Speak Frog

Become fluent in 6 months

Posted by in Art, Blog, Language, Practice

Thanks to Mike (currently on the advanced course) for sharing this! If you want to learn fast, I will teach you  the essential grammar you need to speak French. Nothing less, nothing more. You will then start practising and building on what you have learnt. Follow Chris Lonsdale’s 5 principals and you will become fluent in 6 months. 1)  Focus on language content that is relevant to you: 2) Use your language to communicate from day 1! 3) Focus on the message that is delivered through the language 4) Physicalise the language. Be aware…read more

Jun.28
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Jun.20
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Love letter

Posted by in Art, Cinema, History, Language, Literature

Most of my students learn French because they have a French speaking partner. So, as the weekend begins, here is the ultimate French love letter. Je suis perdu, vois-tu, je suis noyé, inondé d’amour: ‘I am lost you see, I am drowned, flooded with love’… Romantic poet and playwright Alfred de Musset writes to his lover George Sand (aka Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin), another prominent 19th century writer. Their passionate and tumultuous relationship is also the subject of a 1999 film with Juliette Binoche: Les Enfants du Siècle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFwSYTLHEjE Baden, 1834 Voilà…read more

The queen of French pop

Posted by in Blog

Christine and the Queens is an electro pop act created by Nantes-born Héloïse Letissier. Originally into theatre, the young French woman had a moment of doubt and came to London to think things over. She’s not the first or last to do this but in her case the outcome was quite extraordinary. Inspired by the drag queens she met on nights out in the city, she got the idea to reinvent herself as a solo singer backed by a fictional group of queens. London freed her up as an artist and back in…read more

May.16
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May.01
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Is work torture?

Posted by in Blog, Language, News

Whilst in England we all dance in the rain around maypoles, don’t we?….In France, May 1st is much more associated with labour day and the International Worker’s day. It is practically illegal to work, unless you are self-employed or your boss is willing to pay double. Instead we are meant to visit relatives and bring them a sprig of lilies of the valley as the unions (and unfortunately the FN too) take it to the streets in their May 1st rallies. Happy labour day! Vocabulary Le travail: work La fête du travail: literally…read more

Lucian Freud

Posted by in Art, Blog

France Culture -one of the French public radios I’ve listed in the Resources page- ran a very interesting show on British painter Lucian Freud. Born in Berlin, the grandson of Sigmund Freud acquired the British nationality almost as soon as his family migrated to London in 1933 when he was 12 years old. The radio show Une vie, une oeuvre takes us on a journey through his life and work. It features extracts of interviews with Lucian Freud from the BBC archives,  insights from David Dawson, his model and assistant…read more

Apr.14
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Apr.06
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Learn the future with Joe Dassin

Posted by in Blog, Language, Music

Whenever I teach the future tense, this 1975 ballad springs to my mind. It is quite cheesy, so I generally keep it to myself. In French we would say that it is à l’eau de rose: which roughly translates as ‘flavoured with rose water’ to mean that it is overly sentimental. However, I thought it would be interesting to share it here. For grammatical purposes. And also because it was very successful in its time and is a classic of French pop culture. Hence why it keeps popping into my…read more

Apr.06
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The Past

Posted by in Blog, Cinema, London

It’s a good month for French films in the UK. After Yves Saint Laurent, Le Passé (The Past) comes out this Friday. I saw the film during a preview and highly recommend it. It features fine performances from Bérénice Béjo (The Artist) who won the best actress award at Cannes for this film; Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and Ali Mosaffa, Iranian actor who performs in French here. As well as a great cast of children who are equally good. Which is all to the credit of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi. The Past takes…read more

Mar.25
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semaine de la langue française et de la francophonie
Mar.18
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The week of French language

Posted by in Blog, Language

From March 15th to 23rd, the French Ministry of Culture celebrates and promotes French language throughout the world. Although French is not what it used to be: long gone are the days where French was THE international language, it is still one of the most spoken and loved. And not just by ‘snobs’! Because it is solid enough, it can take in new words, most often imported from English but also made up on the spot! Children make up words, young people try to differentiate themselves from their elders and invent…read more

Mar.10
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International Women’s Day

Posted by in Blog, History, London, News

This Saturday was international women’s day. We celebrated women’s achievements and the progress that has been made so far in terms of equality. It was important to do so:  as mentioned by Jude Kelly, the artistic director of the the Southbank Centre, where the very inspiring WOW festival was being held:  progress is never immune from a backlash. What is currently happening in Spain where the government is trying to scrap the right to abortion on demand is a nearby example of such a  regression. As shared in a recent post, France also has its battles….read more

Feb.26
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A good egg

Posted by in Blog, Cuisine, London

This lunchtime I had a voiceover session in an advertising agency around Leicester square. I arrived early and had ten minutes to spare. On a slightly empty stomach, I thought it would help my general relaxation -and voice- to swallow a little something. That’s when I passed Le Beaujolais and remembered that this French wine bar always has hard boiled eggs on the counter! It is a very old tradition found in a lot of cafés in France, although nowadays it isn’t as common as it used to be. Pity……read more

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