"Talk like a Parisian" FREE pronunciation webinar

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Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?

Learn 3 secrets that help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce new words so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant and make your friends raise their brows in admiration

…and how to use them TODAY!

In this groundbreaking pronunciation Webinar, you’ll discover:

1. How to know the French pronunciation for all the words you know, or you don’t even know yet, so that you can order that fabulous meal in your favorite Parisian restaurant and have the waiter raise their brow in admiration

2. The most important and least known rules of pronunciation in the French language, and how to master them TODAY, so that you don’t have to ask anyone to give you the phonetical pronunciation again

3. The most difficult to pronounce words in French – their spelling and their pronunciation – so that you don’t have to Google “how to pronounce in French…” ever again

PLUS a surprise bonus you can take home!

If you feel that you need some clarity, then join me!

All you have to do is to enter your email address in the form above*.

“Even with two semesters of University level French linguistics courses, I still struggled with pronunciation of new words and continued to inflict my American accent on French pronunciation.

Knowing the “rules” hadn’t brought my French to the level it needed to be as I was still getting puzzled looks from native French speakers.

After Llyane’s program I have become more aware of my pronunciation errors as I hear myself speak and can self-correct. I’m super impressed with the attention to detail.

For the first time, I now see and hear the patterns, organization and structure behind the pronunciation of French words.”

Debbie Cochener, US

8 out of 10 of my clients are immersion-ready, and many came with me in my 1:1 Immersion Retreats. Just stop for a second and imagine…

1. You can stroll the streets of Paris at sunset, or enjoy a café au lait at the corner bistro, listening to the chatter on the patio, without feeling like an outsider.

2. You experience the French « joie de vivre » [the joy of life], sitting at the corner café, having an almond croissant under the gentle afternoon light, watching the cars go by and listening to the passionate accordionist – and exchange life stories with the French at the neighbor table.

3. You connect with the French and make lasting friendships that come naturally to you, because deep down in your soul, you know that you are part French.

If any of these reasons excites you to start speaking French, then you are ready to enjoy the art of being bilingual.

The webinar starts on Sunday, January 21st at 5pm EST.

GOING TO MISS IT? Register anyway!

This way, I’ll be able to send you the link to the replay and the Chic PDF handout.

À plus tard,
Llyane

“The people in my life cannot believe how much I have learned in such a short period of time! I love learning French now and cannot wait to utilize what I have learned when I move to France! I am sure she can do the same for you! Thanks Llyane!”

Laura

“I give Llyane my highest recommendation to anyone who wants to learn French or to improve upon what they already know. I have not regretted for one second my decision to work with Llyane and to take her course. I only wish that I would have found her sooner! “

Troy

“The rules of French build upon themselves and once she teaches you WHY it is said that way, it begins to make sense and you naturally apply it to the new things you are learning. I was most impressed with my lesson and will definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to speak french, needing a refresher, or traveling to France!”

Mary

“She is a master in her field. If you are looking for a great coach you have just found her. Believe me there is no better instructor to learn the French language.”

Alexander

“After just a couple of months, I’m able to correct my own pronunciation while speaking. My comprehension of spoken French has also improved because I now notice the little nuances in pronunciation. During a recent trip to Paris, I was able to say some things in French without getting puzzled looks from the Parisians.”

Joni

“If you are someone who wants to maintain and improve your French language skills, especially if you are in danger of losing the skill that you have already gained, you shouldn’t delay for any reason. Llyane is an excellent teacher and available when you need her the most. I’ve experienced a dramatic improvement in my French.”

Aaron

“Truly a godsend solution for someone who needs to get somewhere fast and does not have a lot of time… lots of energy! So highly recommended!”

Hanna

“I would advise anyone to take advantage of what this lovely lady has to teach. I haven’t regretted taking the plunge for a second, and I’m fully confident that anyone else who invests in themselves in this way will agree. Llyane has my 100% endorsement. Elle est un entraîneur incroyable…”

Will

 

THANK YOU for giving me the honor and the privilege of allowing me to come into your life!

Why thinking in French is a bad idea

So, have you ever been told that you’ll speak better the language if you think in French?

Believe it or not, this is a myth that could prevent you from progressing!

Whether it’s sweating the small stuff or learning to speak French, thinking right can be a recipe for success!

Check out the article below for more insight into the power of thought and watch the video for some French worth thinking about!

(This week: the verb PENSER – to think)

You probably are one of the many people whose goal is to think in French.

And that is definitely a good idea. Or is it?

Let’s see what this goal does for you.

FIRST, it motivates you to learn vocabulary. Words. Lots of them. Maybe you’ll even challenge yourself to learn hundreds of words / day (I know someone who prides themselves with this record).

I’m tempted to make a case that you don’t need too many words to make sophisticated conversation, but more about this another time. Let’s continue…

SECOND, it motivates you to learn verbs – and you need special motivation for this. Because verbs are boring. Or are they? If you use the sense memory technique (something I teach in my classes), you can make verb conjugation as dramatic and fun as a Shakespearean play.

Also, you won’t be one of those people using « ON » in order to avoid verb conjugation. You may want, however, to know how to avoid difficult verb tenses, until you get comfortable with them (but this secret in another article too).

THIRD, it will make you aim high, and motivate you to identify yourself with the French. Very noble goal.

But what if you can’t make it?

What if, no matter how much you try, you keep thinking in English and you rarely end up thinking in French? If ever.

In this case, I suggest – just for kicks – that you notice what exactly you are doing, if you push yourself hard enough.

FIRST, you may have the tendency to speak fast. Great idea – if you make yourself clear, that is. But we tend to speak fast either when we are not sure of what we say or how to say it, and we hope to get it over with. To sneak out of trouble. The more we are unsure about the way to speak correctly, the faster we will speak, and we end up telling a story that nobody understands all that well.

SECOND, you may end up avoiding conversation altogether, just because you don’t think in French. And, because everybody told you that you should, seeing that you keep translating frustrates you so much, until you quit trying.

Let me remind you something here.

40% of the English vocabulary comes from French or directly from Latin, so they sound quite similarly. That’s a lot of words you already know.

Of course, the pronunciation of the words spelled identically can be very different in the two languages, but I can tell you all about pronunciation in another article.

May I ask you this: why are you avoiding to use the biggest asset you have to possibly speak at least 40% correctly in French: your mother tongue? (If English is not your mother tongue, but you know it better than French, it still applies.)

Trying to avoid the “false friends” prevents you from enjoying all those good friends.CLICK TO TWEET

But this is not the biggest damage.

You may end up considering yourself a worse French speaker than you really are.

And, in conversation, confidence is everything because, without it, we make the most obvious choice: we shut up and start nodding.

The trick here, in fact, is not to aim to think in French.

Not even a little.

Confused? Let me explain.

Thinking in French is the brain’s shortcut to find the words quickly, when we speak too much and too fast in French.

The brain doesn’t think in words, it thinks in images. When we make conversation, we only describe the images we hold in our mind’s eye with the words that come to us. While you are a beginner, you have to think in words (vocabulary, verb conjugations, etc.) and the brain has no need to create a shortcut: you are too slow.

Try to speak fast before you have enough practice, and it’s like running before you learn to walk. An accident waiting to happen.

But place yourself in an immersive experience, where you have to survive with food and shelter, or better yet, surround yourself by French children, and you’ll be forced to pick up the language and to speak intelligibly fast – otherwise, you may end up with some angry childless parents on your hands. In a few short months, you’ll surprise yourself thinking in French.

What’s a better solution? Be nice to yourself, and drop the idea that you have to think in French, before it naturally happens.

Thinking in French is not a goal, it’s a “collateral damage” that comes and goes, depending on how much you use the language. The function creates the organ.

Practice it daily, and your thoughts will follow suit.

Stop, and you’ll be back to your English self.

Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!

Now it is your turn!

Tell us in the comments below, what do you do to think more in French?

Want to learn French to enjoy Paris?
Create a solid foundation for conversation,
master pronunciation, and travel the World,
using the comprehensive J’Ouellette® Intensif

…and now Please Share this post with your friends. They’ll love you for it! 

Drop me a line and I’ll show you how I can help you – with your challenges, your level and your goals – to rapidly expand your vocab so that you can attend that client meeting, even if it’s scheduled for next week, and impress them by speaking their native language!

À la prochaine,
Llyane

French idioms for your back pocket

So have you ever been confused by an expression?

Nowhere is this more true than in a foreign coffee shop.

From the endless ways to order a latte to the many ways you can say “hi” in French, what is a coffee lover to do?

Check out the article below for some amazing insight into the power of French idioms, and watch the video for some French drinks!

(This week: the verb BOIRE – to drink)

And you’re at Café de Flore. It’s so busy – Saturday night – and you can barely get the waiter’s attention.

He comes, with a very professional, very French, busy smile, with a twinkle in his eyes, making you wonder if you didn’t choose your colors right. You’ll let him have his game face – you want to have your sip.

You order from the sleek booklet-menu, and continue to try to fit in, even though everything about you screams “not from here”. But you are proud, after all, the wardrobe is all French (you picked it up from Jean, the know-it-all taylor from the corner down the street) so it just strikes you that your trying too hard is what gives you away.

It’s loud, everybody is animated, some discuss a play, others the public transportation, and at a third table a couple has too little to share with the room, they whisper to each other sweet nothings that make you turn away.

You can hear the conversations, yet some of the words don’t quite make sense. You know about idioms, and you’re trying to catch as much as possible, to look them up later, when you arrive in your apartment.

It’s hard to pick them up too, because, like all idioms – in English too – the words don’t quite make sense: “up to speed”, “rains cats and dogs”, “an idea works” – if you think about it, anybody learning English would have as much trouble understanding them. An idea cannot literally work, when someone doesn’t come for a date, you don’t have to stand up in order for you to be “stood up”.
Same goes for French.

But, if you don’t start learning these idioms, you have a slim chance to fit in and have a conversation with more layers – and French has so many layers, any onion would be jealous!

Be very careful! Different francophone countries have different idioms, and they even differ in the same country, so you have to keep your eye and ear open and see if you should add more to your collection, or if there is a different subtext than the one you know. Some are differently perceived by different age groups, and there are differences depending on the social circles you frequent.

And here is a nice little collection you should have in your survival kit.

15 Common and Highly Useful French Idioms

1. Appeler un chat un chat

Literal translation: to call a cat a cat. It’s the equivalent of telling it like it is, or calling a spade a spade in English. When you call a spade a spade, you simply see the ugly truth, and put it very bluntly. Here’s an example:

« Attends, tu veux vraiment dire qu’il est stupide ?! »
(“Wait, do you actually think he’s stupid?!”)

« Écoute, il faut appeler un chat un chat. »
(“Listen, I’m just telling it like it is.”)

2. Arriver comme un cheveu sur la soupe

Literal translation: to arrive like the hair in a soup. It refers to entering a situation at the most awkward moment possible. Here’s an example:

« Julien et Arnaud se disputaient quand je suis arrivée, comme un cheveu sur la soupe. »

(“Julien and Arnaud were in the middle of a fight when I got there, at the most awkward moment.”)

3. Boire comme un trou

Literal translation: to drink like a hole. When you say that someone drinks like a hole, it means that they never stop, even if they should. This expression has a small hint of judgment, so be careful about when you use it. Here’s an example:

« Astrid a remarqué que Charles a bu deux bouteilles de vin hier soir. Mon Dieu, il buvait comme un trou. »

(“Astrid noticed that Charles drank two bottles of wine last night. Oh my God, he was drinking like a fish.“)

4. C’est dommage

Literal translation: ‘that’s a shame’. Imagine someone looking at a small-scale disaster and sharply exhaling in sympathy – the expression also translates to ‘that’s too bad’. Here’s an example:

« C’est dommage que tu ne sois pas au courant. »
(“It’s too bad you’re not up to speed.”)

5. Ça marche!

Literal translation: “that works”. Marcher is an interesting verb because it means both “to walk” and “to function/to work,” so it is not always transparent for English speakers. You’ll use this expression much in the same way as its English equivalent. If you and some friends are making some plans, you’ll say ça marche to confirm that you’re on board. Note that this expression changes from region to region. In Switzerland, for example, people say ça joue: that plays! Here’s an example:

« On se retrouve à midi pour déjeuner ? »
(“Let’s meet at noon for lunch?”)

« Oui, ça marche! »
(“Yes, that works!”)

6. Coup de foudre

Literal translation: a strike of lightning. In fact, it refers to love at first sight – one of those moments where you see a special someone, and can’t help but react immediately. Here’s an example:

« Quand je t’ai vu pour la première fois, c’était le coup de foudre. »
(“The first time I saw you, I fell head over heals.”)

7. Coûter les yeux de la tête

Literal translation: something costs the eyes in your head – it’s a price that’s unreasonable. The English equivalent is ‘to cost an arm and a leg’. Here’s an example:

« J’aurais aimé acheter un nouvel ordi mais ça coûte les yeux de la tête. »
(“I would have liked to buy a new computer but it costs an arm and a leg.”)

8. Être à l’ouest

Literal translation: ‘being in the West’. It refers to being completely crazy or out of it. Here’s an example:

« Comme j’avais mal dormi, j’étais complètement à l’ouest toute la journée. »
(“Since I had slept poorly, I was out of it for the whole day.”)

9. Faire la grasse matinée

Literal translation: to have a fat morning. It actually means to sleep in – but if you’re going to sleep in, you might as well enjoy a fantastic brunch afterwards! Here’s an example:

« J’ai trop dansé hier soir, alors aujourd’hui, j’ai fait la grasse matinée. »
(“I danced too much last night, so today I slept in.”)

10. Je dis ça, je dis rien.

Literal translation: “I say that, I say nothing.” Its English counterpart is “just saying.” You would use this expression when giving your opinion but wanting to soften the blow a bit, or not assume total responsibility for it. Here’s an example:

« Si on ne part pas maintenant, on n’arrivera pas au spectacle à l’heure. Enfin, je dis ça, je dis rien… »
(“If we don’t leave now, we won’t get to the show on time. Just saying…”)

11. La moutarde me/lui monte au nez

Literal translation: ‘the mustard is getting to my nose’ – it means that I’m getting angry (not sneezy, which would also seem like a possibility in this instance).

« Quand elle se fait taquiner, on peut voir que la moutarde lui monte au nez! »
(“When she gets teased, you can see her getting angry!”)

12. Mettre son grain de sel.

Literal translation: to put in one’s grain of salt – to give someone an unsolicited and unnecessary opinion. Case in point, your mom offering you advice and feedback on your love life (or lack thereof). Here’s an example:

« Encore une fois, elle a mis son grain de sel. »
(“Once again, she offered an unsolicited opinion.”)

13. Ne rien savoir faire de ses dix doigts.

Literal translation: not knowing how to do anything with one’s ten fingers. It means that somebody is completely useless. Here’s an example:

« Laisse tomber, il ne sait rien faire de ses dix doigts, celui-là. »
(“Forget about it, that guy is completely useless.”)

14. Poser un lapin à quelqu’un

Literal translation: ‘to put a rabbit on somebody’. The French expression sounds as silly as its English equivalent – to stand somebody up, or to not show up for something that you’ve planned. Here’s an example:

« Je l’ai attendue mais elle n’est jamais arrivée – elle m’a posé un lapin! »
(“I waited for her but she never came – she stood me up!”)

15. Sauter du coq à l’âne

Literal translation: to jump from the rooster to the donkey – or to jump from topic to topic in conversation. You can use it to describe somebody who is difficult to follow in conversation, or use it as a signal that you’re aware that you’re completely changing subjects, but you’re going to do it anyway. Here’s an example:

« Et, je saute du coq à l’âne mais… »
(“And, this is completely unrelated but…”)

Source: fluentu.com

Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!

Now it is your turn!

Tell us in the comments below, what is your favorite French idiom?

Want to learn French to enjoy Paris?
Create a solid foundation for conversation,
master pronunciation, and travel the World,
using the comprehensive J’Ouellette® Intensif

…and now Please Share this post with your friends. They’ll love you for it! 

Drop me a line and I’ll show you how I can help you – with your challenges, your level and your goals – to rapidly expand your vocab so that you can attend that client meeting, even if it’s scheduled for next week, and impress them by speaking their native language!

À la prochaine,
Llyane