28th October 2019adminComments Off on 3 things you need to know before you start to learn French
1- French is a funny face language. What most French learners experience when they try to speak French with natives is real frustration: people don’t understand you, and look at you with with a perplexed expression […]
3rd July 2019adminComments Off on 7 French superstitions you should be aware of
Travelling in a foreign country can turn out being more exotic than expected. Especially when you run into strange local customs… Here are 7 French superstitions you need to respect if you want to avoid crooked […]
Wherever the French go, the clichés follow. Even though most of them are harmless and funny, it can be extremely annoying when, in a foreign country, your (false) reputation precedes you in all your social […]
21st May 2019adminComments Off on 14 awkward moments when speaking French
14 mistakes you’ll probably make when learning French – but who cares? It’s all part of the fun 🙂 Baiser The awkward moment when you confuse a kiss for a F***. Next time say bisou […]
Recently, I asked my students to read a text out loud: a short story about a vieille grenouille insaisissable (an old uncatchable frog) – these last three words are very difficult to pronounce for most […]
In my ten years living with a Frenchman, and the 4 + years actually living in the country (I know, I’m a total expert already) I’ve started noticing a difference in how we celebrate success and praise towards each other, ourselves and even our children compared to the French. When it comes to applauding success, the French seem to take on a more reserved stance compared ‘les Anglosaxons’, who tend to overdo it – so I set myself the challenge to find out why. […]
It’s a well acknowledged fact that, as a nation, the French have a penchant for being somewhat negative, pessimistic or, at best, for enjoying complaining. For those of us who hail from more upbeat cultures […]
9th October 2018Stefanie SelenComments Off on 10 cultural differences to bear in mind when trying to integrate fully in French society
Every-day things like insisting on greeting complete strangers in the elevator, yet totally avoiding a friendly banter afterwards; have left me scratching my head at times. Below I’ve compiled some examples on how these subtleties (that I never noticed before moving here) have sometimes impacted my full integration into the French culture. […]
A1 Who are you kidding?! You can’t speak French! A1 level is the equivalent to getting points for writing down your name correctly on an exam paper. You can just about manage to write your […]