Category Archives: Reasons to learn French

France welcomes us all!

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Susan

Yet another reason to love France: French President Emmanuel Macron launched a website urging anyone concerned with climate change to move to France: www.MakeOurPlanetGreatAgain.fr – Exxon Shareholders Approve Climate Resolution: 62% Call for Disclosure in Landmark 

Posted in Boston French classes, French culture, French-American relations, News from France, Only in France !, Reasons to learn French | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fête de Noël à Boston 2016

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Susan

Voilà notre Fête annuelle de Noël à Back Bay, Boston. Learning French Christmas carols is the icing on the cake of our regular lessons. We sound particularly good because we are enthusiastic, understand all our words, and have 3 trained … Continue reading →

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Fête de Noël honors the French spirit

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Susan

A bunch of devoted and talented francophiles gathered last night for Susan’s annual Fête de Noël. Current and former students, nous avons bavardé en français, grignoté des mets délicieux, et fini par chanter des chansons de Noël en français. En … 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 →

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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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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

Words of the month, July 3

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Susan

I love French verbs that have no direct English translations. We can tell what they mean, but they are so concise, we have no one-word equivalents: fragiliser, relativiser, positiver, responsabiliser. A weird one that’s not even in the dictionary: dérembourser! … Continue reading →

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Fête de Noël 2013

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Susan

Des élèves – anciens et actuels, débutants et avancés – se sont réunis chez Susan pour sa Fête annuelle de Noël. Nous avons bavardé, grignoté et chanté des noëls – en français, évidemment !  Parfois Ed nous accompagnait au piano, … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston French classes, Cultural Perspectives, Films, French culture, French versus English, Language Tips, Reasons to learn French | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Speaking French Doubles Bradley Cooper’s Sex Appeal !

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Susan

Speaking French just doubled Bradley Cooper’s sex appeal. A youtube video of him being interviewed in French on French TV got over 2 million hits in its first 3 days and is still going! Ooh là là! You too can … Continue reading →

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Didn’t We All Intuit This ?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Susan

Didn’t we all intuit that learning – and knowing! – a second language helped the brain? Well, here’s an article reporting a York University study that shows that bilingualism staves off Altzheimers. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/science/31conversation.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

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