Coucou les French learners,

L’hiver se termine et le printemps arrive ! Winter is coming to an end Spring is coming! This is part of what we celebrated last Sunday. NOT the Superbowl but la Chandeleur.

On 2nd February, my family and I stuffed our bellies with delicious galettes (savory) and crêpes (sweet), miam !

Do you know where the crêpes come from? Here is a cute story about a poor little boy who had the idea of making crêpes for his king! It is entitled Des soleils à croquer – Suns to crunch/to eat because une crêpe has the shape and the color of the sun. Eating crêpes celebrates the return of longer days and light.

When you are member of the French learners community, you get to READ and LISTEN to two versions of the story. A simplified one and a detailed one. So you gradually understand more words and structures which leads to ACQUISITION. The new French language stays in your brain FOREVER.

Download the TWO versions NOW for FREE (PDF and MP3 files)! (And enjoy my Dear Man’s theatrical voice!)

Des soleils à croquer – version simplifiée

Des soleils à croquer – version détaillée

If you cannot see the MP3 files, go onto my site to download them.

Submergé(e) ?

Do you feel submergé, accablé, écrasé… Overwhelmed?

Although, it is the start of the new year, you may already feel overwhelmed with work. I am! Je suis très occupée en ce moment, I am very busy at the moment. I feel I don’t have time to dedicate to my German acquisition. Je ne suis pas motivée, I am not motivated!

Do you feel the same? Where to find the TIME to acquire another language?

” Work is health, to do nothing is to keep it (health)” from the song by Henri Salvador.

To be honest, I have been feeling pretty discouraged with my German until I read and watch two very different things.

SIMPLIFIER

First, I watched Marie Forleo’s Questions & Answers video. By the way, this has nothing to do with second language acquisition! In this video Marie Forleo was trying to help some entrepreneurs to focus on what matters most.

What she said was EXACTLY what I needed to RE-focus on German. She said to set TOP priorities, but NOT too many! She said ” SIMPLIFY to AMPLIFY“. Although this quote applied to work and business in general, it does also apply to second language acquisition.

Having to “study” too many things is NOT productive nor efficient.For example, doing the Goldlist method then playing on an app to memorize some words out of contexts then studying grammar is NOT efficient. This not HOW we are going to become fluent.

When short on time, RE-set priorities. SIMPLIFY. JUST LISTEN and READ to COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT.

We acquire language when we understand what we hear and read, that is, when we get “comprehensible input.”

Acquiring a language and learning about the language are not the same thing.

Consciously learned rules of the language are not helpful in real communication. They are only helpful when we take a written grammar or vocabulary test (and sometimes in editing our writing).

#inputaloneissufficient

AMPLIFIER

So I simplified and then I read Maria from English without Fear newsletter. Maria explains that when she started to acquire Spanish, she started small 10 minutes a day. She started watching comprehensible videos in Spanish but not every day. She says that at the time ” Spanish bug hadn’t bitten me yet” BUT she then increased “ those occasional few minutes to an hour a day of input” and BOUM! Maria ” saw her comprehension skyrocket, Plus she was hooked on Spanish! Desire took over what had been discipline.”

I also gave 10 hours online sessions to Maria. During our sessions, we would spend approximately half of the session conversing about the weekend, family and work. The other half, I would tell Maria a story with rich Spanish input, in other words I would do Story Listening. I must say I was very much impressed by Maria’s comprehension and also by how she was ready to have a conversation with me ALL in Spanish!

So, you guessed it! In order to acquire French, you need ABUNDANT INPUT. I need it too to acquire German!

ABUNDANT & RICH INPUT leads to language ADDICTION. It leads to being hooked. Because the MORE listen and read, the MORE you understand, the MORE you are able to understand complicated and interesting input, the MORE you want to read and listen to videos and books in your target language.

#trusttheprocess

Why don’t you start right now? February is the month of LOVE! I am starting a new series of FREE videos telling you love stories in slow comprehensible French. I use abundant and rich language to give you OPTIMAL input. All you have to do is to sit comfortably and ENJOY the story. When you have finished listening to the story, listen to another story and/or read and listen (to my Dear Man’s voice!) to the script on the membership.

The first story is a Greek tragedy!

 

Simplify to amplify.

Happy French acquisition!

P.S. The eBook (pdf version) about the adventures of Marie et Médor à Paris is now available! All the video scripts are in the present and in the past tense AS WELL AS ALL the scripts from the series Un peu de culture! When you enter CADEAU, you get 20% OFF for the whole month of February.

Bien sûr, it is FOR FREE when you become a member of the French Learners Community For as little as 4.75EUR/month, you have access to exclusive compelling stories, as well as ALL of the eBooks and the 2020 calendar.

P.P.S. SOON there will be exclusive videos to watch on the membership!!!