{"id":30525,"date":"2018-08-01T15:55:46","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T13:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30525"},"modified":"2018-07-21T21:50:18","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T19:50:18","slug":"learning-french-with-a-wolf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/learning-french-with-a-wolf\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning French With A Wolf"},"content":{"rendered":"

A catchy song<\/a> is a good way to make learning a language feel more like a fun time and less like les devoirs<\/strong> (homework).<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are many great chansons fran\u00e7aises<\/strong> (French songs) that get stuck in my head and have helped me learn le vocabulaire<\/strong> and la grammaire<\/strong>. Et si on chantait<\/strong><\/a> (and if we sang)<\/em> the comedic song by Oldelaf et Monsieur D<\/strong><\/a><\/em> is a great example of a song that helps reinforce which tense to use when asking hypothetical questions.<\/p>\n

As a beginner sometimes regular songs can be too hard to understand. La musique<\/strong> (music) can often involve fast lyrics, slang, accents<\/a>, and many of the words can simply be difficult to remember.<\/p>\n

Cependant<\/strong> (however), there is a fun way to get around the obstacle of being a beginner, but still using la musique <\/strong>to help you learn.<\/p>\n

Les comptines<\/strong>
\nChildren’s songs<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It may sound ridiculous, but the way les comptines<\/strong> are structured is perfect for beginners. They are designed to be catchy and repetitive to help les enfants<\/strong> (children) learn basic vocabulary and grammar, so why not take advantage of that when learning une nouvelle langue<\/strong> (a new language)!<\/p>\n

An example of une chanson pour les enfants<\/strong> (a children’s song) that quickly got stuck in my head and helped me learn new vocabulary is a short piece of music about un loup <\/strong>(a wolf). La chanson<\/strong> (the song) brings up thoughts of les contes des f\u00e9es<\/a> <\/strong>(fairy tales) and silly children’s games :<\/p>\n

Promenons-nous dans les bois<\/strong>
\nLet’s take a walk in the woods<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

La chanson<\/strong> follows a simple pattern, making it very easy to follow even if you just started learning le fran\u00e7ais<\/strong>. Les paroles<\/strong> (the lyrics) are repeated several times telling the story of a scary loup<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Promenons-nous dans les bois<\/strong>
\nPendant que le loup n’y est pas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Si le loup y \u00e9tait<\/strong>
\nIl nous mangerait<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mais comme il n’y est pas<\/strong>
\nIl nous mangera pas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Loup y es-tu ? Que fais-tu ? Entends-tu ?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let’s take a walk in the woods<\/em>
\nWhile the wolf is not there<\/em><\/p>\n

If the wolf was there<\/em>
\nHe would eat us<\/em><\/p>\n

But since he is not there<\/em>
\nHe will not eat us<\/em><\/p>\n

Wolf are you there? What are you doing? Can you hear? <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the end of each couplet<\/strong> (verse), le loup<\/strong> chimes in letting everyone know how close he is to being ready. Par exemple<\/strong> (for example) :<\/p>\n

Je mets ma culotte…<\/strong>
\nJe mets ma chemise…<\/strong>
\nJe mets mes chaussettes…<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m putting on my underpants…<\/em>
\nI’m putting on my shirt…<\/em>
\nI’m putting on my socks…<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Take a listen to la comptine<\/strong> and see for yourself if le loup<\/a><\/strong> ever finishes putting on his outfit! After just one listen, I’m sure you’ll start singing it to yourself and practicing French without realizing it.<\/p>\n