois Mousquetaires – are quite long…