Richard Good Good, better, best… never let it rest. Heaping out praise is a satisfyingly easy thing to do in English. In French, it’s disappointingly complicated. There are too many words that are similar yet different, too many twists and turns. But with a bit of clear thinking, we can sort it out. Adjectives versus […]
Getting your ear in tune
If you started learning French via the written word, it can take time to adjust to the spoken language. The articles at La Guinguette, which come with native-speaking audio, transcript and translation, are intended to help you with the transition. Here are some tips to help you get started. Try listening first without the text […]
Entre Chien et Loup
By getting acquainted with how your memory works, you’ll develop confidence in your ability to learn a language. Instead of adopting a “vocabulary list” mentality, focus on direct experience and removing the obstacles that come between thought and speech.
La bouilloire est dans la cuisine
How do you pronounce the French word for kitchen? It’s quiz-een, isn’t it? Well, not exactly, take a listen
P’têt ben qu’oui, p’têt ben qu’non
Fossilisation is a well-known peril when learning a foreign language. It’s what happens when we get into a bad habit that we can’t get rid of. You’ll recognise that you’ve caught the bug if, when someone corrects your French, five minutes later you’re making exactly the same mistake again. What’s amusing, in an unfunny kind […]
Travaillons la phonétique, s’il vous plaît
Improving your pronunciation is above about teaching your mouth and tongue to move in unusual ways. Conversely, that also means stopping them from moving the ways you’re used to.
C’est une comète qui aurait eu raison des dinosaures
Le conditionnel passé is the tense to use when you want to create a bit of distance between yourself and the story you are telling.
Even the easy stuff turns out to be difficult
The pronunciation of the French sound a seems so easy we don’t even stop to think about it. A no-brainer at last! Except that…
C’est tout simple
We expect things to be easy. Get food from supermarkets without having to check out. Unlock doors without keys. If it isn’t easy, go elsewhere. When we want to learn a foreign language, we want it to be easy too. Then it isn’t.