Tablettes de chocolat

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…

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.

If you’ve got your tongue in the right place, French noises will come naturally.

Independent publishing houses cater for all tastes. But the standard-bearers of the sector are authors who innovate in style or content. By throwing expectations off track, they create a dialogue that takes the reader out of their comfort zone and into unexplored territory.

The transcribed and translated audio reports on this website are intended to help you bridge the gap from a learning environment to real life. They’re recordings of native-speakers talking naturally at normal speed. But with the help of the pause button, the transcript, the slow version and the translation, you have the tools to train yourself in the art of listening.

Tout le bleu du ciel by Melissa Da Costa began life as a self-published novel, before being spotted by Carnets Nord, a small independent Maison d’édition. Through word of mouth – « de bouche à oreille » – its reputation spread. The book has now been on the bestsellers list for almost two years.

Have you already scrolled down to the bottom of the page to check how long it’s going to take to read this article? Read the conclusion to see what can be skipped? Perhaps the whole thing. With any luck. We skim read to survive in the modern age. But it’s a skill that’s best unlearnt […]

You’re in the boardroom. The CEO wants figures you haven’t got. You buy time: – Là, vous m’avez pris(e) de court. La semaine prochaine irait? The expression prendre de court means to catch someone unprepared. It comes up very frequently: À la rentrée, les collégiens et lycéens non vaccinés devront suivre les cours à distance […]

In the same way that scientists study ice samples from glaciers to understand the climate of the past, we can learn a lot about the history of a language by reflecting on the words that make them up. Take English for example. We typically make a noun plural by adding an “s” on the end. […]