French in your own time. At your own pace.
Our Blog
(If you would like to comment on or ask a question about any of our blog posts, sign up (or log in if you're already registered).)
Aug
08
2012
"Qu'as-tu fait pendant ce week-end prolongé ?"
"What did you do for the long weekend?"
Un weekend prolongé is 'a long weekend'. So, we will encounter expressions like:… Read More
Aug
02
2012
'Les organisateurs des Jeux olympiques étaient dans la panade en raison de la défaillance de la société de sécurité G4S. Ils ont dû faire appel à l'armée…'
'The organisers of the Olympics were in the soup over the failure of the G4S security company. They had to call in the army…'
The expression être dans la panade is apt in the headline above which relates to the security problems at the Olympic Games.… Read More
Jul
31
2012
'En ce début de journée, Yannick Agnel, grande star des JO, remet ça en séries du 100 m.'
'This morning, Yannick Agnel, the big star of the Olympic Games, is at it again in the 100 metres.'
Another interesting expression comes from the sports headlines this morning. We often meet the verbs mettre ('to put') and remettre ('to put back', 'to hand back', 'to deliver', etc).… Read More
Jul
30
2012
'Grosse déception pour Adrian Mattenet. Le Français a été éliminé pour son entrée en lice face à l'Autrichien d'origine chinoise…'
'Huge disappointment for Adrian Mattenet. The Frenchman was eliminated after joining the fray against the Austrian of Chinese extraction, Weixing Chen…'
With the Olympics well under way in London, there is no shortage of sports-related vocabulary making the headlines.… Read More
Jul
16
2012
"Je suis désolé mais j'ai eu un empêchement de dernière minute."
"Sorry, but something has come up at the last minute."
In your 'Useful Expressions' list, one you will certainly want to put at the top of that list is avoir un empêchement.… Read More
Newer posts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Older posts
Recent Lessons

Lesson no: 195, Level: Intermediate
La présidence Trump approche des élections de mi-mandat
The Trump presidency is nearing the mid-term elections in November. Mr Trump – arguably more than any other American president – has polarised opinions. Let’s talk about the first half of his mandate and what has being going on in recent weeks.

Lesson no: 194, Level: Intermediate
France: la réforme de l’accès à l’université
Traditionally, French high school graduates have been guaranteed public university places, regardless of the grades achieved in their baccalauréat. This, however, has resulted in very high drop-out rates. It is hoped that, from 2018, proposed reforms will result in a more efficient means of access to university.

Lesson no: 193, Level: Intermediate
Britain’s vote to withdraw from the European Union was widely controversial and continues to be so. Brexit – from a French perspective – is at the centre of our conversation this time.

Lesson no: 192, Level: Intermediate
Le transfert de Neymar: comment expliquer une telle outrance?
The transfer of Brazilian footballer, Neymar, smashed all records in terms of the colossal sums of money involved. Are such sporting investments really justified? Let’s talk about that.

Lesson no: 191, Level: Intermediate
Je vais m’offrir un téléphone basique
Our lesson this time was inspired by a recent article entitled “Has the smartphone destroyed a generation?” A provocative title indeed, but one that got us thinking. C’est parti!