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learning
What is Vie Scolaire in French schools?
What is vie scolaire in French schools and what is its function? Your questions answered…
Moving Teenagers to a French School – Beth’s Story
When Beth Ducat moved to France, she gave her two teenage daughters, Emma and Alex, the choice to stay in the UK or come to France with her. They chose the latter. Here, Beth tells how her daughters coped with their new French school…
One-Minute News: French property headlines
Highlights of recent property news headlines in the French Media. We comb through the news so you don’t have to.
Don’t be afraid of this French verb…
Craindre means to fear, be afraid or be scared of. It is irregular, and you need to remember that the plural forms …
Valentine’s Day in France
It’s the day to say “je t’aime”… or maybe to go out have fun with your friends or stay in with a good book by Simone de Beauvoir. Comme Une Française explains Valentine’s Day in France
Brand new Cordon Bleu cuisine school in Paris
Le Cordon Bleu, the world’s leading network of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management institutes, opens its new Paris school in June
Talking about sad topics in French
When sad events happen, it is difficult to find the words to express our support or sympathy in French. It is never easy, even in our own language. How should we react? What can we say or do to help?
French verb focus: avoir, ‘to have’
Avoir, meaning ‘to have’, is one of the most common French verbs, and it is irregular in most tenses. Here’s how to use it.
Learn French: your essential vocabulary lists
For anyone trying to learn French or hoping to communicate better in France, this page is the place to search our many useful French glossaries on a wide range of topics, from living in France to what to say at the hotel on…
The best apps for learning French
These days, language learning apps for smartphones and tablets can be the easiest way to pick up a foreign language. Which are the best for learning French?
Inside tips: speak French like a native
We asked our FrenchEntrée Forum members for their top tips on learning French. Most of them live in France and communicate in French every day, to varying degrees of expertise – and all of them have a personal story about their experience of learning French.
Learn French in style on the Côte d’Azur
Immersion in la langue française began from birth. Mother intended to name me Chérie, spelt the French way, but instead went with Sheree penned the Irish way. It means darling, in both. Couple that with Charles Trenet singing ‘La Mer’,…
Gardening Observations: Your French Garden in May
May must be just about the busiest month in the French garden. Now is the time for planting out all the summer vegetables and salads, the tender annuals and putting out the hanging baskets.
Retiring to France? What you need to think about
Moving to a new country is a big change, and you need to have a real awareness of what you’re letting yourself in for. This is even more important when you are older and the changes are possibly greater. Before…
Film review: Looking for Hortense
Director: Pascal Bonitzer Starring: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Kristin Scott Thomas, Isabelle Carré Cert: 12A Running time: 100 mins Damien (Bacri) lives in Paris with his partner Iva (Scott Thomas) and their young son Noé (Marin Orcand Torrès) in a beautiful bourgeois apartment. But when…
Energy and environment: a glossary of French terms
Our glossary provides definitions of the popular energy and environment words and phrases related to eco homes projects in France.
Texting in French
There was a time when it was enough to be able to converse in the boulangerie and skim read the local journal to get by in France. But what should you do when a friend sends you a message like ‘mrci pr le kfe’? The answer is to text them back…
Asking directions
Need help asking for directions in French? No problem. Check out these handy French phrases.
Writing letters
A few handy phrases and vocabulary to write a letter or email in French.
Learning French: How to ask a question
VIDEO: in this episode of her popular Comme une Française series, Géraldine helps us with a simple way to ask a question in French. In each of six different way to phrase a question there is a subtle change in the degree of politeness that is appropriate to each situation.
We’ve Chosen the Winner of Our Photography Competition!
We’re happy to announce that Pia Jakobsen’s photograph of children playing among water fountains at one of the French Riviera’s most popular attractions has been named the winner of our photographic competition. Pia, a software engineer and avid amateur photographer from Oslo,…
How to order a coffee in France
VIDEO: we understand how challenging it can be to get through the simplest things in a foreign language. In this episode of Comme Une Française TV, we learn how to order a coffee in France.
An Ode to Romantic French Men
We are all well-versed in the notion that French women don’t get fat. They are also the epitome of chic and have the best, unfussiest hairstyles on earth. With so many articles and books written about the style, elegance, and chicness of…
Fifty shades of French: words of love and intimacy
What could be more romantic than a few sweet nothings whispered softly in the language of love? Here are some key French words and phrases.
Enjoying a French film festival… in your slippers
Even after living in France for years, I am always looking for effortless ways to learn French. I leave the radio on in the background and watch French films so when I heard about an online film festival I gave it a try.
L-plate skiers help drive property sales in French alpine resort
Up-and-coming French alpine resort Val Cenis (close to the Italian border) is one of the best places to learn to ski and boasts the longest green piste in Europe.
Useful French phrases: season’s greetings and more
Whether it be season’s greetings in French on Christmas, Easter, birthdays or any other occasion, here is what you need to say. Plus other useful phrases…
My First Trip to Paris
My first visit to Paris was a remarkable experience, which I will never forget. I booked the Dover-Calais ferry and drove with my wife from London in the cold Christmas weather. We intended to stay until the New Year in…
People Watching in the Place Dauphine, Paris
People watching is by far the most entertaining sport in Paris. Many participate in this sport while seated outdoors at a café. Others may partake in Parc Monceau or Jardin du Luxembourg. I take my people watching seriously. For me,…
Getting a driving licence in France for Americans
Not all American driving licences are exchangeable for a French one. Find out if yours is – and the step-by-step process to acquiring a French licence otherwise.
Learning how to taste wine
Wine is a complex beverage, or at least it should be, and to understand a wine’s complexity and depth you need to analyze it.
A Day Trip from Paris to Giverny?
Our American contributor Cathe outlines some more of the trials and tribulations – and joys – of French in-laws! Will she make it to Monet’s Giverny?
Annoix, Memories of a French Exchange
English heart, French soul… Linda Welch pens her memories of a French exchange in the Cher, where she first discovered her love for France. Annoix is so much more than its entry in Wikipedia, ‘A commune in the Cher department in…
Growing up in France could make your baby smarter
It is known that being bilingual is a stimulant for children’s brains. A new study finds that the benefits can last a lifetime, far beyond the evident linguistic advantage.
Book review: Surf Mama, Wilma Johnson
Surf Mama Wilma Johnson, Summersdale, £8.99 An autobiographical novel by a self-professed earth mother turned surf babe, who after ten years living on the remote west coast of Ireland had three children, a few chickens, a failing marriage and the…
How to get fluent in Franglais
Un footing, le timing, un people – these are all French words! Of course, they sound English but they have been stolen, or should I say adapted, and mean something completely different in French. Un footing is the word for…
Shabby Chic: French Style Born in the USA
So many things today are labelled shabby chic. The style is everywhere and usually thought to have originated in France – hence the term ‘French shabby chic‘. It might therefore be surprising to learn that the concept actually began in…
The 3 Things You Need to Know Before Moving to France
After interviewing many people who have successfully relocated to France and have thriving families, businesses or a content retirement lifestyle, it is clear that every experience is unique. Having said that, however, there are three main things that stand out…
Flirt like a Frenchman
Stopping at a crêpe stand for a snack , I recently witnessed a prime example of the art of flirting. As he handed over the thin pancake sprinkled with sugar to a lady who was clearly past the first blush…
Word of the Week: “Pouvoir”
This is a double-edged word that can go to your head or put you in control of your own destiny and it has a way of always making its way to the media headlines. Let’s look at the word pouvoir…
French Word of the Week: “Méprise”
A useful word to know and, according to Seneca, one that can give you the key to your personal freedom, not by applying la méprise yourself but by letting others get away with it.
French Word of the Week: “Ennui”
For all the good intentions and inescapable cheer, the holidays can be followed by indefinable hollowness. There’s no need to fight the feeling; you can wear it with style and choose to view it as a trés chic état d’esprit.
Word of the Week: ‘prendre’
A verb that can indicate quite peculiar behaviour. To follow the call of the open road, fine, but why try to bite the moon? Let’s take the word ‘prendre‘ by the horns.
Word of the Week: “Voeux”
OK, I’m cheating a little bit. We are not just going to talk about one word but several, to help us navigate the yearly minefield that is… season’s greetings in French.
Word of the Week: “Élan”
It makes life worth living, and gets you out of bed in the morning. A darting idea that has made its way into the philosophy books.
Word of the Week: Relativiser
Here’s a verb that could change your life, or at least change the way that you look at it. The word relativiser offers a glimpse into the linguistic equivalent of the Gallic shrug.
French Word of the Week: Esprit
Here’s a word that can serve as a passe-partout to describe a certain intangible or undefinable quality. In English we have one word for mind and a different word for spirit, but in French l’esprit can take on different meanings…
French Word of the Week: Le Foyer
Before the days of central heating, in large buildings, like theaters, for example, the large rooms would be bone-chilling cold. The “foyer” would therefore be a gathering place where people would congregate to warm up between acts.
Learning French can make you smarter
There are difficulties tolearning to speak French well. Here are some observations and tips about learning French from an English speaker’s point of view.
