French Language Blog

Ariel is not just famously the Petite Sirène (Little Mermaid), in France, it is also the name of a well-known laundry detergent. On my recent trip to France, I saw the following commercial that resonated with me. Commercials are not only a great way to learn vocabulary, since they are often very concrete and the…

I’ve been to Paris so often that sometimes I think I must have seen it all (even though I know I have so much more to discover!) On my recent trip, I got to discover one of those little hidden gems that make Paris so wonderful … and I had been walking right by it…

As I mentioned recently, I spent the weekend in Paris recently. Two very important people in my life were celebrating leur 25e anniversaire de mariage (25th wedding anniversary) and since I had been at their wedding 25 years ago, it seemed only fitting to go back for the party! While I (happily!) spent most of my…

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…

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…

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…

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…