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Bonjour chers francophiles and welcome to our podcast, Brush Up Your Français with Prêt à Parler!
If you are new to this podcast, bienvenue!
I’m Isabelle Nicolas, the founder and CEO of Prêt à Parler. Back in 2015, I had the idea to create Zoom-powered private French tuition and Prêt à Parler has since become Switzerland’s leading online French language school.
For the past 6 years, my amazing Prêt à Parler team and I have been hard at work helping busy professionals and parents improve their language skills by providing a high quality, eco-friendly, fun, no-nonsense approach to learning French online!
Our podcast, Brush Up Your Français, is meant to be the perfect learning companion if you are currently learning or relearning French!
If you are starting to learn French or you are here to improve it, I highly recommend that you don’t only listen to our podcast, but that you read the transcript as well, whenever you need it. Please know that you can find the transcript of all our episodes on our website, (www.pretaparler.ch).
To better understand why our methodology works so well with our clients, I invite you to watch Episode 9 of our podcast where I explain more in detail the story behind the creation of Prêt à Parler.
If you like what we are doing and find it useful, please share our episode with your friends and leave us a 5 star review! If you do, you could win a 60-minute private French lesson on Zoom with one of our Super Profs. We will offer one per month to one of our reviewers. Also, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments what is or could be helpful for you so we can talk about it in future episodes of Brush Up Your Français.
Let’s start this week’s episode with our Super Profs Brice and Sandra with On en parle (Let’s talk about it!).
Today, we will focus on the third part of our Motivation Focus Month and our Super Profs will talk about Comment rester motivé lorsqu’on apprend une langue, i.e. how to stay motivated when learning a new language?
If you are of level A1 and above, this chronique will be very useful for you.
If you are a real beginner, I recommend that you skip this part and go directly to the next chronique, Les conseils d’Isabelle.
Allez, On en parle avec Brice et Sandra!
Brice : Bonjour Sandra
Sandra : Bonjour Brice
Brice : Et bienvenu dans notre rubrique ‘’On en parle’’ avec Brice et Sandra et aujourd’hui allons parler de ‘’Prêt à parler’’ et de qu’est ce qui se passe.
Sandra : Et oui, et ils se passent pleins de choses, pleins de choses pour la rentrée notamment. Donc, Brice, qu’est-ce qu’on fait sur Prêt à parler ?
Brice : D’abord, on est tous très heureux de reprendre une nouvelle année avec tous les professeurs et de vous accueillir de nouveau pour nos cours et puis toutes les activités que nous développons bien sûr pour vous on pense notamment au quiz de Laurence, qu’est-ce que c’est ce quiz exactement Sandra, est-ce que tu peux nous dire un petit peu qu’est-ce que c’est ?
Sandra : Oui, c’est un quiz vous rejoignez avec votre smartphone et que Laurence a préparé par avance et vous êtes tous en compétition pour avoir plus de points possible, il faut simplement répondre ce QSM, trouver la bonne réponse quand Laurence l’indique et c’est sûr Kahoot, il me semble.
Brice : Oui, exactement, sur Kahoot et sur Facebook live bien sûr, vous pouvez trouver Laurence tous les jeudis.
Nous avons le quiz, nous avons aussi le rébus de Marion qui sont le lundi, le podcast bien sûr avec toi Sandra, quel est l’intérêt de ce podcast ?
Sandra : Alors, l’intérêt c’est d’écouter du français parlé, d’écouter du français comme il serait réellement utilisé dans la vie de tous les jours entre toi et moi Brice.
Brice : Exactement, d’accord, des petites discussions entre francophones, nous avons Isabelle aussi qui participe et qui nous donne des petites astuces de prononciation ou qui vous fait découvrir aussi de la musique française, et puis il y a Catherine qui a aussi une rubrique très intéressante. Est-ce que tu as des moments particuliers que tu aimes quand tu accueilles des nouveaux étudiants ?
Sandra : Oui, moi j’aime beaucoup leur demander ce qu’ils font dans la vie, on échange beaucoup sur ce qu’on aime, on échange beaucoup sur nos loisirs en vérité, et toi ?
Brice : Oui, c’est le moment où on découvre un nouveau professeur à un nouvel étudiant ou une nouvelle étudiante et apprendre à se connaitre, les étudiants de Prêt à parler sont tous très intéressants, avec des vies très différentes, donc, c’est toujours un plaisir de découvrir un nouveau profil d’une nouvelle personne.
Sandra : Pour moi c’est aussi intéressent de rencontrer d’autres personnes qui aiment la musique, le piano, la guitare. Beaucoup de musiciens sur ‘’Prêt à parler’’.
Brice : C'est ça, exact. Et bien sûr de vous aider, de les aider à développer et améliorer votre français bien sûr. Parfait, donc, n’hésitez pas à aller voir sur nos réseaux sociaux, sur le site de Prêt à parler, il y a pleins de choses qui s’organisent pour cette rentrée, avec peut-être aussi des examens qu’on peut préparer.
Sandra : Oui, on peut préparer le fide notamment, n’est pas, c’est une bonne résolution pour la rentrée ça, préparer et passer votre fide grâce à Prêt à parler, nous sommes des experts fide.
Brice : Exact, bien sûr, très important le fide, pour le permis, pour la naturalisation, nous pouvons bien sûr vous aider, Sandra, toi tu as l’expérience de préparation d’examen.
Sandra : Et oui, toi aussi Brice je pense on a fait tous un petit peu mais c’est vrai que j’ai eu beaucoup d’étudiants cette année qui ont passé le fide, parce que c’est assez nouveau comme examen ce n’a que deux ou trois ans, c’est quand même quelque chose qui ne se faisait pas avant et c’est bien d’être préparé aussi pour au format aussi qui est un peu spécial.
Brice : Exact. Absolument, c’est nécessaire un petit peu d’anticiper et de préparer comme tu as dit, l’examen. On est tous très impatients de vous retrouver dans nos classes et sur nos réseaux sociaux. Sandra, merci à toi.
Sandra : Merci à toi Brice et au revoir.
Brice : Au revoir tous à très bientôt.
Merci beaucoup, Brice et Sandra!
Now, let’s move on to our next chronique, Les conseils d’Isabelle, where I share my little tips and advice on how to learn a new language as quickly, efficiently and enjoyably as possible!
Today I'm going to talk to you about the importance of relaxing and letting go when learning a foreign language. I absolutely think that you should take learning French seriously, but you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously when trying to speak French!
That is actually our motto at Prêt à Parler! That's definitely my life learning motto as well. As I said in last week’s episode, I personally believe that humor and laughter are the best allies of our cognitive memory. When we laugh at ourselves or because of a situation or a word that seems weird or funny, it allows us to associate it with a happy and positive moment and that ultimately makes it easier to remember.
Oui, when we commit a faux pas which creates an embarrassing moment, our ego will be hurt, but no one is going to die! Laughing and seeing things with humor allows us to downplay the drama, relax and realize that after all, it's not the end of the world when we make mistakes.
I'm going to give you a personal example. When I was living in Munich and preparing for classical vocal auditions in German opera houses, I was always extremely nervous and would put a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect. A lot of the time, I wasn’t able to perform well at these auditions because I couldn't relax and let go. I was too focused on giving a perfect performance instead of living in the moment and doing the best I could with who I was and what I was capable of at the time. During the performance, I would second guess and judge myself a lot.
This, of course, sent negative energy out in the room and other people around me could feel it too. I certainly didn’t feel or seem comfortable or confident so how could opera directors trust that I would do a good job with the pressure and stress of a full house listening to my every word?
It was not possible. They couldn’t, and that is why -mark my words - I never got a job when I was in that mindset. I was actually my worst enemy. The more I auditioned that way, the more I felt stressed, and the less work I got. In fact, I would never get work when I was in that mindset.
How did I survive these 4 years in Munich? Because that's how long I stayed in Munich before I moved to Switzerland. Well, I had to find something, I had to make a change and figure out what I was really good and confident at. I was at the beginning of my career, I had just finished university, I had to find something for myself. I had to be able to survive and pay the bills.
So, I started to realise that what I was most successful and proficient at was sharing my passion and understanding of languages and pronunciation because of my opera singing background, and I've always loved learning languages, and I've always loved the grammar and the analysis behind and I was able to share that. In a different way probably, than most teachers would do. Because of my background as an opera singer.
So, I promoted myself and I got hired as a French and English diction and language coach. I worked for several big German language schools, online and face to face during the four years that I was in Munich. So, I did that, and while I was developing my career as language trainer, funnily enough, that's when the opera job offers started to appear and they appeared through acquaintances and people I met randomly really by chance, let's say at a voice competition, on the train, at an audition for an agent…
So it was not the agent who got me the job, it was the people I had met there who had a gig and told me about it, that's how I got job offers. Why, and I've been thinking about that a lot, why was I getting traction all of a sudden? When in the normal, regular way of doing things going into the opera house, sending CV and then getting an audition, or going through an agency... why was I getting jobs all of a sudden, without going the conventional way?
I think that having the teaching side in my life made me feel happy and confident in my body, in my mind and in my skills. I also felt good and I felt safe enough with the people I was meeting at that time I felt safe enough to let go and to dare to be vulnerable when I sang. It meant that I was just trying to live and be in the present moment when I was performing. And I was not doing that before, because I was kind of detached from myself, judging myself...
So, when it was working, it was because I was trusting that everything I had learned and experienced at university and in my life until then would be remembered by my body and would shine through my voice. And it really did. I was starting to show my true, inner voice and to understand who I could be at my best in front of an audience.
That gave me the confidence and the power that I needed. I felt empowered and strong. That is when I started being who I really was supposed to be as a singer. And that mindset absolutely translates into language learning and any job interview situation you might have. If we put too much pressure and start second guessing ourselves, then it's almost certain it won’t go well. It just won't work. We won't be relaxed enough for the magic to happen!
And believe me, when it's there, this magic, this moment where it clicks, you'll be surprised at how much easier it is for you to speak French. That and a glass of wine or beer in a pub with cute local guys always helps! That's for sure. So, the key to success and progress when wanting to improve your French speaking skills is not to worry too much and not to be afraid to try, to make mistakes, to let go and to dare to join the conversation.
That's the most important thing for you to improve your French, join the conversation. Try it out, just go with it and try to put yourself out there. Of course, be serious about learning French, but don’t take yourself too seriously!
And that is Prêt à Parler’s learning philosophy, as I told you about it. Our Super Profs are there to put you at ease and to make you feel confident from the very first lesson. They are multilingual expats themselves, they have lived in several countries before or are still living in a different country than France or Switzerland or French-speaking Canada. They are all native French speakers, but they are expats and therefore they understand the challenge of learning foreign languages when you are a busy parent or professional living abroad.
They will certainly laugh with you about your embarrassing moments which I really encourage you to share, and they will also give you some advice, like a friend would, like a guide or coach would so that you can hopefully do better the next time you get in a similar situation.
If that speaks to you, make sure to go to our contact page (www.pretaparler.ch/contact) to learn more about our private lesson services. We are here to help you! I sincerely hope my advice spoke to you. Next week, stay tuned, because I’ll talk about how active listening can help you learn French much faster!
Et maintenant, our next chronique will be Le verbe craquant with our Super Prof Catherine!
Chères auditrices, chers auditeurs…le verbe craquant de ce mois-ci est un verbe à rallonge !
Oui, avec ses 6 syllabes, il ressemble à un insecte bizarre quand on a réussi à l’écrire et qu’on l’observe sur le papier.
Rassurez-vous ! Il s’agira plutôt pour vous d’un amusant défi de prononciation car on le pratique très peu à l’oral.
Vous êtes prêts ? Allons-y ! EM-BER-LI-FI-CO-TER. Emberlificoter. Oui, bravo !
Que signifie ce drôle de verbe ? Vous connaissez peut-être « embrouiller » (muddle). Eh bien c’est un synonyme un peu plus familier, voire même plus dialectal puisqu’il vient de « emberlucoquer ». Il y a aussi « embobiner ». C’est aussi un synonyme. Et là, le sens vous apparait plus clairement. Imaginez une personne dont les belles paroles auraient la forme d’une bobine de fil (coil of wire) prête à ligoter (tie up) et séduire ses interlocuteurs un peu naïfs ou à leur faire croire à des choses insensées
Celui-là, il veut m’emberlificoter ! Mais je ne suis pas dupe !
Vous avez sûrement vécu cette situation une fois dans votre vie si vous avez voyagé dans un lieu très très touristique. On a essayé de vous emberlificoter pour vous faire acheter un sac, une ceinture, un tapis ou un faux vase antique ? Vous avez résisté ou…vous vous êtes fait avoir ? (be fooled) Et oui, c’est la vie !
Mais on peut également s’emberlificoter tout seul ! Comment ? Vous vous prenez le pied dans un tapis, vous avez décidé de faire de la corde à sauter et vous vous emmêlez (you tangle) les pinceaux* ? Vous voulez étonner lors du cours de Français votre superprof préféré en lui récitant d’un trait le fameux virelangue « les chaussettes de l’archiduchesse sont-elles sèches archi sèches » et vous vous embrouillez avec ces terribles CH et S ?
Pas de souci ! Cela arrive à tout le monde de faire fourcher sa langue, de bégayer, d’inverser des syllabes et du coup…de pédaler dans la choucroute ! (cette expression concernait à l’origine les cyclistes qui n’arrivaient plus à avancer malgré leurs vaillants efforts !).
Alors, ne vous emberlificotez pas trop le cerveau et profitez de ce mois de septembre pour mettre de l’ordre dans vos idées et vous laisser encore bercer par de douces journées ! Laissez vos écharpes au placard ! Il sera encore temps de s’emberlificoter avec, le premier froid venu !
*pieds
Merci beaucoup, Catherine!
So, we are now at the end of this week’s episode.
I really hope you enjoyed it and you learned many new things with our Super Profs!
Brice, Sandra, Catherine and myself will be back next week for a new episode of Brush Up Your Français with Prêt à Parler!
In the meantime, make sure to visit our website and subscribe to our freebies such as our French Survival Guide!
Merci beaucoup et à la semaine prochaine!
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Disclaimer: Prêt à Parler CH does not carry out fide tests and is not yet accredited for any of the fide procedures. However, our team of Super Profs has been helping our clients to successfully pass their fide test in Suisse romande since January 2019. Our online preparation program for the fide test, blog articles, social media posts and videos are meant to help fide applicants better understand and prepare for their exam.
Isabelle
As a native Québécoise, born to a Franco-Belgian family, now living in Nyon with her two children, Isabelle is no stranger to the expat reality! Trained as a professional opera singer, her passion for arts and languages led her to become an ambassador of the French language & francophone culture, i.e. a French Teacher!
She founded Prêt à Parler in January 2015. Since then she's been hard at work helping English-speaking learners from the international community of Suisse romande make French part of their everyday life! Prêt à Parler's mission is based on what Isabelle does best: helping busy professionals and parents improve their French language skills by providing a high quality, eco-friendly, fun, no-nonsense approach to learning French online!
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