Last week I emailed the French Truly community to let everyone know I would not be writing a blog post as I was about to start shooting 21 videos for my latest online course FRENCH DICTÉES launching on December 1st 2019! 21 videos to shoot, in one week only, I must admit I felt a little stressed out about it… but it is done! Now we are entering the formatting phase before you can finally access your 10 dictées. In case you missed the last blog post, here is what each dictée will cover: Present tense, Past tenses, Futur tenses, Conditional & Imparfait tenses with questions, Imperative form, 1st Group Verbs all tenses, 2nd Group Verbs all tenses, 3rd Group Verbs all tenses, Numbers, and last but not least, Prepositions!

 

By the way, if you’re not part of our Francophile community yet, well, you should! Because you will regularly receive free help from me to improve both your level of French language and culture… and it’s free! C’est gratuit! So click HERE to join the group!

 

This week, I can be back to sharing, in French & in English, my Paris experience with you and what my next French Immersion Course in Paris is beginning to look like, how exciting is that!? Ah oui, you might think I “only” shot 21 videos these last few days mais non! J’ai fait plein d’autres choses aussi! J’adore me sentir super productive et hyper efficace, it’s the best feeling!

 

But let’s get back to Paris, shall we?

 

Besides shooting and dealing with all sorts of technical issues, such as an anti-hunting protest happening on my street (not sure you’d appreciate the background noise as you’re concentrating on my voice reading the dictées to you ha!) and an uncooperative microphone, and on top of my crazy workouts (oops I think I’m addicted watch me turn into une petite boule de muscles!), I also officially began working on creating my brand new French Immersion Courses in Paris et bien sûr je dois partager ça avec vous! (brand new in Paris because I just moved here but if you’re new here I must tell you I’ve been organizing and hosting many of these courses already in Pélussin France, Seattle US, London UK, check them out HERE.)

 

French Immersion Courses… à Paris!

 

For you French wine lovers: Trois Fois Vin

French immersion course Paris

 

You know that I organize and lead French Immersion Courses in Pélussin (adorable French little village), Seattle US, and London UK, and you may also know that one of the reasons I moved to Paris was to launch them here too! Alors vous connaissez aussi probablement mon concept hands-on par lequel je vous fais partager la vie de Français entrepreneurs, artisans, fermiers, cuisiniers, artistes, vignerons, etc. Et bien cette semaine, j’ai confirmé la participation d’une française entrepreneuse qui a une boutique de vin dans mon quartier! Elle s’appelle Marie-Dominique Bradford et a créé Trois Fois Vin il y a 10 ans. En fait, c’est elle qui a lancé le concept de vin par abonnement en France. Je vous invite à visiter son site… et bien sûr à venir la rencontrer et déguster ses vins avec moi lors de notre premier French Immersion Course à Paris! I will soon interview her so you can meet her, at least virtually for now, and learn more about her exciting business!

 

For you French art & craftsmanship lovers: Les Grands Voisins

French immersion course Paris

 

Ever heard of Les Grands Voisins? I hadn’t either… until Wednesday night!

 

But let’s back up for a minute… vous vous souvenez je vous ai dit la semaine dernière que j’avais l’intention de rejoindre la chorale “Envie de chanter”? Et bien c’est fait! Me voilà officiellement choriste et membre! J’adore chanter et puis c’est une super manière de rencontrer des gens sympas, ouverts, et rigolos! En fait, j’ai déjà fait la connaissance de trois personnes dont un couple (Aurélien & Fabienne) à côté duquel j’ai chanté la semaine dernière, lors de ma première expérience dans cette chorale. Mercredi soir je suis allée leur dire bonsoir, je pensais discuter avec 5 ou 10 minutes grand maximum, et puis finalement nous avons papoté pendant une heure! Des gens adorables et très intéressants! Évidemment je leur ai parlé de French Truly, des French Immersion Courses et du fait que j’allais bientôt les lancer à Paris! So I told them I was looking for wonderful & creative French people to fill our afternoons and evenings during our immersion week and that’s when they came up with Les Grands Voisins. It’s a cooperative of 140 non-profit organizations, artistes, artisans, jeunes entreprises qui développent leurs activités. Il y a aussi un restaurant solidaire d’insertion! Très cool, n’est-ce pas?

 

Here’s what their website says: “Ici, en plein cœur de Paris, travaille une multitude de créateurs, artistes et artisans. Ces personnes produisent localement et proposent une grande diversité de produits et de services. Le savoir-faire de chacun s’exprime dans ce lieu de partage unique dans la capitale. Fabriqué à la main, l’ensemble des créations produites sur le site des Grands Voisins vous permet d’accéder à une offre commerciale éthique d’un nouveau genre. Venez les rencontrer dans leurs Boutiques-Ateliers: Mode – Accessoires – Décoration – Plantes – Edition – Artisanat – Art – Alimentation.”

 

Watch this video to learn more about Les Grands Voisins and practice your French at the same time! Lucky you they added the French subtitles.

 

 

I can’t tell you how excited I am to go visit these people and potentially make new friends and meet the wonderful artists, artisans, entrepreneurs, creators who you will then meet with me during our French Immersion Week in Paris!

 

For you Planète lovers: La REcyclerie

French immersion course Paris

 

But my new singing friends didn’t just tell me about Les Grands Voisins, non! They went on to let me know about another wonderful place in Paris, where I could meet wonderful people to include in my French Immersion Courses in Paris: La REcyclerie

 

Before I tell you a little more about this other exciting place, why don’t you watch this video to learn more about La REcyclerie? As they say on their website, c’est un “lieu d’expérimentation dédié à l’éco-responsabilité. Ici on mange, on rencontre, on partage, on bricole… de manière intelligente et responsable!” Once again you can practice your French at the same time! Et avec les sous-titres français c’est tout bonnement parfait!

 

 

“LES 3 R = REduire – REutiliser – REcycler: les initiatives collaboratives et le “do it yourself” sont des valeurs qui guident le lieu dans sa conception, sa programmation et son offre de restauration. Implantée au sein d’une ancienne gare de la petite ceinture réhabilitée en lieu de vie, la REcyclerie a pour ambition de sensibiliser le public aux valeurs éco-responsables, de manière ludique et positive. Lieu d’expérimentation éco-responsable, la REcyclerie sensibilise aux enjeux de l’agriculture urbaine et de l’économie circulaire, elle fait découvrir à tous des styles de vie alternatifs en milieu urbain. Véritable “do tank” avec sa ferme urbaine de 1000 m2 et son atelier de réparation René luttant contre l’obsolescence, ce laboratoire tendance récup’ et do it youself propose quotidiennement ateliers, conférences ou chantiers collaboratifs.”

 

I’m going there for drinks this weekend and I just booked a ticket to get a full tour and presentation of this intriguing place! Be sure that I’ll be taking pictures and asking questions so I can share it all with you!

 

Discovering Paris… avec des nouveaux amis!

 

French immersion course Paris

 

Et oui je suis nouvelle à Paris, et comme je suis une personne à la fois super active et sociable, j’ai besoin de me créer un groupe d’amis ici. Mais comment faire? Ce n’est pas toujours facile d’être la newbie, de recommencer une nouvelle vie, although I should be used to it by now as I’ve done it so many times: in London, in Turin, in Manchester, in Seattle, et maintenant à Paris!

 

I’ve been here almost 2 months now and, well, when I’m walking down the street and seeing all these people sat at the beautiful cafés everyone with their group of friends laughing, sharing, having fun and what sometimes seems to be very deep conversations, I think: “Hey I want that too!!!” Of course I don’t have “that” yet because I just moved here, je sais, je sais. When I share this with others they tell me: “Ne t’inquiète pas et sois patiente! Tu viens d’arriver tu ne peux pas déjà avoir un groupe d’amis!” But here’s the deal, JE NE SUIS PAS PATIENTE DU TOUT! Life is short and I want to enjoy it at its fullest NOW. So with the help, advice, and inspiration of friends (qui n’habitent pas à Paris sadly) j’ai bougé mes fesses to make things happen! And guess what? They are happening! Take THIS patience!

 

J’ai rejoint 2 groupes d’expat sur Facebook et ai déjà fait de super connexions with people who live right next to me! Without Facebook I probably would have never met them, amazing!

J’ai aussi rejoint plusieurs groupes sur Meetup and so far have scheduled 4 events, all happening this month! One of them is called speed friending, nouvelle expression pour moi!

Et comme vous l’avez déjà lu, je fais maintenant partie d’une chorale qui se retrouve une fois par semaine, tous les mercredis soirs, et le premier concert aura lieu le 19 octobre!

 

Now what I really love to do is to mix personnel, professionnel, et fun pour chaque rencontre que je fais, ou presque. Remember I told you about my new choir friends? Well, a choir is super fun and of course it’s a personal as opposed to a professional activity. Yet, I always talk about French Truly as people always love to hear about it, so that’s what I did with Aurélien et Fabienne also, which lead them to tell me about the 2 exciting places mentioned above! Et voilà, c’est magique!

 

This magic 3 way combination is going to apply for 2 events I have signed up for and I know you will love to hear about these:

 

Samedi 12 octobre

 

French immersion course Paris

 

Organizer’s description: “It’s festival time again! Every year, Montmarte celebrates everything unique about this little quarter of Paris, with one of the most exciting parts being the annual harvest festival and the exciting parade (yes – they grow wine on Montmarte)! Join us for a walk thru the area the tourists don’t go. From the cemetery of Montmarte to the historic vineyard of Montmarte (where we will witness the annual grape harvest festival), the ‘passage of the clouds’ and a part of the historic ‘Petite Ceinture’ (little belt) railway, finishing with a guided tour of a remarkable converted former station – now teaming with gardens, projects and life as an example of green reuse and recycling – we will finish here for a drink in the beer garden by the old tracks.”

 

Samedi 26 octobre

 

French immersion course Paris

 

Organizer’s description: “Paris had a unique relationship with its ‘no-longer breathing’ residents. From the Catacombs, with the remains of over 6 million Parisians, to the 1800’s cemeteries that replaced the central ones as the city expanded. Join us as we begin our tour talking about the catacombs (both the open and the very forbidden parts) before taking a walk thru Montparnasse cemetery, resting place of many famous people of the artistic and intellectual elite. From Jean-Paul Sartre to Samuel Beckett there are poets, politicians, artists and philosophers as well as many war heroes awarded the Legion of Honour. We will finish at Montparnasse, an area full of Breton crepe restaurants and speak of some of the ghosts of the poor artists and creatives who once filled its cafes dance halls and cinemas in the early part of the 1900’s.”

 

Je découvre, j’apprends, je lis, je regarde, j’explore… pour moi, et pour vous! I’m becoming a Paris expert so I can share it all with you and I can hardly wait!

 

At the same time, I am working on my 3rd online course called FRENCH DICTÉES (scroll down to see content for each of the 10 dictées) since the beginning of this year and IT’S ALMOST READY! Official launch date: December 1st 2019! Another course packed with video & audio files along with written material, to make it as fun, easy, and user friendly as possible for you so come learn French online avec moi!

 

French dictées

 

When it comes to spelling I’m a little old fashion and I believe the best 2 ways are reading and what we call in French “la dictée”, which is a dictation or a spelling test. As a child attending schools in France, I was lucky to have very strict teachers who made us go through la dictée almost every day. And clearly it worked. So I’m really excited to announce my FRENCH DICTÉES online course to you because I know you’re going to find it really helpful, not only to reduce the numbers of spelling mistakes you make when writing in French, but also to improve your French comprehension! It’s so frustrating when people try to have a conversation with us but we’re just not sure what they’re saying!

 

In the FRENCH DICTÉES online course you will find 20 videos + 10 audio files to help & accompany you every step of the way throughout the course. Why 20 videos? Because there are 10 dictées in total, each focusing on one particular topic, and for each dictée I have prepared 2 videos. Let’s say the video focuses on both French past tenses called imparfait & passé composé. The first video will go though the grammar, the conjugation, and all the tips on these two past tenses to help you understand and remember how and when to use them. The second video will be the actual dictée, a short story written by me, describing everyday life situations conveniently packed with imparfait and passé composé verbs! Boom! Efficient! The dictée will also be read by me, slowly first and then a little faster, with a close up on my face so you can more easily recognize the words and copy the shapes I make to improve your own pronunciation.

 

Become a French language expert

How do you become an expert at anything? By focusing on one thing at a time.

I’ve made sure to categorize and isolate either a verb tense, a verb group, a grammar or vocabulary topic per dictée, so you can effectively focus and interiorize concepts separately, which makes it a lot easier to remember them.

 

Here’s what you’re going to learn

What grammar & conjugation points will each dictée focus on?

Dictée # 1: Present tense

Dictée # 2: Past tenses – imparfait & passé composé

Dictée # 3: Future tenses – futur proche & futur simple

Dictée # 4: Conditional, imparfait, asking questions

Dictée # 5: Imperative form

Dictée # 6: First group verbs all tenses

Dictée # 7: Second group verbs all tenses

Dictée # 8: Third group verbs all tenses

Dictée # 9: Numbers

Dictée # 10: Prepositions

Each dictée is a short story written by me about practical everyday life situations. This means that not only do you get to work on conjugation & grammar drills, but you also improve your conversational skills at the same time: a magic combination for your next trip to France!

 

Grow your confidence talking about practical everyday topics

The dictées will refer to common topics that you are very likely to hear or very likely to use to express yourself such as:

-Traveling to France

-Socializing

-Childhood memories

-Family dynamics

-Everyday life routines

-How to express your ideas, opinions, and dreams

 

Two videos per dictée

First video: key grammar and conjugation reminders explained very clearly so you feel prepared and confident entering each dictée.

Second video: the actual dictée. I’ve made sure to categorize and isolate either a verb tense, a verb group, a grammar or vocabulary topic, so you can effectively focus and interiorize concepts separately, which makes it a lot easier to remember them.

 

And for you challenge lovers over-achievers?

Yes I have prepared something just for you! I have also made 10 audio files, 1 per dictée, so that if you wish to, if you want it extra difficult, if you want to test yourself more deeply, you can solely rely on sound. Indeed there are many occasions in life where we hear a language but we don’t see it: speaking to someone on the phone or listening to the radio for instance.

 

20 videos? 10 audio files? What else?

This new FRENCH DICTÉES online course also comes with written files with both the French text along with the English translation, so that you can evaluate yourself when you’re done taking notes.

To summarize, you’ll be able to use video, audio, and written material.

 

Dictées worked for me, they’ll work for you!

Let me tell you, I LOVE dictées because THEY WORK. And clearly you realize this too and that is smart of you. So now let’s see how something as simple as a dictée can truly help you become a little bit French! Your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.

And here’s a little pre-taste of how a dictée works and what it feels like. Bearing in mind this is quite different from my 3rd online course FRENCH DICTÉES since in the video below I am simply reading the first page of a book (not by me but by Simone de Beauvoir ha!), whereas in my FRENCH DICTÉES, I will be reading short stories written by me specifically for this new online course, focusing on one particular grammar or conjugation point as explained above.

 

 

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FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE – WEEKEND IN SEATTLE MARCH 2020

 

 

SEATTLE US
2020 March 7 & 8: This French Immersion Course is designed for intermediate level students – 4 SPOTS left
2020 March 14 & 15: This French Immersion Course is designed for beginner level students – 4 SPOTS left

If you’re unsure about your level, contact me to schedule a free Skype call

 

FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE – WEEK IN PÉLUSSIN APRIL & JULY 2020

 

 

PÉLUSSIN – FRANCE
2020 April 6 to 12: This French Immersion Course is designed for intermediate level students – SOLD OUT
2020 July 20 to 26: This French Immersion Course is designed for intermediate level students – 3 SPOTS left

If you’re unsure about your level, contact me to schedule a free Skype call

 

100% French Experience

 

What inspired me to create this French Immersion Course? C’est très simple: how best to improve your French conversation skills than by being in France, surrounded with French culture and French people who will ONLY speak French to you? Yet so many times I have heard visitors express their disappointment at not really being given the chance to practice their French. Why? Because more & more French people, especially in big cities, speak English fairly well and are just so excited to practice their new skills with you! This ends up being nice and comfortable for you but not so satisfying or helpful for improving your French speaking ability! So to fix this and make sure you have the most enjoyable, and at the same time profitable, French learning experience, I decided to create the perfect environment for you by organizing this hands-on French Immersion Course.

 

Daily French Classes & Activities

 

This is the reason why I have created this 7 DAY FULL FRENCH IMMERSION COURSE for you, filled with daily classes & enriching adventures with French people who will only speak French with you. No English! It’s amazing how much you can learn and retain in such a conducive atmosphere in as little as 7 days. Mornings will be dedicated to French language classes and afternoons will be filled with interesting activities such as: visiting local artists or entrepreneurs workshops, meeting with local wine makers and farmers, guided hike in nature, cooking class, painting class, cinema, & museum… all in French!

 

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WANT TO TAKE YOUR FRENCH TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

RECEIVE VIRGINIE’S FREE COURSE to Help You Become a little bit French in 3 Steps.

Learn French Online with Virginie via the French Truly Online School

Learn French with Virginie via her French Immersion Courses in France, in London UK, and in Seattle US.

Watch Testimonials from Virginie’s Happy Students!

 

Learn French online with Virginie

Join French Truly’s online school, either by buying the French online course(s) of your choice or by becoming a monthly member. See more details about the membership at the bottom of this page 🙂

Each French online course is packed with video & audio files along with written material, to make it as fun, easy, and user friendly as possible for you! Come and learn French online with me!

 

French online course #1: 600 WORDS

learn french online

In this course, you will find 15 videos (+ 10 bonus ones) to help & accompany you every step of the way through the course + for each word, each sentence, each expression, each conjugated verb, I have created an audio file of my voice, slow and slightly faster speed. Your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.

 

Did you know…

You can converse (speak + understand) in French with only 600 WORDS?

The average French person only uses between 300 & 3,000 WORDS?

This means that if you can master a relatively short list of words, you’ll be able to express yourself like the average French person! Plus you’re much more likely to understand the French when they talk back to you!

 

This course will teach you…

1- How to speak French

2- How to pronounce French

3- How to make French sentences

4- How to conjugate all the most common French verbs

5- How to polish your results

6- How to self evaluate your French

More info HERE

  • It should take you about 30 hours to complete this course, which is made up of 10 lessons
  • This course is designed for a beginner / intermediate level. If you are intermediate but feel like you could really reinforce your foundations, you will love it.
  • You can join whenever, either by buying the course or by becoming a monthly member giving you access to my French online courses from $10 / month. See more details about the membership at the bottom of this page 🙂

 

Online course # 2: PERFECT PRONUNCIATION

Learn French online

In this course you will find 11 videos + 150 audio files + 92 pages PDF format to help & accompany you every step of the way throughout the course. In some parts of the videos, my face will appear close up and profile so you can easily see how I make these sounds with my mouth. The 150 audio files are composed of the 100 most popular French words and the 50 most common French phrases. They are recordings of my voice, speaking slowly enough so you can easily grasp every syllable. Your French language learning experience has never been so easy, fun, and fruitful. You can learn French online and benefit from the flexibility working at your own pace offers, while having me with you the whole time.

NB: if you are the proud owner of my previous French online course 600 WORDS, don’t worry, this is not a repeat as we are now exploring 1 letter words and up, whereas in 600 WORDS we began at 4 letter words and up.

 

Combine knowledge with confidence…

For you to be able to have a pleasant and efficient conversation with a French person, one thing is key… can you guess what it is? Confidence! How well do you think you will communicate in French if you don’t feel confident about your accent? If you are scared that people won’t understand you? Or even worse if you think someone might make fun of you? Without a minimum of confidence there is no room for communication. Yet if you feel confident, you can afford to make a few mistakes here and there because people will still understand you. What prevents a conversation from happening isn’t just a lack of knowledge, it’s also a lack of confidence. You need to have both to make it work, not to mention, to make it fun!

 

This course will teach you…

1- How to pronounce every letter of the alphabet

2- How to pronounce every digraph & trigraph

3- How to make every French sentence flow

4- How to pronounce the 100 most popular French words

5- How to pronounce the 50 most popular French phrases

6- How to avoid the pronunciation mistakes everyone makes

More info HERE

  • It should take you about 20 to 2 hours to complete this course, which is made up of 11 lessons
  • This course is designed for a beginner level. If you are intermediate but lack confidence when it comes to talking and feel like you could really benefit from focusing on pronunciation, you will love it.
  • You can join whenever, either by buying the course or by becoming a monthly member giving you access to my French online courses from $10 / month. See more details about the membership below 🙂

 

Become a monthly member!

Learn French Online

My goal is to transform your French language learning experience. This is why I’ve decided to offer you a new way to learn French online and gain access to the French Truly Online School! Actually, more than 1 new way, you’ll have 3 plans to choose from so come and learn French online with me!

 

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Become a little bitin 3 easy steps

Learn how to incorporate frenchness in your every day life with this free 3 step mini course

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in 3 easy steps

Learn how to incorporate frenchness in your every day life with this free 3 step mini course

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