Coucou les French learners,

Le soleil brille, c’est l’été ! The sun is shining, it is summer!

“ We want a place in the sun (French expression meaning to succeed, to get ahead) – it’s normal my son; so make sun instead of looking to make a place.” Jean Giono, French writer.

Recently, there was an interesting question under Qui est Camille Claudel video? Ray of Sunshine asked: ” I have been watching your videos regularly and with the combination of other comprehensible input acquired a lot of vocabulary to be able to comprehend many reading materials. My problem is with fast spoken French. I can understand what is said when I read transcriptions or, in the case of YouTube, captions. Do you perhaps have any suggestions?”

The truth is I have the same issue with German. I can read, hear and understand German at a slow pace but as soon as it is spoken fast, I only understand a few words or sentences. WHY? Probably because I didn’t get ENOUGH input yet!

How to understand FAST spoken French

First of all, CONTINUE to WATCH & LISTEN to SLOW spoken French. Slow and clear speech will make you feel confident because you will understand what is going on. It is KEY to TRUST the process, to TRUST yourself, to KNOW that you WILL at a certain point understand French spoken at a faster pace.

ADD short clips or videos spoken at a faster pace. Ads are fun to watch. They are short and they are often easy to understand. They also show a lot about culture and how the French think and behave! Here is a YouTube playlist with best French ads.

WATCH series with French subtitles (if you can!). I would suggest to avoid English subtitles. From my own experience, you end up reading the text and you no longer focus on hearing what is going on. In a previous post, I recommended French series I enjoyed watching but you could also watch YOUR favorite series in French. That way you already know the plot and it is easier to follow.

Bref. is a French series with very short episodes which you can add to your daily dose of input. The main character is an anonymous 30-year-old Parisian, single and unemployed. He is referred to as “I”, and his name is never revealed to the audience. His life is boring until he meets a girl at a party.

LISTEN to songs. Music is effective (and fun!) for language acquisition. My dear learner, Nicholas enjoys listening to Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Fontaine. They both sing clearly and beautifully. La maison où j’ai grandi by Françoise Hardy is one of Nicholas favorite songs.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Mix & Match! Watch and Listen to SLOW & FAST French spoken by different voices for BEST RESULTS. Little by little you will understand MORE and MORE fast spoken French.

#trusttheprocess

QUOI DE NEUF ?

A NEW FREE VIDEO in the Culture francophone : Qui est ? series about the amazing story of a young slave on the Reunion island who invented a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids quickly and profitably.

Do you need to acquire and/or review how to ask for a price in French? Watch session 25 of the Baby Stage online self paced course for beginners.

Then in session 26 you are READY to listen to another popular French fable by Jean de La Fontaine! watch, listen and read La laitière et le pot au lait, about a dairywoman who goes to the village to sell her milk. Review the super verb to want in French and the question how much? Acquire how to buy, earn money and sell things.

ALL sessions come with an exclusive video, the script with a glossary and audio recorded by Dear Man. That way you listen to a different voice. You build a STRONG FOUNDATION: how to ask KEY questions and how to use most FREQUENT structures and verbs (there is/are, to be, to have, to go, to think, to want, to like, to be able to). ALL via STORIES.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK

Andy who joined us about 4 months ago says: ”Alice, I watched the first episode of a really silly programme on YouTube called Téléfrancais again today. I haven’t watched it since before I became a member here. I could just about get the gist of what was going on then, today… I understood every word spoken in the 10 minute clip.”

#inputaloneissufficient

Happy French acquisition!

P.S. Got friends, family, colleagues or clients who want to become fluent in French? Share this with them, they’ll thank you for it

P.P.S Want to help us deliver more quality French input to ALL? Download the 2020 calendar & 12 bookmarks with positive French quotes! MERCI DU FOND DU COEUR <3 JOIN US at Express Fluence online 13-17 July!!!
If you are a teacher, it is not too late to watch me and some master teachers and learn from some amazing presenters.
Use code ALICE for $20 off registration; price goes up 1 July (tomorrow!)

If you are a learner and you want to join my French class or another amazing language class, register here.