Emma Stone speaks French

When we feature celebrities speaking French it has a demotivating effect on some of our Chouchous* (désolée!*). Rather than inspiring them, some report feeling exasperated that Bradley Cooper and Jodie Foster, par exemple*, are not only genetically blessed, talented, wealthy, creative and charismatic, but also happen to speak French beautifully.

This clip of Emma Stone may make such Chouchous take heart. Watch as Emma tries to express her thoughts in French and gets herself all tangled up to the point where she starts trying to communicate by way of gestures - it’s a little bit cringey because we’ve all been there. You know that feeling when you know exactly what you want to say and you know you know the words but they just won’t come out? That’s Emma (and all of us) in this clip. Then listen to how eloquent she is in her native language. The difference is striking and leads me on to a petit conseil* (see below).

When you’re taking your first steps into speaking French, remember you have nowhere near the pool of words to choose from that you do in English. That is completely normal as you’ve likely spent your life immersed in your native language. What we tend to try to do is express ourselves with the same sophistication as we do in English and that gets us into trouble. We start on a thought and then a few words in we realise we have no idea how to finish that sentence so we get stuck, and that’s often when the arms start flailing and we feel our faces going red. An alternative technique is to pause before you speak and think of a way to say what you mean in very, very simple language, then go from there.

Case in point: Emma tries to say that she doesn’t speak very well but that she understands better. Halfway through she realises she doesn’t know the word for ‘better’. Luckily, the French journalist helps her out, but she could have said: Je ne parle pas très bien mais je comprends bien*. See what I mean?

Try it next time you find yourself being interviewed by a French journalist to promote your smash hit movie. You’ll thank me.

*Teacher’s Pets | *sorry | *for example | little tip | *I don’t speak very well but I understand well

Jean de Florette

Jean de Florette - Marcel Pagnol

Je m’appelle Deb. J’étudie le français depuis cinq ans et depuis un an avec Lingua Franca.

J’adore voyager, danser, lire et apprendre le français. Je n’aime pas la COVID 19 et les confinements. J’ai cinquante-neuf ans.

J’ai choisi ce livre parce que j’ai adoré le film et la suite Manon des Sources. Je me souviens de la beauté de la campagne et de la vie paysanne. L’histoire concerne des habitants d’un petit village dans les montagnes du Sud de la France.

Les deux personnages principaux sont Ugolin et Jean de Florette.
Ugolin, un local, veut une ferme qui a une source cachée.
Jean de Florette, qui est aussi appelé “Le Bossu” a hérité de cette ferme de sa mère Florette.

Tous les deux ont de grands projets, mais ils ne sont pas les mêmes.
Le projet de Jean est d’utiliser un lapin d’Australie, et il ne sait pas qu’il y a une source dans sa ferme et personne ne lui dira. L’histoire suit les machinations d’Ugolin pour obtenir la ferme et la source.

J’aime bien lire des histoires sur la vie paysanne et des descriptions de la campagne.

Le texte est un peu compliqué mais j’ai trouvé que le sens est assez facile à comprendre. J’ai même compris quelques blagues parfois. Je le recommande à tous ceux qui s’intéressent à la vie des petits villages français.

My name is Deb. I have been studying French for five years, and have been with Lingua Franca since last year.

I love travelling, dancing, reading and learning French. I don’t like COVID 19 and lockdowns. I am 59 years old.

I chose this book because I loved the movie as well as its sequel Manon des Sources. I remember the beauty of the countryside and the country lifestyle. The story is about the inhabitants of a small village in the mountains in the south of France.

The two main characters are Ugolin and Jean de Florette. Ugolin, a local, wants a farm with a hidden spring. Jean de Florette, who is also called “The Hunchback”, inherited this farm from his mother, Florette.

Both of them have big plans, but they are not the same. Jean’s project involves an Australian rabbit and he doesn’t know that there is a spring on his farm and no-one will tell him. The story follows the machinations of Ugolin to obtain the farm and the spring.

I really like to read stories about country life and descriptions of the countryside.

The text is a bit complicated but I found it quite easy to understand the meaning. I even got some of the jokes. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in life in a small French village.

Compétition - je suis prof.

See if you’re able to find and correct the mistakes in the following sentences. The first Chouchou* to contact us with the answers below will take home a Lingua Franca grammar cheat sheet. Bon courage!*

*Teacher’s Pet | *Good luck!

Tout le monde parle français!

Many months ago, we included a post in a newsletter with a link to a well-known person speaking French. Vous, les Chouchous*, really seemed to like it, though we suspect the interest was somewhat amplified by the fact it was Bradley Cooper who was doing the talking.

We feel an une étude de marché* is in order, so here we are, another video for you enjoy with Matt le Blanc, Tom Hiddleston, Audrey Hepburn, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Serena Williams all speaking en français* (and with just a snippet of Bradley this time au tout début*, for the true fans).

*You, the Teacher’s Pets | *a bit of market research | *in French | *at the very start

Parisians try to pronounce English

One of the most valuable things about learning a second language is that it can give you more empathy towards non-native speakers of your own mother tongue. Watching people try to wrap their tongues around words we pronounce with ease probably evokes a different response now, compared to your pre-French learning days.

You’ll probably find yourself barracking for them rather than laughing at them, which could be worth bearing in mind next time you’re worried about making a mistake in front of a native French speaker, non*?

"Hedgehog? I'm pretty sure that's a city."More on https://frenchly.usLike us on https://www.facebook.com/frenchlydoesit/

*don’t you think?

Lost in Cheeseland

In Le Chouchou News de novembre*, we featured a new book by American-in-Paris Lindsey Tramuta about the accuracy (or not) of the storied Parisian woman.

Originally from Philadelphia, Lindsey has called Paris home since 2006. She has written for the New York Times, Glamour, Condé Nast Traveler, Elle Décor and Bon Appétit, among others.

Not content to rest on her laurels, for the last couple of years she has also produced and presented a fantastic podcast covering such diverse topics as bread-making with Apollonia Poîlane, saving Nôtre Dame, crop tops versus hijabs in France and even dating and romance in Paris.

Save this one for some après-Noël* exploration. There is much to be mined here. [Go to podcast]

*November’s Chouchou News | *post-Christmas

Name the francophone countries

Name the French-speaking countries in which you'd find the following attractions touristiques*. The first person to contact us with all six correct answers will win a Lingua Franca En Voyage guidebook.

CLUE: 115 islands make up this sublime archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

CLUE: These surreal-looking gazelles are called les gérénuks and could not be plus mignons*.

CLUE: Sticky rice is a staple.

CLUE: The Historic Old Quarter was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

CLUE: Caught between two countries who enjoy a serious love/hate relationship. Starts with ‘G’.

CLUE: This destination is home to a significant Tamul community.

*cuter

Your turn to be teacher

See if you’re able to find and correct the mistakes in the following sentences. The first Chouchou* to contact us with the answers below will take home a Lingua Franca grammar cheat sheet! Bon courage!*

Cheat Sheets - Complete set of 4

A$70.00

Lingua Franca’s Cheat Sheets regroup all the most vital elements of French in the one place, and are fantastic for your spoken and written French particularly.

Pack all four cheat sheets.

1 x ABSOLUTE BEGINER CHEAT SHEET :

Keeping all of the most important points in the one place, the Absolute Beginner Cheat Sheet will become your meilleur ami* the minute you open it. Including essential prepositions, numbers 0-100, the classic verbs être, avoir, aller and faire as well as the conjugation for regular verbs and much more, this is a resource you’ll want to keep à portée de main.

1 x BEGINNER CHEAT SHEET :
Students love the Beginner Cheat Sheet when taking their first steps towards speaking, as we encourage them to put down the books and to concentrate instead on getting the words out. Of course, we never want to leave our students unsupported, which is why so many of them cherish their cheat sheets and have them close by at all times. You know what it’s like: you start a sentence, and you know what you want to say, but you get halfway in and realise you can’t remember if you need to say ‘en France’, ‘au France’ or ‘à la France’, for example. A quick glance down at the prepositions for countries graphic and you’ll be back on track tout de suite*.

*straight away

1 x INTERMEDIATE CHEAT SHEET :
Students love the Intermediate Cheat Sheet when they start to get really serious about their French. They’ve learned a lot, and understand it in theory very well, but when asked to put their French into action, they find they need a little memory-jogger from time to time to maintain their flow when speaking, or a handy reference to ensure their writing is as accurate as possible.

1 x ADVANCED CHEAT SHEET :
Students turn to the Advanced Cheat Sheet when they want to perfect their French, especially their verb tenses. The centrepiece is a deceptively simplistic-looking verb tense summary. In fact, it contains all you need to know about eight verb tenses, from their English translations, to their various constructions and sample conjugations for both regular verbs and exceptions. If ever you want to finally get those verb tenses straight in your head, this is the resource for you. En plus*, it’s so pretty to look at!

* And plus

Add to cart

*Teacher’s Pet | *Good luck!

World Wellness Group

We only dropped a basket of goods to our friends at the World Wellness Group a few weeks ago, but our panier* is already filling up with generous donations from our Chouchous*.

We’d therefore like to do a final drop-off before the Christmas break, so if you have any spare goods lurking in the back of your cupboard, we’d love to take them off your hands and give them to our fellow Brisbanites in need.

Helping to keep their community pantry with staples such as rice, pasta, canned beans and UHT milk allows the WWG to maintain their high levels of care.

All contributions gratefully accepted, none expected.

*basket | *Teacher’s Pets

My French Story

People pursue French for a fascinating array of reasons, and we’re keen to hear all about them. If you have a story to share, please let us know. We’d love to feature your unique histoire française* in a future edition of Le Chouchou News.

Here’s one from a couple of years ago, profiling the lovely Corinne. Merci encore, Corinne, et à bientôt!*

Name/nom:

Corinne Sklavos

Age/âge: 

28 

Level/Niveau:

Absolute Beginner Revision

LF:    Corinne, quelle est ta profession?

CS:     I work as a medical scientist.

LF     Pourquoi tu étudies le français?

CS:    I am studying French to minimise my sense of unilingual shame on my trip to France in September. I have never studied a language before but I am having a lot of fun in my group lessons at Lingua Franca. I have some very clever friends that speak French. I like texting them in French when I can…it’s good practice for those irregular verbs (no wonder I’m le chouchou*). French culture just seems so cool to me too: wine, cheese, Dior…say no more!

LF:     Mot préféré en français?

CS:     My favourite French word is Billecart-salmon 🥂 #tchintchin

LF:     Merci Corinne, et bon courage pour Term 4.

CS:     You’re welcome, LF!

*French story | *Thanks again Corinne and see you soon! | *Corinne, what is your profession? | *Why are you studying French? | *Teacher’s Pet | *Favourite word in French? | *Thanks Corinne, and best of luck for Term 4.

Parisians speaking English

Here’s a challenge for you. Watch this video, and tell me that you don’t just fall in love with these Parisians trying out their English. A couple of things to bear in mind:

1) As a general rule, the French believe they are particularly bad at learning languages, hence all the comments about “I’m not very good”, “My accent is terrible” etc. (sound familiar?)

2) Despite the many mistakes they make, we can not only understand them really well, but they’re fun to listen to, non*?

*Don’t you think?

Ultimate French Resources #4

On the very odd occasion Word Reference fails me (see Ultimate French Resources #3), I turn to Linguee.com as a last resort.

Established in Cologne, Germany in 2008, Linguee is what is called an online bilingual concordance. That turns out to be a very fancy way of saying that the site trawls the web to find authentic documents that have been written in both French and English and places them side-by-side on the webpage. This is très pratique* when you want to see words used in their true context, not just in isolation as they often are in a dictionary.

WHAT:

A website of parallel texts, showing authentic, real-world uses of words along with how they’re translated in that particular context.

POINTS FORTS*:

It is the very best place to find new words or néologismes, as they are called in French.

The example of social distancing below is a good one. Though Word Reference has now caught up, when I wrote about it in last month’s newsletter, it did not yet have its own entry. It was only contained in the forum, where members of the public had asked about it. Linguee, on the other hand, had examples months ago, as they use web-crawlers to find examples of the phrase being used in real documents across the internet.

POINT FAIBLE*:

There are two main things to watch out for:

1) Linguee’s review process is less stringent than a traditional dictionary’s. A human-trained learning algorithm is used to assess the quality of the translations so don’t stake your life on their accuracy, though generally they are more than good enough for learners like us.

2) Many of the bilingual documents are sourced from EU protocol papers and other government documents, so the examples do not make for the most scintillating of reading, though I guess that very much depends on your intérêts*.

The top section of the website functions as a simple dictionary, but it’s further down that you get to le bon matos*.

Et voilà*! Seeing the phrase in context really helps you to see how it is used.

*very handy | *pros | *cons | *interests | *the good stuff | *And there you go!

Dandies of Congo

L'habit ne fait pas le moine* is a very well-known French expression. But in the case of the twin African cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, being a snappy dresser has taken on very special importance indeed.

Intéressé(e)*? Read more here and watch this :

The Republic of the Congo in Central Africa can't boast of high standards of living. Yet, there are men here who are prepared to spend a fortune on designer ...

*Never judge a book by its cover | *Interested?

Flirting with French

William Alexander is un homme d'un certain âge*, and he wants to learn French. More than learn it, as it turns out. He wants to conquer it. Sounding familiar?

"I'm more than a Francophile. I want to be French. There's one small obstacle though: I don't speak la langue française. In Flirting with French, I set out to conquer the language I love. Readers will find out if it loves me back. I eat, breathe, and sleep French (even conjugating — badly — in my dreams). I travel to France, where mistranslations send me bicycling off in all sorts of wrong directions, and I nearly drown in an immersion class in Provence, where, faced with the riddle of masculine breasts, feminine beards, and a turkey cutlet of uncertain gender, I start to wonder if I should've taken up golf instead."

So how does he fare? You'll have to read right to the end when William takes stock of his success (or other) in learning a language as an adult. Though we tried to source a local provider, it seems this book is not widely distributed, so if you're keen to read it, you're best off to find it here.

Bonne lecture!*

*a man of a certain age | *Happy reading!

Sneak Peek into Le Nid*

Speaking of films, the team au nid* have been known to have an opinion or two on the very best of French cinema. Voici leurs choix*.

*the nest | *at the nest | *Here are their choices

Quel est ton film français préféré?

What’s your favourite French movie?

Les Misérables

KATRINA

Intouchables

DEBORAH

L’arnacœur

CAROLINE

L’auberge espagnole

JOSEPHINE

Les trois frères

DAVID

Le dîner de cons

FIONA

World Wellness Group

Cette semaine* we ducked over to the World Wellness Group in Stones Corner to drop off the food you have so generously donated this term. We'd heard their placard* was a bit bare, so we put in a special request to our Chouchous* and you did not disappoint. Thank you so much for making the effort to bring the goods in. As Rita explains in the video, at times people who come to the medical clinic may not have eaten the day of their appointment, and possibly for a day or two before that, so to be able to send them home with a small bag of groceries is a huge help.

By the way, if you missed the collection this time around, please feel free to bring any extra goods in at any time. Ideally, we'd love to do another drop-off before Christmas. Merci encore*.

*This week | *cupboard | *Teacher's Pets | *Thanks again

Radio 4EB

Towards the end of Term 3, three of our more advanced classes were asked to participate in a linguistic experiment. Marie-Hélène Cremer, a Belgian native and former University of Queensland French lecturer who has turned her not-inconsiderable talents to the community radio station 4EB, paid a visit to Lingua Franca. Armed with a microphone, Marie-Hélène presented the Chouchous* with a word she was sure they wouldn't know (in fact the words were so obscure they'd be new to most French native-speakers as well), and then the pressure was on for them to come up with a possible definition.

Take a moment to listen to their very courageux* attempts below. We’ve included a transcript in French and English for those of you who want to know exactly what is being said. By the way, if you think the presenter's voice sounds familiar, that's because it's our very own office manager, Fiona Berrocal, whom many of you know.

Dernièrement*, if the idea of an hour of French radio appeals to you, why not check out the list of recent episodes here?

*Teacher's Pets | *courageous | *Lastly

TRANSCRIPT

Présentatrice: Cette semaine nous allons tenter de deviner la signification d’une expression du Burkina Faso. Les étudiants de Lingua France et leurs professeurs, Katrina et David, ont essayé de deviner et on vous laisse faire de même.

This week we are going to try to guess the meaning of an expression from Burkina Faso. The students of Lingua Franca and their teachers, Katrina and David, tried to guess and now we’re letting you do the same.

Marie-Hélène: Que signifie l’expression “c’est caillou”?

What does the expression “c’est caillou” mean?

Les Chouchous:

Un problème? - A problem?

C’est énervant? - It’s annoying?

C’est agaçant? - It’s irritating?

C’est mignon? - It’s cute?

C’est son envie (jealousy)? - It’s to do with being jealous?

C’est être jaloux? - It’s to be jealous?

C’est mauvais? - It’s bad?

Il n’y a pas de choses dans le placard? - There’s nothing in the cupboard?

C’est quelqu’un ennuyeux? - It’s someone boring?

Ce n’est pas possible? - It’s not possible?

C’est très facile? - It’s very easy?

C’est très cool? - It’s very cool?

Je dirais c’est petit ou alors ça ne coûte pas cher? - I’d say it’s small or maybe that it doesn’t cost a lot?

C’est certain? - It’s certain?

Peut-être c’est flexible? - Maybe it’s flexible?

C’est quand quelque chose est difficile? - It’s when something is difficult?

C’est difficile? - It’s difficult?

C’est compliqué? - It’s complicated?

Marie-Hélène: Bravo! C’est tout à fait ça. “C’est caillou” est une expression du Burkina Faso qui signifie “c’est difficile, c’est dur, c’est compliqué”. Un caillou étant, selon Le Larousse, une pierre quelconque de petites dimensions, le plus souvent assez dure. On peut facilement comprendre l’expression “avoir un caillou dans la chaussure” qui signifie être dérangé par quelque chose ou quelqu’un. Et l’expression “c’est caillou” est bien compréhensible par tout le monde, même les non-Burkinabé comme l’ont prouvé nos trois devineurs australiens. Bravo à eux! On peut donc dire que notre énigme cette semaine n’était pas vraiment “caillou”.

Well done! It’s exactly that. “C’est caillou” is an expression from Burkina Faso which signifies “It’s difficult, it’s hard, it’s complicated”. A caillou being, according the Le Larousse, any type of small stone, most often quite hard. We can easily understand the expression “to have a stone in your shoe” which means to be bothered by something or someone. And the expression “c’est caillou” is easily understandable by everyone, even people who aren’t from Burkina Faso, like our three Australian guessers. Well done to them! So we can say that our riddle today was not really “hard”.

Instagram Lessons

If you're looking for some short and sweet French lessons from your very favourite French tutors (that's us, in case you're wondering), then jump over to our Instagram page! We've been posting a video every Monday for a number of weeks now so there is a good little stock to choose from. They're filed under our Instagram Stories.

For those of you who are unsure how to access them, click on our logo when there’s a red circle around it to watch the story of the day. To watch previous tips and lessons, click on the tutor’s icon just below, in the ‘highlights’ section.

By the way, we've received some really lovely comments recently about how you're enjoying our revamped social media which of course we love hearing, but if ever you have any other ideas as to what we could include please ne soyez pas timide*! We'd love to hear what sort of content you feel you'd really benefit from and enjoy.

*don’t be shy

Casting call

À quelque chose, malheur est bon*...

Though I'm sure none of us would voluntarily submit to another year like 2020, it is true that every cloud has a silver lining. In Lingua Franca's case, it has shown up in the form of a grant from the State Government to develop the business in a way that increases its future resilience. So, starting very soon, we'll be filming our first ever series of lessons to be offered online in perpetuity. That is, students from around the globe will be able to sign up for an Absolute Beginner 1 course which will be delivered to them in bite-sized chunks which they can consume at their own pace.

One aspect of lessons in the nest we're very keen to replicate for our online learners is the feeling of being en classe*. Hopefully, you know what I'm talking about: the feeling of camaraderie, support and pure enjoyment you get from being around a small number of like-minded people in pursuit of a common goal. We're convinced it is la formule secrète* to learning and therefore want to share it with as many people as possible, from Brisbane to Broken Hill to Bagdad!

We'll be looking for some volunteers to act as students in the 'class', and since you, our Chouchous* already know some French, unfortunately we can't call upon you. But we thought you might know some absolute French beginners who'd be up for being filmed as they learn their first words of French. We'd offer them the Absolute Beginner 1 course for free and in return they'd need to be available for filming. We'll know more soon once we've met with the film crew, but if you do think you may know someone who fait l'affaire*, please do let us know.

*Every cloud has a silver lining | *in class | *the secret ingredient | *Teacher's Pets | *fits the bill

Ultimate French Resources #2

As a long-term French learner, you'll likely find there are certain resources you use once and immediately forget, others you use for a period of time and then put to the side, and still others to which you return time and again to answer your trickiest questions.

Much like the old adage about people entering your life for a reason, season or a lifetime, we could say the same about French references. In my life, Schaum's French Grammar has certainly earned its place as a 'lifetimer'.

WHAT:

A combined French grammar and exercise book.

WHO:

While the Schaum Outline Series covers topics as diverse as macroeconomics, topology and reinforced concrete design, if you're content to just stick to French for now, the French Grammar edition has clear explanations, illustrative examples and a large number of practice exercises.

POINTS FORTS*:

As above, it's the repetition that's the key. Hundreds and hundreds of exercises give you the chance to practise until you get it right. Also, while the explanations are simple and clear, they are very broad in their scope, so this is a book you'll hang onto for years as the ultimate reference.

POINT FAIBLE*:

Though there have been five updates since my trusty 2nd edition hit the shelves (and even mine was bought second-hand!), the interior pages have stayed much the same. So not an inspiring layout, but highly, highly effective.

*best bits | *weak point