French Blabla

Today, we're going to dive into the world of movies. We'll learn some useful phrases to describe them. I don't usually talk about movies I watched because I'm not really into this. I rarely go to the cinema and I don't even watch that many tv shows. If you've listened to episode 5 of "A day in French", then you know that I like to watch hockey instead. I decided to talk about the movie called "Amelie Poulain" because I learnt that one character and what he does were inspired by real events. I couldn't imagine that anything in that movie was actually real so I was surprised and wanted to share this piece of information with you.

Don't forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Cultural nugget about the movie "Amelie Poulain"
• Review phrases to describe movies
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by Podington Bear

In the special episode of "Quoi de beau Caro ?" we will recap 2020 and talk about the great project coming ahead this year.

Music by Podington Bear - Wavy Glass

Guys, it's time for the truth! Are you guilty of answering "comme ci comme ca" when somebody asks you how you are? I have no idea where it comes from, maybe from a song but when I was teaching in schools, students sometimes answered with this phrase. Frankly, I don't know anybody in my relatives nor friends that ever said this. Today, we're gonna drop the comme ci comme ca and study how to answer properly like French people would. In episode 22, we talked about how to translate the phrase "I'm excited" and following up on this episode, we're going to dive a little bit deeper into the French world of total lack of enthusiasm. This three letter word we'll study can be used in different situations with different meanings. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Learn how to show a lack of enthusiasm
• Learn two body expressions and turn into a real French person
• The real answer to "how are you?"
• Cultural nugget about French social habits

Music by bensound.com

Welcome to the twenty-second episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. I hope you're hungry because we're going to talk about food, my favourite topic. In the previous episode, we talked about food as well but about a very strange Christmas menu. I wonder if there were any vegetarians who listened to that episode. Today, nothing disgusting I promise, it will be about olive oil. I will share a story about last summer and a tour that I did with my family. Don't forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Cultural nugget about olive oil
• Review the object pronoun "les"
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by Podington Bear - Prod by Lukrembo

I noticed that a lot of learners struggle with the translation of "let's", especially since it's very different from the translation of the verb "to let". This can be confusing. Today we're going to talk about it. Before listening, I suggest you refresh your mind with the episode 26 , where we covered when to use "nous" and when to use "on". You will need it to fully grasp this new episode. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Three phrases to properly translate "let's"
• The number one sentence you need to know to leave a place
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by bensound.com

Welcome to the twenty-first episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. What is the weirdest or most disgusting thing you have ever eaten in your life? For me, it was silkworm pupae, that I ate when I was in Korea. I put it in my mouth a bit reluctantly. I really thought it was going to be disgusting but to my surprise, I enjoyed it. I won't say it was delicious but it was edible and somewhat interesting. Today, we're going to travel back in time and we will be heading towards Paris during a hard time the town had to face. Since, it was Christmas not a very long time ago, I would like to talk about a very strange Christmas menu that was found in restaurants at that time. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Historical nugget about a crazy time in Paris
• Animal and food vocabulary
• Review the passive voice with the present tense
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by Podington Bear - Keys of Moon

Welcome to the thirty-ninth episode of the French Blabla podcast where we will cover tips to increase your fluency while boosting your way of learning. Today's episode is a special request from a dear listener, Sarah. She contacted me on the chat and she told me "Caroline, in french you usually drop the last letter. But how is it with the "plus" I can't figure out when to say plu or plus". When I read her question, I panicked a little bit because there was no way I could explain the rules in just two sentences on a chat while preparing dinner. I gave her a very simplified answer but we really need an episode. This is a topic that comes up a lot and a question that you will find in many French podcasts. Today is my turn to cover it. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• The rules you need to know how to pronounce the word "plus"
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by bensound.com - Audio Sponsor by Timbre · Freesound

Welcome to the twentieth episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. In this new episode we'll be talking about my birthday and what I will do on this special day. I will also talk about the joy of bathing and the bath culture. Don't forget to download the study guide to get access to the transcription. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Winter and snow vocabulary
• Review the subjunctive with feelings
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by Podington Bear / Borrtex

Welcome to the nineteenth episode of this series that will transport you to the daily life of a French woman. We will cover specific vocabulary to increase your fluency while practicing particular grammar points. Did it ever happen to you that you woke up in the middle of the night and an idea popped into your mind, for no reason whatsoever. That's exactly what happened to me for this episode. I got up and suddenly this idea knocked on my door. She said (because idea is a feminine word in French) " Caroline, in your next episode you're going to talk about this famous French postman and you will do a special beginner episode". I said ok. Now we're here together, dear listeners, and I'm going to talk about M. Cheval. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Amazing story of Ferdinand Cheval
• A story to review the beginner basics
• A challenge for you to shine

Music by Podington Bear - Keys of Moon

Welcome to the thirty-eighth episode of the French Blabla podcast where we will cover tips to increase your fluency while boosting your way of learning. In episode 36, we talked about different ways to express the phrase "je ne sais pas". One of these ways was "alors là", my personal favourite. I thought about this phrase and realized that this word "alors" is really multifaceted. So today, we will dive into some meanings that the word "alors" has. Stay tuned!

In this Episode

• Five new ways to use this little word
• How to show emotion like a native
• The absolute no-no when cooking carbonara

Music by bensound.com