Speak Frog

The Truth/ La Vérité

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous, London, Theatre

Florian Zeller is French theatre’s enfant chéri and he is taking the UK and the world by storm. Following the success of his play The Father (Le Père) the most acclaimed new play of the past decade (2014 Molière Award for Best Play, Olivier nomination and currently nominated for Best New Play at this year’s Tony Awards) Zeller’s latest success The Truth (La Vérité) transferred last week to the Wyndham’s Theatre. This elegant and slick take on boulevard comedy tackles hypocrisy and unfaithfulness: two favourite French themes since Molière and Feydeau. It is seamlessly…read more

Mar.11

Tartuffe

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous, Literature, London, Practice, Theatre

If you are looking to practice your French you could head to the French Institute and watch an original new staging of a classical French play. The French Institute’s theatre season En Scène! presents Molière’s Tartuffe in a new adaptation by actor Guillaume Baillart. Molière’s most performed play has the double title of Tartuffe or the Impostor, it satirises self-interested hypocrisy and the power some of us hand over to gurus. Tartuffe is the name of the main character and the play made such an impression when it was first performed in 1664 that the term was quick to pass into everyday language. ‘Tartuffe’ is…read more

Nov.03

Made in France

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous, London

Voilà! Festival, London’s French loving theatre and performance event has started with a bang! And next Friday, Nov 7th, it will welcome funny Frenchman Yacine Belhousse and his show Made in France which now comes to London after its success at this year’s Edinburgh festival. The show is in English and although it won’t directly help you with your own French language skills, it might put you in a good mood! Which in itself is useful to learning. See the logic at work here? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naZjzuAPumE

Jan.21

A day at the office

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous

This clown is a man of few words… but he likes idiomatic expressions and metaphores. From 3’48 onwards what does he mean? Complete his sentences if you can! ‘Alors là, autant tout de suite se…’ ‘On est tous entrain de…’ ‘Et heureusement que j’ai la présence d’esprit de…’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUlRNqklcBs

Dec.16

French Hamburger

Posted by Admin in Blog, Cuisine, Humorous

Maïté is France’s first celebrity TV chef in the 80s. and 90s Her style is a bit more rustic than Gordon Ramsey or Jamie Oliver’s. Originally from the south west, she loves all things duck, including foie gras, which she puts here in a giant hamburger. Bon appétit!

The football coach and the voice coach

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous

This is a funny video of an italian football coach speaking very approximate French. Whilst it’s good to be bold and ‘go for it’, the point of speaking is ultimately to be understood. Taking French classes would achieve that goal. I would teach you accurate conversational French. Or if you are an actor or a public speaker needing to deliver a pre-written text in French, I can also coach you! I will help with pronunciation, diction and accent, to make you sound convincing and understandable. Speak Frog provides dialogue coaching for actors…read more

Dec.02

Vulgar French

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous, Language

When we picture them, some expressions or popular (in the sense of ‘of the people’) sayings are quite disgusting. But we use them (or not) because they convey a strong feeling. In English we say ‘to have one’s head up one’s…’ ? Well, in French it works pretty much the same way. It could be more or less useful to know certain of these slang expressions and sayings, so check out these pictures and see if you can match them with the polite definitions bellow. To be tired To be…read more

Oct.31

Aug.13

1€ coffee in Paris

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous

The prices keep going up but there are still places in Paris where you can get a coffee for 1€. Here is where to head if you are visiting Paris on a shoe string. For that price you will probably have to lean at the counter but it’s all part of the experience, the ancestor of take-away coffee! In the meantime, you’ll might want to check Guillaume Long’s express guide to a coffee in Paris…

How to fake French

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous

You can fake French or you can speak French. See video below for the first option, come to me if you want to learn! http://youtu.be/edYHlnhxyOI

May.30

Animal stories

Posted by Admin in Blog, Humorous

This little girl is a great improvisor and story-teller. It starts with Tiger (Winny the Pooh’s friend) and then a whole lot of other animals get involved and things get a bit complicated. However, all is well in the end! Here is some vocabulary to help you follow. Le matin: the morning Bébé singe: baby monkey Grenouilles: frogs Les arbres: the trees Et après qu’est-ce qui s’est passé? : And then, what happened? Giraffes: Giraffes Chauves souris: (literally ‘bald mice’) bats Un long voyage: A long trip Chemin: path Les animaux: the…read more

Dec.11