Archive for 'Culture'
Pain au chocolat – A Pastry Delight Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 16, 2015
It’s been said that le petit-déjeuner (breakfast) is the most important meal of the day. You can get all the essential nutrition and energy to help you get through your day (or you can look at it that you can stuff your face with meats and starches and fats and work it off pendant la…
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…
Nous Sommes Charlie Hebdo Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 12, 2015
In honor of the courageous men and women who were murdered in cold blood at Charlie Hebdo this past Wednesday, I will not be continuing my regular grammar post this week. Rather, I’d like to pay tribute to the fallen staff and friends of Charlie Hebdo, as well as those who died while trying to…
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…
Learning through Poetry: “Le Message” de Jacques Prévert Posted by Josh Dougherty on Dec 31, 2014
Knowing une langue étrangère (a foreign language) has many aspects to it. Some people define their fluency in a language based on the fact that they grew up speaking it, even if they can’t read or write in it. It’s certainly not fair to take that away from them, but I’m an advocate for knowing…
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…