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French Culture, French Poem

A French Poetry Journey; Maurice Carême

Maurice Carême, a famous Belgian poet who wrote in French, is known for his simple yet profound poems, often aimed at children but also enjoyed by adults.

His poetry is playful, rhythmic, and accessible, making it ideal for language learners.

By reading these poems, you will gain an appreciation for French culture while expanding your vocabulary.

You can start by reading slowly, translating each line, and understanding the themes and emotions.

French Online Courses, Learn French, Learning New Language, Schools Of Future

Learning French with Private Home Tuition

Students who always wanted to learn French or studied before and want to freshen up the skills they can consider private French home tuition. There could be many ways you can find tutors who can help you teaching french either you meet them in someplace like a coffee shop or you can find your tutor another side of the world online.

More often online tutor is affordable as compared to meeting with a tutor in person. French lessons are more effective when they are given online. There are some reasons for online lessons are;

  • They are one to one lessons
  • Cheaper than language schools
  • Easy to approach the tutor
  • You won’t have to waste time going to school
  • There are options available for individualized classes

This article will help you to find what kind of tutor you want and how you will plan your lessons in the most effective learning way. There are some online technologies which are best for their French lessons and those are;

Wyzant 

Wyzant will help you to find a tutor with skills and subjects, on this website you can search for French tutors with the need of meeting them in person. This site has professional and well-educated tutors in local areas. And their charges depend on their experiences. Wyzant will help you find tutors of all kinds like prices as low as you like and as high as you like.

Preply 

Preply will help you find a tutor according to your budget. On this website, you can search for the tutors’ up to 20 languages. And for French there 300 tutors available either they are native speakers or certified instructors. You can select language on the website and can look at the tutors’ profile and read the reviews given and hourly based tutors can also be searched on the website.

Verbling 

It’s all about online language learning, you can have hundreds of French tutors and select which one is right for you. And when you will search there will be price availability and the kind of languages they speak also available.

French faster

It is an online French language learning school where you can have lessons with a private tutor. The tutors are native speakers from different areas of the world and are also trained to teach the French language as a foreign language through English. On the website, you can search for all the tutors and their experiences. Their lessons are for all ages like children, teens, and adults. Lessons were conducted via Skype. French fasters assign you, tutor, on your goal based and availability.

Italki 

It is the most casual platform for finding language tutors, who are experienced and professionals like random French people and also ready to invest their time. In this community you can also find free language exchanges and their options are similar to verbling, italki allows you to find a tutor who meets all your needs.

How to choose your French tutors  

It is beneficial when you learn the French language from a different variety of speakers. You can repeat the lesson if the subject is difficult without getting bore. There are some suggestion given when you are choosing a French tutor and those are;

Native French Speakers

The main advantage of learning French online is that you get a native French speaker. They can help you better to have a French accent as compared to an American tutor who is teaching French.

Good vibes

Good vibes are very important when you are choosing a tutor. Someone who is funny, patient and makes you comfortable is better than a boring teacher with many degrees. The tutor should have a quality that student enjoys to talk with them and that will make you motivated to your lesson and you would want to continue in long term also.

Inexperienced vs. experienced

It is difficult to decide whether you should choose an experienced or inexperienced tutor. Sometimes it is better to choose inexperienced tutors why because they will be less likely to pressurize students and they will let you plan your lessons.

Target accent 

Your target should be the French accent, don’t study with those tutors with whom you will just end up learning expressions and which are not understandable. While learning French make sure the tutor is from the region just to avoid frustration and confusion of the accent.

Learning style

Every student has a different learning style, so find a tutor who matches your learning style. Don’t afraid to stop learning from those who speak to you n English to make you understand despite finding a way to make you understand in French. A connection to the tutor is very important so make sure you find a tutor who matches your mind. 

Top 6 Reasons to Develop Book Reading Habit for Good
French Culture, Learn French

Top 6 Reasons to Develop Book Reading Habit for Good

Reading is a habit that we all can agree upon to be a healthy and positive activity that is suitable for everyone, irrespective of the age groups. The word reading has more implications than merely understanding what is inscribed on a piece of paper. It takes you to places that you haven’t been to before or do not exist in reality. It introduces us to a new world, new people, and increases our knowledge. The following are the top six benefits of developing a reading habit to change yourself and your life for good:

Destress Yourself:

It is a scientifically proven fact that reading is a healthy activity that can help you to destress. If you ever feel burdened or the monotony of life is tiresome, pick up a book from your favorite genre, prepare a coffee, and sit in a quiet corner of your room and read. You can guarantee to feel lighter than air. Once you master the art of reading, bookstores like Builders Book will feel like heaven. A book lets you enter into a fictional world and detach from your surroundings, thus, aiding in your healing process.

Improve Your Knowledge and Language Skills:

Books, mainly written by native writers, are the best source of gaining knowledge. If you want to learn about the real history of any land, you must start reading its literature. An unapologetically accurate depiction of significant historical events can only be present by the native novelists or writers rather than the foreign historians. 

Moreover, reading improves your language skills. Every day you learn new words. The better you are at reading, the broader your vocabulary will be; the more comprehensive your dictionary is, the better you will be at reading. In both situations, it will benefit you. 

Better Cognition:

When you read, you come across many new concepts, beliefs, schools of thoughts, or original pieces of information that compel you to think and stimulate your cognition. You learn to think in multiple dimensions and look at situations from diverse perspectives. If you read fiction frequently, you will learn to boost your imaginative power. Therefore, reading regularly, either fiction or nonfiction, makes you smarter.

Freedom to Think:

We live in an age where it has become difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction. It is quite natural for people to spread fake news and make people believe in it. Likewise, media, either social or mainstream, is conditioning people to think in a specific direction and stunting their ability to make decisions or draw conclusions based on their opinions. The entire system is contributing to produce human robots. However, when you read, you get to a quite clear picture of the reality and the fabricated narratives. You learn to form unbiased observations and look beyond the horizon. It gives you the freedom to think!

It is Entertaining:

Reading takes you to a whole new level of entertainment. It is known to be the best activity for leisure time and that too for all the right reasons. When you read different fiction stories, you live with different types of characters. You enjoy the emotional roller-coaster ride. It can make you laugh, cry, or awaken all kinds of emotions in you.  Enjoy being disconnected from the real world for some time and cherish living in an imaginary world created by a fiction narrative.

Freedom to Think

Be a Better You!

Reading makes you a better person to top all of these benefits. You become knowledgeable that in turn, enhances your writing and communication skills. When you read fiction, you enter into another life that you wouldn’t have known otherwise. Even if it is fictional, getting into the shoes of another person makes you a more empathetic and open person. It broadens your vision, and you develop an acceptance for the diversity of the world. You can relate to the sufferings of those around you. Reading makes you a less judgmental and more positive person. 

The Bottom-line:

From broadening your vision to helping you morph into a better and knowledgeable person, reading can change you for good. Becoming an avid reason is the best thing that can happen to anyone; it is food for your soul. Put aside your delaying strategy, get some good reads, and started adding up to your growth process, a growth towards being a better person! 

The Mont Saint-Michel
French Culture, French Online Courses

Visiting Mont Saint Michel in France

The Mont Saint-Michel (Mount St Michael) is located at around one kilometre off the north-western French coast, in the region called Normandie (Normandy). 

The building of the monastic establishment started in the 8th century and is, therefore, a typical representation of the feudal system with on top of the island the abbey and monastery (God), below the great halls, then the stores and middle-class housing, and then, outside the walls, the fishermen and farmers houses.

The legend says that the Archangel Michael appeared in 708 on the island to the bishop of Avranches, and demanded him to build a church there. Yet, the bishop ignored the archangel, and this latter then burned a hole in the bishop’s skull. The kind of story that gives you thrills and brings even more mystery to this mythic island.

The status of island of the Mont Saint-Michel has changed several times over the centuries.

Until the 19th century, the Mont was a semi-island: when the rising tide, the path connecting the Mont to the mainland was covered by the sea. It was a great advantage for the island’s defense, making it an impenetrable fortress. In fact, the Mont Saint Michel remained unconquered until the Hundred Years of war opposing the Great-Britain to France. After that, the Mont has also been used as a jail under Louis XI, valuing the geographical benefits of the island.

However, in 1879, the water was drained and the coastal flats converted into pasture land. The Mont became silted up and in 2006, a project started with the objectives to remove the silt and to make the Mont an island again.

Today, the Mont Saint-Michel is therefore officially an island, connected to the continent by a light bridge!

Did you like that post about the Mont Saint-Michel? Would you start Learning French, or just asking us more details about our personalised classes? Contact us at info@french-lessons-australia.com !

 

All you want to know about the famous French fashion?
French Culture

All you want to know about the famous French fashion?

French Clothes

Hi everybody!

As you might know, France (and above all, Paris) is the Fashion’s capital! Strolling on the Champs Elysees, and (window?) shopping at a Dior store are part of the Parisian way of life.

Today, we are therefore focusing on the French clothes!

Vocabulary

A basic work outfit is constituted by:

A shirt: une chemise

Pants: un pantalon

A skirt: une jupe

A pair of shoes: des chaussures

Underwear: des sous-vetements

Yet, if this a sunny week-end day, you will perhaps wear a t-shirt (-> un t-shirt), a pair of shorts (-> un short) and a pair of sneakers (-> des baskets). As you see, many words in French are inspired from English.

If you go visiting Paris, you might be wearing an umbrella (-> un parapluie), a raincoat (-> un impermeable), a pullover (-> un pull) and a pair of boots (-> des bottes). The famous leather jacket (-> la veste en cuir) is also a must in Paris, as well as premium materials such as silk (-> la soie), satin (-> le satin), wool (-> la laine) or cashmere (-> le cachemire).

red-umbrella-paris

On the opposite, if you prefer to spend some summer time in the south of France, you might prefer more light clothes such as a dress (-> une robe) or swimwear (-> un maillot de bain).

Now, what about accessories (-> accessoires)?

A belt: une ceinture

Jewellery: des bijoux (eg. a necklace: un collier, a bracelet: un bracelet, earrings: des boucles d’oreille)

A bag: un sac

High heels: des hauts talons

A watch: une montre

History and famous brands

France is known for its famous haute couture!

Along with New York City, London and Milan, Paris is considered as a leading fashion capital. Chanel, Dior, Louboutin, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Hermes, Givenchy, Vuitton, or Yves Saint-Laurent are renown brands that made the reputation of the country in the fashion sector!

The French reputation in the fashion field started under Louis XIV, a true fashion lover, in the 17th century. Immense wigs of curled hair has become a trend for all the royal men of that time thanks to the king. The Rococo style did not please peasants who had to pay taxes to support this extravagant and expensive trend among the nobility. In fact, the Marie Antoinette’s taste for the rococo fashion to the detriment of the population, probably accelerated her execution by guillotine by the people.

Today’s reality is (hopefully) more bright for everybody! French haute couture is pretty expensive but, today, many women can afford at least an accessory piece from their favourite brand. Other French fashion brands also flourish and are known for their cheap but trendy clothes.

That’s it for today! I hope you liked this article about clothes and fashion, and we are waiting at French Lessons Australia to hear from you 🙂 contact us at info@frenchlessons-australia.com.au !

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