French Blabla

There’s a topic that I haven’t really delved into and that is completely overlooked in this podcast. People may think that for a podcast whose claim is to teach you real spoken French, it’s a bit strange that I haven’t talked about that sooner. Frankly, I don’t think today’s topic is a requisite for sounding like a true French person. This episode comes from one dear listener, Oliver, he asked me to cover slang in French. And that’s what we’re going to do today. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Why slang isn't a requisite when you want to sound like a native Useful and common slang you often hear One rule that creates a lot of our usual slang

In this episode, you’ll learn everything, to buy or order what you need for gardening so that if you happen to go to a garden centre in France or to order from a French website, you’ll know what to ask and look for. Today, the grammar focus is for A students as we will review simple ways to ask questions. As usual, with this episode comes a study guide that contains the transcription, the vocabulary and the grammar focus. You might want to check it out. Don't forget to download it. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Learn gardening vocabulary Review the simple ways to ask questions A challenge for you to shine

Last time, we talked about ice cream and today we will talk about croque monsieur. If there’s one dish you can make at home that is super easy and really French, it’s the croque-monsieur. With a side of salad, you’ve got yourself a perfect lunch. I encourage you to try. If you do, please let me know. Coincidentally, Marcel Proust will make an appearance again in this episode. Today, the grammar focus is for B students as we will review the two conditionals, present and past. As usual, with this episode comes a study guide that contains the transcription, the vocabulary and the grammar focus. You might want to check it out. Don't forget to download it. Stay tuned!   In this Episode How the croque-monsieur was invented Review the conditionals present and past A challenge for you to shine     Music by Podington Bear

In this episode, Candice comes back for a chat. We had a nice talk about her dream house in this episode. Today, we will discover her shopping habits. It will be a good opportunity to review how to properly use articles. If you struggle with them, it's time to listen and download the study guide to practice.   In this Episode Real conversation with real fillers and regional pronunciation Learn or review how to use articles Vocabulary about grocery shopping

Today, I’d like to continue on the topic of finding a language partner to talk to since it’s a big struggle for many of you. In episode 42, I shared my tips to be able to find a conversation partner. If you haven’t listened to it yet, go check it out and grab yourself a French friend. However, finding somebody is only the first step in an efficient language practice. There are some other important things to consider. In this episode, I’d like to share with you a few strategies that you will need to get the most out of your language practice.   In this Episode Why asking for explanations to natives is usually useless The one question you should ask differently The essential thing you should ask your language partner to radically improve your French    

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the intricacies of the pronouns “tu” and “vous”. Today’s title is a bit misleading and I’m sorry about that. My intent isn’t really to have a definite guide of the different uses of these pronouns, instead I would like to go deeper into the complexity of French social interactions. These two words really reflect that. Obviously, as always, I’ll give you some etiquette tips to behave like a French person, but today is more of a cultural episode.   In this Episode Learn when you can say “tu” The situation where “vous” is the ultimate insult A small etiquette guide to the internet

In this episode, I will share some anecdotes related to taste and ice cream. It’s strange to talk about this in winter but I’m longing for sunny days. The grammar focus is for A levels as we will review the negative. As for the vocabulary, it will be useful for when we get to travel again during the summer. You’ll become ice cream professionals as we will learn many words that you will hear when you order in France. If you struggled understanding the different possibilities on a menu, listen to today’s episode, study the guide and you’ll be ordering like a native. Don't forget to download it to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!   Music by Podington Bear

It’s been almost two months that 2021 has started and I haven’t even asked you if you had any good French goals for this year. Every new year is always an opportunity to start fresh and I thought it would be a nice change on the podcast to have a guest. Her name is Ines and she used to be a French teacher, a regular one, just like me, years ago. Now she’s a French coach and she specializes in neurolanguage. She has kindly accepted my invitation to share with us her expertise. If you need a kick in the butt and/or some guidance because you’re a bit lost with all the things you need to learn, then stay tuned and listen to the episode. In this Episode 5 tips to set effective learning goals 2 tips to stay motivated A guide to achieve your goals   Music by bensound.com

A few weeks ago, I sent you an email asking you what your biggest struggle was. The answers were overwhelming. Almost everybody asked me how to find natives to talk to. Christine for example told me “finding someone to speak French with”. David, who also answered my email, faces the same problem. “Finding opportunities to practice” he told me. I also received emails directly in my inbox asking me the same question. Today we’re going to go over some solutions we have to finally find where these French people hide. We’ll divide this episode in two parts. In the first one, we’ll explore French people favourite’s hideouts in your town. The second part will apply if you live in the heart of the countryside or in a very small town. We will need to rely on the magic of the internet. Stay tuned!     Music by bensound.com

Today, we’re going to dive into the world of movies. We’ll learn some useful phrases to describe them. I don’t usually talk about movies I watched because I’m not really into this. I rarely go to the cinema and I don’t even watch that many tv shows. If you've listened to episode 5 of "A day in French", then you know that I like to watch hockey instead. I decided to talk about the movie called "Amelie Poulain" because I learnt that one character and what he does were inspired by real events. I couldn’t imagine that anything in that movie was actually real so I was surprised and wanted to share this piece of information with you. Don't forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Cultural nugget about the movie "Amelie Poulain" Review phrases to describe movies A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podington Bear

In the special episode of "Quoi de beau Caro ?" we will recap 2020 and talk about the great project coming ahead this year. Music by Podington Bear - Wavy Glass

Guys, it’s time for the truth! Are you guilty of answering “comme ci comme ca” when somebody asks you how you are? I have no idea where it comes from, maybe from a song but when I was teaching in schools, students sometimes answered with this phrase. Frankly, I don’t know anybody in my relatives nor friends that ever said this. Today, we’re gonna drop the comme ci comme ca and study how to answer properly like French people would. In episode 22, we talked about how to translate the phrase “I’m excited” and following up on this episode, we’re going to dive a little bit deeper into the French world of total lack of enthusiasm. This three letter word we’ll study can be used in different situations with different meanings. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Learn how to show a lack of enthusiasm Learn two body expressions and turn into a real French person The real answer to "how are you?" Cultural nugget about French social habits     Music by bensound.com

Welcome to the twenty-second episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. I hope you’re hungry because we’re going to talk about food, my favourite topic. In the previous episode, we talked about food as well but about a very strange Christmas menu. I wonder if there were any vegetarians who listened to that episode. Today, nothing disgusting I promise, it will be about olive oil. I will share a story about last summer and a tour that I did with my family. Don't forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Cultural nugget about olive oil Review the object pronoun “les” A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podington Bear - Prod by Lukrembo

I noticed that a lot of learners struggle with the translation of “let’s”, especially since it’s very different from the translation of the verb “to let”. This can be confusing. Today we’re going to talk about it. Before listening, I suggest you refresh your mind with the episode 26 , where we covered when to use "nous" and when to use "on". You will need it to fully grasp this new episode. Stay tuned! In this Episode Three phrases to properly translate "let's" The number one sentence you need to know to leave a place A challenge for you to shine   Music by bensound.com

Welcome to the twenty-first episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. What is the weirdest or most disgusting thing you have ever eaten in your life? For me, it was silkworm pupae, that I ate when I was in Korea. I put it in my mouth a bit reluctantly. I really thought it was going to be disgusting but to my surprise, I enjoyed it. I won’t say it was delicious but it was edible and somewhat interesting. Today, we’re going to travel back in time and we will be heading towards Paris during a hard time the town had to face. Since, it was Christmas not a very long time ago, I would like to talk about a very strange Christmas menu that was found in restaurants at that time. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Historical nugget about a crazy time in Paris Animal and food vocabulary Review the passive voice with the present tense A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podi

Welcome to the thirty-ninth episode of the French Blabla podcast where we will cover tips to increase your fluency while boosting your way of learning. Today’s episode is a special request from a dear listener, Sarah. She contacted me on the chat and she told me “Caroline, in french you usually drop the last letter. But how is it with the “plus” I can’t figure out when to say plu or plus“. When I read her question, I panicked a little bit because there was no way I could explain the rules in just two sentences on a chat while preparing dinner. I gave her a very simplified answer but we really need an episode. This is a topic that comes up a lot and a question that you will find in many French podcasts. Today is my turn to cover it. Stay tuned! In this Episode The rules you need to know how to pronounce the word "plus" A challenge for you to shine   Music by bensound.com - Audio Sponsor by Timbre · Freesound

Welcome to the twentieth episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. In this new episode we’ll be talking about my birthday and what I will do on this special day. I will also talk about the joy of bathing and the bath culture. Don’t forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Winter and snow vocabulary Review the subjunctive with feelings A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podington Bear / Borrtex

Welcome to the nineteenth episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. Did it ever happen to you that you woke up in the middle of the night and an idea popped into your mind, for no reason whatsoever. That’s exactly what happened to me for this episode. I got up and suddenly this idea knocked on my door. She said (because idea is a feminine word in French) “ Caroline, in your next episode you’re going to talk about this famous French postman and you will do a special beginner episode”. I said ok. Now we’re here together, dear listeners, and I’m going to talk about M. Cheval. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Amazing story of Ferdinand Cheval A story to review the beginner basics A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podington Bear - Keys of Moon

Welcome to the thirty-eighth episode of the French Blabla podcast where we will cover tips to increase your fluency while boosting your way of learning. In episode 36, we talked about different ways to express the phrase “je ne sais pas”. One of these ways was “alors là”, my personal favourite. I thought about this phrase and realized that this word “alors” is really multifaceted. So today, we will dive into some meanings that the word "alors" has. Stay tuned! In this Episode Five new ways to use this little word How to show emotion like a native The absolute no-no when cooking carbonara   Music by bensound.com

Welcome to the eighteenth episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. Days ago, I was working on the last Day in French in the living room while the other members of my family were watching TV. In France, the national public TV service loves historical documentaries about famous figures who influenced our History. They were watching a tv program about Marie-Antoinette and they were talking about her wigs. We all know some tidbits about her but learning about the quirky fashion trends of the end of the eighteenth century in Paris was something new for me and I found it highly interesting. So, I would like to share it with you today. Stay tuned!   In this Episode Cultural nugget about crazy wigs of the time Review the past conditional Review the pronoun Y A challenge for you to shine   Music by Podington Bear