Category Archives: Language Tips

Bannon assuring the FN of Victory

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Susan

BANNON IS SPREADING HIS FIRE IN FRANCE BUT DOESN’T SPEAK FRENCH AND HIS TRANSLATOR ISN’T SURE OF HERS EITHER! Who would have believed that Steve Bannon, after being fired by Trump, is now bringing his fiery support to Marine LePen … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Perspectives, French culture, French versus English, French vocabulary help, French-American politics, French-American relations, Language Tips, News from France | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ouf = Whew !

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Susan

Ouf, whew, the Good Guy won and the French Trump equivalent lost, thank goodness! Reasonable people in France can finally breathe with relief. Now there is a new challenge: they have to win the legislative elections in about a month, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Perspectives, French culture, French versus English, French-American politics, Language Tips, News from France | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

July 14 terror in Nice, France

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Susan

This post has 3 items, all relating to the horrific attack on Nice, France, yesterday. 1) your basic French vocabulary about terrorism 2) graphic showing love for France 3) my response to the horror of yesterday’s attack Basic French vocabulary about terrorism: … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston French classes, Cultural Perspectives, French culture, French versus English, French-American politics, French-American relations, Language Tips, News from France | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spelling Changes – Helping or Harming?

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Susan

The French are arguing again, 26 years later, over recommended spelling changes to their language. I remember agonizing over them when I was working on French textbooks at a publishing company back then. We ended up not changing our spelling, … Continue reading →

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Beautiful or untranslate-able words

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Susan

Our friend, Stéphanie, thought of our blog when she saw this article on French words that resonate with learners. I see why! Her favorite is ‘ronronner,’ which is very onomatopoetic. You can just hear the cat purring. Still, I would … Continue reading →

Posted in French versus English, Language Tips, Reasons to learn French, Stephanie, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Adventures of living in France. Can we become bilingual? Part II

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Susan

Stephanie C. has written us before and now adds some of her own French-learning adventures. When she took lessons from me, she was a single American, working in Boston. Now, she’s living in France, married to a French man and … Continue reading →

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Adventures of living in France. Can we become bilingual? Part I

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Susan

Learning – or slowly acquiring – a new language is a miracle. Some of us have been studying it in books and in life, by teaching language as well as studying one, and still don’t know how it “happens.” I … Continue reading →

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Fête de Noël 2014

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Susan

Fête de Noël chez Susan We had our annual Fête de Noël last week. Present, former, and potential students and friends gathered together to chat in French, eat, drink, and sing French carols.  The rich, beautiful voices of our two … Continue reading →

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Puzzling out Quebecois from TV5

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Susan

TV5 is such a fun way to learn French! A complete novice can get the melody from listening to the language in the background. Intermediate students can follow talk-shows, cartoons, films, soap operas and cultural shows with or without subtitles. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Perspectives, French culture, French versus English, Language Tips, Reasons to learn French, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Allez comprendre cette langue !

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Susan

Nous savons tous que le français est une langue fascinante. Mais Christine nous envoie cette preuve pour les élèves avancés : 1. Le plus long palindrome de la langue française est « ressasser » On peut donc le dire dans … Continue reading →

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