Cultivate your French : Slow French, at the right pace.

212 — Taylor Swift : rencontre avec des fans — mercredi 15 mai 2024

Last week, American star Taylor Swift performed at La Défense Arena, Europe's largest indoor concert venue. She had four concert dates, the last of which was this Sunday. La Défense is a four-minute train journey from our house. Lisa and I made the trip to meet some of the singer's fans. 
We met two very nice young women who agreed to share their impressions on the podcast. Lucie who had been to the concert the day before and Céleste who was going to attend the concert. 
You'll hear them in today's episode.

And in the notes that come with the transcript, we'll focus on certain details of these conversations that are typical of natural French as it is spoken today. 

Of course, there will also be a sentence to repeat. The power of this exercise is the subject of my last article on the podcast blog. Have you read it yet? 

So, if you want to add a natural touch to your conversations in French, and enjoy all the positive effects of having the exact text of the episode, I invite you to 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.

211 —Grâce à Ami, je ne conduis plus la nuit — mercredi 8 mai 2024

I had a dream that came back often at night, a recurring dream: I was driving a car and I was afraid of being caught by the police because I didn't have a licence. ‘I've got to stop driving without a licence’, I said to myself every time in this dream. But I couldn't stop myself and I regularly found myself driving illegally. 
Now the recurring dream has disappeared and I think I've understood why, thanks to Ami. 

In this episode, you'll find out who Ami is. 

And in the transcript that comes with the notes, we're going to look at two verbs that come up several times in this episode, two verbs that we use a thousand times a day. What strategy should we adopt to learn how to conjugate them? That's what we're going to look at together.  We'll also look at a sentence to repeat out loud, and I'll explain why I chose it. 

So if you want to improve your French a thousand times over,  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.
 

210 — Une aventure à Saint-Ouen — mercredi 1er mai 2024

Little by little, I began to hate our sofa. I used to dream of a Habitat sofa, which I tried out in the Avenue de Wagram shop in Paris. But at the end of 2023, the Habitat shops closed, taking my dream of a white sofa with curl fabric with them. 
I recently had the idea of looking for a Habitat sofa on Le Bon Coin. You can find anything on Le bon coin: furniture, tools, clothes, a job or even a home. Well, I found a Habitat sofa that might suit me, only the seller wasn't at home in Saint-Ouen on the date. I still had the old Saint-Ouen in mind, but I discovered something completely different, but did I get my sofa? You'll soon find out. 

In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to dwell on the elements of the text that speak of time and duration, because we always need to situate in time what we're talking about. Of course, we'll also take a look at three expressions or turns of phrase that may go unnoticed, but which are actually worth noticing. 
So, to take the time to cultivate your French at your own pace 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.

209— Vacances au pays des maisons bleues — mercredi 24 avril 2024

Last week we were on holiday. We needed the perfect destination for this school holiday: to be in the countryside for a change of scenery, but not too far from a big city and other tourist attractions. I didn't know whether the girls would have a lot of work or not. So I thought about the Strasbourg area. I really liked the city last year when I went there for the kung fu competition. So I found a gîte in a village half an hour from Strasbourg. 
We were warmly welcomed by the owners.
The lady had prepared an Easter speciality for us: a kind of sponge cake with a slight lemon flavour in the shape of a lamb. 
In this episode, I tell you about our holiday in Alsace. 
 
In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll take a look at three very natural expressions in French. These are words or turns of phrase that you don't necessarily notice, but which are typical in French. 
I'll also share with you my collection of photos of blue houses and we'll talk about colours: what are the most common colours in French, what are their shades, how do we talk about colours, how do adjectives agree. 

So if you want to colour up your French and improve it at the same time, 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.

208 — mercredi 17 avril 2024 — À Versailles avec Lorena, dans les jardins du château (RERUN-REDIFFUSION)

A few weeks ago, during the summer, my friend Lorena and I went to Versailles. We were given the permission to record for the podcast in the gardens. Maybe one day, we will get it to record in the castle itself. 
We went to Versailles by train, it’s 30 minutes away from Gare Saint-Lazare. 
Did Louis XIV make the most of the gardens? This is the question I asked Lorena. 

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 
My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 
All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

207 — mercredi 10 avril 2024 — Quelques pas sous escorte (REDIFFUSION (RERUN)

The episode that you are going to hear today was written in September 2013. I read a few days ago, as I was searching for conjugation examples for the advanced French podcast One Thing In A French Day. I didn’t remember that little adventure and found it funny. That day, I was searching for a big one litter bottle at Le vieux campeur. This is a famous shop for camping equipment. In Paris. It’s also famous because, it’s not one shop but a maybe 5 or 6 different shops in the same neighbor hood. Each shop has its speciality, backpack, tents, ustensils, etc. 
Unfortunately, we lost the bottle last year. 

You are listening to Cultivate Your French podcast One Slow French episode every week. 
My name is Laetitia, I’m French, I live just outside Paris and I share with you a small slice of my daily life here in France. 
All the information about the transcript,notes and photos is available at www.cultivateyourfrench.com

 

206 — Soirée parisienne : un concert à la maison dans le XVIe arrondissement — mercredi 3 avril 2024

It was in 2019 that we first attended a concert featuring Julia, the niece of Isabelle, my Nordic walking friend. Her niece is a violinist. It's a small world, because there was also a violist in the group: Stanley. He plays the viola da gamba. 

Isabelle suggested that this time we attend a duo concert by Julia and Stanley at a private home. And we're big fans, so Lisa and I booked our tickets. It's different from going to a concert hall: you go to someone's home. We were staying with real patrons, in a Haussmanian flat in the 16th arrondissement. We were seated in a beautifully decorated living room with fine furniture and paintings, as well as two musical instruments: a grand piano and an organ. Finally, after the concert, you can chat with the musicians or the other audience members over a drink and some refreshments. There's often so much you want to tell them. And on Saturday, we were very lucky, because you're going to hear Julia talk to us about this concert.

In the notes that come with the transcript, we'll be taking a closer look at how Julia structures her speech and what linking words she uses. We'll also notice the difference in the use of " nous " and " on " and we'll ask ourselves whether it's possible to say " on " instead of " nous ". On connaît la réponse, you mightt say. No? 

Finally, we'll look at how this collection of collections is also a good idea for your French studies. 

So, if you'd like to collect with us 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.

205 — Le gâteau de crêpes des deux mamies — mercredi 27 mars 2024

The gâteau de crêpes, or crêpe cake, came into my life thanks to pastry chef Claire Heitzler, it’s one of her specialities. A few times a year, she makes a soufflé crêpe cake: with strawberries or mandarin marmalade, depending on the season, but also with a chocolate spread.
But I also came across the crêpe cake when I was in Nice for the kung fu competition, at breakfast time in the hotel on Sunday morning. I came across it during a conversation between two travelling grannies.  This is what this episode is about. 

In the notes that come with the transcript, we're going to focus on three typical turns of phrase in natural French. These are turns of phrase that we understand, but don't necessarily pay attention to, and therefore forget to use when we speak. This way, you'll notice them and be able to use them in your next conversations in French. 

We're also going to look together at some practical phrases for talking about an Internet search, as I do at the end of the episode. 
So, to cultivate your French 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.

204 — Mes vies secrètes — mercredi 20 mars 2024

When we visited the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts last month, I came across an edition of Émile Zola's Carnets d'enquêtes. The famous novelist took copious notes before writing his novels. His notes were sometimes bits of sentences, words or even complete and precise descriptions. The book was only there for consultation, but I was lucky enough to find a second-hand copy at the Gibert bookshop. This is a unique bookshop in Paris that sells new and second-hand books on the same shelves. I placed my order and went to pick it up this morning. I took the metro at Saint-Lazare. The bookshop is on boulevard Saint-Michel, not far from Odéon station. On the way, I noticed a lady reading. That's what I'm going to tell you about today. 

In the notes that come with the transcript, I'll focus on three sentence structures that are very natural in French. Often, these are expressions that we understand, that we don't pay attention to, and that we forget to use when we speak. This way, you'll notice them and be able to use them in future conversations in French. 
You'll also find useful phrases for picking up an order in a shop, as I did myself today. 

So, to keep your own investigation diaries 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.

203 — Nice : rencontres et médailles — mercredi 13 mars 2024

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.