ON AIME | WE LIKE

ON AIME | WE LIKE

Bernard l'hermite

We mentioned in a previous post that we are often asked by our beginner students to recommend children's books for purchase. Since we all learn in different ways, we thought this time we'd highlight un CD* instead. 

Bernard l'Hermite is a charming collection of French songs for children with an accompanying lyrics booklet. Brainchild of Kristel Latapie, owner of a music school near Montreux en Suisse, this is a really fun way to improve your vocabulary. And jeter un œil* at the video - c'est très mignon*.

Vous voulez* your own copy? Click here.

*a CD | * take a look | *it's very cute | *Do you want

On aime | We like

on aime | we like

Quelle histoire

One of our lovely students brought back this charming petit livret* on Coco Chanel from a recent trip to France. We frequently have people ask us to recommend children's books as a starting point to reading French, which in theory sounds like a good idea. However, if you think of the average vocabulary of a five or six-year-old, it is quite extensive: they can ask for pretty much anything they want.  Therefore, children's books are often more difficult to read than one would expect. At the time of writing, we still haven't found a series of simple story books for learners of French. If you know of one, we'd love to hear about it.

This series by Quelle Histore, while not extremely simple, is great because they tell the story of a known figure, using illustrations help to flesh out the tale. While you're unlikely to understand every single word, with the help of a good dictionary (we recommend www.wordreference.com) you'll be well on your way to reading your first French book.

Coco Chanel is just one of many mini-biographies produced by Quelle Histoire. Bonne lecture!*

*little book | *Happy reading!

COIN CULTURE | culture corner

COIN CULTURE | culture corner

le premier mai | The First of May

I hope you all have, or had, a lovely day on Monday, 1st May. For us here in Australia of course it is Labour Day, and the French, too, benefit from a jour férié* to celebrate the Fête du Travail*.

However, the French have a celebration the pre-dates the Fête du Travail by several hundred years: la Fête du Muguet* (pronounced mew-gay). So strong is the tradition of giving these delicate flowers to loved ones, that in 2013 the French forked out €31.8 million euros on them. The flowers are considered porte-bonheurs* and it is said you must give at least one sprig of lily of the valley every year. Quelle belle tradition.*

*public holiday | *Labour Day | *Lily of the Valley | *good luck charms | What a lovely tradition