Archive for 'Culture'
French Youtube Stars: Norman Thavaud Posted by John Bauer on Feb 25, 2015
In the modern era of content creation there are many new names coming out of the Internet. A big platform for these new stars is Youtube with many people now creating leurs propres séries (their own shows) on the website. En France many of these youtubeurs have strated breaking into the mainstream. One of the…
French Jokes: “Where is Brian?” Posted by John Bauer on Feb 18, 2015
Having a good private joke (inside joke) is a great way to open the door to a new culture. For many learners humor isn’t always the easiest thing to understand in a new language, and can be a rather large cultural hurdle. In my personal experiences, I found it rather difficult to capter des blagues…
Do You Know How To Toast in French? Posted by John Bauer on Feb 11, 2015
You’re out with some friends about to take your first drink and everyone raises their glasses to toast. Qu’est-ce que tu fais ensuite ? (What do you do next?) En France, you have to regarder dans les yeux (look in the eyes) of the person you’re clanking glasses with. Ce qui est important (what’s important)…
How to French Kiss — But Not That Way! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Feb 6, 2015
We aren’t talking about THAT French kiss (that’s une pelle – literally, a shovel. The verb for to French kiss is rouler une pelle [to wrap/roll a shovel]- you can put that image together.), no, we’re going to talk about the art of la bise (kiss). When meeting someone in France, faire la bise is…
Sur le pont d’Avignon Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 29, 2015
♪ Sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse, on y danse, sur le pont d’Avignon, on y danse tous en rond. ♪ Even before I started learning French in high school, I’d heard this song when I was younger because my mom would sing it to me and my sister. Just like Frère Jacques and Alouette, it’s…
French Television: Le Petit Journal Posted by John Bauer on Jan 28, 2015
When learning a new language, finding entertainment that’s similar to what you like in your native language can be a big motivation booster. I am a big fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, so when I found Le Petit Journal, I was happy to have found what is more or less une version…
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…