Pensee du jour

Beaucoup de gens dans ce monde s'efforcent de bonheur. Etre heureux ne signifie pas que tout est parfait. Cela signifie que vous avez décidé d'aller au-delà des imperfections.
Je crois aussi que sans tristesse il n'y a pas de bonheur. Alors la prochaine fois vous vous sentez déprimé, rappelez-vous que le soleil brille toujours, même si les nuages sont toujours là.
 

Some great inventions by the French

The guillotine

Mayonnaise

The Bic Pen

Bicycles

The Statue of Liberty (USA)

Hot air balloons

The bikini

Stethoscopes

Braille

Sewing Machine

Is your language good enough?

French Proficiency Test

Having not spoken French in a few years now , I thought I'd give this test a try. How much French grammar, vocabulary and reading comprehension do you know?
See if you can beat my personal score of 75% (113 points out of 150)!!
To get started, click on the link above.

One of the potential professions that I was interested in learning more about during my student years was becoming an interpreter.... I did well in French & Linguistics but, sadly not so well in the interpreting module at university.    There are basically two types of interpreting; consecutive and simultaneous and it was the latter that I found extremely challenging.    (Generally you sit in a booth and convert the language as it is spoken to you).

Are there many fluent speakers of French (learnt as a 2nd or 3rd language) out there?    I admit I had achieved near native fluency when I lived in France, but it takes constant practice and total immersion in the country in order to continuously maintain the fluency, in my opinion..    Long after I left France in 1996, I was able to hold quite an interesting conversation with a Senegalese woman whilst on a trip to French-speaking West Africa...


My tips for foreign language learning:

Ultimately, the BEST way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in the culture and country whose language you are interested in learning. 

Another tip is you could get lessons from a native speaker who knows their stuff. However, a tip that I have found helpful is when learning the language, study units (new vocab or grammar) for ...say 20 minute blocks at a time. In other words, frequently and often. This way of studying is more effective and makes language learning a whole lot easier. It helps if you do some study daily, make it a routine so it becomes part of your everyday life.

Listen to radio or music, read newspapers in the foreign language....
Or, find yourself a French penpal!   Above all, practise, practise, and practise!

Strasbourg me manque beaucoup.

I do miss France a lot. In fact I dream of the day I will go back...it's hard to explain in words but I feel 'whole' as a person when I'm there.   My boyfriend cannot understand for the life of me , my fascination with France (and I'm sure a lot of readers will be able to identify with me).         My experience as a student in Strasbourg left a long lasting impression on me. I had stayed in this wonderful city for 11 months during the 3rd year of my French degree course in 1996. I am forever grateful for my experience  -  I totally fell in love with the town and felt deep sadness when the time had come to leave.

Je me demandais toujours ou mes amis coreens que je connaissais a Strasbourg sont maintenant.....mon meilleur ami Eun Jin, dont le parfum prefere etait Jean Paul Gaultier Classique...qui a toujours parle de son futur mari.....!  Quels souvenirs!!      Quand je pense a ces souvenirs, il me rendent optimiste pour l'avenir parce que je sais bon temps reviendra!

Coucou Catherine!

Un grand boujour pour mon amie Catherine qui vit a Lille!  J'espere que tout va bien pour toi.....et tu as recu ma lettre, sans doute...