Are you learning French in a Canadian context? Do you work with clients or colleagues in Quebec? In this episode, Roxane and Britta  talk about how the French language is used in Quebec, including topics like politeness and formality, what to expect at a 5 à 7, and some unique Quebec vocabulary. Join us, and practice your French listening skills, because this episode is in French!

This week, the guest host is Roxane St-Hilaire.  Roxane is pedagogical advisor at ACA, and she is also a French as a second language instructor. Roxane. She is finishing her masters degree in second language didactics and she’s interested in the use of technology in class, the development of intercultural competence and intergenerational relationships.

In this episode, Britta and Roxane discuss an expression in French, se faire passer un sapin. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen to find out! 

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you learning a language? It is a rewarding project, and one that takes time and effort. How do you stay motivated through the learning process? In this episode, our guest Corinna Mitchell-Beaudin shares her own language learning journey, and offers great advice about how to stay focused and motivated through all parts of the language learning process. 

Corinna Mitchell-Beaudin is an Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer at Farm Credit Canada. In this position, leads the team accountable for overseeing the management of enterprise, credit, market and operational risks at FCC. She has held a number of executive positions at FCC. Corinna has a bachelor of administration degree from the University of Regina, and she is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant and a CFA Charterholder.

Our expression this week is staying the course. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen to find out!

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you working on making your English pronunciation sound more natural? When you listen to people speaking English, does it seem like they are speaking too quickly? If you answered yes to either of these questions, this episode is for you. Learn about how words in spoken English are connected. In this episode, Britta and Clémence discuss how some sounds change, appear, or even disappear when people speak English. They also share practical tips on how to understand spoken English, and how to use connected speech to improve your English pronunciation. 

This episode’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in English literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.  

Our expression this week is to speak out of turn. Listen to find out what this expression means, and some of the situations where you can use it. 

Do you want to read more about connected speech? Here are a few articles for further information: 

• Connected Speech (teachingenglish.org) 
• 5 Features of Connected Speech (eslbase.com) 

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Why are you  learning another language? Is it for fun? For love? For professional reasons? There are a lot of reasons people choose to learn a language, and a lot of benefits to be gained from the experience. In this episode, our guest is Pierre-William Plante, a Solutions Specialist at Coveo. If you want practical advice about how to improve your language skills, and why it is worth the effort, this episode is for you! 

Pierre-William talks about his experience learning English, primarily as an adult, and some of the expected (and unexpected) benefits that come from working in your second language. He also shares practical advice for how to improve your second language in formal and informal ways, and even offers some tips about making small talk in English. 

Our expression this week is the icing on the cake. Do you know what it means and how to use it? Listen and find out, and hear what the equivalent expression is in French! 

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Are you looking for a new position? Are you going to be interviewed either fully or partially in English? This week Jenni and Britta talk about what kind of questions you can expect to hear in an English-language job interview, and how to answer them. They share advice about answering wildcard questions, which verb tenses to use, key vocabulary to highlight your skills, and how to prepare for success before the interview even starts. This episode is essential listening for job seekers! 

This week’s guest host is Jenni Campbell. Jenni has a Human Ecology degree from the University of Manitoba and a language certificate from the University of Laval. She has been with ACA for ten years, and has extensive experience doing curriculum development.  She also does hiring and recruiting for ACA here in Quebec and across Canada.

Our phrasal verb of the week is take on - do you know how to use this phrasal verb to talk about employment? Listen and find out! 

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Welcome back to season three of Les Bons Mots!

Have you ever lived in a second language environment or been immersed in one? Do you increasingly use your second language at work? This experience is the focus of the first episode of season 3 of Les Bons Mots.  In this episode, we are excited to speak to David Thibodeau, who is a radio producer for CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada’s national broadcaster. He talks about what it has been like for him and his family to move from Gatineau, Quebec to Vancouver, British Columbia - from a French-speaking environment to an English-speaking one. 

David talks about how his confidence in using English has increased, how he has improved his language skills, and shares some advice for anyone who is considering a move to a second-language environment, or looking to use their second language more than before. 

Our phrasal verb of the week is pick up - do you know how to use this phrasal verb to talk about learning? Listen and find out! 

Visit us at lesbonsmots.ca to check out our blog and language learning videos, or reach out to us at ACA to discuss your language learning needs. 

Is it there, their or they’re? Why is the verb tear pronounced differently than the tears we cry? Do I have to pronounce the ‘b’ in doubt? English and French are full of words that sound the same, but have different meanings, words that are written the same, but have different pronunciations, and silent letters! In this week’s episode, Britta and Clémence help you to understand some of the homophones, heteronyms and silent letters that can be challenging for language learners. 

This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.  

In this episode: 

Clémence recommends a podcast called Word Bomb, which is a deep exploration of a different English word in each episode. The words they choose are important and timely, and they go beyond the dictionary to contextual them. 

Britta recommends the highly entertaining book about the English language, The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way, by Bill Bryson. If you are curious about how English became the language it is today, a lot of the answers may be found in the history of the language, and this book is anything but dry. 

Did you know that the preferred term for policeman is police officer? A postman is now a mail carrier, and a stewardess is a flight attendant. If a fireman is now a firefighter, is a fisherman a fisherfighter? Join Britta and Johnson in the second episode on our series on the evolution of English. They discuss the naming of professions through the ages, and how the names for different jobs are evolving as the workforce changes and becomes more inclusive.

This week, our guest host is Johnson Bresnick. Johnson is the Director of Learning & Development at ACA, and has worked at ACA since 2011. He has also taught ESL and had extensive experience in curriculum development. He has a  background in Linguistics and is researching acquisition of grammar in second language learners.

In this episode: 

Comedy is a great way to engage with the language you are learning, and this week, Johnson recommends the Baroness von Sketch show. It features four amazing women and comedy which approaches awkward, everyday situations with humour. Here’s a link to one of their sketches so you can give it a try! 

Britta recommends the History Chicks podcast, where two women discuss the lives of important women throughout history in an engaging that is anything but dry. They provide a nuanced view of their subjects, correct misconceptions, and do it an entertaining way.  

Did you know there are three ways to pronounce the -ed ending in English? Does thinking about syllable stress and word stress make you feel...stressed? This week, Britta and Clémence demystify some of the mysteries of English and French pronunciation, and help you to make yourself understood when speaking these languages. This episode is essential listening for language learners! 

This week’s guest host is Clémence Grison. Clémence is part of the teaching team at ACA, and has a bachelor’s degree in english literature along with a master's degree in English studies, and a master's degree in journalism. She’s taught ESL in France and Quebec, and has a deep understanding of the difficulties of mastering pronunciation in a second language.  

In this week’s episode: 

Clémence suggests searching out video of Steve Ballmer’s “Developers!” chant for a fun way to remember the syllable stress on that word! Also, Season 10, episode 13 of Friends features Joey "learning" to speak French, with comic results. For another fun example of syllable and word stress, check out the scene from My Fair Lady, where Eliza Dolittle masters the phrase, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” 

This week, Clémence recommends The History of Swear Words, though only for adult listeners! It’s an interesting and well-researched program about the history of swear words in English. 

Britta recommends two great language resources for people learning French in Canada. The Banque de dépannage linguistique and the Grand dictionnaire terminologique provide excellent definitions, explanations, and usage examples focused on how French is used in Quebec. 

Sharent, deepfake, slow-walk… are any of these words new to you?  One of the most enjoyable parts of learning a language is learning new vocabulary we can use in our daily lives, at work and at home. Every year, more new words are added to English language dictionaries as well! Join Britta and Johnson as they discuss these new words, which reflect world events, social movements, and what people are saying on social media or in the business world. 

This week, our guest host is Johnson Bresnick. Johnson is the Director of Learning & Development at ACA, and has worked at ACA since 2011. He has also taught ESL and had extensive experience in curriculum development. He has a  background in Linguistics and is researching acquisition of grammar in second language learners.

In this episode: 

We discuss new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The BBC has an article on some of the additions to the OED as well.  Some of the new additions the the Merriam Webster Dictionary can be found here. Reader’s Digest magazine also covered some of the funnier words of the year. 

When we talk about deepfakes, Johnson mentions a deepfake produced by Channel 4 in the UK to raise awareness of this phenomenon, and starring… the Queen? 

Johnson recommends the Collins Cobuild Dictionary, a great dictionary for English language learners.  Britta recommends exploring social media in the language you are learning so that you can stay up to day with new words in the language you are learning.