Cultivate your French - Slow French

Last weekend, I was in Nice for the French traditional kung fu championships. Nice is one of the sunniest towns in France, but not last weekend. It rained a lot. My friend Anthony and I travelled by train. Lomine came by plane. The three of us had put a lot of work into preparing for this competition with our teacher Xie Han. The competitions are also an opportunity to meet other participants. I met Célia who was competing in the same taolu (sequence) as me, but in a different age category. Lomine, Anthony and I returned to Paris on Sunday with medals, some of them gold.

In the notes that come with the transcripts, you'll find a phrase to repeat aloud, a phrase that I've chosen for you in the text and I'll explain why I chose this particular phrase. The repeating phase is a very interesting exercise because it works on several levels. First of all, you're speaking French because you're repeating the sentence out loud. Secondly, the phrase I've chosen often requires rhythm, so you're practising speaking with the right rhythm. Finally, I've also chosen this sentence for its syntax. By repeating the sentence, you train your brain to feel the construction of the sentence.

Of course, I'll also pick out a few expressions or turns of phrase that are very natural in French.

So, to get a feel for French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

There are new objects in my life at the moment. Their presence and the changes in habits they imply make my life slightly different, and that 'slightly' feels good. There's the chest of drawers in our bedroom, a large oak chest of drawers. There's also the handbag I recently bought from Nat&Nin on boulevard Beaumarchais. A choice that Micaela and Lisa, who were with me that day, the day we went to the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, 'validated', as they say.

In the notes that come with the transcript, you'll find the sentence to repeat aloud. It's a sentence I've chosen and I'll explain why. There will also be a series of practical phrases for talking about what's new and old in French.

So, to give your French a new lease of life,receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the Cultivate Your French transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, Micaela, Lisa and I spent a day in Paris. We started by shopping at the Forum des Halles, before heading to the Bastille district for lunch and a visit to an exhibition. The exhibition was at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, a beautiful nineteenth-century building now dedicated to urban design in Paris. It's this exhibition that I'm going to tell you about. In the notes that come with the transcript, there will be a sentence to repeat aloud, a sentence that I've chosen for you and I'll explain why. There will also be all the turns of phrase used in the text to describe and explain. Be careful, once you start to notice them, you'll see them more and more, and you might be tempted to improve your French!

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

My daughter Lisa, fourteen years old, dreamt of having her ears pierced. Around here, there's one name that comes up all the time for ear piercing, and that's Nico. It's not the same atmosphere as at the jeweller's, but the technique is much gentler and very professional. In fact, Nico is a star - people come from far and wide to have them pierced by him. Today, I'm going to tell you what it was like for Lisa.

In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to focus on three little phrases in the text that are very natural in French and whose construction is very useful for conversation in French.

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

The other day, when Lisa left for school after lunch, I heard a dog barking. I thought this was strange because there are no dogs on our floor. On the first floor, there's a quiet little dog called Lana. And there are also two dogs living with a family. But there are other dogs in our building. I'm going to introduce them to you in this episode. And we're going to find out who the dog on our floor was, thanks to Lisa. In the notes that come with the transcript, we’ll notice together at the place of adjectives in sentences, and I'll tell you about my theory of the adjective carriage.

So if you'd like to ride with us, please subscribe. So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

A few days ago, my friend Alice proposed a sort of challenge: to go and buy a lipstick at the Chanel store on rue Cambon, the brand's historic store, where Gabrielle Chanel had her apartments and haute couture workshops. I knew the store very well, always had, but only from the outside. What happens once you open the door? This is the mystery I propose to unravel today.

In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to focus on three expressions that sound simple, but are typical of the French language. You'll also see the typical forms of spoken French in the text.

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, Micaela had a week's holiday after her exams. She asked me if we could go away somewhere. I suggested we visit my friend Sylvie who lives in Bordeaux. Neither of us knew the city. The city changed a lot in the 90s thanks to its mayor at the time, Alain Juppé. Under his mandate, the city acquired four tram lines, many areas were made pedestrian-friendly, the city was literally cleaned up (the city was known for its pollution-black walls), and the water mirror became the city's emblem.

In today's episode, I tell you about part of our guided tour with Bruno Beurrier, the guide from the Tourist Office with whom we took our tour. What a character! You'll also hear me buying cannelés. Cannelés are small cakes typical of Bordeaux.

In the notes accompanying the transcript, you'll find all the photos from our trip. We'll also take a look at a complex sentence to understand how it was composed.

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

My daughter Micaela has a friend, Sanam, who can make macarons as good as in a pâtisserie. Macarons are so good, and at the same time they seem so fragile, so complicated to make, so mysterious. So I was thrilled when Sanam invited me to make some macarons in her kitchen. Sanam was right, it’s not that complicated, in fact it’s quite simple, but there is a tricky moment. This is when you incorporate the dry ingredients into the beaten egg whites. You have to be slow, but not too much and make a large movement with the spoon. So today, you are going to hear Sanam talking about the end of the recipe. In the notes that come with the transcript, you will get all the photos taken during the recipe and I will highlight for you in the text all the typical oral sentences that you can hear today. You know spoken French and written French can be very différent.

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Last week, I went to Paris to do some errands. I had to collect orders I had made at the Pharmacie du four and at Gibert, the bookshop. I love to place orders at these shops because I know that it means going to my favorite places in Paris : Saint-Michel, Saint-Germain, etc.

In the notes that come with the transcript, I will give you the reason why I love each place that I mention in this episode. Maybe you already love them too, maybe you would love them too. But also, you will get a template of sentences that you could you use to tell your friends about the places that you love.

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.

Très bonne et heureuse année à vous, chers auditeurs du podcast !

On new year’s eve we were at home. We had invited our friends Isabelle and Thierry to have dinner with us. Isabelle had offered to bring some cheese because she had been staying in Savoie and she also offered to bring the dessert. Lisa asked if she could make her delicious tarte au citron. How many and what were the cheese that Isabelle had brought? What was the wine that we drunk?

All these mysteries will be revealed in today’s episode.

In the notes that come with the transcript, we will stop on these sentences that start with « c’est » to see how they work and how they are built. C’est le programme !

So to Cultivate Your French, receive the text by email each time an episode is released, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, you could subscribe to the transcript at www.cultivateyoufrench.com.

The subscription costs 4 euros a month and each new subscriber receives the 10 latest episodes.