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Apr
17
2013
'Le procès de l'opposant russe Alexeï Navalny reporté au 24 avril'
'The trial of Russian opposition candidate Navalny postponed until April 24th'
The above headline from this morning's france24.fr makes use of the verb reporter. But watch it: this verb is a faux ami. Depending on the context, it means 'to postpone', 'to defer', 'to transfer', 'to take [someone] back to', etc.… Read More
Apr
15
2013
La placardisation: a dubious practice
Perhaps you already know that un placard is simply 'a cupboard'?
But what about la placardisation or la mise au placard, literally, 'being put in the cupboard'? It is a practice which has become more frequent, especially since the financial crisis.… Read More
Apr
08
2013
Langue française: comment prononcer certains noms de villes?
How do we pronounce the name of certain (French) cities?
It is a question we have been asked more than once.… Read More
Apr
04
2013
Downcast and Pocket Casts to manage your podcasts
iTunes has always been a useful application for managing podcasts, but there are others, too.
One of our listeners contacted us recently and let us know that he was using Downcast to manage podcasts on his iOS devices (iPhone, iPad).… Read More
Mar
21
2013
“Marie est toujours à l'heure.”
“Marie is always on time.”
One of our listeners asked about the word toujours. It's an interesting adverb – with distinctly different meanings – depending on the context.… Read More
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Recent Lessons
Lesson no: 199, Level: Intermediate
Les ‘décroissants’, c’est qui?
Our conversation this time focuses on people who are referred to as ’les décroissants’. But who exactly are ‘les décroissants’? To find out, let’s start with a conversation.
Lesson no: 198, Level: Intermediate
One of our listeners was taking up a position as a teacher in a pre-school in France and asked if we would put together some expressions and vocabulary that might be used in a dialogue between the teacher and a parent. Let’s consider one such conversation.
Lesson no: 197, Level: Intermediate
Quand ‘l’Afrique’ a gagné la Coupe du Monde!
Our lesson this time goes back to a joke made by chat-show host Trevor Noah last summer, following the World cup. The only thing is, some people didn’t find his joke funny at all, not least the French ambassador in Washington. So what was it all about, again? Let’s start, as usual, with a conversation to put things in context.
Lesson no: 196, Level: Intermediate
Le Président Macron réinstaurera le Service national
Our conversation this time focuses on President Macron's plan to reintroduce national service in France. Some people are wondering if he is the right man to decide on such matters, given that he himself is the first French president not to have done military service.
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.
