Coucou les French learners,
C’est la rentrée des classes ! It is time to go back to school and for many to go back to work and to our everyday routine. It is a bit like starting the new year and I am sure many of you have new resolutions to achieve.
Remember “The journey is the reward“.
“Having an objective is not enough to travel, it is still necessary to set out on the road”, Florence Servan-Schreiber.
Le mois de septembre
In September, the lazybones can go hang themselves!
This saying refers to the harvest and particularly the grape harvest happening in September. It is a busy month for the farmers and it is also a busy month for us! Have a look at all the sayings relating to September, some are funny ones!
The French say Au revoir to summer (although it is not the end of summer yet), as well as the lazy days on the beach. Gilbert Bécaud, a French singer from Toulon, in the South of France wrote and sang a beautiful chanson : C’est en septembre. Follow the poetic song’s lyrics in the description below the video.
This weekend I also shared on my Facebook page, this fantastic website to listen to French songs by level (from beginner to advanced), by vocabulary and even by grammar structures!
This month also marks the end of the video series #auportugal. In my last video, I go through the main reasons why I love Portugal. My family and I moved there six months ago, so it is quite recent but so far it has been a positive and enriching experience for us. This last video also recalls the videos from the series. Watch a total of 18 videos aimed at intermediate/advanced level about different topics: food, sights, towns, nature…
The script is available when you become a member! Watch the video and read the script or read the script and watch the video.
I also plan to publish an eBook soon which will include all this series video scripts, AS WELL AS other stories and interesting facts about Portugal AND the dyslexic version (of course all of this will be available on the membership for as little as 4.75 month per month!).
For now, I am taking a break from the videos BUT will be back with new adventures of Marie et son chien Médor à Paris !!!
De bonnes raisons
Now, time to MAKE A PLAN! September means new beginnings so let’s start new with language acquisition rebirth!
Recently, I watched Lydia Machova‘s presentation at the Polyglot Conference about finding a system to learn a language if you are undisciplined (just like me!).
Even if I don’t agree with all the points Lydia mentioned (in particular about how important it is to practice speaking?!), Lydia Machova speaks 7 languages and has worked as an interpreter so I trust her when it comes to sticking to a plan.
To see results fast, Lydia recommends having a daily routine. She says it is better to have contact with the language daily than spending two or three hours per week or every two weeks at it. That is also what I recommended in my last newsletter: best is to try to get French input everyday or almost everyday even if it is “just” reading and listening to one story on my site, which takes 5 minutes. It is better to be consistent and regular.
You also need to find something you enjoy doing. If you like cooking, find French input about cooking.
Lydia says “fluency is only achievable if you have a pretty good reason to learn.” Think about why you are learning French? Is it because you a trip coming to France soon? Is it because your daughter in law is French and you to communicate with her in her mother tongue?…
My objective is to acquire two languages: Portuguese and German. I have pretty good reasons: I live in Portugal and want to a social life! I lived in Germany for ten years. I will for sure return to Germany.
What are you pretty good reasons?
Le plan
My daily plan is simple: listen to the Portuguese radio and podcasts every day when I am cooking, ironing or cleaning. Watch one story a day in German on Kathrin Shechtman’s YouTube channel. Next step will be the Goldlist method to record new vocabulary. More about that soon!
What is your daily plan?
You have it easy when you join the membership: Follow my the weekly suggestions.
Be part of the French learners community.
#trusttheprocess
Happy French acquisition!
P.S. The eBook (pdf) about the adventures of Marie et Médor avant Noël is now available: 24 scripts in the present and in the past tense, and there is an eBook for dyslexic learners too.
For as little as 4.75EUR/month, you can download all the eBooks AND you have access to many other French stories, biographies, poems and articles (with a Dyslexic mode) as well as the audio files. JOIN NOW!