I stumbled upon this video on YouTube and it was an eye opener. First of all, I thought to myself that I can easily do this now that there is time in my day. Devoting 8 hours a day to language learning is achievable especially if you don’t work, have no family commitments and want […]
Nothing Wrong With Starting with Grammar When Learning a New Language
I watched this interview with D’aria talking about how she learned French and it struck me that we both started the same way. Many people on YouTube and other articles online advise NEVER to start with grammar. However this is wrong. I started like her. I bought the Practice Makes Perfect books and methodically over […]
My First Day of Summer School
This morning was my first day of Summer School and I was like a little kid. I did all my morning chores and even went into the garage to pump up my bike tyres. I hadn’t cycled in years but as the University of the Third Age in nearby, it seemed wrong to use the […]
A Frenchie Afternoon
Well what a lovely day. Well, the weather was shite. It was 15 degrees and rained in the morning but there were bursts of sunshine at various times. For the last year or so, I have been going to a local cafe for my French conversation group. I love having this weekly catch-up with them […]
Trying Out French Classes at the U3A
I was looking forward to today. The University of the Third Age is near our home and when I was there last to take some photos for their newsletter, I was invited back to observe the French for Intermediate class to consider registering for next year’s classes. I’ve been going to weekly conversation classes at […]
I Spoke French
Today I caught up with my good friend for lunch and a bit of a natter (chat). We usually meet halfway between our respective homes and tried out a pub meal which was delicious. However before our meeting, I had to stop and take a photo of two P&O cruise liners which were at Station […]
Au Revoir Tristesse
I’ve recently finished reading Viv Groskop’s book Au Revoir Tristess: Lessons in Happiness from French Literature and loved it. It’s got me back into my reading mojo! Here’s my review of it and below it are direct quotes from the book that made an impact on me. Marcel Proust There is something very wise, almost […]
My French Learning Update
I’ve written many posts here in my blog about how I’ve been learning French then integrating this language into my life as much as possible. It’s immersion by stealth. If you can’t visit or travel overseas to the country, we are spoiled for choice using technology and other ways to ensure we are surrounded by […]
Jouer Au Golf et Apprendre Le Francais Ensemble
What do you do if you feel you lack time when it comes to learning all the things you want to learn? Do it all in the one go. Find things that build upon each other. For example, I’m new to golf. And I’m a left handed golfer at that. Golf is a backwards sport. […]
My French Update
There’s a crêperie nearby that serves these French crepes and galettes made with buck wheat that employs French speakers so you can be guaranteed to hear French being spoken every time you go there. On Friday morning, I didn’t have anything planned for the day (except for 9 holes of golf later that afternoon) so […]
Brownie Points for Being a Cool Aunt & Some French Stuff
Today I headed over to my parents where we had a family lunch with my brother, his wife and my young nephew. After lunch we all headed over to the park to get out of the house a bit. It was a stunningly beautiful day, 27 degrees and without a cloud in the sky. The […]
Enrolling Into French…Again
For the last few months, I focused on having conversations with two friends who are fluent in French. Every Monday, Thursday and Friday for an hour, we chat – 30 mins in English and 30 mins in French. I wanted to take a break from the Alliance Francaise courses because at times, I found them […]
Petit Nicolas
It’s a public holiday here in sunny Melbourne. Another beautiful cloudless sky and no breath of wind. It’s a day to laze around and relax before the onslaught of work begins again tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ve taken Tuesday & Wednesday off (I work three days a week), which means an extra long time to do the […]
In Love With Stranded Colour Work
I’ve always loved fair isle jumpers. They’re the ones with the stranded colour work around the shoulder, sometimes on the sleeves and around the bottom on the rib. Northern Europeans seem to love them. In Australia, if you’re seen wearing one, you’re likely to be mocked. “Did your mum buy you that jumper?” If you […]
Le Mot
Wow! Le situation est grave! Pourquoi? Regardez! Aujourd’hui, un surprise sur Twitter. Benjamin m’a envoyé un defi. Wordle est en français! La semaine dernière j’ai bloqué le mot “Wordle” sur Twitter parce qu’il avait trop de tweets. J’étais submergé par tous ce jeu! Mais maintenant, je change d’avis. Peût-etre Wordle en français m’aidera avec la […]
Le Renard
On Thursday I have my first gathering with my French class. Nathalie takes a French class every week at a nearby cafe. Our homework was to watch this short program about the animals of the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and share our own experience of these gorgeous creatures. Here is what I will say […]
My French Learning Journey – What’s Next…continued
I’m still deliberating what to do next year in my French learning journey and come to the realisation that at an intermediate level now, I’m STILL not speaking enough of it. On the other hand, I’m listening to a lot more (and proud to say understanding most of it – when they’re not speaking slang) […]
Writing French Stories
I am writing short stories using a French picture dictionary for inspiration. For exercise, I flip open the dictionary and look at the pictures and definitions (there’s no English) so then I concoct a story in French using those words. It’s a way to contextualise the vocabulary I’m learning and in my mind’s eye, I […]
Learning a Language Through Coursera
About a few weeks ago, I found the Etudier en France course on Coursera that is at a B1-B2 level. I hadn’t completed a Coursera course for many years and when I saw this, I thought it was time to get back into it again. If you do a search on MOOCs (massive open online […]
More French Resources Then Some
It’s fair to say that I have spent HOURS on learning this language over the last 18 months but I figure that I can’t stop now. It’s a skill that I need to work on consistently and continually. Use it or lose it. Utilisez ou perdez. As such, this last ten weeks, I deliberately didn’t […]