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“Minou Minou” Words called to cats in France …

Did you know this means “puss” in French? 

You probably learnt “Un chat” in your early learning of French. 

You know, you can sound far more French when you use more common words and idiomatic expressions in your conversations. We haven’t always l...

False friends - love ‘em or hate ‘em!

Here are a few to digest and get to love so you don’t make this mistake, either again or for the first time. 

As Anglophones, we often say “actually”  but when we translate it, we end up incorrectly saying “Actuellement”, which means “Right now/at this mome...

Pronouncing French well means you get to understand spoken French more easily too.

But you have to build muscle memory to make it easier. 

What if someone showed you how, breaking it down with a few simple tips. 

We won’t cover the whole of the French language - but you can get started a...

Soutenu vs familier ? 

Do you say “Quoi/What?” or “Pardon”

Do you say “TOP !” or “Merveilleux !”

The words we choose in French, if we are understood might not matter at first . . . then we start wanting to sound a little less ‘street’ and edging towards a more formal way of speaking. 

In t...

Bonjour tout le monde!

Can you say this properly?

Our ‘English’ brain thinks it will be pronouncing it SO WELL . . . but for many, a small tweak can make a massive leap into the realms of sounding so much more French! 

If you want to try 12 ‘O’ words to help you lean in - try them out here ...

Arc-en-ciel, rainbow…

Do we pronounce the final S and make a liaison when it’s in the plural?

Do you know where to put the plural S in compound words in French?

Find out in this mini-lesson and discover 8 compound words in the same category! 

Pronounce like a French person!

In this mini-less...

Do you have the confidence to join in with a French conversation? Are you able to gently interrupt or do you stand on the sidelines with Brain Freeze, wishing you could recall the words you need? 

Does the conversation race away without you, leaving you behind?

Believe me, it’s not just how muc...

Is it Les ‘aricots or LeZharicots?

It’s hardly the most important thing to learn when you’re more bothered about trying to get the word out of your mouth anyway . . .BUT

If you keep learning you’re going to get to this point and it’s going to feel like you saw this video and parked it . . . onl...

Is it ‘arrivent’ or arrivENT. When do you pronounce the last 3 letters -ENT in French? 

In our Conversation Café groups we now have pronunciation work every two weeks, then we integrate it into our spontaneous conversations.  

Why? Simply because when we articulate well in French, we find that ...

LUDIQUE 

Do you know this word?

It’s French for fun and effective learning. Yup, all that in one little word! 

Learning in a fun way is entertaining at least, and effective at best, especially when you can recall words on the spot in spontaneous conversations. 

Many of us struggle when it com...

Do you know when to pronounce that P and when not . . . and hesitate when speaking because there’s this 50/50 choice going on in your head and slowing you down? 

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover:

• When you DO pronounce the P

• When you DON’T pronounce that P

• Other words with this P...

“Prononciation”

Can you actually pronounce this properly in both English AND French?  In fact, very many English words are similar in French and when we read them, we use our ‘English’ brain. 

In this mini-lesson, I have chosen 20 commonly used words and pronounced them in French for you and st...