Coucou les membres de la communauté,
Our dear member, Laura shared a delightful idea after participating in our last French Reader club.
She suggested:
“As a part of the warm-up, it might be fun to include the learning of a short poem with each 5-week session.”
This thoughtful recommendation sparked a reflection on the numerous benefits of reciting poems.
As a child, I fondly remember learning and reciting poems in school. To this day, I can still recall some of these verses, which brings me immense joy.
It’s a shame that my own children no longer have this enriching experience in their curriculum. However, we can revive this valuable practice in our French journey!
The Joys and Benefits of Poetry Recitation
Did you know that by engaging with poetic language, your brains are stimulated in regions associated with pleasure, similar to the effects of music and art?
Reciting poetry produces highly pleasurable emotional effects. The rhythmic and rhyming patterns in poetry create positive emotional responses and even anticipatory pleasure.
This emotional engagement help you connect with the beauty of the French language.
It improves your pronunciation as rhyming sounds are repeated. Your ability to articulate French phonemes gets better.
La jeune fille lisant une lettre de Johannes Vermeer (1657)
Poems also help develop proper intonation and rhythm, crucial elements of natural-sounding speech.
Reciting a poem encourages clear enunciation, and the ability to convey meaning to an audience.
You build confidence and get prepared for future conversations with French natives.
More importantly, through recitation, you engage with beautiful thoughts and ideas. It provides comfort, inspiration, and a source of reflection.
Introducing Our New Resource: “Dans la prairie”
My dear Man & I are thrilled to announce a new addition to our “Diaporama“ section.
It’s a short, simple, and adorable poem called “Dans la prairie” that’s perfect for practicing the French sounds -or and -ie.
This delightful piece features repetition, making it ideal for beginners and intermediate learners alike.
Click here to look at the slideshow!
Each slide of the presentation includes a couple of verses, followed by an interactive element where you’ll fill in the missing words to reinforce your memory of the poem.
To make the most of this resource, follow these simple steps:
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Listen to the poem being read aloud, focusing on pronunciation and rhythm. Watch the video below the slideshow.
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Read along silently, then attempt to read it aloud yourself.
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Try to memorize small sections at a time, gradually building up to the entire poem.
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Recite the poem, paying attention to your pronunciation and intonation.
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Use the fill-in-the-blank slides to test your memory.
A Word of Appreciation
I’d like to conclude this newsletter by sharing a heartwarming comment from our member @GatKat in the Community Chat:
“Bonjour, Je viens de terminer le Baby Stage et j’ai vraiment adoré. J’avais suivi un cours A1 en classe, mais je ne me sentais pas à l’aise lorsqu’on m’a obligé à parler français. Maintenant, j’ai hâte de commencer le Infant Stage ! Merci.”
Which translates to: “Hello, I just finished the Baby Stage and I really loved it. I had taken an A1 class in person, but I didn’t feel comfortable when I was forced to speak French. Now, I can’t wait to start the Infant Stage! Thank you.”
We’re thrilled to hear about your progress, @GatKat, and we’re excited to continue supporting you on your French journey!
Thank you for being an integral part of our French learning community!
Cordialement,
