Let's Speak French! with Dr. Natalie Amgott

Frédéric Patenaude, French teacher and polyglot, breaks down the best ways to go about learning a language (and learning multiple languages over the decades). If you're ready to make real progress with your intermediate or advanced French, you'll love Frédéric's tips for improving your study habits and the mindset shifts you need to finally speak French more proficiently.

Voici tes prochaines étapes:

1️⃣ Check your comprehension with the transcript of this week's episode.

2️⃣ Défi / challenge: Find 60 MORE minutes per week for your French study. Write it down in your planner or somewhere you're going to see it every single day. Snap a photo and tag @elevatefrench in Instagram stories (or send me a message - I love to hear from you!). I'll check in to help you with your goal of fitting French more sustainably into your schedule.

3️⃣ Check out French with Frédéric for more Québec French content!

Improve your intermediate French with these better alternatives to "merci beaucoup" to sound more nuanced in your French for work, travel, or casual conversation.

Tes prochaines étapes [Your next steps]

1️⃣ Get the French Professional Email Template to politely communicate in formal email contexts.

2️⃣ Review the transcript and pick three new expressions that you'll aim to use in your next French conversations to express your thanks.

3️⃣ Tap the "Subscribe" button so you never miss an episode!

Improve your B1 and B2 French listening comprehension skills with the passive voice, which is frequently used to talk about French news.

Your intermediate French action steps 👇🏻

1️⃣ View the lesson examples in the transcript here.

2️⃣ Take the Passive Voice Quiz to get immediate feedback on your use of this tricky structure.

3️⃣ The passive voice doesn't get talked about enough in French learning resources, but you hear it all the time! Share this episode with a friend that's learning French to help them to understand more French media.

Bonne continuation et à la prochaine!

Improve your French pronunciation with these 14 liaison rules for liaison obligatoire, liaison interdite, et liaison facultative!

Your action steps:

1️⃣ Check out the transcript of this lesson.

2️⃣ Record yourself practicing the examples in the transcript, or just talking about your day. You can send it to Dr. Natalie for feedback on Instagram @elevatefrench in direct messages!

3️⃣ Did you learn something today? Leaving a rating and review helps the podcast to reach more French learners and is always appreciated!

What's it like to stay in a dorm and speak only French for 7 weeks as an adult? Brittany Kreek shares her experiences and her tips for going from beginner to the top of Middlebury's language program level in just 4 years.

She'll tell you how to study on the days that you aren't feeling motivated and how to stay focused as an adult!

Vos prochaines étapes (Your next steps):

1️⃣ Overcome the Intermediate Plateau with your Customizable Study Template

2️⃣ Review the transcript

3️⃣ Share this episode with a friend learning French!

Learn how to get by in French when disaster strikes! Specifically, you'll learn intermediate tips to improve your French for the B2 and C1 levels.

Tes prochaines étapes:

1️⃣ Download your Intermediate French Kit to gain confidence with speaking, grammar, and pronunciation.

2️⃣ Tu as compris? Follow along with the transcript for this episode to check your comprehension and review the new vocabulary you'll learn.

3️⃣ Tap "Follow" wherever you're listening so that you'll never miss an episode!

Learn how to use 3 verbs that confusion intermediate learners - arriver, partir, and s’en aller! Discover what “arriver” really means, when to say “je m’en vais,” and how to sound more natural by using "arriver" to talk about what you can and can't do.

Your action steps:

1️⃣ Take the quiz to test your understanding!

2️⃣ Check your understanding with the transcript

3️⃣ Checkout Part I of this series: How to use retourner, rendre, rentrer, revenir, and renvoyer

Are you overusing the imperative? Turns out French speakers avoid using the imperative with four other grammar structures to sound more natural and polite.

Your action steps:

1️⃣ Follow along with the transcript and review the content here.

2️⃣ Practice using the imperative! Create a story on Instagram where you tell your friends what they should do by avoiding the imperative. Use the subjunctive, infinitive, futur simple, or "Veuillez + infinitif" to tell them what to do. Remember to tag @elevatefrench to get feedback from Dr. Natalie!

3️⃣ Learn something new in today's lesson? Veuillez laisser un avis! Please leave a rating and review to help more intermediate learners to find this podcast.

Get a conversation going with your French coworkers, family, or Francophone friends! Your intermediate starter pack to starting more conversations in French.

Voici tes prochaines étapes:

1️⃣ Get your Past Tense Cheat Sheet so you can easily talk about what you've seen and read with the passé composé and imparfait.

2️⃣ Review the transcript for this lesson.

Make sure to tap the subscribe button so that you'll never miss an episode!

Tu me manques or Je te manque? Clarify how to use the verb Manquer to talk about what you miss, what you don't have, and what opportunities you have missed out on.

Vos prochaines étapes:

1️⃣ Take the MANQUER quiz!

2️⃣ Check out the transcript to check your understanding