Coucou,

here is your weekly dose of French comprehensible and compelling input to acquire the language naturally.

Have you ever noticed that it is much easier to remember a story you have heard or a movie you have seen than a list of words, verb forms or grammar concepts? It is because your brain needs connections. Learning a word from a word list establishes one connection, and therefore, does not remain in your long-term memory. However, if this word is embedded in an exciting context, many more connections are generated. Because of all these connections, our brain stores the new word effortlessly.

As Jonathan Gottschall tells us in “The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human,” “we are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.”

A quirky story

The best way to acquire French is to listen to stories; and because the weather is sort of getting sunnier and warmer and you might feel like going outdoor, I have got your back! This story about camping will excite your attention! The title is ” Une nuit bizarre ! ” (a strange night) so be ready for quirky occurrences!!!

You will acquire:
Il va camper = he goes camping
Il dort = he sleeps
Il entend un bruit = he hears a noise
Il sort de la tente = he goes out of the tent
Il a peur = he is afraid

Do you like to go camping? Make sure to leave a comment below this post or on Youtube.

A bit of tourism: Le Massif Central

I am so lucky to be teaching wonderful and inspiring French learners! One of them is creating a story with my help along the same lines as the one you just watched. In her story, the camper is a woman from Quebec who goes camping in France. My French learner suggested she’d go camping in Le Massif Central. I didn’t think about this part of France at all (I had other ideas at the back of mind to submit her) but I though it was such an excellent choice. This part of France is an elevated region in the middle of southern France where you can see a chain of old volcanoes as a particular feature.

Do you know this region? I happen to know it very well because my grand-parents come from there and I used to spend my childhood holidays in a remote cottage next to the forest. It is truly a beautiful part of France which is quite unknown to tourists. Read this article to find out what you can do there in just 5 days: http://bougerenfamille.com/volcan-auvergne-en-famille/

La semaine de la langue française et de la francophonie

You also have to know that this week is the week of French language and cultures, yeah! Did you know that 274 million people speak French and that along with English, French is the only language to be spoken on five continents?

To find out which countries speak French as their official language, play with your family and/or friends this game called ” Jeu des 7 familles “.

The object of the game is to collect complete families, in that case you have to complete a set of 6 cards about one francophone country (its flag, capital, continent, currency, nationality and map) . The player whose turn it is asks another player for a specific card from the same family as a card that the player already has. If the asked player has the card, he gives it to the requester and the requester can then ask any player for another card. If the asked player does not have the card, it becomes his turn and he asks another player for a specific card. It is super fun and instructive at the same time 🙂

Download, print out the cards and play: MondoLinguo-7familles-francophonie

Happy French acquisition and see you next week!

A bientôt !

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 🙂