Here are some common informal nouns used in everyday speech in France. Once again, it is more important to simply understand these words and not worry so much about trying to use them. The standard vocabulary is given after the sample sentences.
Are you a Juillettiste or an Aoûtien? and Another Reason to Visit France
We are in the middle of les grandes vacances in France and it certainly shows, even in smaller towns rather than just Paris. Many shops are closed or not nearly as crowded as usual, most of the people wandering the streets have cameras around their necks, and I can always find a parking spot directly [...]
Full Story »The Importance of Learning Collocations instead of Individual Words
As Randy from Yearlyglot pointed out recently, word pattern recognition is an important concept in language learning and attaining fluency. Word patterns or collocations are simply the way certain words (whether function or content) habitually occur together. These conventional sequences are instantly recognizable to native speakers of a language, but remain difficult for second language learners to acquire [...]
Full Story »Improving Comprehension of Foreign Languages with TV Series, Movies and Subtitles
Watching television shows and movies in the target language is a great way to learn the (real) language, but it is even better if you can read along with the subtitles while watching and listening. Most linguistics studies and language students agree, but someone needs to tell the producers of DVDs this. I am still [...]
Full Story »French Summer School Online: Free Resources to Download
Académie en ligne is the official website of Education Nationale in France that provides support materials for all courses in public schools so that students can continue learning during the summer. The site was launched last summer, but I had forgotten until This French Life posted about it. It’s designed for all students from CP [...]
Full Story »Death of a Language Website: learncanadianfrench.com
Last year a friend of mine who had recently immigrated to Quebec sent me a link to a great website about learning Canadian French. The URL was simply learncanadianfrench.com and the site included grammar and vocabulary specific to Quebec as well as several videos of Quebecois songs and examples of Quebecois speech. It was an [...]
Full Story »Learning French Slang & Culture through Hip-Hop and Rap
Even if you don’t like rap in English, it pays to listen to it in foreign languages because the songs are usually full of informal language and slang as well as cultural references. Here are some songs that also teach you verlan (a “backwards” form of slang), French geography, Francophone names, common acronyms and the [...]
Full Story »For the France & French Lovers in America (and Elsewhere)
It’s too hot for me to stay at the computer and do a real update. It was about 37° C / 98.6° F here today and it’s still not that cool at 10 PM. The Tour de France started in Chambéry this afternoon before heading down to Gap and I feel sorry for the cyclists [...]
Full Story »From Annecy to Bassano del Grappa: Taking Grandma to Her Parents’ Birthplace in Italy
David’s grandmother was born in France in 1932. Her parents are from the towns of Bassano del Grappa and Solagna, in the region of Veneto, Italy. Her father, Antonio Tosetto, came to France in 1929 to escape le camicie nere (the blackshirts, or Fascists) while her mother, Maria Todesco, stayed behind in Bassano until he [...]
Full Story »And the I Hate Easyjet Saga Continues…
I got an e-mail from Easyjet that we should be reimbursed for the canceled flight, and a whole 120€ of the nearly 1,000€ we spent on rental cars, gas, and tolls. But who knows when/if we’ll actually receive the money. This morning we also found out that the first rental car company, Locauto, charged us [...]
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